The History of Revit By Jason Boehning Head back in time to the beginnings of Revit and learn more about the program’s fascinating origins. do so, he had to change several drawings just for the minor roof adjustment. So he thought, “there must be a better way!” These types of issues are what prompted Raiz and Jungreis to develop a better solution. Essentially, they wanted to create tools for architects that were developed by architects. At RTC North America 2015, I had the privilege of meeting the founders of Revit: Leonid Raiz and Irwin Jungreis. Several members of the development team and sales staff were also present at the conference to share stories about the beginnings of Revit. Here is a brief overview of the history of Revit, which is now the most popular BIM software in the world! In the fall of 1997, Leonid Raiz incorporated Charles River Software. Irwin Jungreis joined him shortly after that in early 1998. Before this, both had worked together at Parametric Technology Corporation developing software for engineers. If I remember correctly, Leonid shared a story at RTC about when he was designing his house with a traditional CAD program. At a later stage in his design, he wanted to alter the height of the roof. To 14 www.cadlearning.com In 1998, Raiz and Jungreis began to write code and seek funding for the project. I think it’s safe to say that they had no idea that what they were creating at that time would help change the direction of the AEC industry! Anyway, the humble beginnings of Charles River Software were carried out in Leonid’s living room and, later, in their first office above a Domino’s Pizza in Wellesley, MA. Maybe they were eating pizza while discussing the ins and outs of families or eating cheesy bread while arguing over whether or not to make the coordinate systems visible?! Who knows! In 1999, prior to any public release, an early version of Revit was made available to a select few early adopters. In 2000, there was another pre-release. That same year, the company became Revit Technology Corporation as they prepared for the initial public release. Gallery