If you have come this far, the concept of building information modeling (BIM) is on your mind, and I commend you for that! I can also assure you that you are in the right place. My name is Lynn Allen, Autodesk Technical Evangelist, and after 25 years in the CAD and design industry, the writing couldn't be clearer on the wall. BIM is here to stay, and Revit is the software product that will take you there.

If I were to take a Revit course right now, the writers of this book—Eddy Krygiel, Phil Read, and James Vandezande—would be the ultimate teachers. Each of them is a BIM star in their own right—top-rated Autodesk University speakers, highly respected industry leaders, the true Revit and BIM evangelists. Having their combined mindshare in one book is the perfect combination. These are the writers who will get you to where you need to go in BIM!

In my profession, I speak to about 30,000 customers a year, and each day I see more and more architects making the move to Revit Architecture. I also see the enthusiasm from those who have made the move, which solidifies to me that Revit and BIM are clearly the correct route to take. As more and more architectural firms are making the move to BIM every day, it is clear the BIM is now the current standard for architectural design, and not just the future standard. I am mostly known for my AutoCAD expertise and hate to lose all these great customers to another product, but even I can see the light here!

Technology is changing, the world is changing, and in order to stay current you'll need to embrace the world of BIM. Here you can model, render, analyze, test for sustainability, prototype, and validate. These 3D intelligent models can be passed down through all the phases of the building cycle with the building owner as the final recipient. Which would you rather have someone hand you, a huge roll of paper drawings or an intelligent 3D model? The answer seems pretty clear to me.

So, here is your chance to get started with the pros! I know many of you are currently AutoCAD users, so let me assure you that if you can learn AutoCAD, you can certainly learn Revit. Revit Architecture was designed specifically for architects, to think the way they think and to work the way they work. AutoCAD has had to be all things to all people over the years and is not the easiest product to learn.

So what are you waiting for? Don't let BIM pass you by; jump on the Revit bandwagon, and be ready for an exciting future of smart buildings you can really be proud of!

—Lynn Allen

Autodesk Evangelist

www.autodesk.com/lynnallen