[Steven Register]

I started using Revit in 2004 in my own Landscape Architecture practice doing residential design. I found it not so great with quick conceptual design. For conceptual work, I prefer hand sketching over plan or 3D view print outs of the existing conditions or photos. I have found that software design programs are too cumbersome and slow compared to the speed at which design ideas flow. However, Revit was good for the design development and detailing. I loved being able to flesh out the 3D details in Revit and get accurate estimates of materials. I love what I can do with stairs. I also made my own plant family library that made planting design fun and easier than any software out there. (If you want to see these families, do a search on my name on TurboSquid.) Another nice thing about Revit is the document coordination. All my plans, details, 3D views, walkthroughs, renderings, and sheets were coordinated. I even used the phasing quite a bit from existing conditions, to permitting, to design, to construction sequencing. Grading in Revit is a bear though; but with a few tricks, I made it bearable. I also had to fake in curbs and complex curved walls, though Revit 2010 opens up a whole new area to discover that could help with this. Another thing that could help with some of the drawbacks is that Revit does have a decent API. If you know how to program in .NET, you may be able to create your own Revit landscape helping tools to get around the rough spots in Revit. If you don’t know how to program, there are people who offer that as a service.

So overall I took the good with the bad, mitigagted the bad and came up with a workflow that suited me and the types of projects I was doing. (Side note: for projects over 2 miles square, watch out for Revit accuracy issues.) I also did some Architectural renovation, so Revit was essential, and that influenced my decision to use it for Landscape Architecture.

Is Revit ready for Landscape Architecture? Well, that depends. Landscape Architecture is a pretty broad profession and there are certainly circumstances like mine where it was a good fit and there are circumstances where it is a bad fit. So take what you know about the way you think and work and compare that to the benefits and drawbacks of the software. I hope I have shed a little light on some of both.

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