Ever play the party game “telephone”? You know the one, where you tell something to the person next to you and they pass it on to the person next to them and so on down the line. Inevitably, your original message is badly mangled and misappropriated by the time it gets back to you. Everyone […]
5 Ways Computational Design Will Change the Way You Work
These days, nearly every architect uses a computer. Whether it’s for 3D modeling, or documentation or even creating a program spreadsheet, computers are well entrenched within the profession. Architects now need to know almost as much about software as they do about structures, building codes, and design. As our tools become more powerful and sophisticated, we need to evolve […]
How to Create a Project Dashboard [Webinar Replay]
![How to Create a Project Dashboard [Webinar Replay]](https://archsmarter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Masterplan_sample_sm.png)
In case you missed the How to Create a Project Dashboard Using Revit, Dynamo, and Excel webinar, you can view a replay of the session below. Click the link below to download the sample files I used during the session. Download dashboard sample files Let me know what you think about the session in the comments below. […]
Why You Need a Dashboard for Your Project
Have you ever driven your car when your dashboard isn’t working? I have. It was terrifying. My first car was a ’83 Mercury Marquis. It was a tank of a car and mostly reliable, which is saying something for a fourteen year-old car. Unfortunately, the dashboard didn’t always work. One time, the gas gauge gave out. […]
The Art of Toolmaking
My dad was a machinist so, naturally, he liked working with tools. We had a garage full of stuff he collected from the machine shop and every so often, when I needed to fix my bike, he’d rummage around and find just the right socket or the perfect sized wrench. If he couldn’t find the right tool, my […]
12 Excel Formulas Every Architect Should Know
Excel is more than just digital graph paper. It’s a serious tool for analyzing and computing data. In order to access this power, however, you need to understand formulas. This post is part of ArchSmarter’s Excel for Architects series. You can find all of the previous posts in the series here. If you’re like me, you started using […]
Excel for Architects – Using Names to Manage Your Data
Quick question – who’s easier to remember, “Bob” or “A1:D22”? My guess is you’d have an easier time with “Bob”. It’s easy, it’s familiar and it’s short. Now imagine you have a room filled with people named “B2:B33”, “C12:D24” and “E5:G33”. Aside from feeling like you’re in a futuristic sci-fi world, I imagine you’d have […]
Excel for Architects – 9 Steps to Beautiful Spreadsheets
This is part 4 of the Excel for Architects series. You can find links to the other parts of the series here. Architects are visual people – we love drawings and images. We’ll spend hours selecting just the right shade of blue for a colored plan. We’ll argue over the proper relationship between door and […]
Excel for Architects – Part 3
This is the third part of the Excel for Architects series. You can find the first part of the series here and the second part here. Linking Excel Files Much like you can use Xref in AutoCAD to create links between drawings, you can link cells in an Excel worksheet to another worksheet or another […]
Excel for Architects – Part 2
This is the second part of the Excel for Architects series. You can find the first part of the series here. Excel Pivot Tables Up until a few months ago, I had no idea how to use Pivot Tables in Excel. I had heard the term before but I didn’t know what they did, how […]
