Over recent weeks there has been a furore surrounding Autodesk and their flagship product, Revit. An open letter to Autodesk called into question Revit’s value given escalating licencing costs with stagnant product development. Some long-term customers have even begun considering abandoning Revit altogether and switching to rival software. So how has all of this come about and what’s to take away from the situation? This article offers an alternative view on the matter, suggesting a whole rethink of our relationship with Revit altogether.
The Autodesk open letter
For years, Architects have complained about Revit’s lack of development and rising costs. However, much of this fell on deaf ears. But last month, something very unusual happened. Seventeen firms, including Zaha Hadid Architects, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, and Grimshaw, published an open letter demanding better value.1 It was not unusual in the sense that someone wrote an open letter – this…