Post written by Nicolas Catellier, founder of Revit Pure. Nicolas is an architect and BIM Manager based in Quebec City.

Three years ago, I went to my first BILT conference in Seattle and I had a blast. Three years and two canceled events later, the conference was finally back in Anaheim. Located in the suburbs of LA, Anaheim is known for being the home of Disneyland. I had the chance to enjoy the new Star Wars park before the conference started.

With the pandemic, the BILT committee had some harsh decisions to make. They were forced to let go of some of their event coordination team. It seems the sub-contractor they’ve hired to organize the event messed up. The whole thing almost got canceled. As the conference started, the organizing team announced some cuts: the gala is canceled, no breakfast or dinner, limited food, and so on.

We were all quite worried. Was this going to be a Fyre festival for BIM?

In the end, the event was a big success. After all, the fantastic people and the excellent sessions are the most critical aspects. Alright, here is what I learned from this year's event.

1- The Magic of Revit’s Right-Click Menu

Each time I attend a conference, I make sure to catch Brian Mackey’s sessions. Each of them has applicable, time-saving lessons for Revit. I thought I knew most of what the right-click menu had to offer, but it turns out I missed a lot!

For example, did you know you can break up a stacked wall and select “Break Up” to split them in two?

Right-clicking can also be used to create views and sheets. For example, you can create a schedule by right-clicking the tool in the project browser.

Check out Brian’s website.

2- Using Trigonometry in Revit Families

One of my favorite sessions was by Vincent Bleyenheuft, a partner at CADWorks in France. He showcased how to create this beautiful, gorgeous family:

I thought it would be an insanely complex door to create, but you simply need to figure out the principles and use trigonometry formulas. That might sound scary, but it’s something you learn in school when you are about 14 years old.

Say hello to your old friends Sin, Cos and Arctan.

I’ve also enjoyed the metaphor Vincent used to explain families:

The muscles are the parameters

The bones are the references planes

The skin is the geometry

Before building the skin, you should ensure the muscles and bones are all figured out.

3- Making signs with Revit and Dynamo

John Pierson is the creator of the Rhythm and Monocle packages for Dynamo and works for team Parallax. He showcased strategies to create 3D text and signage the proper way.

The best way to create signs is to create 3D text inside a family.

An interesting tip John showcased is to constrain the text height to an invisible line instead of a reference plane. What’s the point? This technique allows you to use blue dimension arrows in 3D views.

Finally, it seems 3D text can get all buggy and cause problems in rendering. John demonstrated a Dynamo script that allows you to “bake” the text into an extrusion geometry.

4- Modular has all the hype

The first keynote session was given by Greg Leung, a former Apple employee who created the company Connect Homes.

There were multiple other sessions focused on modular. It seems the industry is moving there, but they are pitfalls along the way. For example, Katerra tried that approach and crashed. I’ve also been involved in modular projects, and I can say it’s much more complicated than it seems.

Still, I am hopeful that we will eventually figure it out and make it work on a large scale.

5- BIM & VENTURE CAPITALIST

I had the chance to attend the live recording of a podcast episode of the Art of Construction with host Devon Tilly. He hosted Phil Read, Alice Leung and Moritz Luck, best known as the Enscape co-founder. Mortiz recently sold his shares after the company merged with Chaos Group. They had a great discussion about business for the BIM and AEC communities.

I appreciated hearing Alice Leung insights. After working for a general contractor, Alice is now with a venture capital company called Brick & Mortar Ventures, which is focused on supporting AEC startups. Among their investments: a construction drone, a drywall bot and a house flipping shop.

6- The Dynamo Player

I was hyped for the session by my pal Dana de Filippi, also known as DanamoBIM on YouTube. She spoke with Jacob Small from Autodesk about properly organizing Dynamo in your firm, focusing on making the most out of the Dynamo Player.

Dana showcased multiple scripts specifically made to be used in the Dynamo Player, including the revamped player from Revit 2023. I appreciated the use of the “Watch” nodes to create output statements letting users know what the script accomplished.

If you are interested in the Dynamo Player, check out the live session I had with Dana.

7- My session: Mastering & Automating Groups

My own session was booked at the same time as BIM superstars Marcello Sgambelluri and Carl Storms. I did wonder if people were still going to show up? They did! The room was quite packed. I did appreciate having palm trees behind me while I spoke :)

I converted most of my session into a blog post and pamphlet. The rest will follow in a few months.

Thanks to the organizing committee, to all speakers, and to everyone that attended my session.

See you next year in Dallas!

Meanwhile, check out our MANAGE learning package for Revit. It is made for intermediate to advanced Revit users that want to become BIM managers. You’ll learn how to create a great template, keep your models clean and automate boring tasks.