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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2011
Revit MEP is easily the most complex application within the Autodesk BIM ecosystem, and understanding how it works internally and - more importantly - how it works within the context of Revit Architecture and Revit Structure is crucial for success. To date there has been a severe paucity of good materials for learning Revit MEP; Autodesk's downloadable tutorials are a good starting point, but are woefully out of date. They do not provide a holistic understanding of why you need to do X,Y, or Z. I teach the Revit platform for an Authorized Autodesk Reseller, and it's been frustrating to find good learning materials to help students understand all of these complex concepts beyond simply clicking buttons.
That's where the Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit MEP 2011 steps up and hits it out of the park. Students coming from CAD have to first get their heads around how Revit works in general then learn how to apply all of the MEP specifics to their projects. Along the way they must go above the program itself to understand how to work with architectural and structural models and deal with worksharing environments. In the first three chapters you are introduced to the Revit platform and the user interface, start a new project, link in the other discipline models correctly, set up view settings for your disciplines, and provide a sound foundation for creating your HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. Along the way you learn some very sound tips and tricks in the process.
From there the chapters on creating HVAC, plumbing and electrical content is presented in a clear, concise manner. As you create your MEP systems you will understand how data flows from endpoints like air terminals, fixtures, and electrical devices through the connecting ducts, pipes, and circuits back to the building service entry. This concept of data flow is key to understand how MEP "thinks" and is something lacking in other texts.
I agree with the other review in that, while HVAC and electrical in particular receive excellent treatments, plumbing gets the short shrift. You are provided only the basics in running pipes to and from mechanical equipment, but you do not lay out domestic hot/cold water supply or waste systems. You also don't get any information on setting up proper pipe systems, which is unfortunate because understanding how to set up proper piping systems and their fittings in place is pretty critical. However, the books makes up for this by providing a fantastic section on creating MEP families with connectors.
Mr. Aubin provides a very good set of Revit model datasets to work with. There may be some issues with the various models as it relates to the file paths used for links, as well as the internal Project Base Point in the architectural model (in that you will probably get the wrong elevations in the MEP model). None of this is of great concern overall, but something which one should be aware. Consider it a small challenge to read up on these things and fix them yourself. The other problem is that the spaces in the MEP datasets do not reach above the ceiling plane, and thus you will have an incorrect analytical model for analysis. Again, a very easy fix. What is important is that none of these minor issues get in the way of working through the content in the book or understanding the concepts at hand.
Finally, one thing that is great about the book is its format. It's pages are physically larger than in other books, but much thinner at only 340 pages. This is not a drawback, as the amount of material is clearly focused, tightly written, well illustrated with screen shots, and verbose enough to get the point across. Other authors guilty of Kitchen Sink syndrome would do well to learn how to write so well.
There are other Revit MEP books out there, and I encourage you to get them all; they all have something to offer. However, I think Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit MEP 2011 is heads above the others, and provides the broadest and best range of information for the new Revit MEP user.
That's where the Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit MEP 2011 steps up and hits it out of the park. Students coming from CAD have to first get their heads around how Revit works in general then learn how to apply all of the MEP specifics to their projects. Along the way they must go above the program itself to understand how to work with architectural and structural models and deal with worksharing environments. In the first three chapters you are introduced to the Revit platform and the user interface, start a new project, link in the other discipline models correctly, set up view settings for your disciplines, and provide a sound foundation for creating your HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. Along the way you learn some very sound tips and tricks in the process.
From there the chapters on creating HVAC, plumbing and electrical content is presented in a clear, concise manner. As you create your MEP systems you will understand how data flows from endpoints like air terminals, fixtures, and electrical devices through the connecting ducts, pipes, and circuits back to the building service entry. This concept of data flow is key to understand how MEP "thinks" and is something lacking in other texts.
I agree with the other review in that, while HVAC and electrical in particular receive excellent treatments, plumbing gets the short shrift. You are provided only the basics in running pipes to and from mechanical equipment, but you do not lay out domestic hot/cold water supply or waste systems. You also don't get any information on setting up proper pipe systems, which is unfortunate because understanding how to set up proper piping systems and their fittings in place is pretty critical. However, the books makes up for this by providing a fantastic section on creating MEP families with connectors.
Mr. Aubin provides a very good set of Revit model datasets to work with. There may be some issues with the various models as it relates to the file paths used for links, as well as the internal Project Base Point in the architectural model (in that you will probably get the wrong elevations in the MEP model). None of this is of great concern overall, but something which one should be aware. Consider it a small challenge to read up on these things and fix them yourself. The other problem is that the spaces in the MEP datasets do not reach above the ceiling plane, and thus you will have an incorrect analytical model for analysis. Again, a very easy fix. What is important is that none of these minor issues get in the way of working through the content in the book or understanding the concepts at hand.
Finally, one thing that is great about the book is its format. It's pages are physically larger than in other books, but much thinner at only 340 pages. This is not a drawback, as the amount of material is clearly focused, tightly written, well illustrated with screen shots, and verbose enough to get the point across. Other authors guilty of Kitchen Sink syndrome would do well to learn how to write so well.
There are other Revit MEP books out there, and I encourage you to get them all; they all have something to offer. However, I think Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit MEP 2011 is heads above the others, and provides the broadest and best range of information for the new Revit MEP user.
Product Details
3.9 out of 5
8 global ratings