Sierra Jensen speaks at Digital Built Week Americas

Sierra discussed ‘How to Manage pyRevit in your Firm’ with a panel of other expert users.

In 2019, Sierra co-founded the firm’s Technology and Architectural Computation Organization (TACO) – a peer-led initiative at HASTINGS, which focuses on expanding architectural boundaries with tools, training, and experimentation. The group serves as a firm-wide resource to test, re-tool, and deploy new visualization, programs, and workflows.

PyRevit afforded our team an opportunity to develop Python scripts directly within the Revit interface – facilitating greater user adoption through familiar software. The custom add-in ribbon lovingly referred to as the ‘TACO Bar,’ currently hosts 69 commands. From everyday commands like “Zoom Selected” or major time savers like the “Revision Schedule and Narrative,” users can create shortcuts to these commands to be able to utilize them in just a couple of keystrokes. A fan favorite – the ‘Get Tacos’ command sends the user to one of five local restaurant websites where the designer can order tacos for a potentially long night ahead. All commands were developed from user suggestions and open dialogue with our colleagues. The data TACO collects noting which commands are used, and how often, directly informs future development of supplemental commands.

Sierra’s work creating custom scripts in Dynamo and pyRevit has revolutionized how designers work at our firm. Her collaborative approach acknowledges the specific needs of HASTINGS’ studio and delivers solutions that push boundaries and drive efficiency.