Top Ten Posts of 2018 on BIM Chapters

Today's post takes a quick look back at 2018's top ten posts on BIM Chapters. I really appreciate everyone who reads this blog and especially those who have added comments, sharing their insight!

Keep reading...

Fuzor 2019 Update Includes a New Avatar - It's Me!

In the most recent update to Kalloc Studio's Fuzor app, they added a new avatar,  it's me!

Read on to learn more...

Creating a New Revit Central File - Two Ways with Different Results

There are two ways to create a new central file, from an existing central file, but the results are slightly different. Knowing the difference can same time and frustration.

Read on to learn more...

Floor Finish Legend in Revit

Here is one idea for managing a floor finish "legend" in Revit. Not a perfect solution, but one most Revit users can understand and manage easily.

Keep reading to learn more...

Product Review: 3D Connexion - CadMouse Wireless

A couple weeks ago I bought a new mouse for home and really like it... so I am writing about that today! BILT-NA mouse pad not included:)

Read on to learn more about 3D Connexion's CadMouse...

New Revit 2019 Sample File - Stair and Railing System Family Library

Autodesk updated their sample stair and railing project file and placed it in the content folders. I just bumped into it the other day and thought I would share that discovery here...

Here are the details...

Creating Sloped or Slanted Walls in Revit

Sloped walls, and how to make them is the topic of today's post. Most people probably don't think about this until they need to make one for the first time. This post will hopefully help those who are in that situation and searching the internet for help!

If you have experience doing this and have any additional tips to share, please comment below.

There are two main ways to create a sloped wall in Revit. And neither of them are a simple built-in parameter associated with a wall. Columns used to be like that and then they got a parameter. Let's hope the same happens for walls someday! We know Autodesk is looking at adding it as this Revit Idea (600+ votes) has the feature elevated to "Under Consideration" and it is also on the Revit Roadmap.

Model In-Place

Model In-Place is the first option with may limitations. Using the in-place method we can create sloped or complex geometric elements which represent walls and will work for visibility control and filters. However, they do not clean up well with other walls, and they do not look like other walls in section.

Here are the steps:

Create an in-place family, selecting the Wall category.

Next...

Autodesk Webinar on Site Collaboration with Civil 3D and Revit 2019.1

If you work on building that come into contact with the earth you may want to check out this webinar by Harlan Brumm and Tim Yarris, Product Managers at Autodesk. They do a live demo of the new workflow that allows a Revit project to link a Civil 3D model via new features in 2019.1 (Civil 3D and Revit,) the Autodesk Desktop Connector and the BIM 360 cloud.

Additionally...

Dunwoody Architecture - Thesis Final Part 1

Yesterday I had the opportunity to be a guest juror for the end-of-semester review of the Dunwoody Architecture student's final thesis projects. In this post I will share the highlights of that experience.

But, first I want to point out that Dunwoody is a first-of-its-kind school of architecture, whose model will open the doors to a career in architecture for a lot more people. The institution has its 100-year old roots in 2-year technical programs, which includes architectural technology. Until now, any student who invested in a two year degree and then wanted to go on to become an architect would have to throw away that two years of training... meaning those credits almost never transfer to a university.  FYI: I only mean "throw away" in the context of credits transferring... all academic engagement is beneficial in some way to an individual.

Dunwood introduced the nation's first 2+3 architecture program that takes their two year degree (or any two year arch tech degree, hint hint)  where a graduate can sit for the Architect Registration Exam (ARE) in any State in the USA. The program is in the final stages of it accreditation candidacy. The first group of students just graduated this year!

Now, back to the topic at hand...

Existing Materials - Creating a Custom Seamless Texture

Today's post: A quick and dirty example of one workflow for representing existing materials in an architectural visualization. In this example I took a photo of the concrete road in front of our office.

Read on to learn how to turn this image into a seamless texture which can be used in Revit and Enscape...

Hidden Electrical Parameters in Lighting Fixtures - Sort of

This makes sense, but caught me off guard today. I was trying to add a Wattage parameter to a lighting fixture family and it told me one already existed... but I could not see it in the list as shown in the first image.

Here is why...

Past Projects: UMD Weber Music Hall - Designed by César Pelli

I thought it would be fun to share past projects now and then on this blog, so here is my second installment...

Project: University of Minnesota - Duluth Weber Music Hall

While working on this project I was at a firm called SJA Architects, which is now part of
TKDA - see their project highlights page here. An exciting aspect of this project was it having been designed by the world famous architect César Pelli from Pelli Clark Pelli Architects in New Haven, CT USA. Pelli has designed many architectural wonders including...

Enscape Blog Post: HOW TO REALITY CHECK YOUR PROJECT

Today I have another Enscape blog post installment to share with you... this one is titled "How to Reality Check your Project". I hope you like it!

Link to Enscape blog post: HOW TO REALITY CHECK YOUR PROJECT

A few highlights and images from the post below...

ROAST Webinar Today

If you have any interest in post occupancy evaluations (POE) then be sure to check out this webinar by Kieran Timberlake on their new web-based product; ROAST.

Webinar highlights:

"Generating useful data from occupant comfort surveys doesn't happen by accident. Join the Roast team today for our webinar sharing the best practices that will ensure your surveys generate the information you need. The webinar will cover surveys for research, POE, and facilities management."

Register here: https://lnkd.in/ecnpM3X

The iamge below shows one of the reports from a POE we did here at LHB during the beta...

My previous related posts:

• Roast by KieranTimberlake
• Pre/post-occupancy Evaluations and Generative Design

For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn

Revit Challenge: Demo Hole in Existing Floor

Need to demolish a portion of existing floor in Revit? It is not as easy as it should be. The result should be something like adding a new door in an existing wall; in existing views there is no hole in the wall, or any sign of the area to be removed. It should look, existing.

This post will quickly cover the various options one might try. But none of them are perfect. I hope a few readers will comment on what they do...

The three main ways of adding a hole in an otherwise monolithic existing floor is:

• Edit boundary
• Shaft element
• Void family

Let talk about them...

Resetting A Default Instance Parameter in Revit

When placing a family in Revit, there is something everyone should be away of when it comes to its instance parameters. They can be edited during placement or after. When I say "during placement" I mean you edit the value in the Properties Pallet prior to placing the element in the model, as will be shown more clearly below. If you edit the value after placement, there is no effect on future placements... but, that is not the case when editing values during placement.

Read on to learn more...

This sample window family has an Default Sill Height as a type parameter. Other families just have a 'default' value for any instance parameter. What I am about to show applies to both.

This first window is placed without changing anything. The sill height is 3'-0".

Then...