Sybex mastering revit architecture 2009 sep 2008 ISBN 0470295287 pdf

Mastering
Revit Architecture 2009
®

Eddy Krygiel
Greg Demchak
Tatjana Dzambazova

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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Mastering
Revit Architecture 2009
®

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Mastering

Revit Architecture 2009
®

Eddy Krygiel
Greg Demchak
Tatjana Dzambazova

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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Acquisitions Editor: Willem Knibbe
Development Editor: Dick Margulis
Technical Editor: Phil Read
Production Editor: Dassi Zeidel
Copy Editor: Liz Welch
Production Manager: Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher: Joseph B. Wikert
Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde
Book Designer: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama; Judy Fung
Compositor: Craig Johnson, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreader: Nancy Bell
Indexer: Ted Laux
Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed
Cover Image: © Pete Gardner/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Project Coordinator/Cover: Lynsey Stanford

Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-0-470-29528-1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act,
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for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krygiel, Eddy.
Mastering Revit architecture 2009 / Eddy Krygiel, Greg Demchak, Tatjana Dzambazova.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-470-29528-1 (paper/website)
1. Architectural drawing—Computer-aided design.  2. Architectural design—Data processing.  I. Krygiel, Eddy, 1972–  II. Demchak,
Greg.  III. Title.
NA2728.D98 2008
720.28’40285536—dc22
2008022836
TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its
affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Autodesk and Revit are registered
trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with
any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

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Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing Mastering Revit Architecture 2009. This book is part of a family of premiumquality Sybex books, all written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with
a gift for teaching.
Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, we’re still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles we’re working hard to set a new standard for
the industry. From the authors we work with to the paper we print on, our goal is to bring you
the best books available.
I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I’d be very interested to hear your comments
and get your feedback on how we’re doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this
or any other Sybex book by sending me an e‑mail at , or if you think you’ve
found a technical error in this book, please visit . Customer feedback
is critical to our efforts at Sybex.

Best regards,

Neil Edde
Vice President and Publisher
Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley

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For my mom and dad, who are still somehow
amazed that an architect does know some proper
grammar
—Eddy
For Gentry
—Greg
For Binky, the source of my inspiration
—Tanja

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Acknowledgments
Hats off to the innovators who conceptualized, designed, and made Revit happen. You have
changed the world!
Huge thanks to all the faithful followers! Without you, Revit wouldn’t be what it is today.
Personal thanks to the Grand Master Philippe Drouant, without whose expertise, generous
help, and amazing illustrations we wouldn’t have been able to make this book. Many thanks to
Guillermo Melantoni and Erik Egbertson, whose participation was crucial in getting the 2008
version of this book out of the door; to the inspirational leaders Mario Guttman and Ken Sanders for their contributions; to BNIM Architects, who continue to let us use their Revit models in
our books and thus help raise the knowledge base in the community; to Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who
put his life aside to make this release of Revit so much more powerful with the great new rendering features.
Sincere thanks to all the hardworking developers, product designers, and quality assurance
testers from the development team of Revit, for their dedication, passion and love of Revit.
And finally, thanks are due to our friend and technical editor Phil Read and our excellent
support team at Sybex, who helped us develop and focus the content. Thanks to Dick Margulis,
for helping us form complete sentences; to Liz Welch for dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s; to
Dassi Zeidel for keeping us honest; and a special thanks to Willem Knibbe, whose constant

support and willingness to put up with our “issues” made us the high-maintenance authors we
are today.
We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to our friends, the architects who generously
shared their work, allowing us to inspire you with it: Suhail Arfath; Waseem Quadri; The C
­ reations;
ADD Inc, Richard Taylor, Kucarovik, Nemeth, Vlkovic, Polakova, and Senteska; Gensler; HOK;
Jim Balding and WATG; Martin Taurer; Krisztian Hegedues; Max Bögl Bauservice GmbH & Co.
KG; and Boston Architectural College.

