Introducing Revit 2024

Introducing Revit 2024

by | May 9, 2023 | AEC, Autodesk, BIM, Revit

Revit 2024 has just been released, and with it are a lot of exciting new additions and improvements to existing features. We’ve highlighted several of the latest features you’ll come across.

To see all this in video format, click here: [link coming soon!]

 

Design productivity

  • My Insights in Revit Home
  • Dark Theme
  • New Imperial and Metric Templates
  • New sample model
  • Modernized Project Browser with new Search
  • Height parameter in scope box
  • Color Books browser
  • Textures visual style
  • Revit to Twinmotion enhancements
  • Site design – Icon reorg for Massing and Site
  • Site design – Create Toposolid
  • Site design – Generate Toposolid from Toposurface
  • Site design – Linked Topography enhancements
  • Site design – Contour Display settings per Types
  • Site design – Cut geometry enhancement & Mass Cut excavations
  • Site design – Solid Sub-divisions 
  • Site design – Cut & Split Toposolids
  • Site design – Graded Regions
  • Site design – Show shape-edit control points
  • Site design – Floor-based families and Slab Edges on Toposolids
  • Site design – Exposed Toposolid API
  • New path alignment options for free form rebar
  • Stirrup orientation for aligned free form rebar
  • MEP fabrication ductwork stiffener
  • Pipe Wall thickness as a built-in parameter
  • Elevation parameters in visibility filters
  • Hide insulation with hosting duct and pipe
  • Parameters sorting in type/instance properties
  • Export ‘Family type’ parameter

Simulation & analysis

  • Sun Settings in the ribbon
  • Run Solar Studies with seconds intervals
  • Sun Paths in perspective views
  • Generate energy model by view
  • Enhanced structural analytical loads
  • Structural area loads with color coding
  • Custom physical-analytical association
  • Detailed results for connection automation rules
  • Non-coincident loads for electrical analytical components
  • Flow and pressure calculations added to MEP fabrication network
  • Network based calculation for design ductwork
  • Demand loads for electrical analytical components
  • Flow and pressure drop calculations

Cloud data & interoperability

  • Link coordination models from Autodesk Docs
  • Manage links dialog for coordination models
  • Access properties of coordination model objects
  • Point snaps for coordination model objects
  • Collaboration cache relocation for cloud models
  • Link and Import PDF in Revit LT and Design Automation API
  • Revit to Robot Link enhancements

Design optimization

  • Dynamo for Revit 2.17 upgrade
  • Dynamo Player & Generative Design updates
  • Dynamo Player & Generative Design samples
  • Improved steel connections SDK documentation
  • Revit additional resizable dialogs
  • Revit Macro security improvements
  • API enhancements for developers

Documentation efficiency

  • Place multiple views and schedules on a sheet
  • Move aligned to sheet enhancements
  • Open sheet directly from drawing area
  • Schedule revision clouds
  • Align patterns on shaped-edited surfaces
  • Bar bending details on reinforcement drawings
  • Bar bending details in rebar schedules
  • 2D element draw order in 3D families
  • Resize all schedule rows
  • Enable removal of unit symbol for fraction inches

My Insights in Revit Home

  • New My Insights tab in Revit home page
  • Get personalized insights based on how you work and the work you do
  • Learn valuable information (new features, commands and workflows)
  • Display through cards
    • React to the cards
    • Learn more through the link in cards

Fresh from the Factory, Revit 2024 is rolling out globally! In this release, Autodesk has combined eagerly anticipated additions, like Site Tools for landscape designers, with highly requested enhancements from the community, like Dark Theme and a more modern user interface.

Here are three of the highlights from the new version:

Introducing Site Tools for Revit & Revit LT.

This new toolset supports the design and documentation of richly detailed landscapes. You can use Site Tools to:

  • Collect and rationalize existing conditions data from CAD Imports, CSV point files, and more.
  • Model your design intent freely and easily, with versatile site and massing tools for modeling topography.
  • Populate schedules, sheets, and views and calculate material quantities. Cut, fill, join, and run phasing scenarios. Use the design-to-documentation engine of Revit to save time and improve design quality when modeling landscape and site conditions.

Save time in concrete detailing.

Structural engineers and rebar detailers have new capabilities for creating, scheduling, and documenting rebar. Use the new bar bending details to:

  • Create reinforcement drawings and schedules with detailed fabrication instructions. With this new tool in Revit, when the model changes, the details adapt along with it.
  • Add and customize rebar bending details so that your views and sheets respect your typical practice.
  • Reduce errors and omissions in your document sets.

