How to Create Irregular Structures in Revit
Revit is widely used in the field of building construction, where panel wall designs are typically very regular. However, with evolving architectural trends, designers now demand more complex and irregular building forms. The use of irregular structures has become increasingly popular, especially in China. Below, I will explain the methods to create such irregular building structures in Revit.
Creating Irregular Masses
Start by opening a building template and creating a six-story elevation. This will serve as the basis for generating floor slabs within the mass later on. Next, navigate to the Mass and Site tab to build the mass internally.
To create the mass, add contours and apply scaling combinations to form the volume as shown in the figure below.
Once the volume is created, select it and open a detailed schedule to view various parameters of the object. Go to View > Schedules > Schedule/Quantities and select the schedule for volumes. Use the filter to exclude other categories for easier searching.
Make sure to check the properties for total volume, total surface area, and family type, then confirm your selection. The detailed schedule will display the relevant data, as shown in the following figure.
Returning to the volume creation process, select the mass floor tab and generate the corresponding floor slabs from the volume.
After creating the volume floors, add floor slabs by selecting Mass and Site > Floor. Similarly, you can create walls, roofs, and curtain wall systems through the Mass and Site menu.
If you need to modify the volume dimensions, simply select the face you want to adjust, then choose Face Update from the context menu to update all associated elements automatically.
Example: Creating a Curtain Wall on a Curved Surface
First, create a new building project and draw a curved wall. Next, we will add a curtain wall to this curved wall.
Select the wall under the building tab, locate the curtain wall type in the properties panel, and insert it onto the curved wall. Be sure to edit the curtain wall type properties and enable the Automatic Embedding option. This ensures the curtain wall generates smoothly along the curved surface.
Start by practicing on a vertical wall to create a standard curtain wall. Once configured, the system will generate a glass curtain wall on the selected vertical surface. Remember to also set the curtain wall embedding position in the type properties.
After creating the curtain wall, you can perform simple contour edits. Use the contour editing tools to draw the desired shape on the wall surface.
Next, we will focus on creating curved curtain walls using the Storefront Curtain Wall type. Adjust the parameters accordingly.
With the curved wall selected, use the Pick Lines tool to trace the centerline of the wall. This will produce the effect illustrated in the figure below.
Some curtain walls created on curved surfaces may have dome-shaped or elliptical tops. Here’s how to create those features:
Navigate to Roof > Roof by Footprint > Select Stretch Roof. In the elevation view, select the face to apply the roof, confirm, and edit the roof type as needed.
Next, select the curtain wall panels and use the Attach Top/Bottom option to attach the top edge of the panels to the roof surface.
Finally, hide the roof element to reveal the finished elliptical roof shape.
Related Skills: How to create irregular steel bars in Revit
Must log in before commenting!
Sign Up