Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 No Experience Required - part 3 ppsx

Also, this book has been written by an author who is “in the trenches” using Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP simultaneously every day.. The book’s website pro-vides th

Ah! Why does one need a big, thick technical book? Well, it is true that the

best way to learn is to just do it! But do you ever just do it and not fully get

it? Books can serve either as the basis for learning or as a supplement for your learning No one book will teach you everything you need to know about a specific application, but you may never learn everything you need to know about

an application without a book When written appropriately, the book you pur-chase starts you off using good practices If you have already started, the book serves as a desktop reference And lastly, a book can merely serve as confirma-tion that you are approaching an applicaconfirma-tion in the correct manner

Revit Architecture is no exception Although this application has proven to be easy to learn and easy to get the feel of, it is still a deep, sometimes complicated application with many procedures that require step-by-step instruction to fully understand And to be honest, some of these features just don’t work in the real world

Also, this book has been written by an author who is “in the trenches” using Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP simultaneously every day

So, yes, you could figure out all this information on your own, but sometimes it

is nice to let someone else figure it out for you and pass that knowledge along to you in the form of a book

Instead of lengthy paragraphs of text that ultimately lead to nontangible infor-mation, this book addresses each subject in a step-by-step approach with literally over a thousand pictures and screenshots to make sure you are on track

Also, this book uses an actual project and will relate to real-world scenarios

As you follow the step-by-step procedures in the book, you will be encouraged

to try many procedures on your own, and also to embellish the procedure to fit your own needs If you would rather stick to the instructions, this book allows you to clearly do so as well The book’s project uses a five-story office building with a link (corridor) to a three-story multiuse building The book’s website pro-vides the model (plus additional families) you will need for each chapter so that you can just open the book, jump to your chapter of interest, and actually learn something! Also, this book is flexible enough that you can substitute your own project if you do not want to follow the book’s examples

Although there are more than 900 pages, this book does not waste time and space with examples of other people’s triumphs, but is designed for you to open it

to any random page and learn something

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Who should Read this Book

Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011: No Experience Required Does that mean if

you have used Revit you won’t find this book advanced enough? No This book

is designed for anyone who wishes to learn more about Revit Architecture Also, this book is intended for architects, architectural designers, and anyone who is using a CAD-based platform to produce architectural-based drawings

What You Need

Building information modeling (BIM) can be tough on hardware This book rec-ommends that you have 4GB of RAM with a 4GB processor Also, you should be running at least 512MB for your graphics If you are under these specifications (within reason), in some cases you will be fine Just realize, however, that when your model gets loaded, you could start slowing down and crashing All Revit applications are intended to run on a PC-based system Windows XP or higher is recommended If you are running on a 64-bit operating system such as Windows Vista or Windows 7, be sure to load Revit as 64-bit to take full advantage of the allocated RAM

What is covered in this Book

Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011: No Experience Required covers the full

gamut of using the software; the book is organized as follows:

chapter 1: the Revit World Chapter 1 introduces you to the Revit Architecture

2011 interface and jumps right into modeling your first building

chapter 2: creating a Model Chapter 2 starts right off with placing walls, doors,

and windows Also, this chapter is designed to point you in the right direction in terms of using reference planes and all-around best practices

chapter 3: creating views Chapter 3 shows you how to navigate the Revit Project

Browser and how to create new views of the model Also, you will learn how to cre-ate specific views such as elevations, sections, callouts, plans, and of course our favorite, 3D perspectives

chapter 4: Working with the Revit tools In Chapter 4, you will learn how to use

the everyday drafting tools needed in any modeling application You will become familiar with such actions as trim, array, move, and copy Although it seems remedial, this is one of the most important chapters of the book It gets you on your way to the “Revit Feel.”

chapter 5: dimensioning and Annotating In Chapter 5 you will learn how to

annotate your model This includes adding and setting up dimensions, adding and

setting up text, and using dimensions to physically adjust objects in your model

chapter 6: Floors Yes! Just floors In Chapter 6, you will learn how to place a

floor You will also learn how to add materials to a floor and how to pitch a floor

to a drain

chapter 7: Roofs In Chapter 7 we discuss the ins and outs of placing roofs You

will learn how to model flat roofs, sloping roofs, pitched roofs, and roof dormers

