I was digging around in my garage the other day. I needed some screws to hang a bracket in my living room. Now, my garage is no ordinary garage. It’s a super-garage. It’s not pretty but it’s huge. Best I can tell, it was once a regular old two-car garage. Then a previous owner wanted […]
Is Open-Source the Way to the Ultimate Revit Template?
One of the best ways to get really efficient with Revit is to use templates. Templates let you configure your project file once and re-use it over and over again. A good template is a force multiplier. It helps you work smarter, not harder. The big issue with templates is that they’re time-consuming to create. […]
The Best Strategy for a Super Effective Revit Template
The best thing about Revit templates is how much time they can save you. The worst thing about Revit templates is how much time they take to create. It’s a bit of a catch-22. In order to save time, you need to spend time. It’s not easy to find that time when you have billable projects […]
How to Connect Revit to Anything the Smart Way
So you’re out to dinner at a new restaurant in town. You’re excited to be here and you’ve invited a couple of friends. You invited these particular two people to dinner because you have some important work to do and you need them to work together in order to get this thing done. Now, these […]
How to Simplify Your Life With Revit Key Schedules
“Hey Michael, got a second?” I looked up from my desk to see my project manager standing at my desk. He had a mischievous look on his face. “I have a special project for you.” Uh oh, I thought. This isn’t going to be good. The last time he had a “special project” for me, […]
How to Easily Create a Matrix Schedule
When I started at Gehry Partners in 2005, one of my first tasks was updating a drawing index. The project I was working on was a big mixed-use project. When I say big, I mean REALLY big. This project included a subway station, some retail, a basketball arena, and lots of housing. Suffice to say, there were […]
Easily Renumber Doors by Rooms With This Revit Macro
Most of the offices I’ve worked in had a standard practice for numbering doors. Usually the door number matched its room number, with a letter sequence designating each door in the room. So the first door in room 101 is numbered 101A, the second 101B, and so on. Revit makes dealing with rooms and doors much easier […]
Tackling North America’s Largest Healthcare Project
What does it take to design and deliver North America’s largest healthcare project? I recently wrote an article for ARCHITECT magazine on the University of Montreal Health Centre (or CHUM for short). CHUM is a 3.5 million square foot mega-hospital under construction in Montreal, Canada. Designed by CannonDesign and NEUF Architect(e)s, CHUM is currently the largest healthcare project under construction […]
How to Create Animated GIFs in Revit
ArchDaily recently posted an interesting article on using animated GIFs for architectural drawings. The article had some great examples but was short on details of how to actually create these images. I was curious how to create animated GIFs using Revit so I looked into the process. It turns out it’s pretty easy, provided you’re systematic […]
The 10 Revit Apps You Should Be Using in 2016
One of the best ways to work smarter is to use the right tool for the job. While I often preach this here on ArchSmarter, I don’t always follow my own advice. Case in point – I recently put together a swing set for my kids. They were super excited so I was under some pressure […]
