More Decorative Line Drawings in Revit

The question of whether to use AutoCAD or Revit took an interesting turn within our office some time ago. In the beginning we were pushing to use Revit for everything just to see what it was capable of and we found that AutoCAD still had a place in our office.

There were a couple of factors that determined our methodology:

1. Most new hires know AutoCAD and not Revit and can work fairly quickly in AutoCAD.

2. When it comes to 2D detail like decorative tilework on a wall or other highly decorative components (that would take too long to model in Revit) these elements can be drafted in AutoCAD fairly quickly and then imported for placing on a surface. It's very important to know a quick method like this for generating detailed line drawings that might change frequently in the schematic design phase as they often do on our projects. In addition, if these AutoCAD files are LINKED in they can be updated frequently by a draftsperson and then reloaded into the Revit model without having to reposition them. AutoCAD files can be placed in the "current view only" or can be placed 3 dimensionally in all views, but it takes a little longer to orient a linked dwg in 3 dimensional space onto the surface you want. We only do this when we want to see low relief detail in a camera view.

3. Revit is very useful for solving 3D problems, like determining valleys and ridges of awkwardly intersecting roofs for generating roof plans or elevations and for seeing into the structure to resolve other possible clashes.

4. In addition to linking dwgs into a project you can also import them into families. We do this a lot for our flush doors when we want to add a lot of custom detail to a flush wood door. Rather than model all that detail, just paste the dwg onto the surface of the flush door.

5. AutoCAD files are a good place holder until such time that the design changes settle down and you can find time to model low relief elements.

In conclusion, if you do have a practice that designs a lot of decorative detail into your custom architecture, consider using AutoCAD to draft your detail and then nest the dwgs into your projects and families. While this method may not be practical for offices that are interested in the rendering features of Revit, they are very practical tips for quickly generating line drawings for schematic design and construction documents using both Revit and AutoCAD.

Additive Views vs. Subtractive Views

Common Problem: When I place an electrical fixture or other family category it pops up automatically in other views I would rather not see it in.

Reason: In the default Revit tempate almost every category is unnecessarily turned on in all views so the same family shows up everywhere.

Solution: Create Additive Views instead of Subtractive Views for family categories that are only used in one or two views. By that I mean, start with most family categories turned off in your new view's visibility/graphics and gradually add the categories that you want to see.

Extra Tip: If you want future new views to be additive by default, create a view template. Then, when you apply the template to a view, check the option that reads "Apply automatically to new views of the same type."

The Project That Almost Could

I feel a duty to report our failures as well as well as our successes over the course of our Revit implementation. We currently have 4 Revit projects under construction, but not all of our projects made it through the CD phase. We have one model that was started in Revit before we knew any of the limitations of Revit.

The project is an existing 30,000 square foot custom residence built in the 1920's. The task was to demolish a 1980's addition, restoring the building to it's original design, and then adding our own additions.

This project isn't as organic as Gaudi, but it did have a lot of organic characteristics. To add to the complexity, the as-built drawings we had on file were not accurate to the true construction of the existing structure because the original architect had improvised the design during construction. In the process of demolition a lot of the original design intent is being discovered and is informing the as-built drawings.

Here are some of the characteristics of this project that made it quite difficult to model:

• undulating cavity walls that would often not clean up in Revit
• uniquely chamfered surrounds at windows and doors around every corner
• 3 phases with a lot of partial wall, roof, floor, and ceiling demos
• hand crafted and highly detailed vaulted ceiling designs
• detailed and decorative plaster wall treatments

30,000 square feet of this added up to a project that was taking too long to model in Revit. The model is not clean enough to develop construction documents so we have passed along that task to another architect.

BIMtionary

Brandon Pike has started a new blog called BIMtionary. His posts include tiers of BIM Implementation and a Revit Implementation Checklist. I look forward to his future posts.

Phases & Worksets

This blog started out as a blog for beginners. These days I mostly tend to cover advanced topics so here's a little tip for the beginners out there.

Always Be Phase Aware
In every project file your modeled components have a phase created and a phase demolished parameter whether you like it or not. And most views have phase and phase filter parameters. If you place a model component in a view that is set to the New Construction phase (under View Properties), that component automatically gets placed in the New Construction phase. So if you are doing as-builts, make sure you set all of your views phases to Existing. That way when you start placing your components they end up on the correct phase. This can easily be corrected in a 3D view if you skipped this step. As you start to model your proposed design distinguishing between existing and proposed content becomes ever more critical.