In addition, you will learn how to pitch roof insulation to roof drains

chapter 8: structural items In Chapter 8 you delve into the structural module

of Revit Architecture The topics we cover include placing structural framing,

placing structural foundations, and creating structural views

chapter 9: ceilings and interiors Chapter 9 focuses predominately on interior

design We cover placing and modifying ceilings as well as adding specific

mate-rials to portions of walls and floors You will also learn how to create soffits

chapter 10: stairs, Ramps, and Railings Chapter 10 focuses on the creation

of circulation items You will learn how to create a simple U-shaped multistory

staircase to start; then we move on to creating a custom winding staircase From

there you will learn how to create a custom wood railing You will be adding

ramps to the model in this chapter as well

chapter 11: schedules and tags In Chapter 11 you will start bringing the BIM

into your model This chapter focuses on adding schedules and adding

annota-tion tags to specific objects and materials in your model Most importantly, in

this chapter you will learn how your model is parameter driven and how these

parameters influence the annotations

chapter 12: detailing In Chapter 12 you will learn how to simply draft in Revit

The procedures allow you to draft over the top of a Revit-generated section, or

create your own drafting view independent of the model You will also learn how

to import CAD to use as a detail

chapter 13: creating specific views and Match Lines In Chapter 13 you will

learn how to take advantage of the multitude of views you can create, and how

to control the visibility graphics of those views to create plans such as furniture

and dimensional plans

chapter 14: creating sheets and Printing Chapter 14 explores how to produce

construction documents using Revit The procedures include creating a new

drawing sheet, adding views to a sheet, creating a title block and a cover sheet,

and plotting these documents

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chapter 15: creating Rooms and Area Plans The focus of Chapter 15 is to

cre-ate rooms and areas The procedures lead you through the placement of rooms, and you will learn how to set the properties of those rooms We also discuss how

to create room separators and how to create gross area plans This chapter also guides you through the creation of a color fill floor plan

chapter 16: Advanced Wall topics In Chapter 16 you will focus specifically

on the creation of compound walls By using the Edit Assembly dialog, you will learn how to add materials, split walls, and add sweeps and reveals such as para-pet caps, brick ledges, and brick reveals Creating stacked walls is also addressed

chapter 17: creating Families Chapter 17 focuses on the topic of creating

fami-lies The procedures start with a simple wall sweep family, and then move on to creating a door family with an arched header You will also learn how to create

an in-place family

chapter 18: site and topography In Chapter 18 you will learn how to place a

topographical surface into your model We also discuss how to control point-by-point elevations in your site Splitting and then creating subregions to create swales and berms will be covered You will also learn how to utilize an imported CAD site plan and place a toposurface over the top of the CAD lines We also explore rotating your project to true north

chapter 19: Rendering and Presentation In Chapter 19 you will learn how to

use the Revit rendering tools using the mental ray rendering engine built into the Revit GUI This chapter also shows you how to create walkthroughs as well

as solar studies

chapter 20: importing and coordinating Revit Models Chapter 20 focuses on

the ins and outs (pun intended) of importing and exporting CAD formats as well

as linking Revit Structure models The procedures include configuring CAD lay-ering settings as well as linking and importing AutoCAD for plans and sections You will also learn how to link Revit Structure and perform a copy/monitor operation as well as use the Revit collision detection

chapter 21: Phasing and design options Chapter 21 explains how to create an

existing floor plan, then moves through demolition into new construction You will also learn how to create alternates using design options

chapter 22: Project collaboration In Chapter 22 you will learn how to use Revit

in a multiuser environment The procedures in the book will lead you through activating worksharing, and then creating a central model You will then move

on to creating local user files as well as saving to central and placing requests to relinquish.

