Flux-ilicious: Open-Data and Cloud Computing

BILT ANZ 2017 Adelaide Convention Centre 25 – 27 May 2017

Session 2.4

Flux-ilicious: Open-Data and Cloud Computing Paul Wintour, BVN Class Description Heard about Flux but not sure what it is? This class will identify some of the interoperability limitations we currently face and introduce Flux as a contender to solve these issues. We will cover how to setup a project and share data across Revit, Excel and Rhino and we'll also delve into the Flux labs as a means to harness the power of open-data and cloud computing. Specifically, we'll explore: Flux's Path Finder app to evaluate egress strategies; and, Flux's Dashboard to create simple and beautiful presentations of your data. This class is designed to assist you in maximising and sharing your BIM data. About the Speaker: Paul Wintour is a UK Registered Architect based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of ParametricMonkey.com, a research and learning website dedicated to accelerating the computational literacy within architectural design. Paul holds a post graduate Masters of Architecture and Urbanism from the Architectural Association’s Design Research Laboratory (AADRL). Paul runs an embedded practice design studio at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) as well as advanced BIM electives. He has also taught at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Architectural Association. Paul was previously the BuildingSMART manager for HOK's Asia Pacific offices where he specialized in the interface between conceptual parametric modelling and project delivery. Currently, Paul is a Senior Associate at BVN where he provides BIM implementation and design technology services to project teams.

2.4 - Flux-ilicious: Open-Data and Cloud Computing Paul Wintour, BVN

1.0 Introduction Flux was started in late-2010 at Google[x], Google’s research lab, with the mission to address two global challenges: climate change and affordable housing for the urbanizing population. Flux provides cloud-based collaboration tools for architects, engineers, and contractors to exchange data and streamline complex design workflows. In contrast, most design software today relies on manual file transfer, data conversion, and data-merge, which are tedious and error-prone tasks. Flux therefore frees you from the burden of exchanging and converting data so you can focus on what’s most important to your design.

Choose the best tool for the job

Flux plugins currently work with Grasshopper, Excel, Dynamo, AutoCAD, SketchUp, Revit and 3D max to automate data transfer to and from Flux.

The Flux ecosystem Page 2 of 24


Probably one of the best ways to describe Flux, is that it is a mix of HumanUI, Freighter and Project Quantum. Like Human UI in that you can build custom user interfaces. Like Freighter in that it simplifies visualising the output without complicated software installs. And finally, like Project Quantum by Autodesk, which seeks to compile data from multiple authoring tools into a single, cloud-based platform.

Software comparison

One of the major advantages that Flux affords is the ability to break down silos within the AEC industry. It does this by allowing different team members to work in their preferred software, but still have synchronised and coordinated data. This achievement is not to be under-estimated and will likely be a game changer in the AEC industry. Flux uses the *json file format and therefore is not locked down like other proprietary formats.

Flux design team ecosystem

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Flux for the Architect

Flux for the BIM Manager

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Flux for the Computational Designer

Flux for the Consultant Engineer Page 5 of 24


Flux for the Project Manager

Flux for the Technical Director

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2.0 Background It is important to note that Flux is still a new company and it is constantly evolving. This is often a good thing but it does mean that it can be difficult to document or capture information as the frequency of updates is so rapid. One example of this is the branding. I did not become aware of Flux until September 2015. Since then, which is about 18 months, they have re-branded several times. The first logo (as far as I’m aware), was the ‘sustainable architecture @ scale’ logo. This tends to relate to one of their earlier ambitions of automating project feasibility through their ‘Flux Metro’ app.

Original Flux logo

Next, came the hexagon, which personally I quite liked. Much of the branding you’ll see on the website still has this logo on it.

Flux logo, November 2016

Feeling that hexagons were becoming a little too prevalent, Flux’s new logo more effectively communicates what is core to Flux - the connecting of data. In a nod to the original logo Flux retain a six-pointed shape. The new logo also tessellates indicating extensibility and connectivity.

