Dynamo Development
We can build, fix or enhance existing Dynamo graphs and train you to use them.
Dynamo is Autodesk's attempt at copying Grasshopper by building a Visual Scripting interface. It works natively inside Revit and Civil3D without the need to purchase additional software. Like with Grasshopper, it is generally more efficient to avoid using Out of the Box nodes and just code it up using C# or Python. Of course, Off the Shelf nodes can be integrated into this code without creating unnecessary spaghetti. Over the years, I have built many powerful scripts using Dynamo and Python together this way for Architects, Structural Engineers, MEP Engineers and Civil Engineers.
Many AEC companies sit on a messy pile of Dynamo graphs they dont know what to do with. Reliance on deprecated packages, or a failure to maintain with current versions of Revit leave companies disheartened about digital transformation and sceptical about the value of Computational Design. The person who wrote those scripts might no longer work at the company, or is too busy on something else to maintain them. This is why any Digital Transformation needs a strategy for how to manage the files, train people to use them and resource their maintenance. We can help with that too.
Computational Design is often held back by the scaling problem, where the more complicated a graph becomes the less likely the average technician is to engage with using it. We get it, Spaghetti is intimidating! That is why we believe that we best way to solve this problem is by making workflows as visually simple as possible, and co-design with the end user. By burying the complexity we leverage algorithmic depth and democratise the tools to be scalable and accessible across the organisation, rather than a service only experts can operate. The end user only needs to know what inputs to adjust, not the mechanics of how it works.
Although Dynamo is better than nothing, in the age of RhinoInside and Speckle, it has become somewhat redundant. If choosing Dynamo, expect significantly longer development time and limitations to what is achievable compared to Grasshopper. This is because of fundamental design flaws in the UX, which make feedback on the data output from the nodes harder to control and visualise. Dynamo also has a far more limited set of Off the Shelf tools to draw from, compared to the vastly larger array of plugins available for Grasshopper.
There is still a use case for Dynamo. We recommend it for highly specifc things that do not involve as much geometric manipulation and involve specific Revit/Civil3D concepts. For this, it can even be computationally faster to load and run. For companies which are too stingey to buy Rhino licenses and provide basic Grasshopper training, or paying with Autodesk R+D credits it is the least bad option. But if you are seriously considering building capability long term, we recommend switching to RhinoInside instead. If you expect the tool to have widespread and regular use, consider moving development straight to the Revit toolbar.
