The graders compiled your comments on the Revit assignment. I found them thoughtful and worthwhile so I’m including them here.
- Overall you found the tutorials helpful though with some difficulties due to the difference between the 2010 and 2011 versions of Revit.
- Most of you think the program will be useful to you, though one person perceptively stated that you won’t use it much in AE-390 because we’re focusing on the engineering.
- A number of you correctly identified that as soon as you start trying to do more complex tasks the learning curve ramps up steeply.
Your Comments
Tutorial/Instruction Help
1. This assignment was very well written and very easy to follow. Each part of the assignment was put into step-by-step instructions on what tab and what ribbon to select. I had no problems with the instructions because they were easy to follow and I was familiar with the tab and ribbon layout of the program. The only problem I had with the program was occasionally it crashed. I know it is because it’s a very large program and requires a lot of memory so it is not really a problem with the program itself
2. I found that the directions were very clear in describing the basics of how to build a simple building. They provided a quick and easy description which helped to familiarize someone who is unfamiliar with the program. After only a few uses I feel like I am pretty familiar with some of the commands.
3. The tutorial on the course website was very helpful. The directions were easy to follow and covered all the necessities for creating a simple building. One reason why the directions were so easy to follow is how the text is tiered and very structured. The tutorial, combined with Professor Mitchell’s lecture, provided me with a solid foundation on the programs basic capabilities.
4. The videos and instructions provided in assignment A1a were invaluable learning tools. Taking the time at the beginning to explain the layout of the workspace and the function of its various components (drawing area, project browser, ribbon, tabs and toolbar) was a useful introduction to the program and made the rest of the project run more smoothly. The first video demonstrated how to create a new project, draw the floor and exterior walls, view the elevations of the building and create a 3D view. The instructions were extremely clear and detailed.
5. Overall I found the instructions to be very helpful. I liked that the instructions were not too specific. This allowed me a good amount of creative license when it came to designing my building.
6. The program was very easy to handle. The instructions were clear and were consistent with the program. Going back, pictures would have helped to show where each icon is.
7. The instructions for this project were easy to follow. I was able to watch the videos and easily see what needed to be done to complete each step. The videos were definitely one of the pieces of instruction that helped the most.
8. The instructions in the assignment were quite clear and Revit made it very simple to follow. It was basically tracing your desired lengths of floor plan, walls and roofs. The doors, windows and other objects were also quite easy to install.
9. All the instructions were very clear and detailed. The only issue I had was in cropping viewports on the plot sheet, but it wasn’t hard to find a solution that was good enough for the present purpose.
10. In following the written tutorial, I ran into no problems. Everything worked as it was supposed to and all of the tabs had the proper labels. This was a helpful aspect to the speedy completion of the project.
11. Dr. Mitchell’s presentation required some extra navigation of the program to find where, for example, the properties of the window and where the window types were located. Once found, however, the videos were very easy to follow and I was able to obtain the same results as the professor.
12. The instructions that are given during the tutorials are quite helpful when used. They are quite clear and detailed so that each user can accomplish a task in an effective and timely manner. I did not use all of the tutorials that are provided by Revit and on the internet because of my previous knowledge in this software. Great tutorials are provided for beginner and advanced users on the YouTube website.
13. The directions provided were very insightful and helpful in guiding a novice through the basic commands and procedures of Revit
14. This ease was due to the instructions being presented in a simple step-by-step format that is easy to follow because of its lack of excess words and descriptions. In each instruction topic, I was able to follow the appropriate tabs to select in the project browser and the top Design bar in Revit.
15. The instructions do not specify where the user can input “2 feet” to create a 2-foot overhang; the user is simply instructed, “Create an overhang.” I valued experiencing such holdups because they allowed me to actively use Revit, rather than just follow the instructions ineptly.
Difficulties
1. I did not think REVIT was very clear on how to perform specific functions. For example, I wanted to create a 2” overhang on the roof, but was unclear how to do it.
2. Also I don’t like the editing in Revit, it is strange every time you click on any existing members it defaults to the modify edit tab. Then when you want to change say the door details you have to go and change them by individually clicking on each door, there is no sort of highlighting and change all type of command that I have found.
3. From my experience, I found that developing site features around the building can be difficult. Creating contours can be frustrating, but make for a better 3D view. I also found that creating stairs is not very straight-forward and takes some learning.
4. I did run into some problems when attempting to load certain “families” of windows and doors. For some reason, certain types would not load. This was likely due to the specific computer that I was using at the time.
5. The only thing I struggled with briefly was setting my project units to imperial which is not explained in the video. However, this was fairly easily achieved thanks to the help function of the program. I was using the British version of Revit so the floors were named 0 and 1 rather than the American 1 and 2. In the second video, when it came to creating rooms and labelling them, I encountered another slight difficulty: Revit labelled the rooms from 2 to 5 rather than from 1 to 4. I am still not quite sure why this is and have not been able to rectify it.
