Please make Revit better for Landscape

[peterbakerEYVRG]

Why can't Revit incorporate, by buying, plug-ins that make it better for landscape, such as Environment, Enscape and Artisan RV?

We pay so much for the AEC suite that adding more licences feels wrong.

It also means a lot more training, which, again, feels like it would be lessened if more of the plug-ins were integral.

I am considering the alternatives such as Vectorworks.

[Simon_Weel]

They did. And a couple of years later, it vanished.

Anyway, see Ideas forum: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=false&...

[peterbakerEYVRG]

Thanks Simon. It's slightly depressing that thread is nearly 10 years old and nothing much has changed. It is exactly what we found when we started in Revit in 2012, but being part of an architectural practice, have been pulled along. What I see are a lot of work-arounds, plug-ins and mentions of "writing our own script" to do what appears to me to be what the programme should do already.

I started this thread out of frustration at how little it appears landscape architecture is listened-to by Autodesk. I worry that more adept users will shoot me down, but as a business owner that does not use the software much themselves, it seems ridiculous that we spend so much money on a programme that appears to be sub-standard for our needs.

When will Autodesk help?

[HVAC-Novice]

To be fair, Landscaping is a minor part of building design and easily swaps over into Civil Engineering. Where do you draw the line where the landscaping that is part of a building vs, what is around inc. stormwater management etc.? 

But the whole AEC suite is an illusion since it implies those software are somewhat integrated. All those are just software Autodesk purchased and in reality have very little integration with Revit or each other. In reality there should only be three software, one for designing buildings, one for construction, one for Civil. And each should do everything in their niche and they should integrate with each other (i.e. made from scratch by the same developers).

I use a few trade-specific add-ins, and most are pricy. On the other hand, i don't think Autodesk has the ability to create good features that are trade-specific.  

[avagrace8877]

It’s a huge pain point for anyone trying to do site design in Revit. For years, the software has felt strictly built for buildings, leaving landscape architects out in the cold unless they shell out big bucks for third-party plug-ins like Environment or Artisan.

Autodesk did finally start tackling this by introducing Toposolid to replace the old, clunky Toposurface tools. It brings site design a bit closer to how floors and roofs work, which helps with grading and slab edges. However, it still doesn't give us the dedicated planting, curb, or specialized hardscape tools that those plug-ins offer.

If you're already paying for the AEC Collection, it's definitely worth checking out FormIt or InfraWorks (which are included in the bundle) for early-stage site work. They handle large-scale landscape and contextual modeling way better before you bring everything into Revit.

Have you tried using the new Toposolid tools yet, or are they still falling short for your day-to-day workflow?

[Simon_Weel]

Just remember it was called Site Designer. It used to be a plugin until Autodesk bought it. And discontinued it with Revit 2021. Quote:

Ongoing improvements are being made to the combination of Revit’s connection to Civil 3D and InfraWorks to support site design workflows, as mentioned in What’s new in Revit 2021 blog post.

When will Autodesk help? Probably when hell freezes over. One of the main benefits of subscription is a steady income without doing much; you don't need to add must-have features to entice users to buy the latest & greatest. This will only change if a great deal of users decide to cancel their subscription.

[peterbakerEYVRG]

Couldn't agree more.

[obulesub]

Hi @peterbakerEYVRG ,

I wanted to check in and see if you still needed assistance, or if you found a solution to your question already? Let us know if you need further assistance by providing an update or if you have found a solution, please share it with the community so other members who may have the same question could learn from your experience.