Many times when working with Revit Formula in family creation you will want to work with right triangles.  The following is meant as a handy reference for you to make working with right triangles a little easier.

Greater Than or Equal to (>=)

What we want to do:

If (ParameterA  >= ParamaterB, <true>, <false>)

How we do it:

If(not(ParameterA < ParamaterB), <true>, <false>)

Less Than or Equal to (<=)

What we want to do:

If (ParameterA  <= ParamaterB, <true>, <false>)

How we do it:

If(not(ParameterA > ParamaterB), <true>, <false>)

Find the Greatest of Three Values

Now that we know how to do greater than or equal to, what if you have three parameters and you want to know the largest of them?

ParamaterA
ParameterB
ParameterC

What we want to do:

Return the largest number,  ParameterA, ParamaterB, or ParamaterC

How we do it:

if( and( not( ParameterA < ParameterB), not(ParameterA < ParameterC)),  ParameterA, if( and( not( ParameterB < ParameterA), not( ParameterB < ParameterC)), ParameterB, if( and( not( ParameterC < ParameterA), not( ParameterC < ParameterB)), ParameterC, 0)))

The “0″ at the end should be replaced with a value that has the same units as your other parameters.  ie. feet, mm, etc.

I would just copy and paste that into my family but let me make that easier to understand:

As you can see the logic is pretty straight forward, the >= are taken from what we learned at the top of this post (we do the logical inverse: if it’s not less than).  Now that you understand it you can easily find the largest value of two, three, or one hundred different values!  Hopefully, someday, Revit will just include a nice easy way to do this.

Show Notes

Site News

Jason A Silva, AIA, LEEP AP, class of ’96 or ’97, Partner and Design Principal at Dreyfuss & Blackford, AIA California Council, Young Architects Forum Regional Liaison for Northern California.  Need we say more?

Don’t forget to tell your friends about us, join our Facebook Group, leave reviews on iTunes, vote for us on Podcast Alley, and follow us on Twitter!

Show Notes

Site News

• New Facebook Fans
  • Patty Latimer Smith
  • Taylor Boyle
  • Martín Renom
• Did you pass an ARE?  Let us know!
  • Stickers are on their way
• Update on FAA sketch day in SLO
  • Neal Breton from San Luis Art Supply was there
  • Next sketch day in Morro Bay, a local artist will also be there to teach
  • http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=154523191251734&aid=34770

Cal Poly News

• Hearst Lecture this Friday:

  • Laurie Johnson: Laurie Johnson Consulting

  • Friday, March 4th, 2011 at 4:00pm

  • Business Rotunda (03-213)

  • For additional information, visit Laurie Johson Consulting’s web site.
• AIAS fundraiser was today, but we can still give them a shout out…
  • http://www.arch.calpoly.edu/news-events/AIAS%20Cal%20Poly%20Fundraiser%20Flyer[1].pdf
• The fifth iteration of the third year “Best of Show” will take place on
  • Friday, March 11th, 2011, between 8:30am – 6:00pm in the Berg Gallery.
  • Invited guest jurors for this event will include Adriana Cuellar, Karen Lohrmann, Marcel Sanchez, and Enrico Como.

COOOOL MOW (material of the week)

• Solucent
  • http://transmaterial.net/index.php/2010/12/10/solucent/
  • http://www.cambridgesolucent.com/
  • http://www.cambridgearchitectural.com/Projects.aspx

General News

• College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, UMINN / Steven Holl Architects
  • http://www.archdaily.com/113813/college-of-architecture-and-landscape-architecture-uminn-steven-holl-architects/
• Ikeas’ own Wind Farm
  • http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20032930-54.html
  • Swedish furniture retailer Ikea is teaming with Stockholm-based O2 for a nine-turbine wind farm in its home country. Candace Lombardi reports that the initiative, scheduled for completion next year, adds to the company’s previous renewable power investments in France and Germany
• The Speed of Urbanization
  • http://weburbanist.com/2011/02/21/then-now-the-stunning-speed-of-urban-development/
  • It takes 21 years in America to reach drinking age, but Dubai has managed to transform itself from desert to metropolis in the same time period. Steph reports that the dramatic growth of contemporary cities can be seen in photos of the same skyline over just a few decades. Shanghai, Bangkok, even London’s skyline have been dramatically transformed in recent decades

Rapid Fire Questions:

• Cal Poly or Berkeley?  Poly
• Autocad or Revit?  Revit
• Parallel bar or T-Square?  Parallel
• Facebook or LinkedIn?  LinkedIn
• Arch Record, Arch Digest, or Architect?  Architect
• Drafting dots or tape?  Drafting dots
• Yellow trace or white? white
• Ad Markers or Prisma? Ad (The old smelly ones)
• Pen or Pencil?  both
• Mac or PC?  PC
• What’s the Meaning of Life?  42

