I use Revit because...

[hand471037]

OK, so spun out of the ADT vs. Revit thread thing came the real need for people to step forward and post the real-world reasons and benefits they gain from using their chosen software, so that those that still are confused or don't know enough about either system to make an informed choice may refer to these threads and maybe see someone out there doing similar work as they do, and could then at least get an idea of what direction to head in.

So fire away! Try to stay focused upon why you're using Revit, rather than talking about why you're NOT using something else...

[stuntmonkee]

Are we allowed to say more than one, or does that depend on where we are at on the list I suppose. . . .I'll stick with my favorite for now.

Survey Says

Because it eliminates much of my tedious coordination work, and I know its right. And when I say coordination I mean everything from "when I move a wall it moves in section and updates my areas and the same time" TO "when I renumber a sheet it updates every section bubble through out the whole set of drawings". . .and to polish the wheels on that. . .I know it's right, and don't have to worry. . .even if I put in the wrong number, at least its still coordinated through the set and wont match another number!

[J. Grouchy]

I'd sort of like to see a succinct description of each as well as a "pro/con" table. I'm sure all of us Revit users are thinking....what cons? But I think it would be useful for those not familiar with either...or familiar with only one.

[Scott D Davis]

100% coordination of drawings.
Easy to learn (relative to .....).
Makes my job fun again!
Customer Support from the Factory is the absolutely the best in the industry.
Shifts the "Project Time Curve" from spending the majority of time producing CD's to the majority of time spent in design. (CD's are a product of the design)
I don't have to fill in door/window schedules manually.
I don't have to "draft" elevations
I don't have to "draft" sections
Less staff on each project (= larger potential work load)
I can use my AutoCAD library (drawings, blocks, details)
I can impress the heck out of my clients!
I'm gonna let someone else talk, because I could go on and on!

[hdjohnson]

I use it because I can't remember all of the variables in Autocad. I like thinking like the way I was trained. And the main reason, is because Revit is totally wicked!

[Arnel Aguel]

a) very easy to use
b) bi-directional associativity assures 100% coordination of drawings
c) no need to worry about layers
d) so easy to create 3d model for client's presentation
e) it's alive no need for any update of views

[JTF]

Is it possible to quote all of the above posts, without having to quote all the above posts.

[beegee]

I could give ten, a hundred, possible even a thousand reasons why I use Revit, but instead, I'll try to describe the feeling I have for Revit.

Louis Kahn once said that the world didn't know it needed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony until it heard it, ... and then, it was impossible to imagine living without it.

And that's the same way I feel about Revit.

[Wes Macaulay]

I started using Revit because I realised that 2D drafting of buildings was getting me nowhere. And people want 3D, and having a Thing That is a Building Model to hang all your details off of, well that is the only way to go.

Some of our clients who are starting with Revit aren't entirely convinced yet, but I sure am.

Of all the software I've seen for designing and documenting buildings, this makes the most sense to me. Not that all of it makes sense... but they're working on that.

[Marek Brandstatter]

For me the best thing about Revit is that it *actually* works, delivering beyond your expectations. And it just keeps geting better.

Remember this thread? http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=1552

[Andre Baros]

1 I appreciate that I only have to draw things once... unless it's a design change but not because I need to show the other side, or another section, or another scale, etc.
2. My buildings are 3D (even 4D) now my drawings are to.
3. I like that my models for renderings are also my models for CD's so I'm (again) only drawing once.
4. I like that the people I work with can't explode the hatches, draw every wall a different thickness, miss all the corners, draw everything on layer 0 etc. You can still draw the building wrong, but at least you don't have to think about the drafting.
4.1 I love that I never have to see the "you can rename layer 0" error again.
5. I like that when I need to think about the drafting I can change whatever I want to look the way I want for presentation without breaking the link to my CD's.
6. I love parametric components.
7. I love the Equal dimension.
8. I love the logical and consistent way that Revit handles drawing in 3D so that you're never drawing/moving objects on a different plane than you think you are only to spin your model and then contemplate the true scale of the universe.
9. I love the massing tools, curtain wall tools, and area plans.
10. I love that I don't have to do schedules... but that when I change a door on a schedule, it changes in the drawings. Ahhhh.