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Current Flux logo, March 2017

The other major issue that has fluctuated is pricing. In my RTC 2016 presentation, ‘Grasshopper to Dynamo: There and back again’ I compared various interoperability tools and their associated costs. At the time, Flux was free. However, it was noted that Flux had recently secured US$29M in funding. It was prophesised that in order to satisfy investors, Flux would need to be commercialised by charging customers. Sure enough this came to pass in November 2016. Possibly due to a backlash, Flux decided to introduce a free ‘Flux Evaluation’ plan in February 2017. There is no time limit on the Evaluation plan. The only restriction is the user is limited to a maximum of two Flux projects. There is no credit card required to get access to an evaluation licence. Users just enter in their email address, click an email link and they are good to go. All apps and plugins are included in the evaluation tier.

Flux create user account window

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As always, Flux is free for educational use and continues to be so. Furthermore, if you were lucky enough to be on of Flux’s original beta testers, then they continue to enjoy free access to the system.

Current pricing plans

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3.0 Setting up a Flux project A Flux project is the focal point for data exchange and collaboration. You can invite teammates into your project to share data. Each user and application controls when to synchronise data with the project, allowing users to work in isolation until they are ready to share their changes with the team. Since Flux was developed by Google[x], it will only work with Google Chrome. Here is how to setup your Flux project: •

First, you'll need to set up and sign into your Flux account.

Flux login window

• Once logged in, you will be re-directed to your home page which puts ‘apps’ front and centre. This is brand new user interface as of April 2017. Previously, you would be directed straight to your Flux Projects. The new arrangement seems a little counter-intuitive because most apps require a project to be already created before it can be used. You will have three apps by default – Data Explorer, Flow and Projects. These three really go together.

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Flux user home page

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Click on the ‘Projects’ app and create a new project. I called my project ‘BILT Demo’.

Flux projects

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Double click on the newly created project to open it. This will take you to the Data Explorer app where you can view ‘keys’. Keys are geometry/data that will be transferred to/from Flux.

Data Explorer inside the Flux project Page 11 of 24


Depending on how you want to use Flux, we can either create keys here manually or let certain apps do it for us automatically. To create the keys manually, simply hit the plus button in the data table on the left. Entre in the key name, such as ‘Columns’, and give it a description. These keys will be empty until we send data to Flux and write to that key.

Create Key window inside Data Explorer app

4.0 Flux labs You’ll notice on your home page a section featuring Flux Labs. This is a curated content of apps and the ones on your home page have been created by Flux themselves. These include: Capacitor, Dashboard, Scheduler, Terra and Tracker.

Flux Labs

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Capacitor enables you to view previous versions of your data and roll back in time. Never worry about that lost design iteration ever again. Dashboard allows you to create a simple and beautiful presentation of your Flux data. You can share your dashboard with any of your project collaborators – the only requirement is a web browser. Scheduler allows you to create, edit, and view Revit schedules on the web. Collaborating with Revit model data has never been easier. Instead of requiring everyone on a project who works with schedules to work within Revit, now all you need is a web browser. Terra allows you to place your 3D model at a precise location in Google Earth. No more fussing with export, scaling or coordinate alignment issues. The Terra web interface helps you quickly configure, generate and download a native *KMZ file which you can share or open in Google Earth. Tracker allows you to track your project activity on Slack and email. Want an easier way to stay up-to-date with project progress? Connect Flux Tracker to your project and get notifications in real time (or in batches) as changes are made. When launching an app, you may be prompted to verify your account details.

Verify account details window

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You will also need to grant the app authorisation to access your Flux account.

Authorise app window

In addition to the apps created by Flux, there is also a dedicated Flux Labs site which include apps developed by the Flux community. The webpage is a little hard to navigate to as there is no link from within your home page. Presumably this will be better integrated in the future. The site contains a mixture of apps, hacks and example workflows. It is somewhat messy - some are in their infancy, such as Siteline Analyzer, which is a workflow, while others are fully developed apps, such as Site Extractor. Some of the apps have been open-sourced and can be found in the GitHub repository.

