This video features Matt Jezyk and Zach Kron from Autodesk speaking about using Revit and Vasari to implement ‘performance-based design’ techniques. Are you a pre-rational or post-rational modeler? Find out by watching:

Performance-Based Design with Revit from James Vandezande on Vimeo.

Note: I have been trying to convince the Seattle Revit Users Group to follow their lead and make videos public, rather than just members only. That is all I want in my stocking this year. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Via: What Revit Wants: Dont miss out on this! Matt Jezyk and Zach Kron on Performance-Based Design …

Autodesk University 2011, Part 1: Surfing the Waves of Disruption | Cadalyst.

Feeling stuck as a CAD or Model Manager? Stepping up to the challenges that await you as a BIM Leader is a healthy change we can all take boldly.

Be proactive, not reactive

Leaders are important throughout an entire organization. Understanding that the role of a leader is to inspire, this can happen at all levels of an organization – not just the BIM Manager. You can be seen by your fellow project team members as much more than simply a model manager. As a project BIM Leader, you must demonstrate the ability to effectively lead strategy, not just technology for successful adoption of a true-BIM workflow. Be proactive, not reactive.

AU Leadership Forum

I moderated a discussion during the Leadership Forum in an unconference session at Autodesk University last week. The topic: Leading Change – Reinventing BIM Leadership from the Ground Up. Participation was rather lively, and many who attended approached me afterwards with kind words. For those who would like to see the summarized notes, helpfully taken by Jason Grant on his iPad using my favorite new app SoundNote, you may download them from the links below. The beauty of the aforementioned app is the notes are timestamped and associated with the audio. Now, audio recorded even with the best equipment in a large room renders less clear commentary, so I provide with hesitation. Use at your own risk.

LF8081 – Leading Change – Discussion Notes

LF8081 – Leading Change – Audio Recording

And, for those who have the SoundNote App: Download the data file directly to your iPad. 

For those who attended my class: that roast duck hasn’t landed yet, has it? Take action. The sea of change continues to bring waves of disruption.

Every year, Autodesk University occurs the week after Thanksgiving. For those of you who would like to take part in this exciting learning opportunity, you can attend virtually. Previews of online classes are available on November 15, and you can watch prior AU video courses or download handouts at anytime. Sign up for AU Virtual today and join thousands of your colleagues online November 29–30 for AU Virtual 2011! Choose to Sign In, using your Autodesk single sign-on account.

For those of you following me on Twitter who are not attending AU in person, let me apologize in advance for the ridiculous number of tweets you will see in about 30 days. Search for #AU2011 (the official hash-tag) if you care to follow the conversation.

In actuality, the conference begins Tuesday morning, bright and early. Now, if you haven’t arrived yet, take a look at the My Sessions page at http://au.autodesk.com, and download all your handouts ahead of time. Mine will be handy on my iPad, so no trees will have been killed on my way to the classes. For those authors who have no handouts yet, and you know who you are… time is running out.

General rule: Long, and in-depth handouts are good for background and future reference. Short, effective slide decks show that the speaker will either have lots of good material to deliver verbally, or some amazing live examples showing us their software mastery – that’s why we arrive in person.

Follow me on Twitter, @seandburke, or search for #AU2010 and participate in the event from afar. I still have AU Virtual Full passes available which will get you into a bunch of live/video feed instructor led classes – so DM me on Twitter if you want them. I am sure they will go fast. By 7am, I will start responding to requests. Good night, and good luck.

Learn something new everyday.

So, on to the Tuesday Keynote and three ah-ha moments:

1. It’s not about Revit… or BIM, but Digital Design tool synergies! Best of breed products that work well together to create new opportunities and break new ground. Use things not necessarily as designed. Maya can make buildings, Revit can make movie sets. Put everything in a bowl, mix and see what pops out. These are exciting times.
2. Sustainability, talk by Amory Lovins, co-founder and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, approaches design with whole systems thinking. If a design feature can have more than one purpose, and is efficient,  it can drastically reduce energy use by leaps and bounds over traditional design, engineer, then build workflows. If you can make an SUV that is just as luxurious as a traditional model, but gets over 80MPG, why aren’t we all doing this now? If you can build a building that is so efficient you require no conventional systems to be comfortable, and it costs less to build, why not do it. Renovate the Empire State Building such that the energy savings are $4M annually and has a three year payback? That’s how you fix the economy. If we can upgrade just a portion of the existing building stock… think of the potential for jobs, increased profits, and reduced need for imported energy.
3. Jeff Kowalski from Autodesk showed some radically amazing possibilities for integrated workflows within Revit. Sustainable design in the tool is a natural next step. The API in Revit 2010, thanks Matt Mason, already has the ability to cast rays and analyze points in the model which is much of the power available in Ecotect today. This has the potential to enable thermal, daylighting, visibility, and acoustic analysis in Revit. Let’s hope it’s in 2011… Time will tell. Along similar lines, which validates this assumption, Jeff talked about the current disconnected workflow of Design -> Analysis. Obviously, this removes the ability to iterate through design ideas either quickly or often. When he turned that workflow around with the idea of Analysis -> Design people literally had their tongues on the floor. The scenario went like this (with fabulous imagery): input some criteria about the site, and the building, and the analysis engine test many iterations of form, orientation, and massing. Comparing these to hit the sweet spot for efficiency, or daylighting allows the designer to move forward with a concept quickly.

Interesting times. Be Visual!