6. I found the help function particularly unhelpful.
7. The one thing I could not figure out how to do was put an overhang on for the roof (Section h.2. in the instructions). A little more detail in this area would be useful. A friend from class showed me how to put in the overhang so this did not hinder my project.
8. One thing I would have liked to do was increase the size of my perspective drawings on the “Sheet.” The perspective drawings look small in comparison to the floor plans and elevations. I think making them larger would really make the sheet more appealing. I was unable to find out how to do this though.
9. The problems for me came when the instructions were almost too simple, and I could not locate some of the tabs or tools I needed in order to complete the project. This was in part due to the fact that the videos were using version 2010, and I was using version 2011. Specific instructions that I had trouble finding included the “chain” selection in the floor drawing, finding the “Load Family” command in the door selection, and figuring out how to shade my 3D views. With these exceptions, the instructions were a great tool in helping me to learn how to model a building and navigate in Revit.
10. I actually had a lot of difficulty understanding the structure version of Revit. It used a level scale that starts negative, which is much harder to work with.
11. I did find some of the views difficult to obtain. Some views would have and large site background and the structure itself would look miniature. When I attempted change the scale, it was still very difficult to stay organized. It seems that one mistake early on could also disrupt the project, and in my case, I had to restart many times.
12. Things like interior walls were easy but exterior walls were difficult and often led to me having to redraw a good portion of the structure.
13. Difficulties arose when I strayed from the tutorial. Trying to add a second level with stairs connecting proved to be a difficult task. And adding a roof in that situation proved even more difficult. Therefore, I chose to stay within the limits of the tutorial.
14. The main problem I had was with the version I had on my own laptop, although it was the 2010 edition, it was set in a metric system, thus using millimeters instead of feet and inches.
15. There were a few things that it left out that I had to figure out for myself. It did not include instructions for loading new families, which had to be done to create anything but the bare basics. The instructions do not detail the process of downloading the families of objects for use. I spent a significant amount of time browsing the hard disk for the correct folder that contained the objects.
16. I think the length requirement is confusing because it is not clear what is meant by “your continuous wall,”
17. Beyond “glitching”, it was extremely difficult trying to add a second level.
18. Putting a roof over a curved wall was a difficult action and would need further experience with the program. The biggest obstacle in the program is creating more complicated structures.
19. I felt that the written instructions could have been more detailed, but only in describing where tools were located on the screen and the steps needed to use them. The videos were more helpful in showing how tools such as the 3d perspective camera worked.
20. One problem that I had with the program was adding the roof; I forgot that like drawing the floor, you had to click the green check mark to let the program know you were done drawing.
21. As far as the instructions went, the video tutorials were great even with them being for the previous edition of Revit. However, what exactly was wanted in the buildings was not specified clearly. I was not sure as to the dimensions of the building, was a ceiling required or just a roof? These sorts of things that were left out confused me.
Relevance to AE 390 and Other Courses
1. This program can definitely be used in other courses. Any course that involves modeling or structural design, this program will be useful. Revit is a very good visual tool. Its modeling capabilities will be useful in many courses in my future.
2. This tool will definitely be useful for other classes. I think it’s a great way for students to become familiar with construction materials, designing buildings, and laying out plans. Since REVIT will most likely be a future tool for professional AE’s, REVIT should be incorporated into any relevant and applicable AE course.
3. I see this program as being very useful not only in the rest of this class but also in AE 391 and in future classes in the Architectural engineering sequence specifically in the senior design classes. Also this program is becoming a more wide spread program, with more and more companies using it which will make the knowledge of it very useful for your future.
4. I could see Revit being useful in this course to draw up quick and accurate ‘sketches’ of buildings which could then be used to discuss the buildings in more detail. However, this course is all about analysing buildings in depth and I am not convinced that Revit Architecture is the appropriate tool for this job.
5. As I mentioned earlier, I used Revit for my ARCH 191 and 192 classes. In the rest of my time at Drexel, I will certainly use the program again.
6. This program will be very useful for the remainder of this class, for personal use, and for other classes. I look forward to learning more and becoming more advanced in Revit Architecture. I feel that I will excel in the future assignments that include the use of Revit. I also look forward to using this program throughout my senior design project.
7. At Drexel, this program will be useful for this course sequence, Senior Design, and possibly more courses I will be taking as an undergraduate.
8. Due to its simple, organized and user friendly function, this software has great importance to the course.
9. Revit would have been very useful during ARCH 191 and 192 and will most likely come in handy for Senior Design.
10. Revit could come in handy for use in other courses. It could be used as a drafting tool for studio classes if the user has a fairly extensive knowledge of the software’s features. Because material properties can be assigned to all components of the model, it could be used to determine the section properties of a structure for any kind of analysis courses. In respect to this course, Revit will be used to do conduct modeling and analysis for the structural systems we will be asked to design and study.
11. I feel as though with even this small design project Revit is far superior to the Google SketchUp we have been introduced to in previous classes. The setup is familiar to anyone who has prior Autodesk experience and the 3-D preview stage is extremely useful.
