Autodesk University 2025 Recap

I recently attended and presented at Autodesk University 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. I have a brief recap post that I'd like to share.

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New Free Autodesk Course: Design Performance and Sustainability with Forma, Revit, and Insight (I Created)

I’m excited to share that a brand-new free course I developed for Autodesk is now live: Design Performance and Sustainability with Autodesk Forma, Revit, and Insight.

The timing couldn’t be better—Autodesk University 2025 in Nashville was full of energy and inspiring announcements, especially around Autodesk Forma and its critical role in the future of the AEC industry. I was also fortunate to present another session on Forma this year, continuing an ongoing conversation about how these tools are reshaping practice.

This new course is designed primarily for students, though professionals will also find value in it. Through engaging video lessons, hands-on exercises, and real-world examples, learners will explore how Forma, Revit, and Insight can be used to design with measurable impact—integrating performance analysis, sustainability, and outcome-based BIM practices from the start. And best of all, it’s free for everyone.

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Autodesk University 2025 - This Week!

Autodesk University 2025 is quickly approaching, taking place later this month in Nashville, Tennessee. As both an adjunct professor and the Director of Design Technology at Lake|Flato Architects, I’m honored to be presenting two sessions that highlight emerging technologies and workflows with Autodesk tools.

The first session, led by Erica Bocian from Esri, explores the new ArcGIS extension for Autodesk Forma—an exciting advancement in connecting geospatial intelligence with early-stage design. The second session focuses on Autodesk’s end-to-end workflow with Revit and Insight (Total Carbon), a timely solution for those transitioning from the recently retired version of Insight.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with both of these tools since their beta phases, and I’m eager to share how these now publicly available workflows can be applied immediately in practice. Whether you’re a professional in architecture, engineering, or construction—or a student or professor looking to expand your toolkit—you’ll walk away with actionable strategies to bring back to your projects after AU 2025.

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Hands-On with Autodesk Insight Total Carbon at AIA East Tennessee COTE

Last week I had the pleasure of leading a half-day workshop for AIA East Tennessee focused on Autodesk Insight’s new Total Carbon tools and practical workflows in Revit 2026. Huge thanks to Cameron Bolin for organizing and to everyone who joined us—nearly 60 attendees, with a few participating online. Your thoughtful questions made the session lively and full of real-world perspectives.

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Texas Society of Architects 2025 in Dallas this October

The 2025 Texas Society of Architects (TxA) Annual Conference and Expo is just around the corner. I will be participating in four sessions with some amazing colleagues, expert consultants, and clients!

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Insight (Total Carbon) HVAC Systems Added!!!

Announcement: I will be presenting on the (new) Insight in-person later this week for AIA East Tennessee... and at Autodesk University (also in Tennessee)!

An important feature missing from the (new) Autodesk Insight has just been added, making it a valuable update to the feature it replaced in the (old) Autodesk Insight, which has been decommissioned.

HVAC Systems!

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AIA25 Resources Shared from Reuse and Deconstruction Session

Last month at the AIA 2025 Conference on Architecture in Boston, I co-presented a session titled Preservation, Adaptive Reuse, Design for Deconstruction for the Carbon Win! with Nakita Reed from Quinn Evans.

At the end of our session, we displayed a QR code that linked to several related resources... in this post, I wanted to also share those resources!

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AIA25 Boston - Selfies:)

Sharing some selifies from last months AIA25 conference on architecture in Boston... lots of fun memories. Here is my previous conference recap post: click here.

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Unable to exit edit group mode in Autodesk Revit

What to do when the floating Edit Group panel goes missing and you are in the middle of editing a group in Autodesk Revit... that is the topic of today's post.

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New Enscape Blog Posts - Assigning Revit Materials and Revit 2026 New Features

I recently had the opportunity to contribute a couple of guest posts to the official Chaos Enscape blog, sharing some practical tips and insights from my daily workflows. If you’re working in Revit or SketchUp and want to get more out of your Enscape visuals—whether you're linking CAD files or exploring what’s new in Revit 2026—these posts are packed with helpful guidance to improve your design visualization experience. Check them out below!

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Recap - AIA25 Conference on Architecture in Boston

Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the AIA Conference on Architecture 2025 (AIA25) in Boston—an inspiring whirlwind of learning, connection, and celebration. From representing Lake Flato and cheering on our three project awards at the gala, to participating in our in-person AIA COTE Leadership Group meeting and co-chairing a full-day symposium within the main conference, the week was packed with meaningful moments. I even kicked things off with a special event the day before the official start—setting the tone for a truly unforgettable experience.

