Workflow: Generative Design

When you've identified a design challenge in your building project, use the following workflow to generate alternatives with Generative Design in Revit.

• If you want to use an existing study type, see the procedure below, "Generate outcomes for an existing design challenge".
• If you've encountered a new design challenge for which no study type yet exists, use the following process.

Create a design system for a new challenge

This process describes collaboration between the Revit designer (architect or engineer) and the Dynamo author.

Note: This documentation assumes that a Dynamo user is creating the graphs, and someone else is using them in Revit. Both roles may, in fact, be performed by the same person.

1. The Revit designer works on the building model, developing it until they encounter a design challenge where they want to use generative design to iterate possible solutions.
2. The designer collaborates with a Dynamo author to define goals, constraints, constants, and variables.

   They also identify the types of information (outputs) that they want to know for each outcome.

   See About Design Criteria for a Study and Generative Design Primer: Anatomy of a Good Generative Design Process.

3. The Dynamo author does the following:
   1. Creates a Dynamo graph to generate outcomes that address the design challenge.

      See Dynamo Primer: Dynamo for Revit and Generative Design Primer.

   2. Tests and refines the graph.
   3. Exports the graph for use with Generative Design in Revit.
   4. Provides the resulting DYN file and its Dependencies folder to the designer.
4. The designer copies the files to the following location on their computer:

   C:\Users\<username>\Documents\AEC Generative Design

   When the designer opens Revit and clicks Manage tabGenerative Design panel Create Study, the new study type displays in the list. Continue with the following procedure.

Generate outcomes for an existing design challenge

As the designer, use this procedure when the study type (Dynamo graph) is already listed in the Create Study dialog. The dialog displays the sample study types and any study types that you have added to your AEC Generative Design folder.

1. Open the target Revit model.
2. If needed, prepare the model for the study.

   Open an appropriate view, and make sure that any elements that need to be selected for the study are visible. For instructions to prepare your model for the sample study types, see the Prerequisites section for the desired study type.

3. Click Manage tabGenerative Design panel Create Study.

   The Create Study dialog lists the available study types.

   Note: If Generative Design is already open (the Create Study dialog or the Explore Outcomes dialog), the Create Study button is disabled in Revit.
4. Select the study type and define the study.

   Video: Create a Generative Design Study

5. Wait for results.

   Generative Design uses the information you provide to generate outcomes. The amount of time required depends on the number of outcomes or generations to be created. While it works, you can continue to work on the Revit model or use other applications.

   Check back occasionally to see if the generative design process is complete. You can see designs appear in the dialog as they are generated.

6. To explore outcomes, click Manage tabGenerative Design panel Explore Outcomes.

   Review the design alternatives. For each outcome, you can explore a 3D model and see its associated input and output values.

   Video: Explore Outcomes of a Generative Design Study

7. Refine the study.

   If needed, repeat the generative design process, using different methods and inputs to generate more ideas.

8. Integrate the best solution.

   When you've decided on the best solution, click Create Revit Elements to integrate that solution into the Revit model. The model is updated accordingly, adding and modifying elements as needed.