Evolve work together.

Link Coordination Model from Autodesk Docs into Revit makes it easier for project teams to sync and coordinate design deliverables. Keep project files light and teams on the same page.

  • Link models and views from any of the 60+ formats supported by Docs and the Autodesk Construction Cloud directly into Revit.
  • Underlay the coordination model as visual reference when designing in Revit.
  • Reduce the need for interpretation when coordinating up-to-date design deliverables with partners and project teams.   
Autodesk Forma: Autodesk’s vision for a connected AECO industry

Autodesk Forma: Autodesk’s vision for a connected AECO industry

by | Apr 13, 2023 | AEC, Autodesk, BIM, Revit

Autodesk has a track record of helping customers embrace technological transformations.   

First by enabling the shift from the drafting table to the computer with AutoCAD in 1982.  

Then with Revit in 2002, introducing modeling-based design and building information modeling (BIM).  

A few years ago, the value of BIM was extended by connecting architects and engineers to a shared Revit model in the cloud and to construction and operations with the Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), allowing all stakeholders to collaborate on shared information.   

But the architecture, engineering, construction, and operations (AECO) industry continues to change at a rapid pace.  

Expanding urbanization is driving demand.  Complex projects are stressing timelines and budgets.  Talent shortages are straining teams that are already stretched.    

These challenges aren’t going away, so BIM as we know it must evolve to meet industry needs. Too much data gets lost and recreated between the BIM phases of plan, design, build and operate.   

Autodesk believes “connected data will help our customers overcome these challenges. But first we must unlock the power of your data: to make it easier for you to move data between stakeholders and connect workflows, build intelligent processes on top of data, maintain a single source of truth in the cloud, and to deliver what customers like Arco are asking for.”

“The architect’s workflow has evolved over hundreds of years.” said Richard Hogan, Project Lead & Architect at Arco. “Now we’re entering a world that is data rich. We must evolve our workflow to create better performing, more sustainable buildings that fit into our cities.” 

Investing today to transform tomorrow  

You may recall that Autodesk’s industry clouds at AU. Let’s walk through what’s next—and importantly, what it means for the software you already know and love, including Revit.   

Autodesk Forma will be the industry cloud for AECO. It will reimagine BIM by leveraging next generation technology to connect data, teams, and workflows and enable more collaborative concurrent ways of working.  

May 8 will introduce the launch and first set of capabilities of Autodesk Forma. We’re thrilled to be taking this leap forward and it’s just the beginning. 

Autodesk Forma will be the industry cloud that unifies workflows across teams that design, build, and operate built environments.

The first Forma offering will leverage Spacemaker’s powerful AI engine to deliver new conceptual design capabilities, predictive analytics and automations. Autodesk Forma will empower planning and design teams to digitally deliver projects with outcomes in mind from day one–creating a solid foundation for all subsequent project phases.  

With bi-directional data exchange, you will be able to work fluidly between Revit and Forma, between initial planning and detailed design, between the cloud and the desktop, to improve the performance of your projects while you’re designing. Being able to work on the same cloud model across Revit and Forma will give architects the agility to work iteratively rather than sequentially. And that’s a big, big change.   

We’ll also continue to invest in Revit, as we have with today’s release. The new capabilities in Revit 2024 are critical to getting your work done today. And they set the stage for next month’s launch of Autodesk Forma and its first set of capabilities. 

The “huge promise” of a cloud-connected industry  

With your data, teams, and processes connected in the cloud, you can make better decisions earlier in projects. You can harness AI, machine learning, and the Internet of Things to speed processes, reduce errors, and predict and solve problems before they happen.  

Our customers like Hogan at Arco acknowledge this is a “big cultural change for the profession,” but the rewards of embracing data and the cloud, he says, are worth it.  

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Introducing Revit 2024

Introducing Revit 2024

by | Apr 5, 2023 | AEC, Autodesk, BIM, Revit

Fresh from the Factory, Revit 2024 is rolling out globally! In this release, Autodesk has combined eagerly anticipated additions, like Site Tools for landscape designers, with highly requested enhancements from the community, like Dark Theme and a more modern user interface.

Here are three of the highlights from the new version:

Introducing Site Tools for Revit & Revit LT.

