Introduction

This blog is the product of many hours of troubleshooting, testing, fixing, developing, testing, research, fixing again and finally sharing the rewards to other users. Primarily I’m hoping to get my thoughts out into a organized format.  A format that is indexed and easily searchable.

I will primarily focus on Revit (Architecture) and the programs, apps and plug-ins related to Revit.  At times I might wander off into other programs as they fit into the task of documentation, analysis and review.

Elevation Mark with Rotated Text

Ever had a project with True North at an obtuse angle to “Plan North” or a site with several buildings with their own “Plan North”? Or maybe just a project with angles?  If so, your elevation tag might have looked like this…

Printing Tip – Grayscale for existing buildings

The Issue
A colleague stumbled upon a quirk the other day while printing a renovation project.  The views contained a Phase Filter overriding all existing construction to be gray lines (cut and projection) with a gray solid fill, but the lines were printing black.

The Culprit
The Colors setting under Appearance in the Print Setup dialogue box was set to Black Lines.  This setting was overwriting the Phase Filter for the lines.  Also, any Filled Region made with lines were also overridden by this setting.

The Fix
Setting the Color setting in the Print Settings to Grayscale allowed the gray lines to print as desired.  Selecting Color  also works in this instance.

Print Setup dialogue box

CS 01: Multifamily Units – 01 The Campus Project

Round 1- The Campus Project

Project Overview
The first project was 7 different building types arranged on a site plan. The unit mix included 6 different unit types in the base building block. All buildings were modeled in their own files and linked into a site file where they were arranged in their locations. The site file was used for all documentation including details which were shared amongst all the buildings. The different building types were all the same architectural style and had similar elevation/massing elements between them – bay windows, end cap gable forms, balconies, etc. The variation was in the assembly of the similar elements and modules.
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CS 01: Multifamily Units- 00 Introduction

Introduction
This case study looks at using Revit for multifamily projects. As a scoping tactic, I am limiting this first case study to single building new construction projects. The current process works for rehab/reuse projects too, but will make more sense after reading about the trials and breakthroughs with new construction projects. I also have another case study brewing specifically for multiple building campus projects.

the idea behind the title

Revit

Revit is a parametric modeling software.  I have heard people use the word intelligent while describing the software or parts of it.  I believe the parametric nature of Revit allows us to build relationships between elements that are not possible in other software built for the AEC industry.  I believe people bring the intelligence to Revit through our understanding and manipulation of these relationships.