New UI or not new UI - that is the question

So, while I have no desire to wade into another discussion about the UI in Revit (I've actually grown to like the latest flavor) I saw the following in AUGI recently which I thought was worth noting.

One of the great things the iphone (and now iPad) did for the industry was to get rid of the notion of the stylus. Remember that little pencil that didn't write that you needed to have to use your Palm? Remember that you could never find it? Remember you could buy them in a 3-pack because they were so easy to loose?

Out with the stylus, in with the gesture. What a great way to manipulate data at a high level using a natural (more natural) motion.

How does this relate to Revit? Martin (real name withheld to protect the innocent) used a piece of shareware to bring gesturing to the Revit UI.

I'm not sure if I like it or don't but I applaud the concept and think it's a very very interesting way to look at how we interact in a ribbon-free world.

Creating gestures of different motions, visible on the screen, allow different context menus.

check it out on AUGI.

iHouse

I'm speechless. Blown away by the clean lines and modest use of space.
I'm stunned by the deliberate order and discipline. None of sculptural blob making shit that's passing for well-considered design decisions.
In my humble opinion.
Looks like around 5ksf.
What? Even the kids have to share a bathroom?
Classic. So well done. More images via Gizmodo.
Thank you thank you thank you BCJ.
In an age of oversize-mcmansioned-mediocre-stuccoed-cobblestone-faux-crap that screams how money so seldom accounts for taste and elegance and quiet simplicity. You guys have taken the better path.
Thank you.
Architectural students take note.
You can actually practice architecture without turning into a "whateverputsmoremoneyinmypocketwhore" :)
There is still hope.
Fuck Peter Keating.
Long live Peter Bohlin.
Update: More info on Steve's casa via MacRumors

Friday Reprieve #24

I love the band Arcade Fire. And whatever you might think about Google, one of the things I like about them is that they are out there 'doing it'.

Enter the music video. Remember when MTV, back in the day, we so incredibly innovative because they put music on a TV? How rogue was that?

Well, now Google and Arcade Fire have gotten together to take it to the next level. Whatever you think of the music, the experience is awesome. From Google's standpoint, it's all about what you can do with their mapping applications and HTML5.

Just enter your home town and sit back.

Ode to Fall

Down but not out in Paris:

A couple of dear friends of mine have taken an opportunity to spend some time abroad this fall. Their trip is mainly rooted in spending some time in Paris, but they are taking some day trips to the rest Europe at large.
As they are both architects (or almost, depending on exam results) they have that 'eye' that architects tend to see the world with. They have also committed to photo documentation of their trip for all of the rest of us who do not have the opportunity to join them.


enjoy.

AU 2010 - Let the games begin!

It's that time of year again.
68 days until Thanksgiving
96 days until Christmas
80 days until St. Nicholas Day (for all you St. Louisians out there with kids)
and
72 days until AU

Registration for AU began last week and some of the classes are already filled to the brim. If you haven't done so already, REGISTER!
All three of us are teaching classes this year:

Phil: Into the Void: The Zen of Creating Complex Sculptural forms with Revit.

James: Advanced Techniques for Curtain Walls, Curtain Panels, and Adaptive Components in Autodesk Revit (offered at 2 times) and
BIM and IPD for Project Leaders

Eddy: Project Managing BIM and Daylighting Analysis with Revit and 3ds Max Design

Beyond just the priceless knowledge you can attain attending classes at AU, the new City Center is complete showcasing design talent by several A-list designers and some unreal living sculptures. Like this one of huge ice 'popsicle' that melt and are re-created.

Also, keep an eye on the blog in the upcoming weeks. We have a bit of an announcement to make for possible fun and festivities during the AU week.

Friday Reprieve #23

Avast ye!
Sunday is National Talk Like a Pirate Day.
While that's not parametric or has anything to do with BIM or Revit, it's an opportunity for all the black-wearing architects out there to don an eye patch and get their pirate on.

