revit builders field manual - autodeskaucache.autodesk.com/au2011/sessions/4637/additional… ·...

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 Field Guide

To The Teacher: This is a short field guide to Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011. It is not designed to be a complete manual to the program – that would take several volumes. Rather it is meant to be a short introduction to the program for students who have never worked in a complex software program such as Revit. The short exercises in this manual will teach the students some basic tools to work with, as well as give them confidence with the program. Once they have had this short course in the program, they will be brimming with questions about how to add complexity to their models. And that is when you can really begin teaching them the program, using any number of good curriculum models available from Autodesk, or third party developers. Our suggestion is to use the manual as your opening activity with the program and let the students follow the simple activities in it to gain confidence. Once they have a few basic commands under their belt and have designed a couple of simple structures, you can begin exploring the program in depth and create true professional designs and models that would do any professional architect credit. Good luck with the program – like all Autodesk software, it is simply the best.

The Built Environment

1© 2011 Architectural Foundation of San Francisco

When we think of the environment, most of us think of the great outdoors -- trees and lakes and mountains and stuff like that. But the environment we live in, for the most part, is not the natural environment at all. It is the built environment – houses and schools and stores and office buildings, streets and highways. Most of that did not happen by accident. It was designed by someone or a team of someones.

For example, buildings are designed by architects. All designers use tools to design their structures and in the past few years the most common tool for architects is computer assisted design, or CAD computer programs. The first CAD programs simply let architects draw their plans without using pen and paper. But new programs, like Autodesk Revit not only help you draw, they keep track of all of the information that the builders will need to build your building. They allow you to assemble a virtual model of your building right on your computer screen. This process is called Building Information Modeling or BIM for short. Revit Architecture 2010 is a BIM program. The program is easy to learn, and with it, you can take your first steps towards becoming an architect of the Built Environment.

Design Designing is a process through which we solve problems. It is a decision making process in which you decide how best to solve a particular problem. There may be many solutions to a problem. Most of them will be the wrong solution, and you need to recognize them when you see them. But many others may look like the right solution. The job of the architect is to decide which is the best “right” solution to the problem. When you work with Revit, you can try many different solutions to your design quickly. This helps with the decision making process. But it is still up to you to pick the best right solution.

Section OneWe are about to begin working with Autodesk Revit, a full professional level architectural design program that will allow you to learn how architects design buildings.Let’s get started.

Something there is that loves a wall…

In exploring design with Revit Building, we start with a wall. Walls are interesting constructions. What are walls for? A single wall, of whatever length, divides space. The length of the wall determines how much space is on either side.

Four connected walls enclose space. The length of the walls determines how much space is enclosed. In the U.S., we measure this space in square feet.

Walls work together to both enclose and divide. If you create a square or rectangle composed of four walls, and adds interior walls to divide the space you have enclosed, you are basically creating a space with rooms that can serve a function, like a house, or an office building. It is easy to sketch a wall using Revit. We are going to start with a simple activity that will teach you some basics of the program.


Revit Activity One: What is a Wall

Let’s begin. Click on the Revit icon on the desktop.

Be patient; allow the program to load completely. If the “New Features” panel appears Select “No” and close it.

The first screen is The Recent Files Window. It displays any projects you may have worked on in the past. Since this is your first project we need to start a new file.

Under “Projects” Select “New.” Click on the “R” and go to “Save as” select “Project” and Name the project as directed by the instructor and save it in the correct folder.

When the program is loaded you will see that it is divided up into several sections:

USER INTERFACE

Don’t try to build anything yet.

The Main Tool Bar is called “The Ribbon.” It runs along the top of the application window and contains a collection of tabs to create building elements- “Wall”, “Door”, “Window”, etc. Hold your cursor over each, and additional information will show. Click the “Home tab” to return to the full Ribbon.

DESIGN “RIBBON”

But Don’t Try to Build Anything Yet.