SCORE: 522HD

Interview

• Tim is excited that Jason is a Revit guy!
  • embraced it early on, most recently he’s done entire projects in the program
  • it’s a powerful tool that you can really leverage
• UC Davis Medical Center Parking Garage
  • http://www.dreyfussblackford.com/projectsDetail.jsp?id=79&category=7&title=Parking&level=1
  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreyfussblackford/sets/72157624874988973/
• Why did you want to be an architect?
  • started at a young age, always knew he wanted to be an architect
  • he grew up with parents that rehab-ed and remodeled constantly
  • got into design and construction in High School, building decks for family and friends and things grew from there
  • architecture was the way to go
• Why did you attend Cal Poly?
  • he applied to Berkeley and Cal Poly, got into both but decided on Poly
  • Poly was a place he felt more at home for pushing boundaries and experimenting with design
• What are your most memorable experiences from your time in San Luis Obispo?
  • scotch, beer, Tom Waits and ate night burning models flying off the third floor of John Lange’s studio enough said
  • Washington Alexandria program and San Francisco program
  • http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_hvQlfTtsDnQ/RiOPj9SPfvI/AAAAAAAAAAs/WuTE7_CQ8sw/s1600-h/1993+mystery.jpg
• What did you do following graduation?
  • moved to San Francisco, worked in 6 different offices in about 4 years, to get lots of experience, mainly small firms, lots of moving around during that time where there were lots of jobs after the lull
  • did lots of ADA upgrade work, auto dealerships, some residential planning, commercial, some institutional, office work
• What was the path that led you to being a partner with Dreyfuss & Blackford?
  • he’s been there for 10 years
  • the firm has been good about moving and changing with the times
  • it was about fitting into the leadership of the office
• Can you talk a bit about your path to becoming licensed?
  • was licensed in 2002
  • getting them done so he could be called an architect, some healthy competition with other peers to make it through the exams
• Tell us a bit about your position for AIA California Council
  • Young Architects Forum Regional Liasion for Northern California as well as to AIA National
    • young architects are those licensed for 10 years and under
    • this is a bit of an under-represented group of the profession
    • there are 18 regions across the nation, California was split in half due to the large number of members
    • reaching out to young architects throughout the state, understanding their needs and interests, bringing that to AIA National for representation as well
• How can younger professionals better contribute to the success of an architecture firm?
  • realize there is a business side of the office, IDP is a great way to open the door to get involved and understand some of the business aspects of the firm
• How can those of us entering the profession better prepare ourselves for the day to day of working in an architecture firm?
  • Ask to go to lunch with leadership, ask questions
  • ask questions in general, show an interest in regularly learning about the practice
• What are you plans for the future?
  • total world domination!
  • reaching out to other professionals and specialists to build round table discussions and events
  • anything to make the future better in the long term
• What advice would you give to current Cal Poly Architecture students?
  • find things that you love and mix them into the architecture that you do

If you have any experience with either of these leave a comment and let us know what you think!

40,000 + Native Revit Details

FREE!

• http://www.arcxl.com/

This is a really interesting idea.  They just made all of their details available for free on Dec. 14th, 2010.    You can read about that and their plans on their blog.  http://arcxl.blogspot.com/

I’m not sure how useful this is, especially if you generate a high amount of custom details or already have a comprehensive detail library, but it’s worth looking into.

Revit Family Browser

7-Day FREE Trial

• http://revitfb.blogspot.com/

This looks like a much easier way to browse and manage my ever growing collection of Revit families.  It allows you to organize them and see previews.   Some of the highlighted features are:

• Instant Family search with each letter typed in the search box;
• Type Catalog functionality (Create/Edit/Recreate Catalogue);
• Add families by drag & drop from Windows Explorer;
• Add families from within the project environment;
• Create a tab with wall families (more functionality to be added in upcoming releases);

You can read a couple of reviews here:

• http://malleristicrevitation.blogspot.com/2011/02/familiy-browser-37-reviewing-new.html
• http://do-u-revit.blogspot.com/2011/02/family-browser.html

Building 53 demolition is underway, the future of BIM and sustainability are up for debate, and the two Franks are in the news again.  Plus we discuss the shocking truth about minorities in architecture.

Don’t forget to tell your friends about us, join our Facebook Group, leave reviews on iTunes, vote for us on Podcast Alley, and follow us on Twitter!

