Multiple building project - Use divisions?

[marjsh]

New to ADT/ACA. Have project with new midrise and existing building. Floor levels are separate. Should I have 2 separate projects and xref the smaller one in, or have the existing building be a division?

[david_peterson]

If you are connecting to the existing, a division wouldn't be a bad idea.
If you are not connecting to the existing building, then I'd do that as a separate project.
This should help keep down on file size and overall project size.

[neje]

I've read (not done it myself) that there is a way of creating 2 seperate projects and then a 3rd and linking in the other 2 for overall model/drawings. I believe it is detailed in one of Paul Aubin's Mastering ACA series, maybe the management one rather than the 'basic' one. I have a cut & paste somewhere I will post if I can find it.

[david_peterson]

You can do that too. It all depends on the amount of data you have to keep track off. Personally I'd create more, smaller files and x-ref them all together. Divisions are kind of a simple way to separate data with-in the same project.

[neje]

OK found it. As I said not done it and I don't think he would have issue posting here again.
HIH's

quote"
Handling Multi- building / Multi site level projects

I've just successfully done this on three "projects". Each has multiple buildings and are on sites where individual first finished floors are as much as 50' apart. I'm starting a new project today with 56 different buildings. This would be unbelievably difficult without project navigator. First, I learned everything I know about this from the Aubin/Dillon book "Advanced Implementation Guide". They have a section starting on page 192 entitled "Campus Projects" which addresses the issue.

1. The main concept is to have a master project and a bunch of individual projects. The master project “xrefs” (actually it makes a shortcut - more on this later) the individual constructs or views from the individual projects. The plotted sheets are assembled in the master project. If views need to show more than one building (such as site sections or elevations) those views are created in the master file.

2. Absolutely central to making this work is having a shared vertical and horizontal datum amongst all the files. This is a construct that exists in each project.

3. The master project that collects all of the information. Native to the master file are the project wide site files (constructs), especially 3d models of the overall site and the offsite improvements. This project also contains the master vertical and horizontal datum file.

4. The master project has 3 levels; Datum (working in Seattle I use sea level), Lowest Grade and Highest Grade. I usually put the 3d model of the site in the Datum level. Naturally, the vertical/horizontal datum construct also goes in the Datum level.

5. Each building is a separate project with elements, constructs and views (but no sheets). Every file in the entire project must have a unique name so I assign separate project numbers to each structure (sometimes lot numbers) and use the feature in PN that appends the project number to each file created.

6. Each individual project has 6 levels; Datum (again sea level), Foundation, 1st Floor, Second Floor, Third Floor and Roof. Datum is of course at 0, the rest are at their heights relative to Datum (or 0).

7. I create the majority of my views in the individual projects. I create model views for site sections, streetscape elevations and project wide renderings. Create model space views for each of the views.

8. In the master project I make view folders for each individual project. Using windows explorer I ALT-select the views in the individual projects and drag them to their view folder in the master project. At that point PN gives you the view creation dialog. I assign the view to the Datum level and select no files for inclusion into the view. This creates a shortcut to the original file (not a copy of the file – CNTRL-select makes a copy). This new master project view includes the model space views created in the individual project.

9. Drag the model space views to the sheets created in the master project.

10. For site sections, streetscape elevations and project wide renderings use your horizontal control to rotate and place the model views in their correct location and orientation. The height is automatic.

11. Do the reverse of step 8 to place the 3d site constructs from the master project into the individual projects so that sections and elevations have data tied directly to the 3d site model. Again use the horizontal control to orient these constructs in the view files that use them.

12. For titles that reference the sheet the view is in, I place them in the master project views AFTER individual project views are drug into the master project.

This system makes it relatively easy to divide construction documents into phases while still collecting all of the data into one location.

I once did a 2 building project using divisions and levels and that was much more cumbersome to manage.

[neje]

rereading your post I'd do it in the one project and use divisions. Worked well for me on a similar project.