[Martin P]

You can often find a new way to do something or even present something with Revit that you hadnt or wouldnt have thought of before (for example see the tips and tricks section) - working in 3D allows to see alternative ways to build something that you would not have seen otherwise. I love when those penny dropping moments happen. It feels like you are involved in a bit of a golden age for setting the way things are going to be done in future. You really wish you had been in there using R 1.0 (unlike other things where you are really glad you werent!!!)

There is always something new to try with it (that makes you smile when you discover it) and always something new on the way. It has potential for many more advances and hasnt reached saturation point with tools and functions - thats not to say we dont already have a very powerful set, but I can genuinely get excited by what the future holds for this software.

Not having to draw sections - that is the best!!! I still cant quite believe it when I cut a section through a building and its pretty much done already :) - just add a few details and notes and youre done. Heaven.

Its fast - I can produce everything we need in a fraction of the time I could with 2D.

We get 3D models "free" in the process of creating our drawings the 3D models are almost a free by product of just creating the plans and elevations we would be doing anyway.

Its makes my job much more fun.

It makes my drawings look very sharp (even if I do say myself ;) ), and I can be CERTAIN that the elevations, plans, sections, schedules are always 100% tied together - no missing windows on the elevations etc.... ie I can sleep at night!!

Its fast (did I say that already?)

I can actively take part in the moulding of the software by getting to make suggestions directly to the people involved in development on this site.

Its different, it seems to work the way I always dreamed CAD software would, and takes away the boring and repetitive side of CAD work.

I can change the look of a plan,sections etc with the pick of a button - solid filled black walls, to detailed hatched walls - presention drawing to construction drawing with zero effort.

I dont have to think about roofs!!! trying to work out roofs in 2D always used to seem like a bit of an art - doing it in 3D makes it so easy.

Sheets - type in only once for the job number, client name, project etc etc - I dont have to edit a dozen sheets. This takes zero setting up - it just does it.

I will stop there, but I really could (and sometimes do) go on and on about the reasons I use Revit........ My boss has a captive employee unless I can use this software in any office that I went to work in, I wont be going if they dont have it.

[Richard McCarthy]

I am too lazy to use anything else..........:p

[Rhythmick]

Going to the jobsite and having the framer scratch his head saying "I just don't see how this is going to work" and reply with certainty "Oh - it works!"

[Tom Dorner]

We use Revit because it makes us more profitable.

Tom

[aaronrumple]

Because I want to do architecture - not write software code.

[Henry D]

All of the above plus:

-I can take on twice as much work with half the effort (and have more fun doing it)

-Revit is the best tool available for the way I work

-My clients love it

[tamas]

Here is the "I use ADT becasue..." thread on the ADT forum:

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=16715

(Maybe Jeff could add this to his first post.)

[SCShell]

Great thread!
"Quote: Every post"
(I especially liked Beegee's and Aaron's)

First and foremost, I am an Architect. I do this because I love to design, even after 20 years of doing it by hand! I really love that I can design up until the final hours of any presentation deadline, knowing that my presentation will be better than anything I was able to produce by hand in the past. (I always hated having to stop designing at some point in order to leave me enough time to do the presentation drawings. That was when I used to get some of my best ideas, when it was too late to do anything about it until after the presentation, which leads into my second favorite reason.)

Secondly, with Revit, it is never too late to explore or exploit a new design opportunity when inspiration hits you.

Thirdly, I really like the fact that the folks (pointing to you all) who use and develop the program are as passionate about it as I am, and best yet, are willing to share their knowledge, experience, opinions and files.

Now, I can not imagine my practice without Revit-in-it!! Thank you!

