Your Idea. Built.

Work naturally, design with freedom, and improve your business with Autodesk® Revit® Building, the architectural design and documentation system that works the way you think. Purpose-built for building information modeling, Revit Building lets you change anything, anytime, anywhere —and then coordinates the change everywhere. Your design and documentation always stay coordinated, consistent, and complete.

Autodesk Revit Building Features

Autodesk Revit Building Discussion Group

Frequently Asked Questions about Autodesk Revit Building

1. What is Autodesk Revit?

The Autodesk® Revit® platform is Autodesk’s premier foundation for building information modeling. Applications built on the Revit platform, such as Autodesk® Revit® Building, are complete, discipline-specific building design and documentation systems supporting all phases of design and construction documentation. From conceptual studies through the most detailed construction drawings and schedules, applications built on Autodesk Revit help provide immediate competitive advantage, and better coordination and quality, and can contribute to higher profitability for architects and the rest of the building team.

At the heart of the Autodesk Revit platform is the Revit parametric change engine, which automatically coordinates changes made anywhere—in model views or drawing sheets, schedules, sections, plans, you name it.

2. What is building information modeling and how does it apply to Autodesk Revit Building?

Building information modeling is an innovative approach to building design, construction, and management. Building information modeling provides high-quality information about project design scope, schedule, and cost when and how you need it, helping to dramatically reduce inefficiencies and risk throughout the building process.

The ability to keep this information up-to-date and accessible in an integrated digital environment gives architects, engineers, builders, and owners a clear overall vision of their projects and contributes to the ability to make better decisions faster—helping raise the quality and increase the profitability of projects.

For more information about building information modeling and Autodesk’s strategy for the application of information technology to the building industry, see the white papers and other information at www.autodesk.com/bim.

3. What are the important new features in Autodesk Revit Building?

Autodesk Revit Building expands on features and concepts introduced in Autodesk® Revit 7, including Building Maker, Parametric Components, and Worksharing.

Building Maker enables users to understand the feature sets available to design buildings from concept modeling to construction documentation.
Parametric Components provide an open, graphical system for design thinking and form making that enables users to efficiently create content.
Worksharing provides a full range of features that enable several team members to work on a project simultaneously.

Following are a few of the new features:

1. Enhancements to Autodesk Revit Parametric Components: Use the Edit Loaded Families feature to edit previously loaded families in Autodesk Revit Building.
2. Use Scheduling Nested Families to schedule the components in a nested family.
3. Interference Check: Set parameters to scan your model for problems with conflicting elements.
4. Publish to Autodesk Buzzsaw: Easily upload your files from Autodesk Revit Building to your Autodesk® Buzzsaw® project site.
5. Automatically convert Autodesk Revit Building files to either DWG or Autodesk® DWF™ (Design Web Format™) file format.
6. Use default template assignments to assign properties to a view and set those properties back to their original state before publishing or printing a project.
   

4. Autodesk Revit Building handles building modeling well, but what about conventional drafting and detailing? Do I still need AutoCAD to get my work done?

You can work entirely in Autodesk Revit Building to generate your construction documentation. AutoCAD® software is not required.

5. How does Autodesk Revit Building work with large teams and projects?

Worksharing distributes the power of the Autodesk Revit Building parametric building modeler across the project team. Worksharing provides a complete range of collaboration modes, from on-the-fly, simultaneous access to the shared model, through the formal division of the project into discrete shared units, to complete separation of project elements or systems into individually managed linked models. Worksharing enables team members to choose the best way to collaborate and interact based on workflow and project requirements.

6. What if my clients or consultants insist on DWG deliverables for coordination?

Autodesk Revit Building can produce DWG deliverables just as AutoCAD can. Autodesk Revit Building provides industry-leading DWG compatibility using the Autodesk ObjectDBX™ toolkit. And because these DWG deliverables were created in a modeler, they are well structured and easy to change.

Autodesk Revit Building supports the process most architectural firms use with their consultants by producing well-organized and layered DWG files using any layering standard the user wants. Autodesk Revit Building ensures that nothing in an exported DWG file ends up on the wrong layer, easing consultant interactions and helping speed the design and construction process.

Autodesk Revit Building provides features that help integrate your work with consultants. You can import or link DWG files directly into Autodesk Revit Building to use as reference geometry or as the starting point for a new design, such as a site plan. Any CAD system that supports the DWG, DGN, or DXF™ file format can work effectively with Autodesk Revit Building.

7. What about object compatibility between Autodesk Revit Building and Autodesk Architectural Desktop and Autodesk Building Systems?

Autodesk Revit Building can read and write ACIS® solids. This gives users a way to export their models from Autodesk® Architectural Desktop and Autodesk® Building Sys­tems software and import or link 3D information into Revit Building. You can cut sections and per­form visual interference detections with this method.

8. Are there any other industry-specific applications built on Autodesk Revit Building?

Autodesk® Revit® Structure is a fully integrated geometrical, material, and analytical mod­eling application for structural engineering, analysis, design, and documentation that will be available later in 2005. It is building information modeling for structural engineers. Autodesk® Revit® Systems, the MEP application built on the Autodesk Revit Building platform, is currently in beta.

9. Do I need to know a programming language to create content in Autodesk Revit Building?

No, Parametric Components are an open, graphical system for design thinking and form making, a powerful way of expressing design intent at increasingly detailed levels. No programming language or coding is required to drive this powerful system. And any and all relationships can be expressed directly in the system; nothing is assumed other than that you are thinking about a building design.

10. Autodesk Revit Building uses AccuRender® raytracing and radiosity as a rendering solution. Can I use Revit Building with Autodesk VIZ?

Users can transfer geometry from an Autodesk Revit Building model into Autodesk® VIZ through DWG file export. The Autodesk® VIZ 2005 Interoperability for Revit plug-in imports the DWG file exported from Autodesk Revit 7 or Autodesk Revit Building and maintains material assignments. Because this functionality is incorporated into Autodesk® VIZ 2006, the plug-in is no longer necessary.