Once upon a time, AutoCAD® was the best design software available to architects. Architects could digitally blueprint and add notes to projects with two-dimensional geometric sketches and three-dimensional models of real-world objects. In fact, the most current version of AutoCAD even employs a degree of automation, including AI-assisted drafting.
AutoCAD seemed to be architects’ efficacy miracle; they could put down their pencils and fold up their drawing tables. But, then, Autodesk® Revit® arrived. Revit built on the AUTOCAD program, adding the advantages of computational intelligence and cloud-powered infrastructure. With Revit, architects are more than drafters–they are architects of their own visions coming to life.
Features of Revit for Architects
There are features of Revit that are specially geared toward the unique duties of an architect, while others are less niche. More general features of Revit rest on its BIM (“Building Information Modeling”) foundation, which facilitates collaboration with other experts (e.g., engineers and construction managers) to bring the architect’s dreams to fruition.
That’s not to say that BIM plays no role in furthering an architect’s individual specialty. With Revit, architects have the ability to use “cloud rendering”–which uses data entered by the architect in tandem with the vast digital archives stored on internet servers–to generate “photorealistic” representations of their designs.
Revit also offers a high-tech scanning mechanism that captures a structure’s “existing and as-built conditions.” So-called “cloud points” are identified by a distinct set of data points collected during the scanning process. These scans, upon importation into Revit, can then be used to inform architects of the context in which they are drafting. Cloud points introduce elements of reality that may impact the composition and configuration of an architectural project. This enables architects to test and revise a design with knowledge of real-world limitations.
These cloud-based features molded for architects are just the tip of the iceberg with Revit. Architects have access to a multitude of other Revit attributes, including generative design, work-sharing, schedules for data tabling, “freeform tools for profiling and massing,” multistory stairs visualization, and so much more.
Advantages of Revit Architecture
The efficiency and accuracy that digitized models (made possible by AutoCAD and Revit) provide cannot be mirrored by the antiquated hands-on approach. But, beyond the traditional method, Revit still has advantages over AutoCAD.
Autodesk puts the difference this way: “[W]hen using [Auto]CAD for building design, you focus on creating drawings. When using BIM, [with Revit®,] you focus on creating a building model and then the drawings can be generated from the model.” In sum, Revit is superior to AutoCAD in that an architect’s draft is first informed by data, with Revit, rather than by intuition, with AutoCAD.
The computer intelligence underlying Revit’s BIM system is developed through complex deep-learning patterns that scour the internet for information–thus how many AI systems have become so adept at performing like humans. This intelligent model gives architects a starting point from which to draw, saving on costs caused by sketches that look good on paper but can’t withstand the challenges of a non-digital environment.
Further, Revit’s cloud capabilities make it more useful than AutoCAD. The cloud empowers architects to import data to direct their designs. It also easily exports information and communications to experts out in the field. It takes a team to pull off these projects, and Revit’s web-based, collaborative atmosphere fosters goodwill in such a team.
Make the Most of Revit® By Utilizing CTC Software Add-Ons
Even Revit can be optimized. Revit add-ons, such as those included in CTC Software’s BIM Suites, stretch the possibilities for architects.
For more information about how CTC Software’s products not only amplify the advantages of Revit but also decrease the expense of your architectural project, check out our ROI Calculator.
