Improved building design and documentation

Autodesk has announced the worldwide availability of the Autodesk Revit 5 building design and documentation system, the latest release of this powerful application.

Autodesk has announced the worldwide availability of the Autodesk Revit 5 building design and documentation system, the latest release of this powerful application.

This premier building information modelling solution provides expanded capabilities for use on larger and more complex projects, more efficient memory management and significant performance and user interface improvements.

Communication with the extended design team becomes seamless through native support for the DWG file format and client communication is also enhanced by the ability to quickly create walkthrough animations that effectively convey intricate design concepts.

Productivity is improved through increased automation of construction documentation and new tools, templates and construction content extend the benefits of this groundbreaking building information modelling solution to the construction community.

Revit 5 continues the rapid release schedule for which Revit has always been known and is the first major release since Autodesk acquired Revit Technology Corporation in April 2002.

"We've already been using Revit successfully for several large-scale university projects", said David Graue, principal of Antunovich Associates.

"With the performance and scalability improvements of this new release from Autodesk, we can now use Revit even more effectively for detailed design development of campus projects involving multiple buildings on one site.

This translates into real time savings for the entire team".

This release includes a number of enhancements that expand the capabilities of Revit software for effective use on large-scale building projects.

Designers can now link individual Revit models together to form a larger project while maintaining the capability to edit each model independently.

This enables project teams to design multiple structures and link them together for work on campus-style building projects or facilities with discrete wings.

Overall performance is also improved in a number of important ways.

Workset operations are faster and files open and save more quickly.

References between worksets no longer have to be managed by the user to realise memory management benefits; the software does it automatically.

Benchmarking tests show that models created in Revit 5 take up about one-third of the computer memory required by earlier versions of the software.

In addition, a variety of enhancements to the user interface contribute further to the software's widely recognised ease of use.

For example, the new work plane grid makes visualisation of modelling and sketching operations easier.

Drawing complicated sketches and small components in details has also been made easier by the ability to sketch in a "thin line" mode, displaying all graphics with a uniform thin line weight instead of a plotted line weight.

Effective communication is an essential component of successful project management, especially when working as part of a large design team.

To clearly convey design concepts, Revit 5 provides fully rendered walkthrough animations that are exportable for viewing in industry standard media players.

To ensure seamless coordination with the extended design team, Revit 5 provides industry-leading DWG compatibility.

Architects and other building professionals using Revit on building projects worldwide can now import, export, and link AutoCAD data more easily than with any other software.

This makes it possible to implement an intelligent building information modelling strategy on projects where other team members may be employing more traditional digital tools.

By automating low-value chores, Revit software allows designers to spend more time resolving real design issues and architectural problems.

In Revit 5, new building components increase productivity by requiring less 2D parametric detailing, graphics and line work.

For example, wall assemblies with different materials vertically can now be described directly, so features such as cornices, wainscot and other trim are now part of an assembly.

Sections through these assemblies are therefore more technically correct and require less parametric detailing and line work to create the proper details.

"We've made a significant investment in developing Revit as the premier building information modelling solution and this release represents Autodesk's dedication to the new platform", said Phil Bernstein, FAIA, Vice President of Autodesk's Building Industry Division.

Autodesk Revit 5 is currently available on the web worldwide in English.

Other language versions will be available in approximately 90 days from this initial release.

Current subscribers of Revit may download the software and will receive a CD in January 2003 as part of their subscription.

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