Voyansi Voices Blog

This is our time! In all these years, Voyansi has grown and improved the quality of the services it offers. It was with dedication, hard work, and lots of learning on the way that we become one of the leaders in the industry.

Revit “Programming Techniques”

In our previous discussion on the Revit API, we reviewed the concept of using the Revit API to craft a plugin to extend the out-of-the-box functionality within Revit. Conceptually speaking, the Revit API is a library of definitions and protocols that can be interacted with through a programming operation to create a capability within Revit. Once one understands the basic premise of creating a Revit plugin, the logical next step is to consider the methods available to undertake the actual “programming” of the plugin.

The majority of applications for the AECO (Architecture, engineering, construction, operation) industry are desktop applications (primarily MS Windows© based).  These applications tend to be expensive in cost, especially so today with ‘subscription’ modes of licensing becoming more common. 

As a Designer in the AEC/BIM arena, you often hear about needs such as increasing automation, workflow improvement, reducing repetitive and time-consuming tasks, and preventing human error. On the technology front, much of the time Dynamo is the tool that is turned to in order to address those needs.

We are technology enthusiasts, and we state that software is at the core of how we make BIM accessible for all. But beyond our phrases, there’s a lot of information waiting to be interpreted and told.

It’s like a watch. What we see on our wrists is the result of a series of smaller processes that make the handles move and let us know what time it is. Are you going to tell me that what lies behind the numbers and handles isn’t interesting to you?

What’s behind many of the things we do is Dynamo. But before getting specific about it, we should see the bigger picture.

As my first piece of advice, the key to success in any training program is to balance and give importance to organization and methodology along with technical and practical training content. 

Ideally, your staff training should be thought of as a program rather than an isolated one-time event. Your program should contain specific objectives that your training program aims to achieve. 

For this reason, I’m dividing these ten tips into five generic ones (tips that apply to all training programs) and five specific to Revit.

Some people are still not aware of how BIM could make an enormous and positive difference in their professional careers, which means they are unaware of its capabilities and the role it’s going to play in the recent future.

Studying architecture is synonymous with using different software tools to design and plan. Students often render several versions of their projects so that they can see what they would actually look like once they’ve been built. However, despite all the innovations that this software has, many architects are letting go of traditional practices to focus their efforts on BIM.

Generally speaking, the buildings that impress people all around the world are architectural wonders that couldn’t be constructed without leveraging BIM. Why? There are many stakeholders involved in the complex design and build efforts of new structures. This presents many challenges for architects who are still often using tools that don’t bring to the table all of what BIM has to offer.

Architects: just beyond your screen exists an oasis of automation, where doing your work is just as easy as building it, and day-to-day changes are automatically communicated across the entire team.  Need to revert back to an older version?  Done. Want to see your project built in real-time as you’re designing it?  Great.  Come join our oasis, the magical world of software development.