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About the Authors
Eddy Krygiel is a registered architect, a LEED Accredited
Professional, and an Autodesk Authorized Author at BNIM
Architects headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. He has
been using Revit since version 5.1 to complete projects ranging
from single-family residences and historic remodels to 1.12million-square-foot office buildings. Eddy is responsible for
implementing BIM at his firm and also consults for other architecture and contracting firms around the country looking to
implement BIM. For the last four years, he has been teaching
Revit to practicing architects and architectural students in the
Kansas City area and has lectured around the nation on the
use of BIM in the construction industry. Eddy also coauthored
Green BIM, a book on sustainability and BIM, with Bradley Nies.
Greg Demchak is a designer, a technology advocate, urban
explorer, and post-apocalyptic film producer. He holds architectural degrees from the University of Oregon and Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. He is a product designer for Autodesk,
and has been working with Revit since 2000. He has been

teaching at the Boston Architectural College since 2003, and is
currently the principal investigator for the 2009 Solar Decathlon
competition. He resides in Massachusetts.

Tatjana Dzambazova was the product manager for Revit
Architecture between 2005 and 2007, after which she moved into
global industry development for the AEC industry in Autodesk,
Inc. Before joining Autodesk in 2000, she practiced architecture
for twelve years in Vienna and London. At Autodesk, she focused
on evangelizing technology and established herself as internationally renowned inspiring speaker who fosters relationships
with architects and industry leaders from all around the globe.
Powered with seemingly unlimited sources of energy and
passion, Tanja manages to make three days out of one, always
on the hunt for what’s new and exciting in the world of architecture and technology. When she is not working or coauthoring
technology books, she is advocating wildlife conservation, reading books like a maniac, cooking, riding her Ducati Monster, or
playing Scrabble and Texas Hold ’Em.

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Contents at a Glance
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii
Chapter  1 • Understanding BIM: From the Basics to Advanced Realities . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter  2 • Revit Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter  3 • Know Your Editing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Chapter  4 • Setting Up Your Templates and Office Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Chapter  5 • Customizing System Families and Project Settings in Your Template . . . 139

Chapter  6 • Modeling Principles in Revit I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Chapter  7 • Modeling Principles in Revit II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Chapter  8 • Concept Massing Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Chapter  9 • From Conceptual Mass to a Real Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Chapter  10 • Working with Design Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Chapter  11 • Creating Custom 3D Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Chapter  12 • Extended Modeling Techniques—Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Chapter  13 • Extended Modeling Techniques—Roofs and Slabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Chapter  14 • Extended Modeling Techniques—Railings and Fences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Chapter  15 • Presentation Techniques for Plans, Sections, and Elevations . . . . . . . . . 423
Chapter  16 • Presenting Perspective Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Chapter  17 • Fine-Tuning Your Preliminary Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Chapter  18 • Evaluating Your Preliminary Design: Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Chapter  19 • Annotating Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Chapter  20 • Developing the Design with Smart Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Chapter  21 • Moving from Design to Detailed Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595

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Chapter  22 • Advanced Detailing Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
Chapter  23 • Tracking Changes in Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655
Chapter  24 • Worksharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
Appendix  A • The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
Appendix  B • Tips and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731

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Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii

Chapter  1 • Understanding BIM: From the Basics to Advanced Realities . . . . . . 1
Identifying the Advantages of Building Information Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
A Brief History of Design and Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Building Information Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
BIM and Process Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Revit Encourages Creativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Every Element in Revit Has Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Elements Interact with Other Elements—All the Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Duplicating Views Takes Two Clicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Revit Fosters Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Revit Lets You Leverage Other Tools to Support Your Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Revit Allows You to Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Family Editor Is a Powerful Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Revit Does Away with Layers and X-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
BIM Is More Than a Technology Approach: It’s a Change in Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Revit Is Relatively New Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Where Can You Go from Here? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter  2 • Revit Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Understanding Revit Parametric Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Model Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Annotation Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Subcategories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Imported Categories/Subcategories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Type and Instance Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bidirectional Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Revit Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overriding the Representation of Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with the Revit User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The View Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
View Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Design Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Options Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Project Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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xii 

| Contents
Using the Project Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing the Browser Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Navigating Views and View Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Floor Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Plan View Using View Range and a Plan Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Elevations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3D Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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63

Chapter  3 • Know Your Editing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Selecting, Changing, and Replacing Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copying and Pasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create Similar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing Elements Interactively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moving Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotating and Mirroring Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Arraying Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Resizing Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aligning Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trimming and Extending Lines and Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Splitting Lines and Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Offsetting Lines and Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keeping Elements from Moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exploring Other Handy EditingTools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Join Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Split Face and Paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keyboard Shortcuts (Accelerators) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

65
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67
69
69
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72
72
75
77
77
78
79
80
80
81
82
83
84
84

