Revit Mass Model Best Practice

[diacovoni]

OK this is a newbie question: I am running Revit 2010 on a 32Bit XP machine. I am working on an Elementary School Building. I need to provide the Principal with Elevations to review building heights, window openings and roof pitches. I struggled at first but have gotten the hang of the massing tools and have the entire building in mass form. I have also stated placing windows in the mass model but backed up and thought it would be better to start wrapping the model with walls and placing the windows in the actual walls

Questions:

1. If I place exterior walls around the mass model and then modify the mass model do the walls lock to the mass model and move as well?

2. Should I place windows in the model until the design is finalized and not move too quickly into placing walls around it, or is it better to start working with walls. I noticed that if I placed windows in the mass model it affected how walls were placed on the face of the mass.

Sorry for the long question. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dan Iacovoni

[jeffh]

OK this is a newbie question: I am running Revit 2010 on a 32Bit XP machine. I am working on an Elementary School Building. I need to provide the Principal with Elevations to review building heights, window openings and roof pitches. I struggled at first but have gotten the hang of the massing tools and have the entire building in mass form. I have also stated placing windows in the mass model but backed up and thought it would be better to start wrapping the model with walls and placing the windows in the actual walls

Questions:

1. If I place exterior walls around the mass model and then modify the mass model do the walls lock to the mass model and move as well?

You can use the "re-make" function to snap a placed wall back to the modified mass face.

2. Should I place windows in the model until the design is finalized and not move too quickly into placing walls around it, or is it better to start working with walls. I noticed that if I placed windows in the mass model it affected how walls were placed on the face of the mass.

If it were me I would start placing windows as soon as you start to get an idea of where they should be. One of the main advantages Revit has over other products is the fact change is very easily handled and coordinated throughout the model. Need to change a window...go ahead and make the change. Model and refine, repeat as necessary.

[aaronrumple]

I struggled at first but have gotten the hang of the massing tools and have the entire building in mass form.

Can you post a screen capture of the massing?

My guess is that you went too far with the massing tool. I typically only bother using the massing too when I can't get the shapes I want with walls, doors, windows, etc. You can jump right into the planning and construction pretty quick in schematics.

[twiceroadsfool]

Can you post a screen capture of the massing?

My guess is that you went too far with the massing tool. I typically only bother using the massing too when I can't get the shapes I want with walls, doors, windows, etc. You can jump right into the planning and construction pretty quick in schematics.

Exactly. Anything relatively simple, i just go straight to the wall tool. Walls that are made by mass that are vertical, behave just like regular walls too. Plus, once they get altered like regular walls (drag ends) they no longer update to the mass, so it gets confusing.

I only use the Massing/Forms when its a canted shape (non vertical) or something complex that i cant achieve with regular walls.