I will recap it all from my perspective here. Also, photos are in chronological order.

Photo: Lake Flato team at the AIA Awards Gala, where we received three project awards! <-- Also, click the link to check out our new website:).

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ArchVision Webinar - Preview of my Architectural Illustration Workshop in Japan

Join me for a preview of a workshop I will be giving at the American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI) internal conference in Tokyo, Japan, later this year! The preview webinar, hosted by ArchVision, is free and in the second week of July, 2025.

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AIA25 TAP + COTE Symposium - Advancing a Sustainable Future through Technology Innovation

I am excited to share the full agenda for the AIA TAP + COTE Symposium happening the first week of June (in just over two weeks)!

As a member of the AIA Committee on the Environment Leadership Group (COTE LG) I worked closely with the AIA Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP LG) to curate this event happening within the larger national AIA Conference on Architecture happening in Boston this year.

Special thanks to the AIA staffer making all this happen, Emma Tucker!

Photo from AIA 2024 TAP Symposium.

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New Book Alert: Disrupt It – A Must-Read on AI for AEC Execs

If you're an AEC executive curious about how artificial intelligence is reshaping our industry, there's a new book you should definitely check out: Disrupt It: How Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Executives Can Transform Their Organizations in the Age of AI by Dr. Sam Zolfagharian and Dr. Mehdi Nourbakhsh, co-founders of YegaTech.

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Revit's Eroding Options Bar

Autodesk has a few UI anomalies in Revit... like the Options Bar below the Ribbon. They have been working towards removing the Options Bar little by little. In this post, I will share why the Options Bar was originally created and a 2026 change that threw me for a loop:)

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Exporting Autodesk Insight Data

On July 1, 2025, both Insight Energy Analysis and Green Building Studio will be fully retired by Autodesk. Make sure to download any critical data before then! Read this post for details on how to do that...

Related: I will be doing an in-person 4-hour workshop on the Next Gen Insight (Total Carbon) the first week in September in Knoxville for AIA East Tennessee COTE!

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Solemma Symposium 2025

I look forward to attending the one-day Solemma 2025 Symposium in NYC next month! I will highlight how Lake|Flato uses Climate Studio for daylight design.

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Design Your Impact education series - by Material Bank

The Design Your Impact education series focuses on climate, human, and social health in design. Whether you're interested in attending one session or all, each course aims to inspire a healthier, innovative, and more sustainable future.

Hosted by Material Bank! "...powering complex searches across hundreds of brands and thousands of materials in seconds."

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What's New in Revit 2026 - My Annual AECbytes article is live!

Curious about what's new in Autodesk Revit 2026?

My latest article on AECbytes takes a deep dive into the most exciting updates and features in Autodesk’s newest release. From improved modeling workflows to smarter documentation tools, Revit 2026 brings thoughtful enhancements that aim to boost efficiency and user experience across the board. Whether you're an architect, engineer, or BIM manager, there’s something here for everyone.

I break down the key upgrades, share real-world insights, and explore how these changes could impact your day-to-day work in the AEC industry. If you're ready to stay ahead of the curve and get the most out of your Revit subscription, don’t miss this comprehensive overview.

Check out the full article here: https://www.aecbytes.com/tipsandtricks/2025/issue111-Revit2026.html

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For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on X or on LinkedIn

Lighting design professionals: check out my Revit & ElumTools training https://bit.ly/3NJjhCV

Introduction to Email, File Sharing Management, and TonicDM

Check out this article I wrote for TonicDM covering the AEC-specific challenges associated with managing emails and large files that need to be shared externally. Read the article here.

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For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on X or on LinkedIn

Lighting design professionals: check out my Revit & ElumTools training https://bit.ly/3NJjhCV

Architectural Record Webinar - Optimizing Materials, Energy, and Safety for Better Business Outcomes

Next month, I will give a presentation on the Lake Flato San Antonio Office Transformation via an Architectural Record webinar sponsored by Autodesk!

I will be presenting alongside Jack Rusk (co-founder, C.Scale).

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2025 eLCAd Virtual Event Starts Next Week!

I am excited to represent Lake|Flato and promote the AIA with a great line of panelists from Buro Happold, OneClick LCA, moderated by the co-founder & managing director of WAP Sustainability early next week.