Steve

[jcoe]

I was first introduced to Revit with release 5.1 and now have 7.0. I am so confident in its abilities and time saving/coordinating features, I am using it as THE software program for my Thesis.

[SkiSouth]

1. I use Revit to make a profit.

2. Revit (to date) has not reinvented the learning curve with each new release. Autodesk ADT is HORRRRIBLE on reinventing the wheel and FORCING a new learning curve (read - unproductive) with each new release of ADT.

3. Coordination - Knowing the detail/symbol marks are correct. Knowing all details drawn are on a sheet. Instant update of all detail changes or sheet relocations.

4. "Automatic" elevations and sections.

5. 3d forcing me to work a problem I didn't even realize I created.

6. Instant "renderings" - I know some don't agree - but the built in Accurender for feedback and even finished presentations is great.

7. Revit AUGI land...

[hand471037]

1. I use Revit because it doesn't waste my time. My job is to get things built, to add value to the project with my ideas and experance, and to make things work. Revit gets out of my way, lets me do my job, and empowers me. It also deals with things the same way I do, so instead of having to master a bunch of esoteric ideas that have nothing to do with my real job (Display Reps/Constructs/XMLSheetSets/et all) I can focus on how to deliver the project best using tools that work the way I do (Phasing/Detail Levels/Callouts/Views-Sheets/et all).

2. I use Revit because it lets me focus more on the project and it's design then on the documentation, for so much of the documentation is handled for me, or once generated, automatically coordinated. This also allows me to catch more design errors, whereas most of my review time was used up before on Documentation errors, and none left over to think about what's best for the actual project.

3. I use Revit for it allows for changes late in the game. Some of your best ideas and solutions will only become apparent late in the CD phase, for design is not a linear process. Using a system that aids and supports change at any point allows me to use my best ideas without feeling the pain of having to re-do everything. It also lets me study those ideas pretty painlessly, so that I don't have to take all week just to know if I'm going down a dead-end with my Lobby design...

4. I use Revit because none of my clients can read working drawings. Being able to effortlessly generate 3D views/walkthroughs/renderings from any point at any point within the Project greatly aids communicating with the clients. I can also model live in front of them, include them more within the design process, have much clearer communication with them, and make them much happier about the overall project. This is a huge win, I'm happier, the Client is happier, and the Project is better because of it.

5. I use Revit because I moonlight. I help friends out with projects on the side. I doodle buildings for fun too sometimes. I would never be able to do this without Revit, for I wouldn't simply have the time- other systems would take too long to get to the same point, meaning that I'd have to choose between doing side projects and having any kind of life at all.

6. Lastly, I use Revit because I love it. I love the way you work in it. I love what I can do with it, and what it empowers me to be able to do. I never loved AutoCAD, for all it ever seemed to do was get in my way and take up my time away from the very things that I got into this business in the first place to do: Come up with Ideas and Get things Built, not master one particular vendor's software and all it's quirks just to get the drafting work done (which, in actuality, the drafting is the least-important thing that I do overall, and only one part of my job).

[Joef]

Well stated Jeffrey. I use Revit for many of the same reasons. I find it very satisfying to use Revit. I was a model maker for many years and I get much the same feeling of satisfaction from Revit as I did building scale models.

Joe

[Exar Kun]

The main two for us are coordination of drawings (although it still doesn't do some things the way we want with regards to view/section labelling) and the 3D capability. Our clients have certainly found the second aspect very useful indeed.

[ita]

Thats the one!!! Thanks Aaron so succinct.

[Lashers]

I could give ten, a hundred, possible even a thousand reasons why I use Revit, but instead, I'll try to describe the feeling I have for Revit.

Louis Kahn once said that the world didn't know it needed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony until it heard it, ... and then, it was impossible to imagine living without it.

And that's the same way I feel about Revit.

And tears of joy were shed all around . . .needless to say, I agree.

lashers

[WolffG]

I use Revit for one simple reason........I can concentrate on being an architect again, not a slave to a CAD program. It works like I think. (most of the time ;))