Analysis and Visualization in Revit Architecture 2011

In an effort to extend the capabilities of analysis and visualization, Autodesk has added several new features to Revit Architecture 2011 to help you more quickly and easily analyze and present your designs. These features will enable you to seamlessly extend your building information modeling (BIM) workflow and help you develop more compelling, data-rich designs.

Visualization Enhancements

1. New Visual Styles

In addition to Wireframe, Hidden Line, Shaded and Shaded with Edges, Revit Architecture now has two new visual styles to help improve the quality of your design workflow and your presentations. Consistent Colors is similar to Shaded with Edges except that covers the model in even lighting, so you don’t have to worry about dark areas of the model due to unintended lighting conditions. Realistic is a shaded view with ‘live’ rendered textures for all of your materials, which instantly turns a working view into a presentation view that almost looks like a rendering. This view even displays decal images without having to render the view.
(Note: you might need to re-path image files for decals in order to get view to display properly)

A couple of new options have also been added to the Graphic Display Options dialog. You now have the ability to use Ambient Occlusion in your views as well as controlling the intensity of Indirect Light without having to turn on the sun and shadows. So you can gain both a softer, rendered look in your working views and quickly adjust the overall brightness. Both of these settings offer more granular control over the visual quality of your views for better presentations and ease of use.

2. Rendering Enhancements

Now let’s have a look at some rendering enhancements. First, in addition to solid color and sky options, Revit Architecture can now use images for rendering backgrounds. Background images have several scaling and positioning options so that you can create the optimal effect.

I’d like to mention a couple of other enhancements while the view renders. First, rendering in the Revit family of products is no longer limited to the use of 4 cores on multi-processor computers. Revit can take advantage of as many cores as are available on your computer. And finally, you can create custom procedural textures based on patterns such as checker, gradient, wood, or tiles.

Payoff (Visualization Enhancements):
These improvements to both rendered and working views will help you to take presentations to the next level, as well as making everyday working views easier to understand and work with.

3. Sun Path Simulation

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 enables you to simulate the sun path, in order to better understand the impact of the sun in relation to your project and its surrounding context.

4. Sun Path

Now, let’s have a look at the Sun Path. The sun path is a visual representation of the sun's range of movement across the sky at the geographic location you specify for a project. The sun path displays in the context of your project and includes on-screen controls for positioning the sun at any point within its range of movement. The ability to directly interact with the controls on screen makes is very easy to test many sun positions and get instant feedback.

Payoff (Sun Path Simulation):
Being able to visually understand the sun’s position in relation to your project and being able to interact with it in-canvas makes setting up your views easier and also allows you to take the first steps towards sustainable design and analysis quickly and easily, and without having to depend on other applications.

Play Video Below; "Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 Sun Path Simulation"

 

 

Comments

[Ana Escobar]

I been doing some rendering in Revit and one of the problems that I encounter is limits of the material library, sometimes the manufacturer provide the image but not the bump of the materials.
The other problem that I have its trying to render a material that contain the color black, like the asphalt pavement, the other is the lack entourage families, there are not that much choices on it.
Do you know any good website in which I can find or download, material library images, peoples, cars, plants an d flower?

[Veredith Keller]

Revit does comes with alot of materials, If you are making your own materials or downloading from manufacturer site you can use that same image for a bump map or use photo shop or some other paint program to turn and image to black and white. As far as people, cars, plants and flowers, I use RPC files. You can search for ArchVision RPC and alot of free RPC's or you can buy libraries. If you are looking for 3D families try RevitCity.com,there is alot of free content you can download.