Could someone please explain how to produce a site plan in Revit...

[cdprice]

Could someone please explain how to produce a site plan in Revit that looks like how a site plan is supposed to look in plan and perspective. Please!!!
My teachers hate how my drawings look and, they are tired of hearing "I don't know".

Thanks
Chris Price

[rjcrowther]

There has been recent discussion on Revit General forum on making a site plan. If you search in forums there may be something useful for you.

Rob

[Mike.Perry]

Hi Chris

Please note I have *moved* this thread from the ATP Course Wishlist forum to this one, as I believe it will be better served here.

Thanks, Mike

Forum Manager

ps Revit Forum Moderators, if this is not the correct Revit forum for such a thread, could you please move it to the most appropriate one. Thanks.

[bill0246]

Chris,

This is a demo I give my high school students. It's a bit informal, but if you can follow the logic, you will produce a site plan in 3D and in plan view.

Creating a Site Plan in Revit

Creating the property lines when given lengths:

Site
Property Line
Create by table
75’6 S60W Insert
110’0” S30E Insert
63’0” N60E Insert
Add line to close (that should complete the shape)
OK
Place on drawing
Click on white to Exit

Rotating project to true north:

Select the Site Plan in the Project Browser
Notice the house is not lined up the way we want to fit effectively on the lot. If we rotate the house, ALL the views will adjust and our views will be majorly messed up!! Save work then show effects on floor plan and elevations when rotating. Undo that mess.

Here’s a solution:
Select the Site Plan in the Project Browser
RC
View Props
Set to True North

Tools
Project position/orientation
Rotate this true north
Rotate it
Only the floor plan/roof moves!
Now look at the floor plan level 1. Has not moved.
Now look at elevations. All good

North Arrow

Drafting
Symbol
Load
Annotations
North Arrow 1
Place it

Create the topography:

Site
Toposurface
Set elevation to -10”…pick top-left corner
Set elevation to 3”…pick top-right corner
Set elevation to -2’3”…pick bottom right corner
Set elevation to -2’6”pick bottom-left corner
Finish surface

Add property line annotation (bearings and lengths):

Drafting
Tag
Touch property line
(not loaded) Yes
Annotations
Civil
Property line Tag (open)
Uncheck leader
Place tags
Should give you bearings and lengths

Label contour lines:
Site
Label contours
Make a line that passes through all contours
You should see contours labeled in 1 ft increments
Place Elevation marks:

Drafting
Spot elevation
Target (choose in top-left box)
Place on drawing
You should see annotation for the corner elevations you created earlier.

Dividing up a toposurface

You may need to create a driveway, patio, or other entity that breaks up the toposurface or changes the material of the toposurface:

Site
Split surface
Select toposurface (anywhere)
Use lines, arcs, etc to create the shape.
You can delete that small surface and create your own, with different topography) in its place or simply change the material of the area.
Select surface
Properties
Change material to Site:Grass

Good luck!

Bill Brown
Santiago High

[luigi]

There's a lot of good stuff there Bill...


One thing though, often splitting the site isn't warranted (sometimes it is good though), often the subregion tool found under Site in the Design Bar can be used to have different material within the main topography...doing it this way, rather than splitting the topography, helps the changes that occur during design, when a road changes width, or a curb changes radius etc...

Chris, one way to make your site plans look good, is by creating some of your own graphics, for example for the trees, or import an autocad tree into a landscape family...maybe even a 3d graphic from a library one might have....if you have a topography that is not flat, adding shadows help bring the 3d out of the flat site plan. Add graphic cars in plan, people in plan...add filled regions on top of the topography to differentiate patterns in your paving (it will effect only your site plan, not a 3d view)

For content I would look at the web library, but not the american one, I suggest looking at the UK and French...unfortunately for the states, the europeans care more about the graphics of things like cars, people, trees, etc.... You will even learn a little french... lol

There is a trick, not to draft a subregion and filled region of the same area twice....it is not perfect, but it works well if done consciently...

Draw first in your site plan filled regions for the roads, parking lots, sidewalks, etc making sure that it is perfectly closed.... Then do your subregions and as you sketch, use the PICK tool and the automatic lock....so, as changes occur, make changes to your filled regions...as long as they are stretching, the subregions will move with them...if you begin to drastically change the geometry, then you will have to kinda redo the steps inside the subregion....


I wish you all the best...

[Chad Smith]

My teachers hate how my drawings look...

Have you some examples of what your teachers hate about 'the look'?

[sleimgruber06]

Yes I also believe this is one of the better ways of introducing site plans and the logic followed behind them, I am also probably biased as well, being one of Bill's former architecture students... Thanks Bill!

[richelleharp]

I have an image from a civil engineer obtained by my client will it be possible to create a sloped site?

[bill0246]

Luigi,

I will adjust my lesson to reflect your suggested changes!

THANKS!