Flux Labs website

We’ll now explore a few of the apps and workflows in more detail. Page 14 of 24


4.1 Dashboard Dashboard is an app developed by Flux and can be launched from your home page. It is not yet open-source. To create a Dashboard: •

Create a new Flux project and add in all the data keys that you’ll need. For our ‘twisty tower’ example I’ll need to create 10 as follows.

Flux data keys with Project app

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Create your Grasshopper or Dynamo script.

Grasshopper twisty tower script

Instead of creating slider inputs to control the script, we will instead pull data from Flux. Page 15 of 24


Grasshopper inputs from Flux

Similarly, the outputs should be send to Flux.

Grasshopper outputs sent to Flux

Note that Flux only supports the following data types: Page 16 of 24

2.4 - Flux-ilicious: Open-Data and Cloud Computing Paul Wintour, BVN • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

number integer text boolean list point line box plane mesh arc circle ellipse nurbs curve polycurve untrimmed nurbs surface polysurface general brep (note that these values cannot be pulled into Grasshopper) trimmed surfaces (as brep)

If you are sending data from the Revit (beta) plug-in, only the following elements can be sent.

Send to Flux from within Revit

Roofs for example are not supported. You would use to export using Flux within Dynamo.

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• In your Flux home page, click the ‘Launch’ button under Dashboard.

Launch Dashboard app from home page

• Create a new dashboard by clicking on the plus button.

Create a new Dashboard

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Add in new dashboard panels as required.

Flux add dashboard panel Page 18 of 24


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Select the key to be paired with and give the slider a name (usually the same as the key). The min and max of each key is controlled here as well as opposed to Grasshopper or Dynamo. Once created, each dashboard panel can be scaled and moved as required.

Dashboard add slider

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Modify the sliders as required. There will be a short lag between adjusting the sliders until the geometry is updated. This is because data is flowing from Flux into Grasshopper before being send back into Flux. This process could be sped up by creating the entire script within the Flux Flow app, thereby eliminating Grasshopper (or Dynamo) altogether. Also note that unlike Dynamo or Grasshopper, it is not possible to double click in the slider and entre the desired value. You must use the slider by sliding it which makes achieving the desired value difficult.

Flux Dashboard Page 19 of 24


4.2 Site Extractor Site Extractor is an app developed by Flux and can be launched from your home page. It is open-source and available on GitHub. To use Site Extractor:

• Click the ‘Launch’ button under Site Extractor in the home page.

Launch Dashboard app from home page

• Flux will launch Site Extractor which is basically a pop-up within Google Maps but exports using MapBox. Before selecting the area to be extracted, select the project to send the data to. Note that unlike the previous version of Site Extractor, you can’t create a new project within the app. You must do this beforehand. Alternatively, you can use the default ‘Flux Site Project’ that the app automatically creates.

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Set data layers to be exported and project to send data to

• Once you have set the data layers to be extracted and the project to send the data to, set your extraction extents. If the window is too large, the window will turn red and you’ll need to reduce the extents.

Site Extractor export

• Hit ‘save’. Once saved, select 'Saved! Open in Flux'. This will take you to the Data Explorer app within the project. If the keys, which have been automatically created, are not visible, click on the site arrow to show the menu.

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Data Explorer showing keys

• Keys which are in a *JSON format can be visualised within the browser by dragging and dropping the key onto the canvas.

Drag and drop data key onto canvas

You can show multiple keys individually or alternatively you can compile them into a single view (which is usually preferred). If the data is too large to view instantly, Flux will ask if you want to ‘load value’. It may take some time but eventually the data will appear in the window.

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Compiling multiple data keys into a single view

• Once all the data is in Flux we can pull this data into various software including Revit and Grasshopper.

Grasshopper script to import Flux’s Site Extractor data Page 23 of 24


Dynamo script to import Flux’s Site Extractor data

All geometry will come in at 0,0,0 (relative to the bottom left hand corner of the topography) and not in real world coordinates.

Site Extractor geometry in Revit Page 24 of 24