Unusual things

Often I come across some unusual things here at KlingStubbins. Today it was a generic floor that was modified to represent a topo surface. This file was given to use from outside the firm and our site group is tasked with reporting on site drainage. Naturally I was asked if it was possible to show contours on a floor slab, or to convert a floor into a toposurface.

Well of course you can….and this is how…

1. Isolate the floor and export it as a dwg.

The default settings are fine, just click through OK.

2. Then Import it back in (with default settings again) and it should land in the same location.

3. Now click the Massing & Site tab and click Toposurface. Select ‘Create from import’ button and select the import, then finish. In this case, because it was a generic floor, it was totally enclosed, having a bottom as well as a top, so I deleted the points on the bottom half.

 

4. To show the contours on the newly created toposurface or adjust the contour settings, click the Site Settings button. In this case I had to adjust my contours to be 1”.

And that’s all there is to it.

Happy New year!

Craig Barbieri

MARA kicking it at KlingStubbins

Eddy, Phil and James have got a genius public awareness campaign going for the latest edition of Mastering Revit Architecture, and I am not one to be left out of the fun!

Buy your copy here:

Photo Scene Editor on Autodesk Labs

In my opinion this has been a long time coming(the tool not the blog post) but here's what might be a very useful tool for Architects. Point cloud data from photographs. Photo Scene Editor - read about it on Kean Walmsley's blog

Revit As-Built Models?

I was reading a friend's blog post (bim)x: not doing so bad, looking for information on BIM As-built models. We are seeing requests for as-Built models on our projects. For non-IPD projects, the unresolved question is ‘what is the best arrangement for the creation of an as-built model?’ Should the Architect(the original MEA) do it? The Contractor? In the article Andy sees the as-built model as a possibility in the distant future. The article is from 2006 and we are in the not-to-distant future. This reality is forming now but questions remain. The important considerations with as-built BIMs as I see it are as follows:

1. Indemnification
   
2. What’s it going to be used for?
   
3. The Level of Detail required of the as-builts(does it include every stud,hanger, fixture, etc.)
   
4. Accuracy(Are elements required to be modeled within some measured tolerance?)
   
5. How does the party responsible for producing the as-built model acquire the information of the constructed elements?
   
6. Is the as-built simply a modeled record of the field-sketches and change-orders done by the Architect?
   
7. Is it a joint effort between Architect and Contractor and how do they work together?
   
8. Is the as-built an in-the-field monitored & modified BIM?
   
9. What does this cost the responsible party - a full-time Reviteer?
   
10. Does the as-built require product-specific data(light-bulb type & wattage, and motor model#'s url's and specs)?
    
11. If it's a Contractor-produced/modified model, does the construction phasing remain in the model or does it get scrubbed out(and what does this cost us)?
     
12. Response time(how quickly is the model updated)?
    
13. What else?

These questions are a matter of project-specific requirements and client-contractor-architect relationships. These aren’t all the questions just one’s that come to mind. If you have more, or experience in as-builts, your comments are appreciated.

Cheers,

Craig Barbieri

You, an iRevit contributor

Clearly, being an international Revit-man of mystery doesn't leave much time for providing you with Revit recipes for greatness or otherwise. It makes sense to this humble institution to search for additional blog contributors. If you are interested in contributing and helping other Reviteers with tips, tricks, fun facts, and the like, then contact me. Compensation is an astounding amount of personal growth and maybe even a sense of accomplishment, which is priceless.