The Importance and Adjustment Methods of Project Base Points and Survey Points in Revit
BIM technology’s core strength lies in enabling collaborative workflows and seamless data sharing. During project development, it is often necessary to integrate various discipline-specific models. This integration requires that the project base points across all models align perfectly. Today, we’ll explain how to adjust the project base point location in Revit.
First, let’s clarify the definitions of project baseline and survey points:
Survey Point: This is the reference coordinate origin used for actual measurement and positioning of the project within the global coordinate system. It can generally be understood as the project’s location within the city or world coordinate framework.
Project Base Point: This serves as a relative reference coordinate origin for measuring and positioning the project within the user coordinate system. The appropriate location for this point should be determined based on the specific characteristics of the project.
By default, the project base point in Revit is hidden. To display it, click on the Quick Access Toolbar and select Show Hidden Elements. This will reveal the project base point, as illustrated below.
Alternatively, you can enable it through the Visibility/Graphics dialog by adjusting the relevant settings, as shown in the screenshot.
By default, Revit locks the association between the project location and the project base point. This means that any movement of the project base point will cause the project location to change accordingly. In practice, the project base point is typically placed at the intersection of the two grid axes in the lower-left corner of the plan, as seen in the image below.
It is important to move the project base point to the intersection of grid line A and grid line 1.
Note: Before moving, be sure to unlock the paperclip icon to release the constraint, as shown in the image.
Use the Move (MV) command to relocate the project base point precisely to the intersection of axis A and axis 1, as demonstrated below.
After moving the project base point, you will notice that its north/south and east/west coordinates have changed and are no longer zero. This happens because the survey point’s location remains unchanged.
At this stage, you need to reset the north/south and east/west coordinates of the project base point back to zero. Doing so adjusts both the project base point and survey point locations accordingly.
Important: Before modifying the coordinates, make sure to lock the paperclip icon again to maintain the association, as shown in the image.
Using this method, you can unify the project base points across different discipline models. Then, by applying the Origin to Origin linking method, you can effectively link and integrate the model files.
Related Skills:
- Difference Between Survey Points, Project Base Points, and Internal Origin in Revit
- How to Resolve Missing Project Base Points and Survey Points in Revit
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