Master the art of Renderings

    Renderings can be the best way to show off your ideas if they are good enough, but if you don't put the extra effort into them then they will just bring down your project and people will lose faith in you. So since I never want to see another terrible render that will make me want to change career paths here are some ways that you can improve your renderings and make them look like something out of a magazine. 

    

    Output Settings 

The settings are the first place you can look and make sure your'e settings are correct for what you are using. There are not just "the best settings" you have to adjust them to what you are trying to convey. 

When selecting the resolution you have more options if you select printer and most likely the render will be going on a sheet to print, if you select printer make sure you pick a higher DPI it will increase the amount of time to render but will increase the quality. 

    

    Textures and Tools 

This might seem a bit basic but its necessary to keep in mind, you have to remember to use specific textures for each material. The textures and images Revit provides just don't cut it you have to go out of your way and find textures for each item, this can be boring but necessary. What I like to do is google the specific material and find a repeating texture. 

    Background Images 

I find this can be a tough one, finding an image that fits properly and doesn't warp or is bad quality can be really hard and can take time just make sure your searches are very specific.

    Photo Editor 

People put all this work into their renderings with settings and images but one of the best ways to enhance your render and add an extra special touch is to export it as a PDF or how you prefer and then bring it into Photo Shop or just a regular Photo editor and play around with it until it looks fantastic. 

Using Virtual Reality (VR) in Architecture

  
   Virtual Reality is a relatively new thing when it comes to technology, regardless its already ahead of a lot of other technologies and has been adapted to so many different fields and uses. Architecture is a massive field in which VR has been adapted for, in the short time its been available its gone from being able to view a building in a 360 degree image, to now being able to view, walkthough and even edit your model all in VR.                                                                                                   

  As Virtual Reality has been used in architecture for a short while now its been found that there are many different uses it's not just for presentations and visualization it can also be for so much more, most people just haven't considered it yet. Such as when you're using VR you can convey your idea in a completely different way and medium compared to the standard way of a set of drawings or even a 3D model. The standard that is in place now just isn't even comparable to what it will be in 5 years and some larger companies are starting to see this and invest in different options. Even though larger companies are starting to use more futuristic ideas and ways a good majority of small and medium size companies just aren't even considering it because they have these predisposed ideas about what it takes to get to that level or what it costs. But in reality the cost is quite small going down and the benefits in my opinion would pay it back quickly, when you're presenting and working with your clients VR and AR can help convey what you're trying to do and help them understand what the finish product will look like. Using this has proven to help people connect with the ideas and get them excited about it, and when your client gets excited about what you are doing they are more likely to be pleased with your work and recommend you to others. If this would help you close deals and gain new clients that initial cost is quite minor. 

  Its been proven that when a company consistently uses VR during the design process of a project that they catch more small detail items and design flaws allowing them to fix them quicker and have less issues in the future. This actually saving them a significant amount of time and money that can be used in other areas. The benefits and ease just make integrating this to be a must in today's time.

Revit 2019, Best Update and Changes (Part 2)

Part 2, This is more of my favorite updates and changes to Revit 2019. A lot of these things are very small things but can be quite helpful when working on a project. 

Levels in 3D Views

Revit now allows you to show and modify your levels in a 3D view, or if you would rather not have them in that view you can now change the visibility of the level and choose which levels you would like to show or hide. I've found that this change is also very helpful when working on a massing object, if you are trying to change the height of a face you can drag it and it will snap to the levels. 

Dimensioning Curved Objects in Section Views

You can now dimension curved objects and walls using reference points created by curves, edges, or non perpendicular objects in section views or details. This is a very small but handy tool to have. 

Vertical Text Alignment

Another small but handy tool is the Vertical Text Alignment, you can now align annotations to the top middle or bottom of a text note and align them with vertical planes. 

Split Railings

The Split Tool can now be used on railings, allowing you to split the railing in the middle and modify it as you please. 

Revit 2019, Best Updates and Changes (Part 1)

As Revit has been around for a long time now they have been getting better at improving the software. Some of the new updates have created new ways of doing things and also new things that you can do. Here are some of my favorite updates to Revit 2019.

Switching Between Home Display and Ribbon

    If you're already in a Revit project and you wanna return to the Home Display you can now click Home on the Quick Access toolbar, or use the shortcut CTRL+D to switch between the Home Page and the Ribbon.


BIM 360 Files

    Since this is a BIM Blog I couldn't go without mentioning some of the updates regarding BIM. One of the more helpful updates for BIM is the new BIM 360 list, on the left panel of the Revit home page there is a list of all of the BIM 360 projects. This making it easier to find the project you are looking for.


Multi-Monitor Support

    Finally! Revit is creating support for multi-monitor functioning, so you can just drag the view over to a different monitor or panel and use both at the same time for referencing. Fantastic for keeping a 3D view open on the side for constant viewing, No more switching constantly!