This new toolset supports the design and documentation of richly detailed landscapes. You can use Site Tools to:

  • Collect and rationalize existing conditions data from CAD Imports, CSV point files, and more.
  • Model your design intent freely and easily, with versatile site and massing tools for modeling topography.
  • Populate schedules, sheets, and views and calculate material quantities. Cut, fill, join, and run phasing scenarios. Use the design-to-documentation engine of Revit to save time and improve design quality when modeling landscape and site conditions.

Save time in concrete detailing.

Structural engineers and rebar detailers have new capabilities for creating, scheduling, and documenting rebar. Use the new bar bending details to:

  • Create reinforcement drawings and schedules with detailed fabrication instructions. With this new tool in Revit, when the model changes, the details adapt along with it.
  • Add and customize rebar bending details so that your views and sheets respect your typical practice.
  • Reduce errors and omissions in your document sets.

Evolve work together.

Link Coordination Model from Autodesk Docs into Revit makes it easier for project teams to sync and coordinate design deliverables. Keep project files light and teams on the same page.

  • Link models and views from any of the 60+ formats supported by Docs and the Autodesk Construction Cloud directly into Revit.
  • Underlay the coordination model as visual reference when designing in Revit.
  • Reduce the need for interpretation when coordinating up-to-date design deliverables with partners and project teams.   

Send us a message or just call us at 201-792-6300

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Sustainability and Inclusivity Inform Notre-Dame de Paris’ New Landscape Design

Sustainability and Inclusivity Inform Notre-Dame de Paris’ New Landscape Design

by | Apr 4, 2023 | AEC, Autodesk, BIM

Notre Dame Cathedral and its surroundings

Once the Notre-Dame Cathedral’s reconstruction has been completed, the area surrounding the building will also be redeveloped, and the City of Paris has already chosen the winning project team.
  • Notre-Dame Cathedral is still undergoing restoration after damage caused by the fire on April 15, 2019.
  • The City of Paris is taking advantage of the lengthy building process to rethink the area surrounding the monument.
  • Two things are central to the project team’s concept, led by Bureau Bas Smets: accessibility and the visitor experience.
  • Engineering company Ingérop worked on the digital model to visualize the cathedral’s future surroundings.

After the terrible fire that ravaged the site in April 2019, Notre-Dame de Paris is being returned to its original splendor thanks to the remarkable restoration work that has been carried out by laborers during the past three years. But the project’s scope also involves landscaping the 10 acres surrounding the monument—one of the most famous cathedrals in the world—elevating the entire area to its former magnificence.

To take on this massive project, an international competition launched in the spring of 2021; by September that year, four teams had been selected to work on redeveloping the cathedral’s plaza. The jury selected the design team to be led by the winner, landscape architecture bureau Bas Smets, working with GRAU Architects, Neufville-Gayet Architects, Ingérop, Franck Boutté Consultants, Les Eclaireurs, BLD Waterdesign, and Cronos Conseil.

Scheduled to begin in 2024, the redevelopment project makes plenty of room for greenery and creates an interior promenade in the former parking garage under the forecourt. The building information modeling (BIM) files, produced by the team and piloted by the engineering company Ingérop, provide a precise idea of what the future developments imagined by landscaper Bas Smets and team will look like.

Information (the I in BIM) is essential to the digital construction process. Data is central, so it is structured via the 3D model, shared, and used as a source of information and visualization through modeling technology and document exchange support with Autodesk Infraworks, Civil 3D, and Autodesk Docs.

The winners are required to fulfill certain specifications, such as meeting 2050 climate objectives, reviving natural surroundings in the space and returning to Notre-Dame’s roots, and rethinking the experience for pedestrians to experience the most visited historical monument in Europe.

A Witness to Urban Transformation

The Île de la Cité, the island in the river Seine where the cathedral stands, was the location of the initial settlement that developed into the city of Paris. Notre-Dame’s forecourt marks the French capital’s birthplace: just over 150 feet from the entrance to is Kilometer Zero, the starting point of every road in France. This is also the spot from which the distance separating Paris from other cities is calculated.

The Île de la Cité has witnessed more than 800 years of urban transformation, making the challenge of redeveloping these 10 acres on the Seine a unique opportunity to reinvent and shape a peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable city that is concerned about its environment.

daytime view of Notre-Dame and the surrounding water

Transforming the parking garage under the forecourt will make the new public space greener, more open, and larger than before.

