I recently had the opportunity to present to Professor Abimbola O. Asojo’s IDES 2622 Interior Design Computer Applications I class at the University of Minnesota. This is the first interior design-specific computer class sophomores take. They had already worked through my Commercial Design using Autodesk Revit 2016 textbook. I took this opportunity to practice my upcoming speaking engagement at RTC in Australia titled Interior Design Work.
The emphasis for this presentation is on the “I” in BIM; information, in the context of interior design. We looked at ways in which schedules can be used to manage information. For example, using Revit’s schedules to develop the space program and even do advanced cost estimating. We also looked at managing materials, with an emphasis on the information they are able to store. The presentation covered several similar topics.
After the presentation, there was some additional time to talk about a few must have add-ins for Revit. There are so many options out there it can be hard, and time consuming, to figure out what is worth it. One such add-in I covered is Enscape (enscape3d.com). Enscape is a real-time photorealistic walkthrough and static image visualization tool. This program is a great tool for interior designers as it gives them, and their clients, nearly instant visual feedback of their design choices. This includes material selections, element placement as well as natural and artificial lighting results.
The students saw how changes made in Revit were automatically updated in the Enscape window as there is a connection between Revit and Enscape. For example, moving furniture or adjusting a material color in Revit, caused live and highly photo-realistic Enscape view updates. Additionally, a right-click and drag of the mouse across the screen adjustes the sun position for the current day (specified in Revit).
Below are several example images from Enscape. The truth is, however, these images really don’t do Enscape justice… because the image quality you see here is nearly what you see while MOVING through the model. These examples are of LHB’s Minneapolis office—a LEED CI Platinum certified space which also houses the Minnesota chapter of USGBC through donated office space.
Students are encouraged to contact Enscape about their student license. For more information please check the website //learn.enscape3d.com/free-student-license/.
The student’s reaction to the presentation, and Enscape in particular, was very positive! The department is already working on getting the free academic software for their labs.
Awesome + free = no brainer.
Enjoy.