PROPERTIES ROLLOUTWhen program opens, running down the left side is the Properties Rollout bar. This tab helps you select and edit specific details of the element you are working on.

PROJECT BROSWER

Below the properties Rollout is the Project Browser. This allows you to keep track of the various views of your design. Remember, you are creating a 3D model, not a drawing, so you want to see all sides as well as different elevations. Most building will be done in the Floor Plan Views.


MODELING AREA In the center is your modeling area. That’s where we’ll work. Notice the four arrows around the drawing space. These provide the four elevation views in your project browser. Work in the middle of these for your first design. Do Not Move or Delete the Arrows.

NOW, LET’ BEGIN BUILDING

From the Ribbon select the Drop Down Arrow under Wall. From the Drop Down that appears select the first option. (Wall) Notice that the Ribbon lists the wall type as “Generic ” after you select it. That’s OK for now.

Make sure the Project Browser reads “Floor Plan Level One.”

On the Options Bar above, make sure there is no check mark in the box marked “chain”. We want to do this one wall at a time.

In the modeling area, sketch a wall by dragging a line open with your mouse. Notice that the wall tells you its length as you drag it open.

Now draw three more walls to make a box. Use the little magenta colored box to connect to existing walls. Notice that

when the walls are the same length a dotted green line appears to help you line things up.

VIEW in 3DFrom the View Menu on the Ribbon, click on the 3D View, then click on Default 3D .If you click on the “View Cube” that appears in the upper right corner of the model you can rotate the project around and look at it from all sides. There is also a “Navigation Wheel” that you can use and a zoom tool. This lets you orbit your model. “Rewind” on the Navigation Wheel puts you back where you started. You can also pan and zoom using the Navigation Wheel. These tools will give you a better look at your model. If your


model gets too out of whack, the View Cube also has a small house icon that will reset your view to the original 3D view. There are different Navigation Wheels to try. Play with them all until you understand what they are for before going on.

Enhance the quality of the graphics.

From the Model Graphics Icon at the Bottom of the Screen Select “Shading with Edges.”

Save Your Work

Let’s ContinueTo continue working, Return to Floor plan Level One in the Project Browser and click the Home tab on the ribbon.

Things to Think About:A. How tall is the generic wall in Revit?B. When would you want a wall this high? C. When would you want a shorter wall?

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The Trouble With Walls:The trouble with walls is they work too well. To get to the other side you have to either go around them, over them, or through them.

So we have doors. Doors are just as interesting as walls. By adding them to walls we begin to define our building. While our walls still enclose space, and divide it up, with doors we add an element of mobility. This helps define the function of each room.

DOORSCreating doors in Revit is almost too simple. From the Ribbon select door. Click on the section of wall where you want a door and there you have a door. You can use the modify Arrow Tool to drag the door along the wall to any location you choose.Add doors to your structure where you think they ought to go. Use the space bar to adjust the orientation of the door, left or right.

Notice that the door swings in a different direction depending upon which side of the wall you click on.

Things to Think About:A. How do you know what direction the door should swing to open it?


B. Does every interior wall need a door?C. How big is a door?

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Let There Be Light!

WINDOWSWhile there are some interesting structures that are completely solid walls, most of us prefer some natural light inside our buildings.

That’s the main reason we have windows. There are other reasons, of course, like giving you a quick exit in an emergency, but mostly windows are there to provide light to the interior of the structure.

Add windows to your structure the same way as you added doors. Select Window in the Ribbon and Click on the Wall wherever you want a window.

This completes your first exercise.

Save your first model as instructed by your teacher.

If you don’t know where or how to save it, ask for instructions.


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LESSON 2

From the File menu select New Project to get a new clean screen, then Name and Save as directed by your instructor

We are going to create a floor plan for a “condo”. Note: Technically a condominium is not an architectural form but a financial arrangement in which a group of property owners agree to hold their property through a common arrangement. Here we are using the word loosely to define a single unit apartment such as you would find in an urban high rise building. The term “condo” has become a common slang term for such a unit.