Chapter  4 • Setting Up Your Templates and Office Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Starting a Project with a Custom Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Strategies for Making Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Settings for Graphic Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Object Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Creating a New Line Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Fill Patterns (Hatches) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Dimension Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Creating Custom Annotation Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
View Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Customizing Element Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Keynotes and Textnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Creating Custom Titleblocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Creating a Custom Titleblock with the Family Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Best Practices and Workarounds: Positioning Views on a Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Chapter  5 • Customizing System Families and Project Settings
in Your Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Creating New Types of System Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wall Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Floor and Roof Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ceiling Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stair Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Door and Window Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Types and Type Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Family Types in the Project Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Family Types in the Family Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Family Types with Type Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loading from a Type Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing Project Settings in Your Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Graphic Overrides of Host Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Additional Global Project Settings to Consider When Making Your Templates . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

139
140
147
148
148

154
154
155
155
155
157
158
158
161
168

Chapter  6 • Modeling Principles in Revit I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Understanding the Basics of Modeling with Revit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Understanding Sketch-Based Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Floors and Roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sketching Rules of Thumb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Understanding Work Planes, Levels, Grids, Reference Planes, and Reference Lines .
Work Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reference Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reference Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Work Planes in a Nutshell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter  7 • Modeling Principles in Revit II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Understanding the Principles of Modeling in Revit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Modeling with Five Basic Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extrusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Revolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Swept Blend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Combining Solids and Voids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Examples Showing Use of Voids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

191
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196
199
202
209
217
217
218
220

Chapter  8 • Concept Massing Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Understanding Massing Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Massing Study Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Massing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Mass Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Visibility of Mass Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Starting a Conceptual Massing Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Placing a Mass Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a New Mass Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Putting Theory into Practice: Making a Parametric Mass Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tagging and Scheduling Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Importing 3D Conceptual Models Created in Other Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rapid Prototyping and 3D Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

221
224
227
227
228

229
229
232
234
235
245
245
246
247

Chapter  9 • From Conceptual Mass to a Real Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Understanding Conceptual Design and Early Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Getting Site Data and Building the Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Positioning Imported Files Relative to the Revit Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Building the 3D Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Program Check and Feasibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Building Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Technical Details You Should Be Aware of When Scheduling Mass Elements . . . .
Using Imported Geometry from Other Applications for Massing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SketchUp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rhinoceros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autodesk Maya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Autodesk Inventor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Smart Relationships between Building Mass and the Underlying Mass . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter  10 • Working with Design Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Using Revit Design Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enabling the Design Options Tool Set in the Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Design Option Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Elements to a Design Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing a Design Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Displaying Design Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deciding on a Design Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Putting Design Options into Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Design Options with Parametric Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Showing Quantities and Cost Schedules for Multiple Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Rooms and Design Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

281
282
282
283
286
288
289
290
294
294
295
298

Chapter  11 • Creating Custom 3D Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Modeling Parametric 3D Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Choosing the Right Family Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Types of Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Family Categories and Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nesting One Family into Another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scheduling Nested Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Linking Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Linking Parameters (Conditional Visibility) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Building Relationships between Parameters with Formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Making a Parametric Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Encoding Design Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Building a Parametric 3D Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

301
302
304
314
316
318
318
320
321
321
322
326
331

Chapter  12 • Extended Modeling Techniques—Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Using Advanced Modeling Techniques for Standard Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wall Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Layer Join Cleanup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing Wall Joins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disjoining Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stacked Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Wall Articulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wall Wrapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sweeps and Reveals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Custom In-Place Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Advanced Modeling Design Techniques for Curtain Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Designing a Curtain Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Curtain Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Curtain Wall Doors and Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Complex Curtain Wall Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter  13 • Extended Modeling Techniques—Roofs and Slabs . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Understanding the Various Roof Creation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Footprint Roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Roof by Extrusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In-Place Roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sloped Glazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sloped Arrows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating All Kinds of Roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Advanced Roof and Slab Shape Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sloped Roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Warped Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

361
362
367
368
370
375
376
400
401
403
403

Chapter  14 • Extended Modeling Techniques—Railings and Fences . . . . . . . . 405
Working with Railings and Fences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Railings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Subelements of the Railing Element and Principles of Railing Structure . . . . . . . .
Railing Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting Up Rail Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