A Symbolic Transformation

The first major ecological act proposed by the Bureau Bas Smets team is a plan to decarbonize the area. And what could be more symbolic of this than transforming a two-story underground parking garage, flush under the forecourt, to illustrate urban recovery?

This entirely redesigned space now has access to the adjoining crypt and—in the spirit of returning to the site’s roots—will also open onto the Seine. The remains of a dock were uncovered during excavations before the garage was built in the 1960s, proof that the site was once open to the river.

“The user experience was a decisive factor in the City of Paris choosing this project,” says Carine Dunogier. As head of urban development at Ingérop, she is employed by the group that helped Paris select the winner of a competition to redesign the park surrounding the Eiffel Tower. “On top of the 30,000 people who visit the cathedral daily, thousands of other people—workers and locals—pass through here every day. However, the area was ill-equipped and poorly thought out for people with reduced mobility.”

Looking up at Notre Dame from a staircase

The team selected for this project is led by the Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets and includes the architect and urban planner agency Grau, as well as the architecture agency Neufville-Gayet for the heritage component.

A covered space that is still open to the outside, this new underground agora will offer facilities including a reception area for groups, a café-restaurant, and public toilets. It will also highlight the dock remains discovered 60 years ago.

Using Real-Time 3D Visualization

The 3D models give a realistic image of what this $33 million project will look like once it is completed in 2027. They were created by Ingérop and produced using Autodesk Infraworks, Civil 3D, 3ds Max, and AutoCAD.

Autodesk supported the City of Paris by providing technological expertise throughout the competition for designing Notre-Dame’s plaza. Creating a 3D model of the existing site around the cathedral helped the four teams better understand the requirements (a crucial part of any design) and adapt their plans accordingly. The teams were able to access the model quickly and directly via Autodesk Docs in the cloud. This was especially significant working in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic—particularly because lead contamination around the cathedral required a drastic health protocol in accordance with the French Environment and Energy Management Agency’s (ADEME) recommendations, rendering certain areas off-limits.

an overhead view of Notre Dame

The urban elements—such as the forecourt, square, alignment, and banks—are all present, albeit in a fragmented manner, around the cathedral. The project highlights the quality of these elements and rethinks each of them from the perspective of the collective and the climate. Image courtesy of Ingérop.

By opening a staircase that will end near the foot of the cathedral, the monument will regain a grandeur that successive developments erased over the centuries as the city was built up layer by layer.

“The 3D visualization of the candidates’ projects, using Autodesk technologies, enabled the jury to immerse themselves in the proposals for the redevelopment of this historic district of Paris and choose the best design,” says First Deputy Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Grégoire. “We hope millions of visitors will enjoy this exceptional site once construction is completed.”

“Working and collaborating in the cloud allowed for a fluid exchange between all project partners,” says Vincent Duloup, project manager in charge of Ingérop’s Grand Ouest digital hub. “The digital model made it possible to engage in a constructive dialog with the diocese and the citizens’ commission of the City of Paris.”

aa view of the plaza in front of Notre Dame

Designed as a tree-lined plaza, the forecourt highlights the western facade of Notre-Dame, which is surrounded by more greenery. During hot weather, a sheet of water trickles onto the forecourt to refresh the atmosphere while creating ephemeral reflections.

Incorporating Nature to Improve the Visitor Experience

As an additional highlight of this urban redevelopment, the Île de la Cité will see the return of more abundant greenery. The area of the forecourt had been largely paved over but will be transformed into a tree-lined plaza. “It gets very hot in summer,” says Dunogier. “In fact, in the past, we saw that the lines to enter the cathedral would follow the shadow cast by the building, as visitors sought protection from the heat. Naturally shaded areas have been incorporated into the design to bring nature back into a space that accommodates around 100 cultural events every year.”

To help bring the temperature down on very hot days, a sheet of water less than a half-inch thick will also be spread over a wide swath of the square. Using recovered rainwater and a closed circuit, the primary objective is to have the water evaporate as much as possible in order to refresh passers-by.

Now visible to the whole world thanks to 3D modeling and enhanced by a virtual reality visit, the redevelopment project around Notre-Dame will highlight the multiple spaces that make up a site rich in history. With BIM as a matrix, the efficient use of modern construction technology will help teams restore the monument to an enhanced, greener version of its former splendor.

