A lot has happened with Dynamo since my last postabout this new tool. New nodes have been introduced, the program has grown much more stable, and the UI is looking slicker than ever.
CASEhas been working with Autodesk's Dynamo development team and the Autodesk Education group to put together a short video series to introduce users to some key concepts for using Dynamo and Vasari for computational design. With narration by yours truly, the 10 videos provide a step-by-step primer for computational design with BIM. As Zach Kron put it, even your mom could get through these :)
Just a little over 1-month away, the event is located in my own backyard of Omaha, NE at Aksarben Village. Feel free to stop by our booth and talk shop. We'd love to hear what you are up to and share what we have cooking!
As part of the event, I will be speaking on the subject of interoperability. I will showcase some case studies of how new workflows with other software greatly enhance the Revit BIM experience. You also won't want to miss Dave Fano's presentation about CASE and how we are helping AECO organizations maximize the value of their technology and information!
While the majority of my recent posts have shown off some of our interoperability tools from a designer's perspective, they also have massive benefits for engineering workflows.
We have found that our structural engineering clients see a high level of value in using an iterative tool, like Grasshopper, to build models and iterate with their analysis tools. Using these workflows as a basis, the CASE tools can then help to translate these into Revit-based structural elements.
Dynamo: Getting Revit to do things that Revit couldn't do otherwise...
We are living in an exciting period for design technology. New tools are cropping up on a daily basis. Many of them have exciting potential but it is sometimes hard to discern which ones are going to 'catch on' and ignite a creative shift within the design disciplines. Grasshopper is one program that has unquestionably caught on and pushed the idea of 'computational design' out of the experimental fringe and into the mainstream discourse. Of course, Grasshopper was influenced by other software that preceded it (Generative Components, for example) and its success is now heavily influencing the creation of new tools for other platforms.
Computation is now a pervasive part of practice thanks to the proliferation of new advanced tools and supportive communities. We are now living in a paradigm where this 'computation stuff' is not only for esoteric discussions among academics or only for practices with elite 'geometry' groups.
Designers have spoken... we want extensible tools that let us customize our process.
The best part: software companies are listening... anddesigners are winning! This means more SDKs, expanded APIs, and even more visual programming languages that don't require designers to have to learn those 'pesky' scripting languages.
Enter Dynamo...
A few years ago, I met a fellow by the name of Ian Keough while I was living in Los Angeles. He had just moved to the area and was working for Buro Happold as a computational expert. We met up one day for lunch to share some war stories and show each other the kinds of stuff we were working on. At one point he fired up a Revit add-in called "Dynamo". He was interested in seeing if a node-based language, akin to Grasshopper, was possible and practical with Revit. It was an impressive proof-of-concept and I was very interested to see if and how it was going to evolve. Did a node-based interface have a place in Revit? What could it be used for?
Soon after this informal meetup, Ian released Dynamo as an Open Source project on GitHub where it quickly garnered attention and contributions from Autodesk. Today, Dynamo remains open source and Autodesk has committed serious resources to see it grow into a fully featured extension to the Revit and Vasari programs. Dynamo has matured a great deal in the past few months. The node library is expanding exponentially and the program has become far more stable and reliable... and it's all happening through the transparency of an open source initiative. (Autodesk and Open Source??? Really???)
What can you do with Dynamo?
Dynamo features a very similar node-based interface as Grasshopper. However, Dynamo is built on top of a very different platform and API... and that fact is the key to its potential novelty and relevance. Here are some thoughts on where I see Dynamo offering unique opportunities for the design team:
Customize Revit: Up front, Dynamo lets users build automation routines for Revit without the need to learn the Revit API (a challenge, to be sure!). This opens up numerous opportunities for users of Revit to customize their workflow with a significantly reduced learning curve.
Control Model Information:As Building Information Modeler, the real power of Revit is not in pure geometry creation, but in how you can track and control model information. Dynamo lets users design systematic relationships for manipulating model elements and parameters that would be otherwise impossible with conventional Revit tools.
Design with BIM:BIM is often put in the box of being only for 'production'... not for designing. Dynamo has the potential to turn this preconception on its head and allow designers to explore iterative frameworks in the context of a BIM tool.
Here are some things I've been sketching out with Dynamo in recent days...
Creating a parametric stadium bowl by controlling Revit families.
Using Dynamo to create a parametric 'rig' for adaptive truss families.
A Dynamo-controlled stadium assembly with bowl and canopy.
Is Dynamo 'Ready'?
Dynamo is growing by the day (sometimes hour) as the developers address the challenge of supporting the intricacies Revit's BIM database framework. In recent weeks, I have had the privilege of collaborating with Zach Kron and Ian Keough on some new Dynamo content. The things you are able to do with Dynamo today would have been impossible in earlier builds (even builds from a week or two ago).
...but as was the case with Grasshopper, it ultimately falls in the hands of the design, computation, and BIM communities to contribute and help Dynamo mature. Only then will we all fully benefit from another high-value tool in our arsenal.
I am participating in a grip of events this month (I always look for good opportunities to use the phrase 'grip'). If you are interested in Interoperability, Conceptual Modeling in Revit, or how CASE works check them out....!
Interop....
Shanghai BIM: If you are in Shanghai in the next day or so, stop in to the Shanghai BIM group's Monthly meeting on the evening of Thursday, May 30. I will be delivering a talk (remotely) about CASE and Interoperability.
Education...
Vasari Talk: If you were interesting in the process of the UNL Computer Applications in Design course, be sure to check out this upcoming Vasari Talk on Wednesday, June 12.
TAP...
AIA TAP Columbus:On Friday, June 7, I will be giving a remote presentation about the impacts of Computational Design on the practice of architecture. This talk is part of the Columbus AIA TAP Event.
CASE...
Metropolis: Brilliant Simplicity:In the aftermath of the AIA Convention in Denver, HDR is hosting Metropolis Magazine on the evening of Thursday, June 20th. I will be a panelist to discuss the changing nature of architecture practice and how CASE fits into the grand scheme...
