Small architectural firm triples in size and increases profits thanks to the efficiencies of its new building information modeling workflow. 

By Cameron Kruger, ArcWest Architects

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series sponsored by Autodesk, highlighting how Autodesk® Revit LT is improving the design workflow and overall success of small architectural firms. Click here to view the full series as well as other Revit-related blog content.

Walking into the office these days, I know things are going to be more streamlined than we’re used to. Dropping off my lunch, powering up the computer, and taking a moment to make a carafe of coffee, there is no rush to get started. We no longer feel behind. There is no need to refuse valuable projects or inflate our fees. I have time to respond to the plethora of email that magically appears overnight, and even to squeeze in a project like writing this blog series!

Topics: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Revit, Building Information Modeling, 3D, CAD Software, CAD, Visualization

A small firm’s transition from AutoCAD to Autodesk Revit LT wasn’t a piece of cake — but it has paid big dividends.

By Cameron Kruger, ArcWest Architects

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series sponsored by Autodesk, highlighting how Autodesk® Revit LT is improving the design workflow and overall success of small architectural firms. Click here to view the full series as well as other Revit-related blog content.

How does a small architectural firm update a design workflow that has been established for nearly a decade? How does a small firm keep up with the changing standards and increasing demands of the AEC industry? Those were the tasks ahead for our firm, ArcWest Architects, and Autodesk® Revit LT was our answer. Armed with rented software, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff, and an existing workflow not much different than the one we would be adopting, our firm set out on what we thought would be a daunting task but in reality became a small but advantageous challenge.

Topics: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Revit, Building Information Modeling, 3D, CAD Software, CAD, Visualization

A small architectural firm shores up business with a move to Revit LT.

By Cameron Kruger, ArcWest Architects

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series sponsored by Autodesk, highlighting how Autodesk® Revit LT is improving the design workflow and overall success of small architectural firms.

Walking down the streets of Denver, peeking past the small gaps in the covered chain link fence of a construction site, you can’t help but notice a sense of vitality in the hard concrete surfaces and piles of bent steel around the unfinished building. Life has yet to begin in this building, but you seem so aware of the energy the building was designed to project. I was walking toward the building when it hit me: The energy is coming from the thin sheet of vinyl wrapping the chain link fence, which reads, “Future home of. …” Above the text, an image shows a building yet to exist, a 3D rendering produced through a computer program that gives life to this area even before the occupants arrive.

Topics: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Revit, Building Information Modeling, 3D, CAD Software, CAD, Visualization

Here at CADspeed, we get a lot of questions about buying new hardware for CAD applications. While the answer to, "What CAD hardware should I buy?" varies widely based on the person asking the question, it always starts in the same place: with the requirements of the CAD software you plan to use.

Topics: Workstations, Autodesk, RAM, Hard Drive, AutoCAD, Processors, Revit, GPU, Inventor, Graphics Cards, Benchmark, Mobile Workstations, Video Cards

Reality capture is a boom business for the building industry. With roughly 5 million existing commercial buildings in the United States alone, it’s easy to understand why. Laser-scanner-based reality capture is the dominant methodology used today to accurately capture the 3D state of an existing building. However, the typical laser-scan-based point cloud is in the hundreds of millions of 3D points, sometimes even going into the billions of points. With this additional data overhead on top of an already dense Building Information Model, it’s important to optimize your workstation hardware to deliver a productive user experience.

Topics: Workstations, Autodesk, RAM, Hardware, Graphics Card, Hard Drive, Processors, Revit, SSD Drive, GPU, Memory, Graphics Cards, Connectivity, Backup System, Video Cards, CAD

Topics: Workstations, Hardware, Revit, Building Information Modeling, Connectivity, CAD

Many users may not realize that Revit has two graphic systems supporting model display.

Topics: Workstations, Autodesk, Graphics Card, Revit, GPU, Graphics Cards, Video Cards, CAD

Topics: Workstations, Autodesk, RAM, Hardware, Revit, Memory, Windows, CAD