Revit is primarily divided into three modules: Architecture, Structure, and MEP. Within these modules, users can choose between “Structural Columns” and “Architectural Columns.”
There are six key differences between structural columns and architectural columns in Revit:
1. Functionality: Structural columns are designed to connect with other structural components such as foundations, independent supports, and beams. They support structural analysis and can include reinforcement bars within concrete columns, meeting construction drawing requirements. In contrast, architectural columns are primarily for visual representation, often featuring complex shapes, but they do not serve structural functions and cannot include reinforcement bars.
2. Types: Structural columns can be either vertical or diagonal, while architectural columns are limited to vertical orientations only.
3. Modeling Attributes: Structural columns come with numerous attributes that are user-configurable and comply with industry standards. Architectural columns, on the other hand, have simplified type properties, including rough proportional fill styles similar to those used for walls.
4. Material Inheritance: Architectural columns inherit materials from adjoining elements, which influences material quantity extraction. For example, when a composite wall layer envelops an architectural column, the column adopts the wall’s material details but does not add to the material quantity, reducing the original column’s material count accordingly. Structural columns are not affected by this.
5. Placement Methods: Architectural columns must be placed manually by clicking. Structural columns offer more flexibility: they can be placed manually, snapped to grid intersections, or positioned on existing architectural columns.
6. System Families: Architectural and structural columns belong to two distinct system families within Revit, making them fundamentally different in the software’s framework. A detailed comparison table is available separately.
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