Registration link is included below.

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AIA25 Conference on Architecture in Boston - 4 Sessions and a Symposium!

I am super excited to represent Lake|Flato at this year's AIA Conference on Architecture in Boston. I am involved in a LOT of activities, but most of them are well underway and are going to be a blast.

This post highlights my four sessions, a TAP + COTE symposium, amazing co-presenters, a B-COPP meet-up, and more!

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FenstraPro in Forma Webinar Recording

Sharing a link to the recording of the FenestraPro webinar highlighting their integration into Autodesk Forma. I participated in this presentation last October.

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EDRA Here We Come (again) - 2025 Nova Scotia - Design for Climate Change

I am excited to share that Lake|Flato will be presenting (again) at the Environmental Design and Research Association (EDRA) conference. We will be sharing recently published work on designing for climate change.

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Pirros - A Novel Revit Detail Library Approach

Last year, Lake|Flato implemented Pirros, a novel detail library platform. It is a curated detail library like the others that might come to mind, but it has another side to it that opens up a whole new world of efficiency and inspiration.

In today's post, I will share how our design technology work and research program crossed paths to help bring this optimal solution to fruition within the practice. Plus, you will learn a little about the process of testing and implementing a new product.

Photo: Kelly Weckman, Lake|Flato designer using Pirros

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Autodesk "Device Limit Reached" Explained - AutoCAD and Revit

Revit can no longer be used (interactively) on more than one computer simultaneously. 

FYI: This limitation appears to have been temporarily disabled by Autodesk until they figure out why some users are experiencing stability issues.

Autodesk recently implemented a new method of ensuring licensing compliance. Many are unhappy that this was not messaged more clearly, and some have experienced stability issues (both very good points/concerns).

In this post, I will share the obvious reason Autodesk implemented this and how it is intended to work (which worked as intended in my tests).

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Autodesk is phasing out Autodesk Insight Energy Analysis and Green Building Studio

If you use Autodesk Insight for early energy modeling, you will want to read this and be aware of the big changes that will happen soon.

In less than two months, you will not be able to run an analysis, and by mid-2025, previous runs will not be accessible!

This is giving way to a new tool/workflow (next-gen Insight Total Carbon) we are already using at Lake|Flato for our AIA 2030 Commitment reporting for the 2024 reporting season (i.e., last year).

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NVIDIA GTC 2025 - My Session with QuarkXR and T-Mobile

I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be speaking for the third time at NVIDIA GTC next month in Silicon Valley! GTC is always an incredible convergence of forward-thinking professionals from industries like AI/ML, autonomous driving, healthcare, and visualization, so I’m excited to be part of it once again.

I'll be sharing insights on Lake|Flato's collaboration with T-Mobile and QuarkXR. Our focus: optimizing VR streaming with Enscape's real-time rendering engine, Autodesk Revit, and NVIDIA GPUs + CloudXR tech.

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2025 Design Performance Internship at Lake|Flato

Lake|Flato's annual Design Performance internship is open for applications.

Come work for the architecture firm that has won the most AIA COTE Top Ten awards:)

This is an in-person, one-year position usually filled by someone in between their undergrad and graduate degrees.

Deadline to apply: March 2nd, 11:59 pm

Learn more and apply here:

https://www.lakeflato.com/contact/careers

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For BIM Chapters updates, connect on LinkedIn

Lighting design professionals: check out my Revit & ElumTools training https://bit.ly/3NJjhCV

How to Transfer Keyboard Shortcuts to New Version of Revit

I think most advanced Revit users would agree that using keyboard shortcuts is essential to efficiency. Here is a quick post on how to transfer your custom keyboard shortcuts from one version of Revit to another (or from one computer to another).

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Recap - 2025 AIA/ACSA Research + AIAS Forum

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in the AIAS FORUM and AIA/ACSA Intersections Research conferences, which were co-located in Austin, Texas.

Here is a recap of the Keynote (AIAS) and Presentation (AIA/ACSA) I gave, as well as a Lake Flato-led tour and sketching workshop I helped organize at the Austin Central Library (designed by the firm).

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AIA/ACSA Intersections Research + AIAS Forum - January 2025 - Austin, Texas

Two national events are converging next week in Austin, Texas, and I am excited to be involved in both; AIAS Forum and AIA-ACSA Intersections Research conferences!

I will be giving a keynote, presenting, and leading a tour of the Austin Central Library (designed by Lake|Flato).

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