Show Notes

Site News

New Facebook Fans

Teagan Andres is back with an update on her new life as a student and mechanical Reviteer. We say goodbye to an architectural legend and discuss the role of Architects in designing the nations future safety. Plus the most expensive parking garage ever!

Don’t forget to tell your friends about us, join our Facebook Group, leave reviews on iTunes, vote for us on Podcast Alley, and follow us on Twitter!

Show Notes

Site News

• We’re still looking for Assistant Producer
• New store launched January.  50% of proceeds will go toward the new scholarship fund.
• Let us know if you’ve passed and ARE and get exclusive sloArch gear.
• Tell a friend!

Carisa Nakano, B’Arch ’10, LEED AP, shares her experiences doing her senior project in Ghana, her thoughts on the World Expo in China, and Haley isn’t sure if she wants to own Uncle Frank.

Don’t forget to tell your friends about us, join our Facebook Group, leave reviews on iTunes, vote for us on Podcast Alley, and follow us on Twitter!

Show Notes

Site News

Rapid Fire Questions:

• Cal Poly or Berkeley? Cal Poly
• Autocad or Revit? Revit
• Parallel bar or T-Square? Parallel bar
• Facebook or LinkedIn? both
• Arch Record, Arch Digest, or Architect? Architect
• Drafting dots or tape? Dots
• Yellow trace or white? White
• Ad Markers or Prisma? Ad
• Pen or Pencil? Pencil
• Mac or PC? PC
• Giants or Rangers? the Giants!!!

SCORE: 8

Interview

• Carisa was in Sandy Stannard’s Studio
  • the stuido topic was architecture and nature
  • her thesis project was cocoa farming and education center in Ghana
• Carisa tells us about her thesis project!
  • The concept of real site and real project for thesis
• Carisa talks about her recent trip to China for the World Expo
  • http://en.expo2010.cn/
  • The effects of global travel and experiences of different cultures

Cal Poly News

• 2010 Vellum/CAED Furniture Competition & Exhibition
  • http://www.arch.calpoly.edu/exhibitions/vellum/vellum-10.html

General News

• Architecture in the subway
  • Apple may be practically selling its products in the Chicago subway, but New York is devoting at least one subway station—West 4th Street, to be exact—to architecture through the end of this week. Rolando Pujol reports that the “Made in New York” exhibit uses the station’s advertising spots to display 200 projects designed by New York–based architects and other designers. “They give a panorama of not only what’s happening in New York, but what New York architects are doing worldwide,” says AIA New York executive director Rick Bell. Five of the projects can be seen outside the turnstiles; the other 195 require you to pay a subway fare.
• Wright stuff for sale
  • It seems that there’s always a Frank Lloyd Wright house for sale somewhere, but if you have the dough (and wouldn’t mind living in the Frederick Law Olmsted–designed community of Riverside, Ill.), Mark Boyer reports that one of the classics is on the market. The Avery Coonley House is available for $2.89 million, and the sellers of the five-bedroom, five-bathroom home have reportedly fixed up the house’s mechanical systems, bathrooms, artwork, and landscaping. No word on whether the roofs leak, though.
• AIA gets organizational award
  • The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) has given the AIA its 2010 “Organisation of the Year Award”. World Architecture News reports that the entry, “Building the Designer Democracy Movement, was noted as providing ‘an impressive history of public participation, and clear evidence of the creation of a public participation culture within your organization.’” The award was given at the AIP2′s Core Value Awards presentation in Scarborough, UK. “This award represents an important recognition for the profound role architects are playing in bringing the profession into the mainstream of popular thought and culture,” AIA president George H. Miller, FAIA, says.
• Building Information Modeling as the Core of Sustainable Design
  • http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/10/27/building-information-modeling-core-sustainable-design
  • The process took about a couple of days for each site, compared to a “a full energy audit that can take weeks of effort and tens of thousands of dollars,” Blomquist said.
  • http://tinyurl.com/AutodeskWebcast
  • http://bimboom.blogspot.com/2010/10/capturing-revit-sun-path.html

Steve Grossenbacher (B.Arch ’05, Assoc. AIA, LEED BD+C, EIT)  talks about the path that led him to pursue Architecture and Architectural Engineering  and we discuss the Las Vegas death ray.

Don’t forget to tell your friends about us, join our Facebook Group, leave reviews on iTunes, vote for us on Podcast Alley, and follow us on Twitter!

