Revit Clean Tips Contest... chance to win $$

If you are a Revit user who "cleans" geometry and/or non-graphical data within Revit (Arch, Struc and/or MEP) on a regular basis, at certain key points within a project, deliverable or for analytical needs then this is for you. We are looking for your tips and offering $$ :) If your interested read on below:

With so many great users, project types and expanded uses for Revit in the industry, we are compiling a list of items for a future post (credit given to submitters) of the items that need to be fixed, checked or adjusted at various stages.

Please send your entry/list to us via e-mail with the subject line: Revit Clean. In exchange we have two $50 gift certificates for two (2) randomly selected winners from the entries received. All submittals must be done by 6:00 EST on January 24, 2008. Winners will be notified on January 25, 2008.

Thats it, if we left something out or you need any clarification let us know. :)

Have a Safe, Happy and Green new year...

We wanted to take a moment to say thanks to everyone who reads this blog and sends e-mails. You are the reason this adventure continues, we wish you the best in 2008.

Have a safe, happy and green new year...

IES linking with Revit Architecture

With the last release of Revit MEP we were given the opportunity to link directly to IES (Integrated Environmental Solutions, Inc) which was a great step forward for being able to check a few of the many things needed related to feedback on a buildings performance early in the design process via our Revit model. This limited many Architects from being able to take advantage of tools such as: heating and cooling load calculations, annual dynamic thermal simulation for energy consumption, sun view animation for winter, summer and midseason, and daylighting assessment by not having this included in Revit Architecture.

For those who need this feature, without purchasing a new license of Revit MEP, to use with Revit Architecture this can now be done after installing this. More information can be found in the press release.

Adding Custom Places for Precise Sun Studies

In The Revit environment we can select the exact location where our design is located from the Place tab in the Manage Place and Locations from the Model Graphics. (See Below)





However if you look close enough you will realize that you can not manually add locations to this drop down list. This can actually be accomplished in the Render Settings. To add a new location to the list you must:

1.) Browse to the Rendering Tab and Select Settings




2.) Define and name the scene if you have not done so already.




3.) Ensure that the Use Sun and Shadow Settings From View option is unchecked and click to the Sun button.


4.) In the Sun and Sky Settings Dialog click on the Place tab. Right Click in the Cities Box and select Add from the right click menu.



5.) Fill in the necessary information and Accept the Changes.



When you go to select a City while setting up your shadows the new city should be available from the drop down list. This option allows you to add any location throughout the world and will allow precise shadowing based on the location's latitude and longitude.

Happy Earth Day... And the Revit API

Happy Earth Day to everyone as we all strive to create our sustainable future. With that, the new releases of Revit are being unvailed and we are seeing greater flexibility and maturation of the API.

What is the API and why is it green?

API stands for Application Programmable Interface. It essentially is the plug that allows any third party to tap into Revit to utilize or manipulate the information and components of a Revit Building Information Model. The Revit API is shaping up to play a crucial role in analyzing BIM data for sustainable design purposes. The upcoming release of Revit Systems utilizes the API to synchronize directly with IES to analyze ASHARE loads calculations, annual thermal simulation, and Daylighting Assesment. (I will have much more to come on IES and Revit). The API is ultimately what is going to allow external tools to access our BIM data and streamline the analysis of the building that is essential in its design. You can find in depth information on the Revit API and what is new in the upcoming release at the Cad Application Development Blog. This blog is written by Matt Mason who is the Director of Software Development at Avatech Solutions. Matt has also created the Avatech Earth Connector, a Revit plugin that allows you to export your Revit model directly into Google Earth.

The Revit API is going to play a major role in the ability of third party analysis tools to access our BIM data to develop powerful streamlined tools that we can use to analyze our designs at all stages that allow us to make prudent decisions in regards to sustainability. With the continued development of the Revit API I believe that we will see more integration with advanced tools such as IES and many other technologies to come.

Happy Earth Day!!

Calculating Glazing to Floor Area Ratios With Revit

One of the larger aspects of Sustainable Building is energy efficiency. One of the main factors of energy efficiency is using the appropriate amount of glazing in our design as it relates to the total floor area in a room or overall building. We can simplify this process in Revit and actually create a 'Glazing Area Schedule' to inform us if the ratio of glazing to floor area we used exceeds sustainable design criteria. This will allow immediate awareness of over utilization of glazing in a design. The purpose of this schedule is to inform designers if the amount of total glazing in a room or a building exceeds the desired amount in relationship to the overall floor area.

Below is an example of the schedule with two different window sizes, the first that would cause the room to overheat and second that does not.









To begin the process we will need to first create a Window Schedule with the following default parameters from Revit:

Family & Type
From Room: Unbounded Height
From Room: Volume
From Room: Name

(For this example I will only be using the From Room: variables to calculate the needed information. If needed, both the 'from' and the 'to' room' parameters can be used.)

The following custom Parameter were used to hold needed information in the Glazing Area Schedule:

North
South
East
West

I created the above parameters as Project Parameters associated with windows. These parameters allow for the Glazing Area Schedule to calculate the orientation of each individual window. These parameters will need to be set for each window in the design.

The following Calculated Values were used to compute the necessary information to obtain the overheat determination:

Window Area Width * Height / 1 SF
Glazing Area of Room % of Window Area: From Room: Name
Overall Glazing Area Window Area / Glazing Area of Room
Glazing Percentage of Room Overall Glazing Area / Room Area
Room Area From Room: Volume / From Room: Unbounded Height / 1 SF
Glazing Multiplier if(North, 0.05, if(South, 0.15, if(West, 0.07, if(East, 0.07, 1))))
Overheat Integer if(Glazing Percentage of Room < Glazing Multiplier, 1, 2)
Overheat if(Overheat Integer = 1, "no", "yes")


This tools is just a concept for leveraging the power behind Revit to assist us in smarter design. With unlimited potential, Revit can help us transcend to the green utopia.