We will begin by creating four exterior walls, 30 x 40 feet. But first we want to make two or three changes to the settings.

First we want the walls to be only 10 feet tall.

Second, we want to use exterior walls for the outside of the condo, and interior walls for the inside of the condo. You can select them from the pull down on the Ribbon.

For the exterior walls, select an exterior type wall by choosing the Properties Tab and Changing the Element Type instead of Basic Wall Generic.

A drop down gives you a good selection of walls. Select one of the six exterior wall types displayed.

We want these walls to be 10 feet high. On the design bar below the ribbon you can see Unconnected Height 20’. Change this number to 10’. Turn off “Chain” by removing the check mark from the box.

After you create the 30’ x 40’ shell of the building with exterior walls, go back and use the Properties pull down list to select interior walls.


Now divide the interior space up into rooms by dragging the interior walls into place. Make living areas, bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms as needed. You are the architect so you can decide where they go.

Now reset the Ribbon to Home and choose Window. Click on the walls and put some windows in. Next, add a door or two.

Add doors and windows where they are appropriate.

Things to Think About:A. What is the difference between the various types of walls that are available to

you?B. Why do walls have “Hours”?C. When would you add glass walls to your condominium?

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LESSON 3:

Here’s Looking at You… Views and Levels

Start a New Project, then Name and Save as directed by your instructor.

So far we’ve been looking at only a couple of views of your project – the Plan View and the 3D View. You should also get in the habit of surveying your project from the sides. In architecture, this is called looking at Elevations. Revit establishes four default elevation views, based on the points of the compass: North, South, East and West.

Create four structural walls in a box 40’ by 40’, leave the height setting at 20’. Work in the center of the elevation tabs, in order to provide yourself with accurate elevations views. Now select each elevation in turn, by selecting North, South, East and West from the Project Browser.

Notice that in addition to providing you with a side view from each direction, the modeling information also includes “Level” indicators – the little dotted lines that run through the model and extend out to the sides. The default for this model is just two levels: Level One and Level Two. Level One is set at the base of your building. Level Two is set 10 feet above Level One. That means that the Level Two dotted line is running through the middle of your walls, because the walls in this new project are 20’ high.

On the LevelLevels are very important for adding features to your models, such as second story floors, stairs, roofs and other important features.

Choose North Elevation from the Project Browser.


To add a level, Click “Level” in the Ribbon

.

Start on the left side of the building, move your cursor above Level 2. Notice that the distance from the preceding Level is shown in feet and inches.

Click and drag open a new level across to the right. Click again to set the level.

A new Level 3 will appear in the Project Browser as well

Keep your Level indicators even and precise from left to right. They determine many features of your model including the constraints of your walls.

Notice that you can actually name the Levels to correspond to the part of the building they refer to. For example, a level that is even with the top of a wall might be re-named “Roof Level.”

Things to Think About:A. Building heights are measured in stories. How high is the average single story?B. About how tall is a twenty-five story building?C. When would you want ceiling heights above 10’?

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A Roof Over Your Head

Let’s put a roof on our new structure. This is an easy exercise, since we just added a Level 3 to our structure. You can add a roof to the structure by starting the Roof from there.

In the Project Browser, Select Floor Plan Level Three

ROOF BY FOOTPRINT To add a roof by Footprint: In the Ribbon select “Roof…by Footprint”.

The Pick Walls command appears in the command line on the lower right. Use your mouse to click on each of the four exterior walls of your structure. When each turns Red, Select the Big Green Check mark “Finish Roof” on the right of the Ribbon. Say Yes to the “Attach Walls to the Roof” Dialogue Box.

Go Home and use the View Menu to select 3D view from the ribbon. Use the 3D View to see the results of your roof design.

From the Model Graphics Icon at the Bottom of the Screen Select “Shaded with Edges.”