Show Notes

Site News

• New Facebook Fans
  • Derek A. McFarland
  • Chram Jalal Ahmedi Kordm
  • Camille Lo

Cal Poly News

• Cal Poly Statement on Commitment to Community NEW
• 2010 Vellum Competition Announcement
• Laura Joines-Novotny receives award
• Fall Hearst Lecture Series
• Studio Ambition NEW Publication

General News

• Las Vegas hotel guests left with severe burns from ‘death ray’ caused by building’s design
  • http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315978/Las-Vegas-hotel-death-ray-leaves-guests-severe-burns.html
• Amtrak’s $117 Billion Plan For High Speed
  • http://www.fastcompany.com/1691854/amtrak-high-speed-east-coast-rail
• Corb’s colors
  • http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/his-true-colors/
• Risk vs. Reward
  • http://www.architectmagazine.com/design-fees/risk-vs-reward.aspx
• The Unpaid Staff
  • http://www.architectmagazine.com/human-resources/the-unpaid-staff.aspx
• NCARB’s 2010 Survey of Registered Architects
  • http://www.ncarb.org/News-and-Events/News/2010/2010-Architect-Survey.aspx
  • “California has the highest number of resident architects (17,156) and the highest number of total registrations (21,276).”

Rapid Fire Questions:

• Cal Poly or Berkeley or Penn State? Cal Poly
• Autocad or Revit? Revit
• Parallel bar or T-Square? Parallel
• Facebook or LinkedIn or MySpace? Facebook
• Arch Record, Arch Digest, or Architect? Architect
• Drafting dots or tape? Tape
• Yellow trace or white? cocktail napkin
• Ad Markers or Prisma? Prisma
• Pen or Pencil? Pencil
• Mac or PC? MAC
• What’s the Meaning of Life? 48

SCORE: 2,720,412

Interview

• Cal Poly Bachelor of Architecture, 2006.  Penn State Masters in Science in Architectural Engineering, 2007
• Why are you in VA?
  • Works for Clark Nexsen… just over 3 years, worked on a wide array of projects
  • http://www.clarknexsen.com/
  • Large office with 6 locations
  • Currently working on a library/faculty lounge type building at a community college
  • Travelling right now to work on an army corps headquarters base
  • He’s the Revit guide for his office so he gets to travel around helping out other offices
• What’s with all the letters after your name?
  • EIT – Engineer in Training: it’s the first step in getting your Engineer License, you take a fundamentals exam
• Currently working towards licensure? progress?
  • In the midst of his AREs (he’s taken and passed 2, his third is coming up)
  • He’s doing his IDP in Washington D.C.
• Why Engineering?
  • He wanted to understand how buildings worked structurally
  • The idea of being the bridge between Engineering and Architecture was always appealing to him
  • It’s nice being able to speak both languages
  • The experience of studying engineering was a complete 180 from studying architecture
  • He likes to focus on how to use the two professions together rather than let them conflict
• How did Cal Poly Architecture program contribute to a Masters program in Engineering?
  • The program prepared him well
• Long term goals?
  • Would like to move into a Project Manager/Architect position, get an overview on the whole practice and firm to learn everything about the process
  • Maybe someday have his own firm, but he’s really happy where he is now and doesn’t see a move anytime soon
• Advice for incoming Cal Poly students?
  • Don’t give up, if you want it you can get it
  • Make it happen for yourself
  • Don’t get frustrated, just push harder
• Advice for graduating Cal Poly students?
  • If you’re seeking your Masters, now may be a good time to do it with the economy in the current state
  • Don’t sell yourself short, apply to grad schools or move to that big city and make it happen
• Anything you wish you would have done while you were at Cal Poly?
  • Wished he would have focused more on drawing and sketching so he’d have better skills in that area

Justin Ribble, LEED AP, Associate AIA, B’Arch ’03 joins us for a conversation about a number of great three letter acronyms:  CAB, CSE, IDP, AIA, ARE, ACE, and BIM.

Don’t forget to tell your friends about us, join our Facebook Group, leave reviews on iTunes, vote for us on Podcast Alley, and follow us on Twitter!

Show Notes

Site News

• New Facebook Fans
  • Monica Shahrokhfar
  • Greg Wynn

• Tim’s big adventure with the CAB
  • A Big thank you to Elise Drakes and Mark Drwyer
  • What are the CAB offices like?
    • Shout out to Erin, receptionist at the CAB
    • Number of employees in the CAB office
  • Why do commissioners volunteer to give the oral exam?
    • They care about the profession
    • Free Food!
  • Shout out to Lily Dong!
  • What about loosing the oral component of the test?
    • Can IDP add it?
  • Pass rate of the California Supplemental Exam (CSE)
    • Haley has some numbers!
      • 2006-2007 –  1,082 candidates – pass rate = 47%
      • 2007-2008 – 901 candidates – pass rate = 50%
      • 2008-2009 – 1,043 candidates – pass rate = 48%
      • 2009-2010 – 838 candidates – pass rate = 51%
    • Tim thinks the pass rate is fair given his understanding of the process
  • Are Californian architects better than other architects from other states?