chapter 23: BiM Management Our final chapter, Chapter 23, shows you how

to create a Revit template you can use at the start of each Revit project You will

also learn how to configure settings such as line weights, dimensions, text, and

custom tags, such as levels structural grids and view titles

Included with the book are Revit Architecture project files that follow along with

the instruction Each chapter will have one or more actual Revit models completed

up to the point of the instruction of that specific chapter—or even that specific

sec-tion of the chapter—to allow the reader to jump in at any moment Also included

with the book are custom families that accompany the lessons, and additional

fami-lies and projects that can be downloaded as a bonus You can download the

accom-panying files at www.sybex.com/go/revit2011ner.

contacting the Author

I will be glad to answer any question you have In addition, if you would like me

to come speak or train at your firm, feel free to give me a shout You can also visit

my company’s website at www.cscos.com and click the BIM link You can also go

directly to www.bimnation.com.

Sybex strives to keep you supplied with the latest tools and information you need

for your work Please check the website at www.sybex.com, where we’ll post

addi-tional content and updates that supplement this book if the need arises Enter Revit

Architecture in the Search box (or type the book’s ISBN—9780470610114), and

click Go to get to the book’s update page

the Revit World

Before we get started, I think we should set the record straight I’m sure you have seen plenty of presentations on how wonderful and versatile this 3D Revit revolution thing is And I’m sure you may be thinking, “This all seems way too complicated for what I do Why do I need 3D anyway?”

The answer to that question is: you don’t What do you do to get a job out — that is, after the presentation has run its course and you are awarded the proj-ect? Your first step is to redraw the plans Next comes the detail round-up game

we have all come to love: we pull the specs together, and then we plot This is quite a simple process, and guess what? It works

Well, it has worked up until this 3D thing showed up Now the process seems to be this convoluted approach in which we have no real clue where things come from, drawings don’t look very good, and getting a drawing out the door takes three times as long

the revit architecture interface





the project Browser





File types and families





C h a p t e r 1 • T h e R e v i t W o r l d

2

the Revit Architecture interface

Toto, we are not in CAD anymore!

If you just bought this book, then welcome to the Revit world In Revit, you will find that the vast majority of the processes you encounter are in a flat 2D platform Instead of drafting, you are placing components into the model Yes, these compo-nents have a so-called third dimension to them, but a logical methodology drives the process If you need to see the model in 3D, it is simply a click away That being said, remember this: there is a big difference between 3D drafting and modeling

N O T E the preceding paragraph will be the longest one of the book this book is designed to cut to the chase and show you how to use revit architecture

in a step-by-step fashion without having to read through paragraph after para-graph just to find the answer you are looking for Datasets are provided at the

book’s accompanying website (www.sybex.com/go/revit2011ner), but you

can also use your own model as you go through the book If you do not wish to read this book cover to cover, don’t! although I recommend going from front to back, you can use the book as a desk reference by jumping to a desired topic the datasets will be added in phases to accommodate this type of usage either way, get ready to learn revit architecture!

With that preamble behind us, let’s get on with it

First of all, Revit has no command prompt and no crosshairs Stop! Don’t go away just yet You will get used to it, I promise Unlike most CAD applications, Revit Architecture is heavily pared down, so to speak It’s this way for a reason Revit was designed for architects and architectural designers You do not need every command that a mechanical engineer would need An electrical engineer would not need the functionality that an architect would require

What you will find as you start getting comfortable with Revit is that there are many, many choices and options behind each command

Let’s start at the beginning:

1 To open Revit Architecture, click the icon on your desktop (see

Figure 1.2)

2 After you start Revit, you see the Recent Files window shown in

Figure 1.3 The top row lists any projects you have been working on;

the bottom row lists any families you have been working on

F i g u R e 1 1 You can launch Revit Architecture from the desktop icon.

F i g u R e 1 2 You can also launch Revit Architecture using the Windows

Start menu (this shows the Windows Vista operating system).

3 If you are firing up Revit for the first time, both of these rows will

be blank At the bottom of each row, you can choose to create a new

model or open an existing one (see Figure 1.4)