When other says... "Revit is blocking my creative thinking..."....

[admin735342]

Hi to all!

Just want to share my story here at work... and I did some research outside as well regards to this topic.

"Revit is making my creative thinking hard..."

When I hear this at work and the web... I always tilt my head and think why... why he/she thinks that Revit is making their lives very hard...?

I Personally love using Revit Architecture to test my creative ideas. I imagine first... then sketch my ideas and model it to see in 3D and get a sense of what it looks like in perspective... From there, I can actually observe properly and be honest to myself and say... "yes.. just as I imagine" or "actually... it just look *****...".
And I know everybody has their different way of processing their creative thinking and that's great!

But the person who says this... "Revit is making my life hard"... I think they are just saying as an excuse because they actually don't have any advanced training. It sounds like they are just blaming the software, and it's also a sign that they are just relying on everything in the software that's not how Architects or Designers works...

What do you think...?
I wrote more about this on my blog...
'Revit is blocking your creative thinking? This is why… (http://archievo.com/2016/08/28/revit-is-blocking-your-creative-thinking-this-is-why/)'
but would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

TK
ArchiEvo (www.archievo.com)

[Primekind]

Hello TK

I agree with you. I think they are saying "Revit is makig my life hard" because they themselves are not professionals. They are craft men who are excited about designs and are looking for a software (Revit) that can just do everything from start to finish. If they where professionals, they would understand the normal design workflow which involves Conceptualizing the idea, Making Sketches and Creating the 3D Model.

What do you think?


Abbey T. F.

[admin735342]

Hi Abbey

I love it

You get the point there, I love when you say "If they where professionals, they would understand the normal design workflow...".
That's completely right... All design or any design needs a process of creative thinking.
I always separate the mind of Creative Thinking and Revit (Software) away from each other because it becomes a distraction. Though for me to say that it's really important to be confident in using Revit (any BIM software).

Revit is just a tool, and it is a great tool and I don't think I can stop using it.
But we can still create and design great things without it.

The moment when designers or architects are limiting themselves of their creativity because of their software skills, it is a sign that they have hit the wall.
And rather than blaming the software, I would love to see but to actually improve or learn new software (ie. dynamo, grasshopper, etc...).

Thanks for your thoughts

TK
ArchiEvo (www.archievo.com)

[duende.anisotropico]

Probably this kind of people says
"Gravity is blocking my creative thinking..."

Design without limitations is very easy
on the other hand they can still do it with paper and pencil

[admin735342]

Hi Duende

Thanks for the insights.

I agree.
I still believe every design needs to start with paper and pencil.
Conceptual sketch, detail or whatever it may be to get the ideas to be more visual.

TK
ArchiEvo (www.archievo.com)

[irneb]

I've seen it from both sides. Those who find such 3d modelling a detraction, as well as the other extreme where a "designer" needs the 3d modelling before they can actually understand what they'r designing. And not just from Revit, but any sort of 3d modelling, first time I saw this was actually in mid 90s while modelling in AutoCAD.

Both those extremes are bad. And both for the same reason: It's a symptom of someone unable to think about the spacial consequences of their design. The "guy" saying Revit inhibits their design, is actually saying: "Revit shows up my poor 3d thought processes". The guy saying "I need Revit to design" is actually saying "I cannot think how the model is supposed to look, I need it modelled before I can visualize it". I.e. someone using 2d sketches to hide their incompetence as well as someone only able to design-by-prototype.

The best designers are somewhere in between those extremes - able to both think about and visualize their ideas without such modelling helpers, but also able to think of things which can actually work (and won't be shown to be impossible when modelled). In short, a good designer shouldn't "need" 3d modelling, but should not be scared that it may show them up - definitely not to the point where they then "blame" something like Revit as a scapegoat for bad designs.

[patricks]

Anything is hard if you're not familiar with it. I think AutoCAD is hard as **** to use, but then I barely ever use it for anything, ever, and never learned it properly. It seems totally counter intuitive, but seasoned CAD users might think the opposite, and think Revit is counter intuitive. Most people don't understand how cars work or how to repair and maintain cars, but I can probably tear down and rebuild my car while blind folded. It's all about what you're familiar with and what you have experience using.

[david_peterson]

I've been thru the Autocad Solids to generate and document process platforms. Down to the connections, Hand Rails on the steps and the Tread Placement. We needed to take it far enough that we could show a weld map for the Fabricator to sign off on.
I've been the Architectural Desktop (now ACA) using massing components to build a house in the virtual world so I could create Panel drawings for pre-fabbing and shipping down to the site. Ever model individual studs (kings, commons and trimmers) for an entire house. That was a lot of fun. Very tedious.
I've also used ACA to show my designer what his canopy was going to look like and establish the dimensional geometry since he couldn't figure it out.
I've used Revit to do similar things. Small little office buildings to very large complex Process Plants.
Each product has it's good points and it's faults. The key to being a great user is knowing what those are and how to get around them.
Just remember that Story of Frank Ghery and Crumpled up Paper Bag design. That was his vision, someone still needed to draw it.
As the old saying goes, "You can build just about anything you want, as long as you're willing to pay for it."
As the professionals that simply need to get the job done, we need to think outside the box and use the tools for what they are good for. Revit curtain walls for example. Most people think of the curtain wall tool as something you use to make a Glass and Mullion System. I look at it as an object that hosts over objects. Curtain panels don't have to be glass. They work great for pre-cast Concrete, metal panel and even terracotta.
Just my 2 cents.