3 buildings at varying levels on the one model

[Dermeee]

I am creating a group of 3 x 2 storey apartments all alongside each other, 2 are attached & one stand alone.
They are on slightly sloping ground across the three, so number 2 is about 300mm (approx 1'-0") higher than number 1 & number 3 is another 300mm (1'-0") again from 2. The floor levels need to be addressed as I layout each apt, but also the levels of the walls, doors, windows etc etc. This is a pain in the you know where. I am sure I am going about this the wrong way as Revit has to have an easy way around this. Or at least there must be an easier way for users like me to use Revit in this situation? when i print this out I want to show all the ground floors on the same plan/sheet, elevations should be all blgs together etc.

[Devin_82]

One thing that I am implementing in our office for this type of situation is that you set level 2 as constant and level "1" varies down from that. Meaning, you have a Bldg 1 Level 1 @ -10' from level 2, you have Bldg 2@ -11' from Level 2, and you have Bldg 3 @-12' from Level 2. Obviously this is just a work around and has the potential for its own issues, but as long as you are using relative spot dimensions and choosing the correct "Level 1" for your Bldg #, it can work.

Now if you need to see context from Bldg to Bldg showing different heights for Level 2 relative to see level between Bldgs, you could have other issues going on, but that might just require a different type of workaround. We are kind of early in the implementation of this, but so far I have been fairly pleased with the outcome. Only time will tell if this approach will stand up to a full project documentation cycle, and I know there are issues with it, but if it blows up on me, I will post back here with results...

[damon.sidel]

I think Devin has it right. You need these levels:

Level 1, Bldg 1
Level 1, Bldg 2
Level 1, Bldg 3
Level 2
Roof?
Parapet?

You need the three separate Level 1's because of the walls and doors, etc. You can have plan views for working in and then an overall plan view for printing to show all buildings on the same plan. The working plans are necessary because when you place a wall or a door, you'll want to do so in the correct plan so it references the correct level. For the overall view, I'd duplicate the Level 1, Bldg 3 plan--the highest one--and use plan regions to show building 2 and 1 correctly.

We have a nice Project Parameter called "View Use". For each view we assign a use like 1-WIP, 2-PRINT, 3-MODEL. Then we adjust the Project Browser to sort using the View Use. That way you can quickly find the ones that are on sheets for your drawing set and those that are used for work in progress or drawings for the model shop. The views in 1-WIP can look like a complete mess with underlays, linked CAD drawings from consultants, reference planes, etc. And anybody can change the visibility/graphics settings. The 2-PRINT views on the other hand all have assigned default View Templates and we police the graphics rigorously. Works great IMHO.

[dhurtubise]

3 buildings file and 1 site file.
Then you will fudge with View Range only on the site file and you could even use Per Link View