Spin the view by clicking on the Cube Icon.

Things to Think About:A. How tall is the Peak of the Roof?B. What different styles of roofs do buildings have?C. When do you need different roofs?


Things to Do. Re-make your roof with an overhang of 1’ on each side.

Notice that there is a check box marked “Defines Slope” as you design your roof

Change the Angle of slope by removing the slope check box as you pick walls. What is the result? Which choices make which type of roof?

Set the roof starting point at different Levels. Why are some levels inappropriate for starting a roof?

You can lower the peak of the roof, which may give you a more proportional looking building. Select the 3D View. Click on the roof and hold the mouse down. A tab appears at the center of the rooftop. Drag this tab down to lower the height of the roof. See the results of your work by selecting the different elevations.

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It’s a Family AffairRevit offers a wide range of choices for walls, doors, windows and so on. Many of these are available from the pull down menus on the Options Bar. But larger libraries of components are to be found in a series of “families.” To see these choices look along the Ribbon to see “Load Family”

A large group of files appears giving you many choices of various components to work with. Take some time to browse these files.

Many of these components allow you to add detail to your model, including furniture. To add some of these choose “Component” from the Ribbon.

You will get a limited selection as a default, but Load Family will give you plenty of choices.

There is a lot more to learn in Revit Architecture. Visit the Autodesk Education Community online to view some of the many learning resources found there. And then get busy designing.


Part II: Mass Attack

In designing major buildings, architects and designers frequently begin by defining the basic shape of their building, in a “massing study.” Often this mass study is done in an actual physical model, made out of wood, foam core or even cardboard. But with 3D parametric modeling software such as Revit Architecture, you can create a massing study with a few simple steps, and then add detail that will enhance the model beyond simply defining the shape of the building.

Here are the steps:

Open a project in Revit. Name it Mass1.

From the Ribbon select Massing and Site

Choose “In Place Mass” from the options.

A dialogue box opens telling you that “Show Mass” is now turned on. Click Ok.

Name the Mass “Office” and click OK.

Select the Rectangle Drawing tool and open up a box 60’x100’

From the Ribbon Pull Down “Create Form. “Choose “Solid Form”


Open the 3D View. Highlight the mass so that all four walls are selected. Grab the Handle on the top of the sketch and drag it up to 90 feet.

Click on Finish Mass.

At this point, you could declare yourself done. You’ve designed the basic shape of your building, and you could do analysis as to how it fits on its site, and complements the other buildings around it. But Revit lets you add detail as well. So why not try that?

Choose “North Elevation” from the Project Browser.

Select Level from the Ribbon Set levels 10’ apart starting 10’ above Level 2 and working your way to the top. If you’ve forgotten how to add levels, go back in the Field Manual and review.


Now let’s turn this basic shape into a building

Select the 3D view. Choose Shading with Edges.

With the Modify arrow, highlight the mass. A new option bar appears with Mass Floors.

This will create floor faces for you to designate as actual model floors. (A face is a designated space on the model you can add detail to.) In the check box dialogue check Levels 1-10.

Return to the Massing and Site Ribbon. Choose Floor.

Click on floors 1-10. From the Ribbon Choose “Create Floors.” Actual Floors should appear in your 3D View.

Select Roof By Face. Highlight The Top Face (the top of the building.. Choose “Create Roof.” A Roof Appears.

Now you have some design choices. What kind of walls do you want? For now, let’s go with glass curtain walls. You can experiment with solid walls later.


Choose “Curtain System” in the Ribbon . Work your way around the model. Highlight a wall section, then Select “Create System” from the options bar until you have completed all the wall faces.

You should now have a pretty good looking glass enclosed office building design. You can turn it over to the interior designers to finish it up.


Part III:Adding a Mezzanine Level to a Building in Revit

Start RevitCreate the Footprint:

Create 4 walls each 40 feet in length (40’ x 40’ square) Zoom in on the footprint to see it more clearly.

