Quick comparisons of SU and Revit from users of both?

CalypsoArt · 29 Aug 2011, 19:28

I've been a SU user since V4. Thanks to the phenomenal plugin writers I've gotten extremely fast for our project purposes--Film, TV, theatre. I often have to model sets with construction details in very little time (minutes to a couple hours if I'm lucky) I generally, model in SU and export to AC for the 2d Drawings. Recently, I met someone doing the same kind of work who was singing the praises of Revit. "Sketchup on Steroids" he called it and "you do not need to change applications to produce the drawings." However, this Revit user had not used SU much, and sort of said he didn't quite get.

I consider SU the easiest program I've ever learned. I've used Rhino, Solidworks, Maya, MAX in the past) Anyway,I'd like to hear opinions from people who regularly use both SU and Revit. Especially as related to speed. In Film there is generally more time to model, and add materials and even render if necessary. I'm currently working in Television with 8 day shoots. I've had to model multiple room sets and produce drawings for construction in the same day. Just looking at Revit training videos and the 2012 trial version, it does not seem that even if I was very proficient that I would reach the speeds I gotten with SU. Still, I hear Revit being mentioned more and more the field. I'm wondering if is is another program that I should put some effort into learning. I've been using AC since 1990.

ledisnomad · 31 Aug 2011, 18:57

I use SU, Revit, and Rhino extensively. I am an architect working in an architecture firm. For the work we do (and what I've done at other firms), SU is absolutely the fastest option for early schematic design. I've never used Layout, but plenty of people here do and go directly from SU to construction drawings within the same model. If that's all you need, done. With all the rendering plugins, and exquisite examples abound on this forum, you even have excellent visualization.

Then why do I use Revit? I use Revit because it is a BIM package. For construction purposes, you don't have to draw a rectangular solid that represents a wall, you draw a wall. That wall has properties that control its dimensions, materiality, etc. Then when things change, I can go back and edit that wall type, change its properties globally or locally. I can also create a schedule or quantity take-off that stays coordinated with my design.

Another question is, what are you modeling? Suburban living rooms or spaceships? The more conventional the architecture, the faster Revit is. Click the wall tool>choose a type>click start>click end. Done. Window in that wall? Window tool>choose a type>click. Done. Need to tell your contractor how much wallboard to buy? You can make a schedule in 5-10 minutes that will call out the quantities of all the materials in your project. And when you change your design, the schedule changes.

The learning curve is steep, though, so if you do decide to take it on, be prepared to spend quite a lot of time learning it. If you can afford the time and cost of the software, I think it would be worth it as another tool in your arsenal. Are there things about SU that you don't like or that hold you back? That might inform your decision, too.

Hope that my long-winded response helps a little... at least to further confuse you.

JGA · 31 Aug 2011, 19:50

I totally agree with ledisnomad on his comparison between packages. I've found revit a very steep learning curve beyond the play about stage. The main trouble is that everything has to be a family/component/block, & the editor is not the most user friendly. Once you have a kit of parts, you are laughing, as you can create new models in no time. I think the cross breeding with AutoCAD will pay dividends in ease of use, but it has a way to go yet.
Perhaps Vectorworks is another package to look at...