Some suggestions for those of you who might be working this weekend. Perhaps instead of your wimpy responses to Revit when it does something you don't want it to do, you could incorporate a bit of the olde pirate slang. Let me give you an example:
Revit for some reason known only to Revit, crashes on you. A typical architect, wearing his / her black ensemble might respond "well, gosh darn it. there goes 4 hours of work. Sorry Revit for whatever I screwed up for you. Let me sip this white wine spritzer while I wait for you to reload my project."
Instead perhaps you can try "Swing a lead, Revit you olde dog! Be doin' that again and I'll drive my blade into ye I will!!" then take a swig of your home brewed rum.

Hey, those are only suggestions.
At the end of the day remember what my studio professor once told me:
"it's not important if your glass is 1/2 empty or 1/2 full, but what is important is that your glass is refillable."

Har!

Friday Reprieve – NFL Edition

This weekend marks the kickoff of the 2010-2011 football season – yes, AMERICAN football! We don’t need no stinkin’ vuvuzelas! To commemorate this glorious time of year, I offer a humorous Team-by-Team NFL preview guide by the one and only…Onion Sports Network.

Click here to read the article

J…E…T…S – JETS! JETS! JETS!

Blue Sky

I took this photo on the last day I worked for Autodesk back in May of 2008. After more than 7 amazing years of playing for the same team, I found myself flying back to Charlotte and quite honestly - more than a bit anxious about what the future would hold. But what suddenly occurred and caused me to snap the above photo (with my jail broken and unlocked, T-Mobile powered iPhone, ahem...) is that above any clouds of uncertainty, there are always clear blue skies of opportunity.

Simply put: the view is always clearer above the clouds.

So it seems fitting that I use this image to announce that I'm moving on from HNTB. It's certainly bittersweet. Yet those that have come to know me best wisely reminded me long ago that I'm too impatient and non-conforming to be a corporate lifer. Thank you. I bow to your Buddha nature. :)

It's been an amazing, learning and deeply satisfying experience. In little more than 2 years a firm wide BIM strategy and team is in place that in my opinion is the most advanced and experienced group I've ever known. Their commitment to Design Build in every way exceeds my expectations of what is possible when a design firm partners with select contractors to build buildings rather than simply create drawings.

Rather than be content to see what the market will decide, HNTB leads the market. Their vision and commitment to creating compelling and new technologies in order to leverage BIM is extraordinary. As a result, what we did in days takes others weeks if not months. And what we did in months I believe will take others years - by which time HNTB will have moved on. The incredible value this brings to a Design Build is light-years ahead of any competition. The leadership is sharply minded and focused. And as far as I could tell only one or two were merely sharply elbowed and dressed. :)

I wish I could tell you what's next but I honestly don't know! I've already had some interesting and unsolicited phone calls. Seems the whisper of the Internet is like the roar of a lion. But I've been fortunate to the point that I don't have to commit to anything for a while. At the same time, I'm incredibly blessed that some pretty interesting people have already offered to fly me somewhere for a few days to compare notes. So that's cool.

What's interesting?

Domesticity. Apple. Strategic, holistic and elegant solutions. Integrating Design (BIM) / Build (Manufacturing) / Management (FM). Connecting dots and being a change agent. Finishing my pilot's license. Completing an addition to the house. Helping author another book or two, including Mastering Revit 2012. The Annapolis boat show. Sailing with the family. Drinks with friends. Autodesk University. Twitter. Blogging.

Could I be interested in a Revit project or two? Possibly. But only if it's extremely interesting (Apple Stores...cough...Revit... cough...Design Build...cough ;). Or along the lines of an unimaginably large, complex, project and more than likely somewhere in Australiasia. And Singapore is always a plus!

So if you know of something really, really interesting - let me know. But only if it's surrounded by sharper minds than elbows. :)

What's next?

Blue sky. Or perhaps it's more of a Blue Ocean ;)

More ‘In the Wild’ pics

It’s about time MARA 2011 showed up down under! Simon David submits a tranquil composition from Sydney…

And just to make sure Simon gets his dues, if you flip to the SOM section in the color insert of MARA 2011 and find the hospital project – Simon was the BIM coordinator for that job. He really held that ship together!

We’re really stretching the age demographic of our readers as well! Harlan Brumm from Autodesk uses our book to soothe his new baby girl. Awwww.

Be sure to check out Harlan and other Autodesk support staff on their blog, The Revit Clinic.