Add Levels 3 and 4Select the North ElevationSelect Basics / Level

Click and drag a new Level 3 exactly 10’ above Level 2Click and drag a new Level 4 exactly 10’ above Level 3Press Escape

Adding the MezzanineIn Floor Plan, Level One, add a wall for the Mezzanine across the building from

North to South (top to bottom) exactly 15 feet from the East Wall.

Dividing the WallsSelect Split. Split the North and South Walls at the junction of the new wall. (15 feet from the East Wall.)

Adding a Floor to the MezzanineIn Floor Plan Level TWO, Select Basics / Floor/Pick Walls. Pick the East Wall,

New Short Sections of the Split walls, and the wall the Mezzanine wall across the building. Select “Finish Sketch.”

Adding a staircaseIn Floor Plan Level One choose Modeling / Stairs. Define the Run of the stairs

from Level One to Level Two on the Mezzanine.In Floor Plan Level Two choose Modeling / Opening. Cut an opening in the

Mezzanine Floor for the stairs by drawing a box around the stairs.

Save your work as Instructed

Finishing the Mezzanine Building in Revit

Once you have completed the Exterior walls and divided them, and added a Mezzanine and staircase to get to it, you need to finish the building. You will extend the Exterior Walls to their full height, trim the Mezzanine Wall, and add a Top Floor and a Staircase from the Mezzanine to the Top Floor.

Extending the Exterior WallsUsing the Right Mouse Button, Click on the East Wall. (Right Click) Select

Properties.


From the Properties List change the Unconnected Height to 30.’ Click OKWorking Clockwise around the outside of the building, change the Unconnected Height of each wall or wall segment to 30’. Use 3D view to make sure you got them all.

Trim the Mezzanine WallChange the Unconnected Height of the Mezzanine Wall to 10’.

Add a Top FloorSelect Floor Plan / Level 3. Use Basics / Floor to add a floor on Level 3.

Add a Staircase to the Top Floor.Select Floor Plan / Level 2. Select Modeling / Stairs to add a staircase that goes

up to the Top Floor at Level 3. (It should point in the opposite direction of the stairs from the first floor to the Mezzanine.) Drag a full run of stairs from Level One to Level Two,

Cut an opening for the new stairs.Go to Floor Plan / Level 2. Select Modeling / Opening / Shaft. Use lines to cut an

opening around the stairs. Finish the Sketch. Go to Level 3 and add a shaft opening for that set of stairs as well.Choose Opening / Wall Opening to cut through the walls that your stairs pass through. Select the wall and drag open a box around the stairs. Make sure there is head room for the people climbing the stairs.

A Note About StairsStairs and staircases are interesting design features, but are also difficult to model correctly. Next time you walk up or down a flight of stairs, look closely at the geometry of their construction and how they are in relation to walls, doors, ceilings and other elements of a building. How does a stairway shaft cut through a floor to allow head room for the people climbing the stairs, for example?

You are done. You may now add cubicles, rooms, offices etc. to your Office Building as well as doors and windows. When everything is done, go to Basics / Roof / By Footprint to add a roof.

Question: How many 7” Risers do you need for a 20 foot staircase?

And in ConclusionYou now have taken a basic tour of the Autodesk Revit Architecture 2009 software. You have learned a lot, but you also need to know that you have just begun to learn the program. There is a whole lot more in this package that you can learn. It’s sort of like; you just took a walk through a park, but stayed on the path. You saw a lot of trees and birds and stuff, but you can’t tell one from the other. To really know what’s out there, you have to do some real exploring. And that will take study. We wish you luck as you get out there and find your way around the program. Autodesk has a great many great tutorials and books that will get you into the deeper levels of the program. You can find some of these in the Autodesk Student and Educator Community. (http://students.autodesk.com/ ) Good luck – It’s been fun exploring with you.


http://students.autodesk.com/

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