Complex curved sloped auditorium floor

[jspartz]

I'm trying to do a sloping and curving floor in Revit. I have read other threads on this, but none have really presented a solution for this one. It's a gradual slope with a curve, not a straight line and it's curving from right to left to be able to stop at the right height. On top of that it's not JUST one arc to another arc, there are three segments. So, I created this simple model in Sketchup to convey what the floor needs to do. Where it is open, is where the connecting floor needs to be.

I tried a simple sloped floor (can't do much with that). I tried solid blend, but that doesn't let you do much either. I tried a sweep which it told me Revit could not make. It can make the middle portion and then the end portions as three different sweeps, but they do not clean up with each other well. I haven't tried using a roof (I don't know if there is more flexibility there). Has anyone done something like this outside of Revit and then brought it in, say in VIZ?

[Scott D Davis]

Model it as a Mass in Revit, much like you modeled it in Sketchup, and then apply floor by face to it. Your mass can be a combination of solids and voids in extrusion, sweeps, blendss and/or revolves to get the shape you need.

<edit: attached an example, this was done with a floor at the top, a florr at the bottom, and a mass sweep in between, Sweep path was the top floor arc, and the profile shape was the concave floor shape. I tried to apply floor by face, which didn't work, but roof by face does.>

[jspartz]

I'll try that out. If it doesn't work the only other solution I can think of is to do it in another 3D modeling program and import it as a generic family. I say it's time the factory take this program to the next level and add a solid and void mesh object, which will let you manipulate vertices. The possibities of what you could create would be endless then.

[jspartz]

I was able to do it with mass elements (solid sweeps and voids) but like you said I could not create floor by face. I could create a roof or wall by face though. I think that I could do an in-place floor family the same way to get it in as a floor instead. Thanks a lot!

[mmodernc]

Don't forget the model as topo, export to dwg, import to create a mass family trick, then do above-curtain systems works too, just change the panels to whatever-you may have to align textures across the panels-good way of getting surface textures on your landforms too,

[dpasa]

I really hate this kind of discussions, trying to find workarounds for such basic modeling. This should be a 3 minutes work with any decent building modeler like the one Revit should be...
Anyway, hope dies last and as we wait for R10... we should be more optimistic.

I would prefer to use a 3rd party free or beta modeler like MoI (www.moi3d.com) which can do the work and use the exported 3ds through acad or viz

Just a small example.

[Scott D Davis]

IMO, building a Mass in Revit is not a workaround. The tool was built specifically to handle geometry like this.

Beyond building a mass and using "Roof by Face" I could have built the example with an inplace family floor using no outside modeling tools.

Dpasa, your example for another program isn't even correct, because it needs to be a double compound curve. You example curves only in one direction.

[sbrown]

I would argue, this is exactly what an in-place floor family is for and is how you should do this.

[jspartz]

I took my mass elements and copied them into a in-place floor family which worked out. Now I can use floor based families on it. Thanks!

[mmodernc]

It takes about two minutes and forty four seconds.

[Wes Macaulay]

I found the only way I could get the desired solution was to use blends: mass in-place families and then roof by face. How did other people crack this one? (You'll have to turn on masses to see how I did it). The way the geometry works out, you couldn't use the blend directly to create the object -- but it does create the top face of the geometry you want, and then you just skin on the roof object from there.

[Phil Read]

You can also build it in the family editor (Generic Model). Load the family into the project - but place it during "In-place" family mode (category Floor). It will behave in some floor like ways (including scheduling) and Walls will attach top/bottom.

And if you have to modify - you can open it in the family editor.

All the best -

Phil

[Steve_Stafford]

Without knowing the actual dimensions desired it is hit or miss whether we produce what is wanted. It would be nice to see what you settled on. I did the attached as two floors and an in-place floor family for the sloping bits.

[mmodernc]

yep, need more modeling tools...

[ford347]

If you are able to build this with the massing tool, shouldn't you be able to do the exact same thing with the in-place family? Same tools right? So getting it to the floor category shouldn't be that big of deal. As far as more modeling tools, yeah, I think we all agree they could get better and I'm sure they will with time, but these workarounds need to be discussed as we all need work done now, with the release we have availiable to us now.

I have to admit, I've built things with masses and created plenty of in place families, and I guess it's my line of work right now, but I really avoided the blend tool. I honestly have never used this tool to do anything. I need some practice so I can't comment on it. But as far as the create floor by mass, it would seem that this should be an immediate upgrade if you guys were not to select the mass you created and make it a floor. Why would this be a limitation??

Josh