Welcome to the second edition of Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011, based on the Revit Architecture 2011 release.
When we sat down to plan this book, we realized that in the past three years, so many have made such great advances in their use of Revit that we felt we needed to start this book from scratch and work to fill it with really solid content. We looked to serve the needs of individuals who had used Revit in the past, but wanted to take it up a notch all the way to teams that were looking for advanced content. We hope you will find that our efforts to that extent were successful.
Writing a book looks easier than it truly is. It is an effort that we each have taken on beyond our day jobs in the hopes of sharing our experience and knowledge about Revit and BIM with the greater design community. We want to help make better designs and stronger document sets, and continue pushing the envelopes of what you can build. We hope you find the techniques, workflows, and processes, as well as the tips on software, useful and inspiring.
We also wanted to write a book that is as much about architectural design and practice as it is about software. Architecture is a way of looking at the world and the methods that inspire creatively solving the problems of the built world. We hope you'll agree that we've succeeded because the book follows real-life workflows and scenarios and is full of practical examples that show how to use Revit both inside and outside the box.
The book is based on a project that is already in motion—a theoretical project for the Jenkins Music building in Kansas City. The Jenkins Music building was built at the turn of the century as a terracotta block façade building that housed the Jenkins Music store. This was one of many stores nationwide where musical instruments were made, and you could come to purchase them or take classes. The company went out of business in Kansas City, and the property was eventually sold to a developer. In the 1980s, the building was going to be torn down for a parking garage. The historic façade was saved as well as the first bay of the building. This has left Kansas City with 100' of beautiful, historic terracotta on an 18' deep building. The model shown in this book is a representation of the remaining building taken and made into living units. How great would it be to have an 18' x 100' apartment overlooking the downtown skyline?
All the tutorial files necessary to complete the book's exercises plus sample families are hosted online at www.sybex.com/go/masteringrevit2011. To download the trial version of Revit Architecture, go to www.autodesk.com/revitarchitecture, where you'll also find complete system requirements for running Revit.
This book is written for architects and designers who have had some exposure to Revit and are eager to learn more. It's for architects of any generation—you don't need to be a computer wizard to understand or appreciate the content within. We've designed the book to follow real project workflows and processes to help make the tools easier to follow, and the chapters are full of handy tips to make Revit easier to leverage.
This book is also for the entire range of architects, from those who are fresh out of school to the seasoned project managers. We have endeavored to include content for all walks of the profession so that regardless of your role on the project you can learn how BIM changes both workflow and culture within a project team. With that, a basic understanding of Revit will make it easier to work through the book. Revit is a very robust tool requiring more than one project iteration to master.
For BIM managers, the book offers insights into the best practices for creating good project or office templates; these managers should also take a sneak peek into the powerful world of building content and Revit families. We've added many time-saving and inspiring concepts to the book, supported by examples from our own projects and the rest of the real world, to help motivate and inspire you on your journey through building information modeling.
This book will help you take the basics of Revit and BIM that you already know and expand on them using real-world examples. We will show you how to take a preliminary model and add layers of intelligence to help analyze and augment your designs. We'll show you how to create robust and accurate documentation, and then help you through the construction process.
We go beyond introductory topics. To that end, we won't be starting a project from scratch or teaching you how to build a simple BIM model. If you are interested in learning at that level, we strongly recommend you pick up Introducing Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 (Wiley, 2010), before plunging headlong into this book. Instead, our book begins with a brief overview of the BIM approach. As you are already aware, BIM is more than just a change in software; it's a change in architectural workflow and culture. To leverage the full advantages of both BIM and Revit in your office structure, you will need to make some changes to your practice. We've designed the book around an ideal, integrated workflow to help you make this transition.
Starting with the project team, standards, and culture, we'll discuss how BIM changes your project approach and how to best build your team around a newer workflow. From there, we will delve into conceptual design and sustainability studies, continuing through best practices for design iteration and refinement. You'll learn about powerful modeling techniques, design documentation best practices, how to make compelling presentation graphics, parametric design with the Family Editor, workflow topics like tracking changes and worksharing, and some strategies moving beyond traditional concepts of BIM. The book concludes with an appendix on troubleshooting and best practices so you can avoid common pitfalls. Throughout the book we've tried to share our practical experience with you, particularly in the form of real-world scenario sidebars.
Whether you're studying Revit on your own or in a class or training program, you can use the "Master It" questions in the "Bottom Line" section at the end of each chapter to test your mastery of the skills you've learned.
Also featured is a color project gallery containing inspirational Revit projects from friends and colleagues who were generous enough to share their good work with the rest of the world.
The Mastering series from Sybex provides outstanding instruction for readers with intermediate and advanced skills, in the form of top-notch training and development for those already working in their field and clear, serious education for those aspiring to become pros. Every Mastering book includes the following:
Real-world scenarios, ranging from case studies to interviews, that show how the tool, technique, or knowledge presented is applied in actual practice
Skill-based instruction, with chapters organized around real tasks rather than abstract concepts or subjects
Self-review test questions, so you can be certain you're equipped to do the job right
In all, we welcome your feedback and comments. You can find the three of us on our blog, www.architecture-tech.com, or email us at [email protected]. We hope you enjoy the book.