157 Building with code, with Jeremy Tammik

157 Building with code, with Jeremy Tammik

Welcome to the first episode of BIMrras in English. And no, we didn’t decide to torture English speakers with our wonderful regional accent. We simply decided to switch to Shakespeare’s language because in this episode we have Jeremy Tammik.

Also known as The building coder, Jeremy is Consulting Analyst at Autodesk, has been a cornerstone of the company since 1988. His journey began as a technology evangelist, spreading the gospel of AutoCAD development across continents. After a stint away working on HVAC applications, Jeremy returned to Autodesk in 2005, and ever since, he’s been deeply embedded in the Autodesk Developer Network, specializing in the Revit API.

Therefore, this episode is about coding and construction. A field, that of programming, which Autodesk opened up by making the Revit API accessible, and which has highlighted the capabilities and potential of programming in BIM methodology. And there is no one better than Jeremy Tammik to talk about it.

Maths and Physics working in an AEC company

Jeremy Tammik has a background in math and physics, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Add an early interest in humanities, philosophy, and martial arts, along with fluency in six languages, and you might begin to grasp how multifaceted he is. He describes himself as a problem solver. How does this diverse skill set impact his work? How has Autodesk benefited from his contributions?

Opening the Revit API

Jeremy has been working at Autodesk since 1988, when software like AutoCAD 10 was prevalent. His extensive experience eventually led him to the Revit API. What stories would Jeremy share about this journey?

We’ve always said on BIMrras that opening the Revit API was one of the smartest moves by an AEC software company. How did the idea to open the app for user contributions originate? How challenging is it to evolve and upgrade an API, especially now that it must be migrated from .NET 4.8 to .NET Core 8?»

AEC Modelers development

At the beginning of the AEC modelers’ race, we held the idea that someday we could create any type of model for any construction and encapsulate all the information within it, using a single tool. AEC software has evolved, with new and powerful modeling capabilities introduced in every new version. However, we have somewhat stalled in that developmental race, perhaps shifting our focus to other priorities like collaboration, teamwork, and communication. What is the AEC software industry aiming for?

Jeremy has the opportunity to work closely with, or even get a first look at, many innovations that could transform how we create, design, and construct our buildings. VR, AR, digital twins, cloud-based Revit—you name it. What does he think the future will bring to us in this fascinating world of AEC software?

Community and OpenSource

If there is a rockstar in the Revit developer community it has to be Jeremy Tammik. He shares his knowledge while blogging about Forge, BIM and the Revit API in his blog. What motivates someone like Jeremy to actively collaborate with others and share his knowledge and experience?

Speaking of collaboration, other industries have developed open-source software that can compete with or even surpass proprietary software in fields such as design, photography, 3D creation, and office productivity. Why is it so challenging to produce open-source software within the AEC industry?

Jeremy Tammik’s recommendations

As always, we resort to our plundering arts to wrest from Jeremy his favorite tools and sources of information.

Resources highlighted in this episode

• AutoLISP
• John Walker
• AutoCAD
• Revit
• Bill Atckinson
• The Building Coder
• Emacs
• Revit API Discussion forum
• Slack
• ChatGPT Sudoku Game