Always Be Workset Aware
On workset enabled projects every model component is place on a user defined workset (usually Workset 1). Make sure you check the workset toolbar and select the correct active workset. You don't want to place a whole lot of content on the Shared Levels & Grids workset. This can easily be corrected in a 3D view if you skipped this step.

Instance Parameters: The Double Agent

This is going to be particularly helpful to those of you working on large projects. Some of you may already be aware of it, but I haven't seen it documented anywhere so here goes...

I call this technique the Double Agent because the Instance Parameters discussed here will temporarily act like Type Parameters under the right conditions. Why would I want an Instance Parameter to act like a Type Parameter? you ask. Well, quite often, but not always we want to apply the same Instance Parameter value (like a comment that is repeated for MOST instances of a Family Type) to many of the same Doors, Windows, Sheets, or other families. Comments are typically Instance Parameters that you have to change one at a time. But I don't want to change comments one at a time when there are so many of the same comment value. I want them to update once and simultaniously like a Type Parameter would, without having to use a Type Parameter (because I may still want one or two comment values to remain unique. Well, how do you do it? The Answer: With Schedules

Here is the procedure. Go to your door schedule for example.

You'll notice that I have four door types (71,66,17,64). I need to add the Remark 1hr rated to types 66 & 64. Rather than enter the value one field at a time for the Instance Parameter called Remark, lets add the value to all 8 fields once and simultaniously. Here's how.

Go to View Properties... Sorting Grouping... Now make a mental note (or write it down if you wish) of the current Sorting/Grouping settings because, like a good double agent, you're going to have to restore the schedule to its original identity when we're all done. Now change the setting to what you see below.

You can isolate the From Room: Name (or Type Mark parameter). It is very important to uncheck the Itemize every instance option. This is what you'll see.

Now Type in the Remark 1HR Rated for all doors without a room name... then change the Sorting/Grouping setting back to their original state and You'll have added the Value 1HR Rated to the Instance Parameter Remarks for all doors without a room name.

These are the rules of the game: You have to sort the schedule by some Type Parameter or by some Instance Parameter with equal values already present.

Now that I have the value 1HR RATED for all of the 1HR doors, lets say I want to change the value to 1.5HR RATED. Just isolate the REMARKS parameter from the Sorting/Grouping settings and exchange the old value for the new value.

So once again, why not just make your Instance Parameter a Type Parameter? Because the Instance Parameter value you choose may not always apply to every instance of a Family Type. This is just a custom way to update multiple fields once and simultaniously.

I hope you'll enjoy exploring the many applications of The Double Agent technique.

Imported Images and Sheets

We often import hand renderings into Revit projects for plotting presentation sets.

I've noticed that when I import an image directly onto a sheet that if the image is even slightly outside of the scope of the titleblock then plots can come out centered incorrectly. The only solution is to place images in a drafting view (or legend view) first... then place the view on your sheet. If the view itself is outside of the scope of the titleblock Revit will plot the sheet fine.

Rescaling the image can also be easier from a drafting view once scale is established. Just change the scale of the view. Rescaling the image by eye on a sheet is less accurate.

Legend views can be placed on multiple sheets but placing these images in a legend view can crowd your project browser so I would stick to drafting views unless you absolutely need the added function of placing the image on multiple sheets like for key plans as an example.

If your image comes in solid black it's most likely a memory issue. You can change the resolution and image size to reduce file size if necessary. Rotating images can also cause them to turn solid black.

Images can be imported. Linking an image for easier updating is on the wishlist but is not yet an option.

Feel free to comment on the subject of importing images if you have anything you want to add.

Blogger: slo Arch

Check this out when you have some free time.

Tim Alatorre posts to his blog sloArch on a varaiety of subjects including but not limited to Artlantis, Revit, Sketchup, LEED, A.R.E., and other Architecture related subjects.

Filter Unplaced or Unenclosed Items

Every once in a while I discover something I didn't know was there. It appears this feature was added in Revit 2009.

After you've created a Room or Area Schedule and populated it with rooms/areas you have the option of filtering unplaced or unenclosed Rooms/Areas. The three options are: Show all, Hide unplaced, and Isolate unplaced.

AEC EDGE Magazine

AUGI has published their first quarterly AEC EDGE Magazine. This has been reported on several blogs already but I really enjoyed it so I thought I'd post too.