Another aspect of Revit that has become apparent as we begin to explore it is how effective it is in streamlining the design process. It differs from AutoCAD and Google Sketch-up in the way that the plans, sections, and detail drawings are being created along with the three dimensional model of the structure. As the model is created, the floor plans are drawn up, and I only need to show where I want to cut a section or have a detail drawing to have it created.
Another way that this program streamlines the design process is due to that the three dimensional models are made up of actual structural parts. When you draw a wall or window, the program automatically knows the all the properties of that component, and this can be used later to gather structural, environmental, and other vital data about the structure.
One aspect of Revit that concerns me as far as its potential as a design tool is whether the component based design process will limit creativity due to constraints on what shapes can be created. Our instructor, however, told us about a tool to create abstract shapes that the structural parts can then be adapted to, and I am interested in experimenting with this aspect.