Keep those pictures coming. We’d love to see the digital versions of MARA 2011 in the wild (Kindle, iBooks, eReader…)

How to buy Mastering Revit Architecture 2011

So, you’d like to get your hands on a copy of our book? Great! Here are a number of ways you can purchase Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011:

Print Editions

• Amazon.com
• Barnes and Noble
• Borders
• Sybex (publisher)

Digital Editions are also available for:

• Kindle
• iBooks
• Safari Books Online
• Sony ReaderStore

A listing of international distributors for Wiley can be found by clicking here.

Back To School

2002 - Preschool


2003 - Kindergarten


2004 - First and Preschool


2005 - Second and Kindergarten


2006 - Forgot to take pictures - close enough. :)


2007 - Kindergarten, Second and Fourth


2008 - One, Three, Five


2009 - 2, 4, 6


2010 - Third, Fifth and Seventh

There's an app for that

Architects are constantly trying to find new and inventive ways to reach out, make contact with clients, and differentiate themselves from all the rest of us trying to do the same thing. With more than 50M iphones sold and being used out there (even if you can't call from the iphone 4), it seems to be a great way to reach a lot of people very quickly.

I say this, because I came across the first app I've seen for architects looking to showcase their work. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson architects extraordinaire and designers of the Apple Stores have made an app for that. Pocket BCJ. It's a simple little app that slide shows the firms work across the country.


Now if they'd only design the Apple stores in Revit. How cool would THAT be?

NYC Revit Users Group, August 2010

The next monthly meeting of the New York City Revit Users Group is this Thursday, August 5 at 6:00 pm Eastern. The featured topic is “BIM for Project Delivery: Methods that Approach Integration” with Scott Wood, AIA, LEED AP from Tishman Construction.

This presentation will explore uses of BIM in post construction document phases, discuss contract language that relates to these uses and describe methods for delivering models that can be efficiently deployed for these uses.

If you are in the NYC area, please RSVP at our meetup site (www.meetup.com/nyc-rug) or you can register for the webcast by clicking here.

In the Wild, Part Whatever

It looks like MARA is really making the rounds.

Robert Yori had a couple sightings -
MARA out with friends enjoying a candle-lit dinner:


And doing what MARA does best: teaching Revit. Note the attentive (slightly confused) eyes of the students.


Finally, my own personal sighting. Angiela and I enjoyed sitting a spell during a hike on our vacation to Upper Mohawk lake. Elev. 12,100'. MARA decided to enjoy the lake view too.

In the wild, ey!

Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 is finally starting to ship to our brothers up north in Canada. Jay Polding sends us a couple of shots plugging the Ontario Revit Users Group as well as Canada’s main export…

Mmmmmm…beer.

In the Wild, Part 5

I recently took a day off (imagine that!) and spent the day with my family at our local water park. This would have made for some interesting new ‘in the wild’ pictures, but you can imagine what the water slide would have done to a copy of MARA 2011… Here are some of the latest entries from our readers.

Sean Burke from Seattle poses a copy of MARA 2011 in front of the city model at NBBJ:

One of my personal favorites…another submission from David Light getting quite literally ‘in the wild:’

So don’t be a tortoise…make like a hare and pick up your copy now! If you already have, please write a review on Amazon.com.

One small step...

...will become a wonderful, slippery slope. :)

More info here. This ruling is really big news. In part this will:

-- allow owners of used cell phones to break access controls on their phones in order to switch wireless carriers.

-- allow people to break technical protections on video games to investigate or correct security flaws.

-- allow college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos.

-- allow computer owners to bypass the need for external security devices called dongles if the dongle no longer works and cannot be replaced.

-- allow blind people to break locks on electronic books so that they can use them with read-aloud software and similar aides.

iPads are next. And speaking of iPads...Mastering Revit 2011 looks amazing on it. That's right! Downloadable versions should be available as eBook and Kindle versions in a few days or so. Here's a screen grab from the Table of Contents.



FULL color (where we used color images) were used in printing the e-versions. We didn't want to simply reuse the same converted gray scale images used for printing the physical book. What's really neat is the figure references are hyperlinks to their associated image. And you can even double+click an image to 'zoom' in for more detail!

