Download IES Revit Architecture Plug-In

Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) has released their new IES plug-in for Revit Architecture. Once installed, it will appear in the menu.

The IES December 12th press release states:

Within Revit Architecture, the Toolkits provide four analysis options: heating and cooling load calculations, annual dynamic thermal simulation for energy consumption, sun view animation for winter, summer and midseason, and a daylighting assessment. The Toolkits automatically run the chosen analysis through the IES suite of building performance software and generate an html report of relevant information quickly and easily.

Download the IES Revit Architecture Plug-in Features PDF file.


Use the IES Revit Architecture Tutorials gain insight on the proper use of these sustainability tools.

Chicago ALA-CSI BIM Accredited Educational Presentation

Association of Licensed Architects (ALA) and The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) of Chicago are hosting their 9th Annual Architecture Conference & Product Show on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at Drury Lane, Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois.

The 2007 Conference Schedule kicks off with "GREEN BUILDINGS AND THE BOTTOM LINE - THE 'NEW REALITY' OF GREEN BUILDING" Featuring Keynote Speaker, Editor-in-Chief Robert Cassidy "Building Design + Construction"

I will be presenting a BIM educational session (1.5 LU) in the early afternoon, 1:30-3:00pm.

L2 - LESSONS LEARNED: HARNESSING THE MOMENTUM FROM THE BIM PROCESS - Daniel Hughes, ICE, IMAGINiT Technologies

Today's progressive architects, engineers, contractors and building owners are harnessing the momentum of a wave; defined as Building Information Modeling (BIM). This presentation reviews the specifics of how several regional, national, and global design firms, contractors, and owners are harnessing the momentum of the BIM process. They are choosing specific projects and strategically applying the BIM process to the design, engineering, construction and building management tasks. 1.5 LU

You can still register online for the conference and educational events.

See you there!

BIM and Sustainable Design Require Value-Based Business Model (Part 1 of 2)

How will we pay for these value-add process changes to our design firm?

A client asked this question two years ago when we provided a 12 month BIM-Revit implementation plan.

As a company they had identified the BIM and sustainable design processes as long-term value propositions for their firm.

Then again, value for whom?

So, how do we market this value?

How do we get paid for this value?

What's in it for me (us)?

As this is a common concern/question, I referred them to this article, Redesign Your Profits: Value-Based Fee Structure which was posted on the DesignIntelligence website.

Redesign Your Profits: Value-Based Fee Structure (Excerpt)
by Kyle V. Davy, AIA, and Susan L. Harris, Ph.D.

A brutal fact of reality for architecture and engineering firms is that prevailing pricing and compensation methods—setting fees on the basis of direct labor cost (whether selling hours on a time-and-materials or lump-sum basis)—provide only minimal profits for most firms.

They also reinforce client perceptions that engineering, architecture, and design services are simply commodities to be purchased on the basis of lowest cost.

The insufficient returns generated by these pricing methods starve firms of the resources they need to grow and foster a survival mentality in which many professionals are unwilling or unable to apply their unique expertise, dedication, and vision to the complex challenges that confront clients, communities, and society.

Value Redesigned: New Models for Professional Practice (Book) is published by Greenway Communications and can be found in the Greenway Communications bookstore or I have found it available on several bookstore websites.

This book and others have provided instrumental road maps to this firm’s success. Their creative staff synthesized these contents and has continued to create hybrid value-based process changes; specific to their organization.

In the next and final installment, we'll outline a few of those business and design process changes. Processes they implemented to create a value-based business model. We'll also give you another book that also played into their success.

Green Homes Put Green in Everyone's Pocket

Designing homes? Building homes? Have you been competing on price or on the value of your home designs? Has it become a buyer's market in your locale? Has the cost of construction materials delayed or cancelled any projects.

Here's a great article that provides you and your client with the opportunity to put some green into the home design; but also put green into both of your pockets. For those builders that are interested in earning several thousand dollars of tax credits, check out item #2 on Jerry's list.

Ten Reasons Why the Green Home Market is Ready to Surge
By: Jerry Yudelson, Senior Editor - Monday, July 17, 2006 Source: iGreenBuild.com

Green or Sustainable Design usually means longterm payback as you invest money upfront. The website described below (DSIRE) is updated weekly and monthly. It provides upfront rebates and cash-back incentives for buying products that match the specifications database; furnaces, air conditioning, lighting, appliances, insulation and more. Financing for these rebates is provided through local, state & federal government agencies, utilities and/or product manufacturers.

The Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE). It's a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and selected federal incentives that promote renewable energy. DSIRE now includes incentives for energy efficiency. Choose one or both databases for searching.

As part of the learning process, visit the U.S. Greenbuilding Council (USGBC) site for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes (LEED-H). You can download a checklist sustainable features that will determine the LEED rating of your designs. It features contact information for more than 40 state agencies. The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has reprinted a four-page article title "Green Building for Homes" from Home Energy magazine.

We are in the beginning stages of LEED-H. You have time to begin incorporating the easiest sustainability features into your designs. Automating the LEED material and performance documentation for your home designs is important to qualify for funding. Next time, we'll look at a couple Autodesk Revit features to assist with automating the documentation and performance simulation of your home designs for LEED-H.

New Autodesk Green Projects Feature Revit BIM

Autodesk is sponsoring two new green sites. In June 2006, they are sponsoring a six-part PBS television series narrated by Brad Pitt titled "e2, the Economics of Being Environmentally Conscious". They're building a site Design e2 that has streaming video, downloadable audio & video podcasts, with other content that focuses on the themes of "reduce, reuse and recycle".

The Autodesk Sustainable Design Center
The Sustainable Center will be an online meeting place to share ideas, stories and resources around sustainable design. The site will feature environmentally progressive projects, thought leader profiles, case studies and stories that demonstrate what is imaginable in the future and what is achievable today. Additionally, the Sustainability Center will provide a resource section that will be a living library of articles to read, groups to join, places to meet and forums for discussion. The site is scheduled to be available May 31, 2006. You can pre-register using the link above to obtain email notices from the site when it goes live.

Both sites are in development and available in a limited fashion. As Autodesk sponsors the PBS series, we'll have an opportunity to see Revit purple in the green public spotlight.