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GPD WinMax 2 Mini laptop for BIM work

GPD WinMax 2 Mini laptop for BIM work

by | Mar 28, 2023 | ARCHIBUS, BIM

GPD Win Max 2

Ultra Portable for field use
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We’ve all used large Laptop Workstations. These behemoths while capable to run CAD/BIM software turn out not to be the best for portable work. Mainly due to their size/weight and battery life. Sometimes we need a light alternative that can be used on the go. Over the years I’ve used smaller notebooks, ultrabooks. Usually 14″ or 13″ laptops that have a good balance of performance and battery life. In this category I’ve owned Dell’s XPS 13″, or LG Gram 14″, iPads, and Chromebooks.  All are lightweight but each has their own deficiencies. The Windows PC’s will trade performance for battery life. The iOS/Android options will need to remote into the office to run CAD/BIM software which can slow things down specially over slow connections.

The GPD Win Max 2 is a small form factor laptop designed for portability and performance, and it offers a number of benefits for users who need a powerful and portable device. Here are some of the pros of the GPD Win Max 2 for portability and performance:

    1. Small form factor: The GPD Win Max 2 is a compact laptop that can easily fit into a bag or backpack, making it ideal for people who are always on the go. It weighs just 790g, making it one of the lightest and most portable gaming laptops on the market.
    2. High performance: Despite its small size, the GPD Win Max 2 offers impressive performance thanks to its powerful AMD Ryzen 7 4800U processor and Radeon Vega 8 graphics. It can be purchased with 32GB of RAM and 1TB M2 SSD. This allows it to handle demanding applications and games with ease.
    3. Long battery life: The GPD Win Max 2 features a large 57Wh battery that can last up to 8 hours on a single charge, making it ideal for long flights or commutes.
    4. Plenty of ports: Despite its small size, the GPD Win Max 2 has a variety of ports, including USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, and Ethernet, which makes it easy to connect to external displays, peripherals, and networks.

Overall, the GPD Win Max 2 is a great option for anyone who needs a powerful and portable laptop. It offers high performance, long battery life, and a variety of ports, all in a small and lightweight package.

In the gallery below you can compare the Win Max 2 Size to a 14″ MBP. Its roughly 1/2 the size!

One very nice feature is that you can pick the Thermal Design Power (TDP) in watts, and refers to the power consumption under the maximum theoretical load.

So if you’re responding to emails or just web browsing you can select a very low value such as 5w. This increases the battery life of the system.

Send us a message or just call us at 201-792-6300

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Access Twinmotion for Revit 2023 and 2024

Access Twinmotion for Revit 2023 and 2024

by | Mar 14, 2023 | BIM, Revit, Tutorial, Twinmotion

Recently included in all Revit subscriptions is access to Twinmotion. With a new partnership between Autodesk and Epic Games, all Revit subscriptions now have access to this real-time visualization tool to produce high-quality images.

Download Twinmotion:

  1. Access your Twinmotion subscription (included now with all Revit subscriptions) from your Autodesk Desktop App or access your Autodesk Account page.
  2. Click on the Twinmotion tile to get access to the Twinmotion installer webpage. You may have to accept their End User License Agreement to continue.
  3. Locate the downloaded .zip file (typically in your downloads folder) and right-click and choose Extract All
  4. Open the extracted folder, and double-click on the .msi file to startup the installer.
    Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the installation.

Exporting your Revit project to Twinmotion:

  1. Open Revit and open any project file.
    You must be within a 3D view to open Twinmotion.
  2. In the View tab > Presentation panel, click on Twinmotion then Open in Twinmotion.
  3. When Twinmotion opens, select New Project and click OK.

Updating your Revit model, and Synchronize back to Twinmotion:

  1. Open Revit again without closing Twinmotion.
  2. Modify your file, such as add new elements, change an element’s properties, etc.
  3. In the View tab > Presentation panel > Twinmotion, select Direct Link Synchronization.
  4. You do not have to save your file before you synchronize.
  5. Switch back to Twinmotion and you will see the changes occur immediately within the file.

Don’t forget to save your Twinmotion project to not lose your hard work!

Reopen a Twinmotion Project:

  1. If you already have an existing Twinmotion project, repeat the previous steps to export your file into Twinmotion
  2. When prompted, select Existing Project at the start window
  3. Navigate to the saved file on your system and click OK.
    You will continue from where you last left in the model.

Thank you for watching, hopefully you will all have fun visualizing your Revit projects in Twinmotion. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment. Like and subscribe if you’d like to see more Revit and Twinmotion content!

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