Digital Practice & Tools

MY ROLE: Approached BIM as creating virtual buildings, revolutionized delivery with simulation and coordination; currently adding automation of processes and also transfer of data within design, and beyond into operations phase.

Revit

Revit began a seismic shift in the industry when it was first introduced in 2000. I have grown up on the front line of the BIM movement, and still wait for new features every release, because each new feature presents new capabilities for better delivery. Revit is the backbone for creating and leveraging an information-based process.

Navisworks & THird party uses

Once Revit models became commonly available, other uses and opportunities for those models quickly developed. One of the most valuable was the use of Navisworks for clash detection. We have routinely used Navisworks since 2010 for in-house coordination. Other uses are the ability to generate quantities from BIM files. 

3DS Max

3DS Max allows teams to take models from any software and to create visualization materials that communicate design intent.  In this case, I used it to create an atmospheric shot of an Engineering Innovation Studio (2002) I designed.

Advanced Visualization: VR & Web

Beyond 3DS Max, there are now more recent solutions that allow 3D models to be shared and experienced during the design process. Several Virtual Reality (VR) applications are worth noting; two of the more distinctive are Enscape which works in real-time with Revit, and Cl3ver, which allows 3D presentations to be viewed in any HTML 5 browser.

Dynamo

In the last few years, new software has revolutionized BIM workflows, especially computational scripting tools like Dynamo. While Dynamo is best known for its cool, 'form-making' uses, it also can be used to automate repetitive workflows and thus greatly speed the process of production. It also opens the door to future uses for artificial intelligence.

Power BI

Power BI is a data analytics tool from Microsoft, like 21st century Excel, as it allows large datasets to be 'shaped' and analyzed. I implemented Power BI in July 2016 to create a new way to aggregate and consume project revenue and staffing information. For a 500+ person firm with 12 major offices, and ~450 active projects, a new approach was imperative.  This was an entirely in-house effort from start to finish..

Adobe Suite

The Adobe suite contains crucial add-ons to 3D production tools. I have used Photoshop for decades to refine visual presentations, but more recently have used Adobe's web authoring software (Adobe Muse) to create an intranet for sharing delivery materials. This is a much more agile way to make delivery materials available to staff than the previous method of searching network folders.