Tab Views

    A great new way to organize what you are working on, the new tab views allows you to keep each view in a tab and arrange them as you please. This is great for when you are checking your sheets and making sure they are all in order. Also if you want to move the tabs and arrange your windows in separate panels you can do that to keep multiple view open at once.


For More Information Regarding Revit 2019 Check out The AutoDesk Site:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2019/ENU/Revit-WhatsNew/files/GUID-C81929D7-02CB-4BF7-A637-9B98EC9EB38B-htm.html?st=2019

THE IMPORTANCE OF DETAIL IN DESIGN

    When people look at buildings what do you think catches their eye or makes them remember that building?
And the thing is that people who aren't in architecture don't usually remember buildings or think of them as being memorable, but if there is a small detail that really stands out or just makes the building look different and new then most likely that person will remember it. And that is what architects and designers strive for, just that opportunity for people to look at the building the way they thought about it.

People usually remember the small details of buildings because that's how people can tell that the designer really put thought and time into it and made it into their work. So if the heart is in the details then that is where people need to start putting more focus, and I feel like that has been lost a bit in modern architecture. 

When a person first walks up to a building the first thing they see is the general exterior and the entrance so it is a good idea to make sure you make these into memorable and thought out places. 

Example: In this concept drawing you can see that for the entrance the designer made sure that it looked different and modern while also putting that sub conscience thought of the direction traffic should go. Making it a very thought out design that will actually serve a purpose. 

   
Materials can do a lot more then make a place look nice, when you use a specific material like wood or concrete it sets an overall tone for the building or space, but if you detail it in a specific way you can change that tone to what you want people to feel. Such as if you are designing a house in the country and want it to feel homely and quiet you would probably use wood, but if you want to think about it in a deeper way you have to first think about where you want the wood to show and what type of wood you want. To think about it in a deeper manner you have to think about what kind of materials work best with wood and where to place it. When thinking about placing materials you cant just have it everywhere and go crazy you have to think where it best fits and where it will work best with the settings of that area. 
You can see in this example that this is a good use of wood, you can see that they use the wood to accent the walls and stairs while its also not overpowering the room. Also the material and colour really works with the other materials in that room, making a very complimentary set of colours.

Now you can also see that in this example they did not really think about the details and they went a bit crazy. While the wood does look nice they decided to use it to much and now it looks very bland and boring. They should have thought about other materials that would have made a nice contrast to elevate the wood and make it standout. 

That's all the thoughts I can fit into this post about the benefits of details and ways to think about the small things that people may over look. But can greatly benefit the design and the idea of the building. 

5 Ways To Find Ideas For Architectural Designs

  1.    PICK UP A PENCIL AND START DRAWING: 

One of the most creative ways to get those initial ideas for your project is to just get a sketch pad and a pencil, start by thinking about what you want your project to have and draw each idea as a concept. Eventually when you have many ideas and concepts, it will give you more of an idea of what your building will look like and you can take the best ideas and designs to create the most efficient thought-out design. This is a process that has worked many times for me when I'm coming up with my initial design.  

  2.   TAKE YOUR THOUGHTS AND MAKE A WORD WEB:                                                                    

When you need to start thinking about your design you need to start with the question what will this building need? Ex. (Lobby, Restaurant, Kitchen, Living space, Ect.) Then when you know what your building will need you will be one step ahead when designing the layout, and it can also give you some cool ideas for the general design. 

  3.   GO FOR A WALK:                                                                                                                                    

There's nothing better for inspiration and ideas then a walk outside, when you go outside and clear your mind you can think about things in a different way. You can just focus on the design and layout of the city around you, but you don’t just have to focus on the existing architecture around you also try to focus on the nature around you. One of  the best ways to come up with natural modern designs is to look at nature and think about a way to turn that into a great piece of architecture. 

  4.   WATCH SOME DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE ARCHITECT:                            

When you're watching a good documentary on architecture it lets you inside the mind of that architect and about their process for design. Hearing about other people's processes can always help improve your process and the way you think about how to go about it. I will link some of my favorite documentaries below. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh96J9iXGyk          -Bjarke Ingles – Different angles  

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446784/                          -Sketches of Frank Gehry  

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK0mGdMKMW4 -Bjarke Ingles – Big Time 

    Check out "The art of design" on Netflix

5.   GO DOWN A NEVER-ENDING TUNNEL OF GOOGLE SEARCHES:                                                                    

One of the best ways to find Ideas but also waste about 4 hrs, is to start googling different things and keep clicking different suggestions until you have found an entire collection of great ideas. There are also many sites to help with this, go on Pinterest and make a page of cool ideas you’ve found, or go on google images and save all the good ideas to a folder for future references. As I said this can be a dark tunnel of time waste but you can also get some really cool ideas for your project.