I recall many years ago hearing about a small software company in Cambridge, MA that was working on a new program for architects and designers. Back in the day, Autocad was the prominent application, and I was using Microstation. It seemed then that a new method of drawing lines was in the works, perhaps something far more sophisticated and design oriented outside the basic 12 commands that most users were and still are using to produce drawings. Personally, spending time filleting lines and cleaning up lines and layering lines just never made any sense to me in terms of design. Sometimes I’ve wondered on projects that bill hourly if the clients were merely expensing the shortcomings of the cad user based on their understanding of the software, shouldn’t they be paying for design time and project related documentation?

So I start my blog talking about software, or as I perfer to call it “design technology”, because it’s important to understand that today most design is generated in the mind and communicated through digital media. Until the introduction of BIM about a decade ago there has been no significant change in the way Architects produce drawings outside of the introduction of the personal computer.

This year I decided to make a commitment to using Revit, a BIM program, which initially meant learning new software, however I’m finding the change to be more than that. The gratification of drawing smart walls, doors and windows quickly dispersed as the software demanded more of my attention. Unlike other applications that can be understood through a “Blah for Dummies” book, this one continues to ask questions.

The journey I find myself in has happened 100′s of times in small to large firms around the world, perhaps some of the questions regarding BIM are similar, completely different, or previously answered, nevertheless this information needs to be shared and discussed in order to elevate the platform to new levels.

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