Origins of Revit

[FK]

Oh, ... is that the only thing keeping him out ?

Actually, it is. A rectangle can be perfectly inscribed in an oval, so there's no problem with geometry.

[irwin]

Ralph Grabowski, writing in Upfront Ezine stated "The CAD social event of the month was the Revit launch, which took place April 5, 2000 in Cambridge MA USA." and then went on to describe the event as follows....

Revit ceo Dale Lemont hosts the two-hour event, calling this "an important moment in the history of CAD."

Our CEO's real name was Dave, not Dale. However, after this misprint in Ralph Grabowski's ezine we always called him Dale, and even put that name on his door.

[JamesVan]

Leonid and Irwin for President in 2008!!!! Which one is gonna be Pres, and which one VP? Oh, wait, there's that same pesky 'natural citizen' law that is keeping Schwartzenegger out out the White House......

Ah, but change is afoot...
http://www.amendforarnold.org

[rayswarts]

This is truly amazing, where else can one so un-informed, (and I'm speaking of myself), can ask such a simple question and get responses from not only around the world, but from the Founding Fathers themselves. I am in awe. What a community. I am overwhelmed, ( and not by the software either . . . or at least not yet anyway). Way cool
Thank you so much.

[Dimitri Harvalias]

I am overwhelmed, ( and not by the software either . . . or at least not yet anyway).

"You will be... you will be" (Yoda, Star Wars Episode V)

[jwilhelm]

I can't help but notice some concepts that appear to have snuck into Revit from other software for example the "Nudge" feature was a function I first saw in GDS, well they say emulation is the sincerest form of flattery, or perhaps its just a coincidence...

[hand471037]

I can't help but notice some concepts that appear to have snuck into Revit from other software for example the "Nudge" feature was a function I first saw in GDS, well they say emulation is the sincerest form of flattery, or perhaps its just a coincidence...

Which, I do beleve, stole it from Photoshop, which has had the ability to 'nudge' things using the arrow keys since as long as I can remember....

[mbergin]

This thread is fascinating!

I am a researcher writing a paper on the History of Building Information Modeling and its refreshing to see casual conversation about the origins of Revit. Are there any similar sources of information? I wonder in particular if there were any architects involved with the programming of Revit from an early stage?

Are there any other threads that anyone is aware of that similarly outline the development of the software or place Revit within the timeline of CAD history?

[Jun Austria]

Charles River Software was incorporated by Leonid 10/31/97.

I joined on 2/2/98.

First round of venture capital was in 1998.

First lines of code were written in 1998.

First office (not counting Leonid's living room) was in Wellesley, MA, upstairs from Dominoes Pizza. It used to smell quite toasty in the afternoons.

Irwin, do you have any picture of your office then that we can mount and idolized?

[SCShell]

Hey there,
Try searching for posts by David Conant. (He is the 1st employee/Architect who helped with the interface and very first version. Not to mention, one of "the" smartest and nicest people I have ever met!)
Steve