An In Place Mass that is a Floor... in Revit

[USMCBody]

I can't post anything, but the easiest way to describe it is that I have a classroom that is shaped like a bowl cut in half. A little more complex but I had to use some in place masses to create the floor as there are no steps just a constant slope. I'm not totally happy with the way the mass turns up, but that is a different story and it is as close as I can get it.

The problem I'm having is that funiture is not seeing the in place mass as a valid surface to attach to. Is there some way to make the in place mass a 'solid' or is the only way to do it is to just recreate the furniture in a face based template? There is no real level because the level is a 'funny' slope. I can't create a ramp as it is really the shape of a bowl-ish...

[damon.sidel]

It would be great to see an image of this bowl-shaped classroom. Is this a real project, a competition, or what? The reason I ask is I wonder about it's usability. Even realized projects that have sloped floors make concessions (Sanaa's EPFL building has regions with flat floors and also some custom furniture with varied length legs).

Here are my ideas how you could approach it:

Most furniture families are placed on ref. levels, it doesn't stick to surfaces. So if you want it to follow the surface (ie - all four legs of a chair are sitting on the sloped "floor"), you'll have to make face-based families. If you want the furniture to stay vertical, but follow the slope, I think you're going to have to manipulate the elevation offset of the furniture manually in section/elevation. I suppose you could make a face-based family with geometry that stays vertical. I've never tried that, so it would be an experiment.

One other thought that probably doesn't help you on the furniture front: instead of creating an in-place mass, why not create a floor with a slope? Not a ramp, but a sloped floor? You still wouldn't get the standard furniture families to follow the floor, but at least you'd be using a floor as a floor.

[USMCBody]

It's for some marketing thing at work. So I guess if I posted it I would have to say something like my company name and some selling point thing maybe.... Don't want to p-off the higher ups to much... Either way I'll try and keep that in mind when I finish and ask them. I'd love to put it into a contest, but I don't know of any to insert it into....

I'm not sure if I can do a sloped floor, but I'll look into it. I believe at one point I tried but it didn't like me making multiple slops.... or I could not get the slopes right to make all the edges of the floor match up...

so far I do have a few ramps in there so I'm able to put the seats on the face of the ramp and then move around on the mass. It took me a few tries in a few different views to figure out how to get it to work that way. Technically the seats are only really close to where they would be, but then I guess you start thinking of how it gets really constructed and it would not matter as long as I'm close because is the guy really going to get the floor exactly the way it is modeled?? I kind of hope not as the mass doesn't really want to make a curved slope bowl thing... exactly.. I believe... It's hard to tell... B-)

[patricks]

We have made some in-place sloping floors that are curved in plan, and sloping in section (like a church auditorium), and I'm pretty sure our floor-hosted seating families will attach to the floor at whatever point they're placed.

[USMCBody]

Of all things.... I figured it out...

In my furniture in the family catatory & parameters..

Apparently there is a check box to make your furniture Always verticle which is nice. I had that checked.

The problem was that there is a box to check to make it 'work plane-based' that I had unchecked.

Of all things.... I figured it out...

In my furniture in the family category & parameters..

Apparently there is a check box to make your furniture Always vertical which is nice. I remember this option and I had that checked, but it is something you could easily miss

The problem was that there is a box to check, again in the family category & parameters, to make it 'work plane-based' that I had unchecked.

So the moral of the story.

1. UNCheck 'Work Plane-Based' if you want the furniture to just attach to levels and with some luck you can find a view to have it 'see' 'solid' faces...

2. Check 'Work Plane-Based' if you want the furniture to be able to attach to In-Place Masses that you couldn't transform into say a roof.... Basically any face... Maybe even all faces you can create, but I can't say that at this point. Just be careful, you have to let it hover a bit longer for it to find the face...

[USMCBody]

I would say be carefull with the work plane based. The objects do go on a work plane, but they tend to not react correctly. Like they tend to not see linework you layed out to place them if the line work is below the surface. They tend to not rotate. or rotate in groups the way they should. I guess you could say it is like sun rise and sun set.... Both simmilar but different.