405
406
407
409
410
421

Chapter  15 • Presentation Techniques for Plans, Sections, and Elevations . . 423
Using Shadows for Presentation Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analytical Drawings: Sun and Shadow Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create Expressive Drawings with Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Performance Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Color-Coded Plans and Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Presentation-Quality Plans and Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coarse Scale Fill Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Graphic Overrides and View Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Elevations That Convey Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Linework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Drafting Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
True-Color Elevations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Elevations with Transparent Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Images in Elevation Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

424
425
428
429

429
435
436
436
438
439
440
440
442
442
443

Chapter  16 • Presenting Perspective Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Creating Perspective Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silhouetted Edge Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Photorealistic Renderings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Rendering Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rendering Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Animated Walkthroughs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Exporting the 3D Model for Use in Other Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Chapter  17 • Fine-Tuning Your Preliminary Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Quantifying Your Preliminary Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Foundation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Calculating Area Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Room Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Area Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Making a Rentable Area Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Areas and Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Making a Simple Schedule (Rentable Area) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Placing the Schedule on a Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Additional Schedule Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Schedules for Preliminary Cost Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing the Graphic Appearance of a Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

465
465
467

467
468
471
474
476
478
482
485
486
488
490

Chapter  18 • Evaluating Your Preliminary Design: Sustainability . . . . . . . . . 491
Incorporating a Sustainable Approach from the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preliminary Design Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The LEED Rating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Revit to Create Sun Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Making a Sun Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Animated Sun Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tracking Recycled Materials and Other Sustainability Strategies Using Schedules . . .
Recycled Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Window Surface Percentage vs. Room Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Energy Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

491
492
492
493
494

499
503
503
505
506
511

Chapter  19 • Annotating Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Annotating Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating and Annotating Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Room Separation Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selecting Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rooms and Room Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rooms in Section Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Room Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Area and Volume Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Schedule Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Schedule Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Leveraging Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loading Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Placing Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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518
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521
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Changing a Tag Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tagging Untagged Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Understanding Project and Shared Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Custom Project Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Shared Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shared Parameter Notes and Cautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Text and Keynotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keynotes and Textnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keynote Behavior and Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keynote Filenaming Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keynote Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Keynotes to a View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keynote Legends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Keynote Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Predefining Keynotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

535
536
538
539
542
552
553
553
554
555
556
557
558
558
560
564
565

Chapter  20 • Developing the Design with Smart Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Working with Repetitive Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Understanding How to Use Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Groups for Repetitive Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating and Managing Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating and Placing Repetitive Units Using Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Rooms to a Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nesting a Group into Another Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Detail Elements to Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nesting a Group from a Previous Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Making Variations to a Group Instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repeating Groups to Other Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Making the Group a Part of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing a Group in a Separate File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Detail Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Best Practices for Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Understanding the Principles of Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Common Link Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Linking Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Special Link Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Controlling the Visibility of Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deciding Whether to Use Groups, Links, or Both . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Final Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

567
568
568
569
569
573
575
576
577
578
581
582
583
584
585

585
587
589
590
591
591
592
593

Chapter  21 • Moving from Design to Detailed Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
Advancing the Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Drafting Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Importing and Linking CAD Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Linking vs. Importing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Creating 2D Detail Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Detail Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Detail Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Masking Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Repeating Detail Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Detail Component Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Custom Line Types Using Repeating Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Miscellaneous Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Linework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Callouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Information to Your Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Embellishing the Wall Section: The SIM (Similar) Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Detail Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Embellishing the Wall Section: The Model Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

602
602
602
603
604
605
606
607
611
612
613
615
617
621
634

Chapter  22 • Advanced Detailing Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
Creating 3D Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3D Details: Enabling a Section Box in 3D View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3D Details: Orienting to View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Annotations to the 3D Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Detail Components to Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Details to a Window Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Visibility Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding More Information Using Symbolic Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reusing Details from Other Revit Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exporting Details from Revit Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Importing Views into Revit Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

635
637
637
640
640
641
645
647
649
649
650
654

Chapter  23 • Tracking Changes in Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655
Adding Revisions to Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Placing Revision Clouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tagging a Revision Cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BIM and Supplemental Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Autodesk Design Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Design Review User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Publishing to Design Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Marking Up the Model Using Design Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Importing a Design Review Markup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

655
658
660
662
663
664
666
668
670
671

Chapter  24 • Worksharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
Setting Up a Project with Worksets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Understanding Worksharing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Workset Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moving Elements between Worksets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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675
677
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xx 

| Contents
Managing Workflow with Worksets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Central File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating the Local File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saving Shared Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loading Work from Other Team Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Understanding Element Ownership in Worksets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Borrowing Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Requesting Permission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granting Permission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

