Revit Technology Conference North America an Abridged retelling

Note:You would think I could have gotten this posted sometime yesterday, but as I was proofing I got involved in some good API conversation with Matthew Nelson (BIM Manager at Evergreen EDC @MattBeNimble) then lost WiFi and just never got to hit *post*  Better Late than never.

My plans to blog daily from RTCNA were shot down by spotty WiFi in the hotel room. I never had more than 15 mins of continuous connection.  Anytime I went to the lobby, I was far to involved in Revit/BIM conversations to think about how to capture the event on the blog.  Even now, as I sit in the hotel lobby, some of the best Revit minds in the industry are having off the cuff brainstorming and collaboration sessions as they wait their time to leave. Twitter tells me that the airport would be just as conversation rich.  So, I will try to capture the conference in a few paragraphs for now and expand later.

As far as sessions go, per usual, they were the top live learning resources on Revit and BIM in the wild available.  I did walk out of one class, but that was made possible by realistic representation of the course by the instructor.  They stated that "if you have ever done this task in Revit, you're not going to learn much here and anything you haven't seen before you could pick up from the handout." Great attitude at an intermediate to advanced technology conference.

Frankly, if you could only go to one Revit related conference a year, I would recommend the Revit Technology Conference closest to you. Seriously, The caliber of presenters, and the sessions offered will inspire the motivated beginner to seasoned professional alike.  I won't go into sessions specifics, but Revit cows and elephants, Data mining, Curtain wall modeling to fabrication and hacking Revit to bend to your will were found around every corner....

Vancouver and specifically Westin Bayshore had a lot to offer. Being a intimate event (440 registrants as opposed to close to 10,000 at Autodesk University (I'm sure if I'm far wrong on that number someone will let me know)) allows for a smaller venue with rooms and conference center within easy walking distance.  The RTCNA committee and Sponsor IMAGINiT snagged a great place for the Friday evening party- The Vancouver Aquarium.  Dolphin Show, open exhibits to wander, even tables nestled among sea-life exhibits.  Good times.

Anyway, more to come... In the mean time, enjoy the sealife--