Residential Revit - Under Construction (Replay + Links)

 

In this episode of BIM After Dark Live I gave an update on my ongoing home addition project ("Split Level Redux") and talk about some of the ways Revit has helped during the construction phase. 

So often in residential construction, as the architect, we spend countless hours working with a client to design their dream home (or addition).  However, there isn't always a connection between that effort and the efforts in the field.  

I have been using my own personal project as an opportunity to explore how Revit (and "BIM" in general) can add value to residential contractors, too.

In this episode we explored:

- General construction updates on the project (with some cool footage).

- How I am using Revit to track progress.

- How Revit is helping me place material orders.

- Real-time diagramming and problem solving using the model..

- And of course, some of the head-aches along the way....

Continue reading to view the replay and all of the links mentioned (there were quite a few links mentioned!)... 

My Revit Design Process: Split Level Redux (Part 1)

On the latest episode of BIM After Dark Live I introduced a current residential project I am working on. I plan on documenting this project throughout the year and using it as an example for discussions, questions, and so on.  

During the live session last night I walked through some tips for modeling existing conditions (in fact, there were quite a few questions that kept me on that topic longer than I thought!), I ran through some unique demolition tips, I show you how Enscape can be a quick design tool, and more...

Continue reading to see the latest episode and view the links mentioned...

4 Steps to Sexier Revit (Episode 15)

On last nights episode of BIM After Dark Live we talked about simple steps to take that will immediately make your Revit views (and more) look better. 

I walked through my Revit journey (with some very embarrassing old projects) and talked about how I developed the styles and settings I share.  I then ran through the "70/50/20" rule, talked about custom materials, and more.  We had some great questions throughout and quality conversations in the chat... Thanks for joining and engaging to those of you who attended live!

If anything, it's worth checking out the replay to see my very first Revit project...  -_-

Oh, and my son, Jacob, made a guest appearance:

Continue reading to view the replay, see links mentioned, and more...

Ductwork for Architects - An Introduction to Revit MEP Systems (with Sample Files!)

During this weeks live happy hour I demonstrated how to make ducts and piping in Revit.  As an architect, it took me a long time to realize how much I could gain from understanding how to properly model MEP systems in Revit.  If you've ever attempted to model a duct in Revit and got the "the routing solution failed"... This tutorial is for you!

Continuing reading to view the tutorial and download the sample file...

Photoshop for Architects - Replay

Last night I hosted another live happy hour on YouTube. I ran through some of the techniques I've developed over the years in Photoshop. We went through making sketches look better, cutting out a photo of IM Pei (to demonstrate masking), and post-processing renderings.  If you missed it, the replay is now live...

Continue reading for the replay and links mentioned during the happy hour...

From Revit to Twinmotion 2020 (using a reader's model).

Last night I held another live happy hour.  This one was pretty different and exciting!

I always make tutorials using my own models that I have created from scratch.  I thought it would be fun to take a reader's model and do a live tutorial about rendering a scene in Twinmotion 2020.  That's right, I will be taking someone else's model and attempting to make a real-time rendering scene, live...

This could have been a complete failure... But, I think it was a success! In fact, I was able to create 3 renderings in 58 minutes.... From scratch.

Continue reading to view the replay and let me know what you thought....

Revit & the Design Process - The Making of "Stilted Studios" (Sketching, Lumion, & More)

Way back in 2013 I created a free eBook called "Design:BIM - A Guide to Using Revit During the Design Process".  The eBook documented how I used Revit while designing buildings.

Believe it or not, the eBook has been downloaded 10,746 times! I know, crazy, right??

Although my general process is similar, some of the tools and methods have changed over the last six years.  So, I decided to document (in this blog post and a video, below) how I approached the design of a recent, and really exciting, project called "Stilted Studios".  I am really proud of this post/video and it is full of tips, tricks, tools, and techniques.  From Revit to Lumion to hand sketching...  You name it.

Additionally, there is some long overdue BIM After Dark - Volume 1 enrollment news at the end of the post...

Keep reading to learn about my design process and the BIM After Dark course news...

Residential Revit - Exploring Design Options in Revit and Lumion (Mid-Century Master Suite)

In continuing the "Residential Revit" series here on the blog, I wanted to make a post that addresses two common topics brought up in emails I receive from readers of the blog: design options and smaller residential projects.  

Before starting the residential Revit series I tended to use larger commercial projects as examples in tutorials.  Well, considering additions and renovations are such a huge market for architects I thought it would be cool to use a much smaller scale example:  a master suite renovation.

Additionally, managing multiple design schemes in a a single model is always a topic of discussion when I chat with residential architects.   Therefore, I put together a little tutorial that walks through how I manages multiple design schemes in one Revit model on a real-world master-suite renovation and how I also managed those design schemed in a single Lumion scene....

Continue reading to learn more about the project and view the tutorial...

Tutorial - Creating Bump Maps for Revit Renderings

In our last "Residential Revit" series post we talked about finding custom materials for your residential renderings and images.  This week, I want to show you how to make a "bump map" from those images you find using the resources in our last post.

A "bump map" is essential when rendering with Revit.  The bump map is a high contrast, black and white version of the rendered texture.  When paired with your rendered material in Revit the bump map will tell Revit how to slightly displace the texture to add realism. 

Residential Revit - Finding Custom Materials

For this week's "Residential Revit" post I am going to answer a question that I get quite often when posting rendering and images to the blog.

The question is something along the lines of "where do you get your custom materials?"

This, of course, can apply to more than just residential types of projects but I received quite a few questions about materials due to the recent posts and renderings of "The Rocky Mountain Modern House".

Continue reading to learn where I get my custom materials...

Residential Revit: Parametric Angled Wood Bracket

Today, I am going to continue the "Residential Revit" series with the same project from last week: The Rocky Mountain Modern House.  Today, we are going to look at a family that I created specifically for this project (but continue to use on other projects to date). The family is a fully parametric wood bracket with a steel plate and some bolts (seen above and below).

Continue reading to learn some of the family creation techniques I used to create the family and download it for yourself to use and explore...

Residential Revit: Wood Slat Wall (Yoga Room)

Over the last ten years I have received many questions, requests, and general emails about Revit and residential architecture.  I finally decided to put together a little series of tutorials related to my own personal residential work (check it out at studio.bad architects).

My goal with the "Residential Revit" series is to highlight specific details  of real-world residential projects created in Revit and develop little tutorials about them.

The first project and detail I am going to highlight is a project I have featured here on the blog in the past, "The Rocky Mountain Modern House".

The detail I am going to focus on today is a wood slat wall that provides shading for the home's "Yoga Room".'

Continue reading for more information about this detail and the video tutorial...