681
682
682
683
684
685
686
686
688

690

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
Appendix  A • The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
Chapter 1: Understanding BIM: From the Basics to Advanced Realities . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 2: Revit Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 3: Know Your Editing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 4: Setting Up Your Templates and Office Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 5: Customizing System Families and Project Settings in Your Template . . . .
Chapter 6: Modeling Principles in Revit I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 7: Modeling Principles in Revit II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 8: Concept Massing Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 9: From Conceptual Mass to a Real Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 10: Working with Design Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 11: Creating Custom 3D Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 12: Extended Modeling Techniques—Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 13: Extended Modeling Techniques—Roofs and Slabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 14: Extended Modeling Techniques—Railings and Fences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 15: Presentation Techniques for Plans, Sections, and Elevations . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 16: Presenting Perspective Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 17: Fine-Tuning Your Preliminary Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 18: Evaluating Your Preliminary Design: Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 19: Annotating Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 20: Developing the Design with Smart Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 21: Moving from Design to Detailed Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 22: Advanced Detailing Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 23: Tracking Changes in Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 24: Worksharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

693

694
695
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
704
704
705
706
707
708
709
709
711
712
713
714
714

Appendix  B • Tips and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
Optimizing Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
File Corruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tips for Getting Started in Revit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

717
719
724
726

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731

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Foreword
BIM—or Building Information Management (not Modeling)—is not the future. It is the present.
CAD is the past.
Back in the spring of 2000—with my pen in one hand, my checkbook in the other, and the phone
cradled in my neck, I was waiting for the software vendor to tell me the total amount for the
BIM-ish solution he was selling. And then there was a pause.
“We’ve kind of become friends,” he said. “And I’d feel bad if I didn’t tell you about something
I’ve just come across. A small company in Boston—Revit Technology—has integrated documentation. You should at least take a look at it before you spend a lot of money.”
Thanks, Mark. You didn’t make the sale. But you kept your integrity.
It’s been nearly nine years since the first public release of Revit. At the time, BIM was certainly
a differentiator. Very few people understood the implications of a concurrent, bidirectional
building design environment. There was a lot of resistance. So, after one of the three owners
of the architectural firm I worked at in Charlotte, North Carolina, made it clear that Revit was
perceived as “just another CAD package” (and we already had enough of a challenge juggling
AutoCAD and MicroStation), I realized it was time to move on.
Thanks, Don. Being told “no” provided both clarity and opportunity.
Nine years later, BIM/Revit is no longer a differentiator. It is a commodity. As a matter of fact,
it was already becoming a commodity in the spring of 2001, when in Singapore, I observed how

you could buy a CD with AutoCAD and ADT in an illegal software shop for five Singapore dollars.
But the CD with Revit (including a software crack) cost ten Singapore dollars. I expressed some
frustration to my associate: Why would anyone buy Revit when AutoCAD was less expensive?
To this, my coworker wisely replied, “This is good. In India we have a saying, ‘Nobody steals a
dead dog.’ A good thief knows the value of what he has stolen.”
Thanks Sunil. Shouldn’t we have that bottle of vodka by now?
Working for Autodesk Consulting has been a wonderful experience and I have been exceedingly fortunate. I’ve watched the most extraordinary people design and create and support
Autodesk Revit. As a result this wonderful tool is now being used by so many other extraordinary
people on some of the most remarkable projects you can imagine. Yes—I’ve done a lot of training
and mentoring and fire extinguishing. But overall, I’ve been a very lucky bystander.
Thanks James. Thanks Matt. I’ll bring the scotch if you’ll bring the glasses.
And here’s another secret: For the most part, I’m a straight “B” student. There are so many
other far more brilliant people. But the thing about brilliant people is that many times they
already “know” what isn’t possible. On the other hand, I’m fortunately not that smart. Enough
monkeys, enough beer, and enough keyboards, right? So basically, I’m just really stubborn. And