General News

• THE SIX-MONTH RULE
  • By the time you’re probably listening to this, it’s probably in effect, so get informed and get to logging those IDP hours!!
  • Due to system performance under severe volume pressure the reporting deadline for the Six-Month Rule has been extended to Friday, July 2, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The e-EVR is operating at full capacity. Please be patient as you may encounter lengthy response times. It is strongly recommended that you continue to be diligent in your efforts to access the e-EVR during off-business hours.
  • http://ncarb.org/

Rapid Fire Questions:

• Cal Poly or Berkeley? Cal Poly
• Autocad or Revit? urgh… Revit
• Parallel bar or T-Square? T-square
• Facebook or LinkedIn? Facebook
• Arch Record, Arch Digest, or Architect? Record
• Drafting dots or tape? tape
• Yellow trace or white? yellow… only communists use white
• Ad Markers or Prisma? Ad
• Pen or Pencil? pen, all the way
• Mac or PC? both… Mac for home, PC for work
• What’s the Meaning of Life? FUN (to enjoy the time that you have while you’re still here)

SCORE: 746

Interview

• Who are you?
  • From Oregon, decided to see the world and rather than go to Univeristy of Oregon he decided to go to Cal Poly.
  • San Luis Obispo was actually like his hometown, so the adjustment was good.
  • He finished in 6 years, and is glad that he took the time to enjoy his senior year rather than hurrying up to finish and get out.
  • He was able to work in a few offices before he , so when he needed to find a “real job in the real world” he was able to apply those past experiences.
• He has felt disconnected in the years since graduation?
  • When he found sloarch.com, after searching for a Revit question, he was happy to have a place to feel more connected.
  • He’s only a few hours away from SLO and feels that he should get back and get involved.
  • It’s interesting since it is a larger program and students move all over the place after graduation, so having a chance to reconnect and get back into the network being created is a really good thing.
• He’s worked with a lot of Cal Poly grads.
• He spent his 4th year in the east coast program:
  • While here in CA, you can almost always find a Cal Poly grad in a firm, on the east coast it was “Cal Poly what?”
  • Living outside of D.C. and Alexandria makes you feel the political pressure in the area, so there is more competition and rivalry in all aspects of life let alone the program you come from.
  • It was a great experience, he was able to step outside and feel a part of programs outside Cal Poly, which was a great experience since it gave him persepctive.
  • The diversity of professors at the program, where they came from and their specialties was great.
  • It was nice to see how other schools teach design.
• Why stay in CA after graduation?
  • Looking back he wanted to get back east, it’s a great place to live but it’s hard to afford it.
  • Sacramento was a good market and affordable.
  • While there are parts of Oregon that he misses he feels that he has experienced all he could for the time being there, so he’s happy in Sacramento for the time being.
  • Oregon is to California as Sacramento is to San Francisco, to put it in perspective.
• Working towards licensure?
  • Doesn’t have to complete IDP, so he’s happy about that.
  • Took his first exam about a year or so ago, then work got really busy and it was hard to come home after a long day and study, so recently he’s getting back into studying, taking ARE study classes at the local AIA Chapter.
  • The goal is to take 4 exams between now and September.
  • The firm he works at currently is really supportive about professional development. Use this time to do what you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have time, to become better.
• ACE Mentoring, how is he involved?
  • It’s one of those things that he always wanted to do, mentoring high school students about what the profession is and what a career in the building industry is really like.
  • Pay it forward a bit.
  • He’s learned a lot about how others view our field, their perception of “architects” and what they do.
  • Exposing students to the multidisciplinary aspect of our profession as well as the professional and office conduct that you need to know to be a professional.
• Strong feelings about Autodesk??
  • His office recognizes that Revit is the direction to go, so they’re in the process of transitioning everyone to Revit one by one and they’re currently working on their first Revit project.
  • After going to an outside training session there was a need to develop their own way to use Revit based on the type of high end design and modern work his firm does.
  • His biggest gripe is the license process and releases, having to re-up every year isn’t sustainable or do-able, especially right now with the economy.
  • He’s slowly prying himself away from Sketchup and CAD.
  • He recognizes how powerful Revit is and how you can make it do what you want it to do… as long as you keep up your subscription.
  • Transistion is always slow and has it’s hang ups and resistance.
  • Revit is changing the role of the “CAD drafter”.
  • On the flip side, students now are learning Revit, and by the time they become employees think of the change the profession will have seen.