12. This tool will absolutely be useful in further coursework. In retrospect, it would have been useful in previous coursework as well had I been familiar with it then. I’m sure it would also be helpful to learn Revit Structures and MEP as well, since so much future coursework will be related to structural engineering and building systems.
13. Revit has limited applicability to this course because future assignments deal mainly with analysis of engineering systems in buildings and Revit is not an analysis tool. However, it may be more useful in other courses where projects involve more design and building information modeling could be an important tool.
14. I feel this project will facilitate our minds towards using Revit as a design tool in the future for both AE-390 as well as AE-391…students will be able to use knowledge of Revit to design a simplistic three dimensional view for any building as well as analyzing properties of a building and its systems due to the ability to specify the properties of each individual object designed. Since the program is so simple for beginners to jump into, it could be used in courses that involve three dimensional modeling of building and structures, such as design studio courses as well as other architectural and engineering courses.
15. This program, along with AutoCAD, can be used for many future courses because of its expansive range of BIM capabilities, but especially as drafting programs for senior design.
16. I can see myself using it in the future for other courses that require design work. The ability to manipulate the perspective views and easily render them is a very useful tool as well. I will definitely use Revit’s presentation capabilities.
17. In relation to AE 390, Revit could well be the basis for evaluating a building’s design. Instead of pouring over drawing after drawing in AutoCAD, the entire building model and all its relevant information such as the number of type “X” doors or roof type is at your fingertips in Revit.
18. Another great application of this program would be in studio courses. Especially when the student is having a difficult time thinking of a new idea, they can use Revit to try and get all their ideas out and see if they want to pursue those more which saves time for students which are always under one deadline or another.
Relevance to Professional Development
1. I find this program to be a huge advantage in the engineering world. Using Revit, a firm can design one model and all employees who work on it can work on the same model simultaneously. This removes the possibility of work being repeated and miscommunications between different parts of the firm. This could allow the one model to be produced a lot faster than having multiple models and combining the work. The downside of this program is it could take a long time to become proficient in modeling.
2. I can see some major advantages with this program. With proper training, one can become extremely fluid with REVIT. Becoming very familiar with this program will allow for drawings to be completed dramatically faster than if done in more traditional ways. Furthermore, REVIT makes it simple for the user to create drawing sheets for plan views, elevations, schedules, and perspective views, which is another great advantage. Also, the automatic back‐up feature is very useful in REVIT, since it prevents the loss of work from a computer crash or power outage. Other than training and proper compute speed, I do not believe REVIT has any huge disadvantages, I think it contains all of the proper tools to be an effective architectural engineering program.
3. With the 3-D and walk through capabilities it provides a "3rd dimension" that AutoCAD and Microstation are missing. These advantages will cut down the amount of time needed to create a project. Also the way that drawings you make are automatically loaded from floor plan to elevations and 3-D saves so much time and effort needed to create the drawings.
4. Revit’s popularity has increased enough now where firms are requiring employees to learn the program. This is a similar situation to when AutoCAD overtook hand drafting.
5. Revit has a great advantage over many engineering and design programs used for building creation. Revit is very user friendly in that it is very simple and straightforward. Instead of drawing a building using lines, Revit provides users with an interface where they create a building by putting together all the different parts of a building. It can have some disadvantages, however, due to a lack of detail in some cases. For example, Revit has a family of window models that you can choose from; you are unable to draw a window from scratch as you would by using a program like AutoCAD.
6. It’s not difficult to imagine a future version sizing equipment and recommending options from a list of manufacturers. The model, then becomes a place to centralize information that’s currently held in many places in most firms… since different disciplines can easily link their design into the primary architectural central file, BIM should become a powerful tool for integrating designs across disciplines, vetting conflicts, recognizing opportunities.
7. Revit, in my opinion, is the future of BIM software. It combines 2-D and 3-D modeling in a much more effective manner then in AutoCAD. AutoCAD has been used for many years now and will continue to be used for time to come; however I believe Revit is the new direction companies will head in their design software. Revit is a very powerful tool and could be essential to the design process; therefore its use in future learning is necessary in my opinion.
8. One of the only disadvantages for Revit would be the popularity of programs such as AutoCAD that have become so standard in the industry. In a larger project, most people may be more comfortable editing AutoCAD drawings.
9. I heard about Revit during past co-ops and have seen architects and engineers working with it, but only in passing. I thought that Revit was some sort of glorified version of AutoCAD. Coworkers discussed it with an air of mystique while others did so with disdain. Having used the program myself for the very first time, I concluded that Revit is not AutoCAD with added features; rather it is its own individual software package.
10. From the architectural standpoint, as mentioned earlier, Revit is great for the conceptual design and rendering, but it is extremely complicated and time-consuming to be used as a construction document tool.
11. Students will learn to understand how to utilize project parameters to visualize definitive designs and to use information within the program to develop efficient production in design and in the field.