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xxii 

| FOREWORD
I deeply hate to lose. And I really despise disappointing the people that I respect. So basically, I
don’t know when to give up. Which brings up a good life lesson:
A stubborn “B” student can outwit a shiny “A” student who has too much knowledge but not enough
experience. Every. Damn. Time.
Architecture is a business. If you’re young and impressionable and still in school you really
need to learn this now. I’m absolutely not suggesting that you compromise your integrity and

embrace mediocrity for the sake of financial gain. What I’m suggesting is that you fully embrace
BIM in order to realize the best and the highest you can offer within the realities of time and
budgetary constraints. More to the point: If you’re not using BIM, you’re doing a severe disservice to your client, your community, your profession, and your future.
The reason Mastering Revit Architecture is such a great book is because of its holistic approach
to BIM. Eddy, Greg, and Tatjana have taken great care to help you understand the context of
what you’re trying to accomplish within the application of important design principles. Many
books mistakenly view BIM as mere “technology”—or even one particular technology. It’s not.
BIM is a philosophical approach to architecture that emphasizes the integration of the design,
development, and delivery process. It’s about understanding the implications, complications,
and context of design decisions as early as possible.
It’s about being accountable for your own design decisions.
As a result, one can’t fully implement BIM without rejecting one particularly insidious and
conceited notion (espoused by so many signature architects) that great designers don’t need to
understand the tools that are used to implement their designs; they just need enough pencils,
paper, and staff. As if tools the rest of us choose to embrace somehow stifle their creative genius.
How does this make better buildings?
So I’m hopeful these notions of technical apartheid are a dying breed and the sooner, the better.
BIM isn’t just about the integration of technology; but the integration of people and processes.
And if Michelangelo could mix his own pigments and plaster and paint while lying on his back,
then I suppose it’s not too much to remind some present (or future) signature designer he may
do well to learn to move his own mouse.
Because most importantly, architecture isn’t about buildings. It’s about what we are able to
accomplish with what little time we have. This is the elegant essence of BIM. BIM is about the time
it affords to do other things; other far, far more important things than architecture.
Because if all you are able to accomplish in this life is the production of buildings at the
expense of the other more important things, such as helping other people, creating meaningful
relationships, enjoying good drink and food with friends, and even the occasional opportunity
to roll around naked with someone you love—then you’ve missed out on a full life. And that’s
what the joy and wonder of architecture is really about.
And if an employer doesn’t understand this balance between life and work, I hereby submit

my closing advice:
Tell him to get stuffed and quit. Life is too short. Then send me an e-mail and I’ll help you
find a better gig.
But first make sure that you know how to use Revit. This book will help you accomplish that
and more.
All the best,
Phil Read
June 2008

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Introduction
Welcome to the second edition of Mastering Revit Architecture, based on the Revit Architecture 2009
release.
This book follows on the heels of our updated Introducing Revit Architecture 2009 (Wiley, 2008).
In preparing the 2009 edition of the Mastering book, we took the opportunity to introduce some
of the features new to the 2009 release of the software, to rewrite large portions of the text, and
to polish up the rest, taking into consideration comments and suggestions from many readers
and friends. Working as a team of three authors, we kept one another in constant check, each
of us writing, reviewing, editing, and updating as chapters rolled out. One additional change
we made to the previous edition of the book was to break some of the longer chapters into more
bite-sized morsels, which hopefully results in chapters that flow better and gives you some
breathing room as you move through the book.
Writing books might seem easier than it truly is, but what drives and inspires us is the feeling that we’re doing something important: sharing our best knowledge and practices about
Revit and building information modeling (BIM) with those who have already been acquainted
with its incredible power and feel the need to go deeper and further to fully leverage its abilities
and values. We want to help you make better designs, be more efficient in creating correct documentation, learn some new techniques, and put some fun back into using software.

We wanted to write a book that is as much about architectural design and practice as it is
about software. We think we’ve succeeded, because the book follows real-life workflows and
scenarios; it’s full of real-world examples that show how to use Revit practically and creatively.

Who Should Read This Book
This book is written for architects who have already gotten their feet wet with Revit and are
eager to learn more so they can optimize workflow and leverage the full power of this tool. It’s
for architects of any generation—you don’t need to be a high-tech wizard to dive into this book.
However, a basic understanding of Revit will make it easier to work through the book. Revit is
very rich, and the topics we’ve selected include those that are most widely used and those least
understood. Many more books need to be written to cover the entire world of Revit.
This book is also for the seasoned user who has already received training or has started
working on projects with Revit and is looking to discover useful best practices and tips that will
make the work on a project smoother and the implementation easier. We’ve added many timesaving and inspiring concepts to the book, supported with examples from architect friends and
colleagues from all around the world, to motivate you and help you on your journey into the
new era of building information modeling. The book also offers insights for BIM managers into

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