Here's and example from chapter on Film and Stage, showing details from the "Watchman" movie of the Karnak fortress and armatures from Dr. Manhattan's lab.



Been holding out for an iPad and need something to help push you over the edge? Think of it this way: if you buy Mastering Revit 2011 for the special price of only $550 we'll throw in the iPad for free! ;)

In the Wild, Part 4

Before we get to our latest ‘in the wild’ pics, we’d like to toot our own horns just a bit more…please forgive us. In the product details for Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 on Amazon, we have been holding steady as the #1 book in the categories of CAD, Drawing & Modeling and even Autocad! THANK YOU to all of our early adopters!!

Moving on to our ‘in the wild’ submittals…Steve Stafford creates a surreal composition of beer and scale architecture while attending the SCRUG meeting…

Our own MARA 2011 contributing author, David Light, got his copy today and shows it off in the London office of HOK…

In the Wild, Part 3

In today’s episode, Brok Howard from St. Louis gets some rest and relaxation with his copy of MARA 2011 in the beautiful Citygarden:

But what should you do with your previous editions of Mastering Revit Architecture? Don’t throw them out! Take Tobias Hathorn’s suggestion for MARA recycling…

Keep those fun pics coming! See our original post for instructions on how to submit your own ‘in the wild’ photo.

In the Wild, Part 2

We’re getting some great responses to our call for pictures of your copy of Mastering Revit Architecture 2011 out and about. Here are the latest entries.

Court Myers from Oklahoma City spotted Yoda brushing up on his Revit skills… “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Robert Yori from New York makes sure that his copy of MARA 2011 gets the proper amount of fresh air and exercise…waiting for the bus:

And soaking in the sights on Wall Street:

Mastering Revit ‘In the Wild’ pics

As of Friday July 16, Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 has been shipping in the continental United States – all 5-1/2 pounds of it! We know we have some really creative friends, so let’s just see how creative you can be…

Step One: Get a copy of MARA 2011 here or here.

Step Two: Take a photo or short video of the book out ‘in the wild.’

Step Three: Email it to us

Step Four: Don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon…please!

If your entries are creative and cool – remember, we’re big South Park/Futurama/Family Guy fans – we’ll post them right here for everyone to see.

---

Our first pic is from fellow Revit guru, Mark Schmieding. He snapped this self-portrait while the film crew for Transformers 3 was causing mass destruction outside his Chicago office. We like to follow the words of director Michael Bay who once exclaimed…”I demand things to be AWESOME!”

Not from Mark, but on the Transformers theme…

Mastering Revit in the wild!

The first sighting of our new book – Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 – has been reported in the US! Eddy got his shipment of promo copies today and just take a look at the size of this one…

 

Eddy, Phil and I are really proud of the content we’ve developed for this year’s edition. We hope you’ll enjoy it, too. As always, feel free to drop us a line at MasteringRevit or visit our Facebook page.

It’s still available at the discounted preorder price on Amazon.com, so hurry up before it goes up to regular price.

Happy 50th Birthday, Etch-A-Sketch

On July 12, 1960, the Etch-A-Sketch went on sale. An article in WIRED explains more about how this timeless toy does what it does.

Simple: “An internal stylus is used to…sketch onto a glass window coated with aluminum powder.”

Complex: “…employs a fairly sophisticated pulley system that operates the orthogonal rails that move the stylus around when the knobs are turned.” Try making a perfectly diagonal line on one!!

Anyway, I was immediately reminded of an image my friend Eric Bobrow of Bobrow Consulting once shared with me:

Are you still using CAD? Have you ever thought of what CAD really is? Think about it…

Event: buildingSMART in Architecture

Just a quick note that I will be giving a lecture in New York City at the Center for Architecture on July 13. My presentation is titled “buildingSMART in Architecture” and will be focused on how the design profession needs to step up to the plate and provide more relevance to the building process before builders and fabricators take over our services – and fees.  Several project case studies from HOK will be presented to support the notion of using BIM and integrated design and delivery to support life-cycle information stewardship, rather than just the latest way to deliver paper documents.

Registration is free, but you must RSVP at the AIA NY website by clicking here.