Schematic Design Options Strategy

[phyllisr]

When working in Revit beginning with Schematic Design (as we are with a couple of projects currently on the boards), what strategy is best for options that include different levels and structural grids? Some earlier suggestions about separating elements into different projects is not working - maintaining 3-4 separate projects requires considerably more manpower and team coordination. We are aware levels and grids cannot be a design option and understand why. Unfortunately, it has become a huge stumbling block and we are unsure what to do. One project is large, complex and has a very tight schedule (don't they all?). The other is a spec office building we have done in one variation or another over and over. Any strategy advice? What do those of you working 100% in Revit do?

First image is the large project - though this basic white material will change, the general design is more or less fixed. For the number of structural decisions at the parking level, we might need 3-4 options. Shell columns and columns supporting the pool at the club level above the parking garage are fixed - remaining interior columns are on virtual wheels. Which also means we need to calculate the impact of unit types and quantity of hotel rooms for different options. The parking garage level changes significantly affect what will fit on the site (height restrictions) and the floor-to-floor heights of the condo and hotel levels.

Second image is the spec building - might be 3 or 4 floors and we want to see both options easily. Basement, first floor and top floor stay the same. One option has identical floors 2-3 with the top floor at level 4 and the other has floor 2 with the top floor at level 3. Image is 4 floor version - have not created the 3-floor version yet.

Clear as mud? Any help much appreciated.
PBR

[cliff collins]

Maybe take a look at tutorials on "Design Options"......
You can have several versions/variations of same model in one .rvt file.

Hope this helps....

cheers......

[jamesd10181097]

It is true that levels cannot be included in design options but the column grids can. So maybe that will help you a little. I have used the design option tools with success however most of my projects have been limited to 3 stories so the levels have not been an issue for me.

One way that may work for you is to use design options in conjunction with worksets. you could then use a separate workset for the levels of each option, this would enable you to turn on and off the levels as you like.

Hope this works for you, maybe we can discuss it more on Thursday at the user's group.

[bleonard]

Not sure if this will be helpful or not for the tall structure with the parking garage, but I'll let it fly and allow you to decide. Rather than building the file into multiple design options, how about breaking your file into separate pieces to test out the variations? What if you were to take the elements that WON'T change, plug them into a separate file, and then link it into your parking structure file. In the parking structure file, you could quickly grab all the elements in the linked file and move them (rather quickly) or even create multiple instances of them which reside on different worksets. You could then create multiple views, each with respective copies/worksets of the established building turned on and off, and juggle the parking structure with the design options portion of the software.

Just an idea.

Cheers!