I’ve put together a final, but tentative schedule. Hey, anything can change this week. If you are teaching a class and I didn’t register for yours, it is only that there are so many to choose from this year – over 600 including the virtual sessions. Below is primarily an organizational attempt at figuring out where I need to be in addition to my Google calendar which I can happily read on my phone. The second, perhaps more compelling reason to share is that some of you may wish to meet up at one of these events to discuss Revit, Ecotect, the Mac, or simply come over and say hello. I resemble the image to the left on this blog’s sidebar, albeit with slightly higher color depth.

So, here it is:

Mon Nov 30, 2009

• 6:30pm – 8pm AU Bloggers Social - invitation only

Tue Dec 1, 2009

• 8am – 9:30am     | CP104-2 The Basics of the Autodesk® Revit® API | Where: MB Ballroom F
• 10am – 11:30am | KN108-1 AU Keynote and Welcome Address with Carl Bass | Where: North Convention Center, Events Center (Arena)
• 11:30am – 1pm ||Lunch || Where: South Convention Center, Level 2 Shoreline A
• 1pm – 2:30pm | AB114-1 Insanely Great Stairs and Railings with Autodesk® Revit® | Where: MB Ballroom C
• 3pm – 4:30pm     | DV118-1 Optimizing Your Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design Models for Project Newport | Where: Jasmine F
• 5pm – 6:30pm | Private Meeting
• EXHIBIT HALL – FIRST LOOK
• 8pm – 9:30pm | DS128-1 Cut&Paste: AU Design Slam, Preliminary Rounds | Where: MB Ballroom G
• 9pm – 10:30pm   | AB9130-1 Autodesk® Revit® Collaboration: Shared Coordinates for Projects Big and Small | Where: VIRTUAL

Wed Dec 2, 2009

• 6am – 7am | CR9200-1 Introduction to a BIM Execution Plan | Where: VIRTUAL
• 8am – 9:30am | CP204-3 Deep Dive on the Revit API: Advanced Topics | Where: Lagoon G
• 10am – 11:30am | AB208-3 Autodesk® Revit® for Urban Design | Where: South Seas H
• LUNCH/EXHIBIT HALL
• 1pm – 2:30pm      | CP214-2 Creating and Analyzing New Conceptual Massing Geometry With the Autodesk® Revit® API | Where: MB Ballroom C
• 3pm – 4:30pm      | AB218-4 Autodesk® Revit®: A BIM Manager’s Guide to Revit-alizing Your Office | Where: MB Ballroom D
• 5pm – 6:30pm | MA222-4 Content Is King: Working With Autodesk® Inventor® and Autodesk Revit® | Where: Banyan F
• 6pm – 6:30pm | Private Meeting
• 6:40pm – 8:15pm | AB226-1 Sustain Yourself With Revit® Architecture Certification | Where: South Seas F
• BEER and AUGI stuff…
• 8pm – 9:30pm | DS228-1 Cut&Paste: AU Design Slam Finals

Thu Dec 3, 2009

• 6am – 7am | ED9300-1 Incorporating Software Simulation Into Web-Based Training | Where: VIRTUAL
• 8am – 9:30am | AB304-1 Autodesk® Revit® for Film and Stage | Where: MB Ballroom B
• 10am – 11:30am  | DV308-3 Virtual Cinema and Architecture: A New Method of Client Visualization Is Born | Where: South Seas I
• 11:30am – 12:45pm | SB311-1 Autodesk Subscription Customers Help Shape Autodesk University 2010 With Lynn Allen | Where: North Convention Center, Lower Level, South Pacific E
• 1pm – 2:30pm | CM314-3 BIM Management | Where: South Seas B
• 3pm – 4:30pm        | AB318-4L From Fabulous to Fabrication: Real-World Digital Fabrication and BIM | Where: MB Ballroom H (Lab)
• 5pm – 6:30pm        | MA322-2 Taking the Dysfunction Out of Your Autodesk® Revit® Families:Best Practices for Manufacturer BIM Content | Where: Jasmine A
• 6:30pm – 9:30pm  ||AU Party AU Party – Food and Fun! | Where: South Convention Center, Level 1 Bayside B, Bayside B Foyer & Shark Reef

Fri Dec 4, 2009

• 9am – 10am | DV9406-1 Parametric Design Modeling with Autodesk® 3ds Max® | Where: VIRTUAL
• 11am – 12pm  | FM9410-1 Don’t Get Floored In Your Facility: Autodesk® Revit® Architecture as an Effective Facilities Management Tool | Where: VIRTUAL

For those attending this week, I’ll be at the Revit Mixer this evening at 7:30. Anyone who signed up for Revit classes should have received an invite. I’m glad the tradition continues. I look forward to meeting some new users and reconnecting with customers that I’ve worked with at Autodesk Consulting. See you there.

I’m all warmed up and ready to present my first of two classes, Leveraging Revit Projects in VIZ, Tuesday morning at 10:00, right after the main stage presentation. Shaan Hurley hints that there will be some very exciting stuff. Even as an employee, I can’t say I’m sure what amazing things will be showcased. My other class, held Friday at 8:00am, features Pre-Design and Planning in Revit Architecture. It is a lab, so space is limited, if it hasn’t already sold out. This should prove to be a very exciting week.

Registration for Autodesk University (AU) 2007 will be open very soon… this month, in fact. The event may not be until the end of November, but you must be sure to book early before all the best hotel rooms are gone. See Shaan’s post on why… and if you are having a difficult time convincing the boss – whether that person is your manager, yourself or your spouse – there are some excellent tips from Lynn Allen to help justify the expense. The learning opportunities alone will pay back many times over.

This will be my third attendance of AU, and this year I will be an instructor of two classes:

• Pre-Design and Planning in Revit Architecture | 1.5 hr lab
• Leveraging Revit projects in Autodesk VIZ | 1.5 hr class

See you there!