AS502788 - Using Dynamo and Generative Design to Simplify Complex 3D Schematic Design

Sep 11, 2026

Case study AS502788 explains how SSOE worked through a demanding architectural automation scenario involving 100,000 objects, overlapping regulatory standards, and environmental requirements. Computation and generative design are presented as practical support to simplify complex relationship mapping, keep teams focused, and improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. The material outlines learning objectives and introduces Revit-based automation, Dynamo scripting challenges, and a modular planning unit approach (“swidget”) as a repeatable design-optimization workflow.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Learning Objectives

Description

Speaker

Introduction

The Challenge

Candidate Projects for Automation

Activities that Set Up or Create the Basis of a Design

The Story

Respect the Factorial: Avoiding Naive Dynamo Parameterization

Now What?

Simplifying 100,000 Things with a Planning Unit

AS502788 Using Dynamo and Generative Design to Simplify Complex 3D Schematic Design Louise Schlatter SSOE Group Assisted by Patrick Podeyn SSOE Group Alvaro Luna Autodesk Learning Objectives • Learn how to assess a viable way to simplify complex problems. • Gain insights that will help inform your path to automation and design optimization. • Build upon your understanding of what working with Dynamo and Generative Design can do. • Compare your experience with solving complex problems with this case study. Description What do you do when a building owner comes to you with a list of 100,000 space-occupying things they want you to organize in three dimensions, and then revises the list every month until it's done? This case study explains how SSOE worked through a complex series of relationships between objects involving multiple overlapping regulatory standards and environmental requirements. Computation and Generative Design worked together to help keep us sane, operate more efficiently , and improve customer satisfaction. This process is repeatable, and we think design optimization is real. Join us to discover whether our story inspires you to explore automation techniques. Learn from our experience with Dynamo and Generative Design. Speaker Louise Schlatter Master Architect, SSOE Group I fill roles for the architectural department, the manufacturing business unit, and the entire corporation that I jokingly refer to as “Answer Lady”. Highly technical problems, unique challenges, new market sectors, workflow improvements, training and mentoring are my core responsibilities. I am the Architect of Record for several large complex projects for our manufacturing clients. My history is filled with specification development, sustainable and value- added building design. The thousand-employee strong SSOE Group has an international footprint covering 40 countries and 6 continents, and my experience with them includes half of that. Although the projects with which I am involved are highly confidential, a public one for which I was the Architect of Record and LEED Administrator is the Volkswagen Automotive Assembly plant in Chattanooga, TN; it was the first and largest LEED Platinum certified manufacturing facility in the world. My current focus is on supporting building designs for battery technologies and improving workflows internally and with our partners. Patrick Podeyn (SSOE Group) and Alvaro Luna (Autodesk) are key members of the case study project and essential to the programming effort. They will be assisting with the Q&A and contributing their technical expertise. Their contributions and outcome of the Q&A portion of the presentation will be captured and added as supplementary material after Autodesk University. Introduction This case study is intended to provide insights for people in the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) community considering Revit-based automation. The automation tools are new and still developing. We will be exploring how combining old and new tools combine in powerful ways to reach project and automation goals and meet the Learning Objectives of this course. The Challenge What kind of a project is a candidate for automation? The easy answer is any repetitive and mundane activity. This includes labeling details, views, and sheets, moving or shifting repetitive objects, updating parameters or text, collecting text fora list, and others. What about activities that setup or create the basis of a design? Are you one of those who thinks a new project starts with a blank sheet of paper or screen? Let me suggest to you this is seldom the case, particularly in the AEC industry. By the time members of the AEC team are engaged, the owner has some conception of what the project should be. Typically, the architect’s role is to translate the owner’s information and vision into graphic and technical information that the construction and facility managemen

FAQs

What problem does this case study address?

It addresses organizing about 100,000 space-occupying items in three dimensions while handling many criteria, rules, and overlapping regulatory and environmental requirements.

How does the presentation connect automation with design optimization?

It argues that computation and generative design work together to simplify complex relationships, improve efficiency, and make the overall process repeatable for design optimization.

What is the “planning unit” approach described in the case study?

The team creates a modular planning unit to make the footprint of the 100,000 items easier to fit into available space, referred to as a “swidget” in the narrative.

Sep 11, 2026

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