INTRODUCING REVIT ARCHITECTURE 2009 BIM for Beginners Greg Demchak Tatjana Dzambazova Eddy Krygiel SERIOUS SKILLS.
Introducing Revit Architecture 2009
Introducing Revit Architecture 2009 BIM for Beginners Greg Demchak Tatjana Dzambazova Eddy Krygiel Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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: Caryl Gorska Compositor: Kate Kaminski, Happenstance Type-O-Rama Proofreader: Nancy Bell Indexer: Nancy Guenther Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed Front Cover Images: Andrea Sader and Ines Magri, Universidad ORT, Uruguay (top image), Kubik+Nemeth+Vlkovic (far left and far right images), Greg Demchak (middle image) Back Cover Images: Gensler (left image), Kubik+Nemeth+Vlkovic (middle image), HOK (right image) Copyright 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: 978-0-470-26098-2 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, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (800) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Demchak, Greg. Introducing Revit architecture 2009 : BIM for beginners / Greg Demchak, Eddy Krygiel, Tatjana Dzambazova. 1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-470-26098-2 (paper/website) 1. Architectural drawing Computer-aided design. 2. Architectural design Data processing. I. Krygiel, Eddy, 1972 II. Dzambazova, Tatjana. III. Title. NA2728.D45 2008 720'.285 dc22 2008012003 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. Revit is a registered trademark 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. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dear Reader, Thank you for choosing Introducing Revit Architecture 2009: BIM for Beginners. This book is part of a family of premium quality Sybex books, all written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching. Sybex was founded in 1976. More than thirty 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 nedde@wiley.com, or if you think you ve found a technical error in this book, please visit http://sybex.custhelp.com. Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex. Best regards, Neil Edde Vice President and Publisher Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley
Dedication For Gage Greg For Thea and Michael, who brought love and laughter in my life Tanja For my beautiful daughters, Zoë and Maya Eddy
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 masters Philippe Drouant and Phil Read for their heroic dedication and help; to Simone Cappochin and Kubik+Nemeth+Vlkovic, who keep on doing beautiful architecture with Revit and are willing to share it with us; and to our friends, Martin Taurer, Paul Woddy, and Emmanuel Di Giacommo, for their contributions A final thank-you to BNIM Architects, who continue to let us use their Revit models to help raise the knowledge base of the design community. To Tsvetan Tsvetanov, whose dedication and hard work was essential to providing Revit with its great new rendering capabilities. 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 excellent support team at Sybex, who helped us develop and focus the content; Dick Margulis, for making a philosopher, nonnative English speaker, and a dyslexic look good in print; Liz Welch for making it grammatically correct; Dassi Zeidel for keeping tabs on all the parts and pieces; Eric Charbonneau for keeping things on track; and a special thanks to Willem Knibbe, for his willingness to go to bat for us and deal with our high-maintenance attitudes.
About the Authors 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 sales development management for the AEC industry. Before joining Autodesk in 2000, she practiced architecture for 12 years in Vienna and London. At Autodesk, she has focused on evangelizing technology and established herself as an internationally renowned speaker who has fostered 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 of what s new and exciting in the world of architecture and technology; and when she is not working or coauthoring technology books, she is advocating wildlife conservation, reading books like a maniac, getting inspired in the theaters, and playing Scrabble and Texas Hold Em.
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 1.12-million-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: Successful Sustainable Design with Building Information Modeling, a book on sustainability and BIM, with Bradley Nies (Sybex, 2008).
CONTENTS at a glance Introduction xv Chapter 1 Understanding BIM 1 Chapter 2 Getting Acquainted with the Revit Interface and File Types 23 Chapter 3 Views 73 Chapter 4 Modeling Basics 95 Chapter 5 Modifying Elements 173 Chapter 6 Extended Modeling 199 Chapter 7 Working with Other Applications 229 Chapter 8 Preparing Documents for Clients 275 Chapter 9 Sheets 305 Chapter 10 Annotations 329 Chapter 11 Construction Documentation 361 Chapter 12 Printing 395 Chapter 13 Advanced Topics 413 Chapter 14 Tips and Troubleshooting 439 Index 449
Contents Introduction xv Chapter 1 Understanding BIM 1 A Brief History of Architectural Documentation 2 Advantages of a BIM Approach 5 How BIM Is Different from CAD 6 Why Revit? 10 Revit Concepts 10 Types of Elements in Revit 13 Tips for Getting Started in Revit 18 Chapter 2 Getting Acquainted with the Revit Interface and File Types 23 Overview of the Revit User Interface 24 Modifying and Personalizing the Interface 43 Selection and View Navigation 46 Using Keyboard Shortcuts 61 Setting Up Your Project Environment 62 Revit File Formats 68 Chapter 3 Views 73 Visualizing a Revit Model 74 Creating Views 74 Working with Views 76 Schedules 90 Chapter 4 Modeling Basics 95 Levels and Grids 96 Basic Walls 99 Floors, Roofs, and Ceilings 102 Doors and Windows 103
Components 104 Stairs and Railings 105 Getting Started with a Project 106 Chapter 5 Modifying Elements 173 Standard Editing Tools 174 Additional Editing Tools 182 Graphic and Visual Overrides 188 Chapter 6 Extended Modeling 199 Walls: Advanced Modeling Features 200 Curtain Walls: Advanced Design Techniques 215 Roofs and Slabs: Advanced Shape Editing 224 Chapter 7 Working with Other Applications 229 Exporting Your Data 230 Exporting DWG Drawings 234 Importing and Linking 241 Working with Imported Files 250 Working with Civil Engineering DWG Files 253 Converting 2D Drawings into a 3D Model 263 Starting a New Project 264 Starting a Model from a Scanned Drawing 270 Chapter 8 Preparing Documents for Clients 275 Color-Coded Drawings 276 Creating Presentation Graphics 286 Shadows and Solar Studies 292 Rendering a Perspective 294 Chapter 9 Sheets 305 Documentation Trends 306 Preparing Views 306 The Sheet 313
Chapter 10 Annotations 329 Annotating Your Project 330 Tags 330 Dimensions 334 Text and Keynotes 346 Chapter 11 Construction Documentation 361 Formatting Your Documents 362 Schedules 367 Drafting Views 377 Drafting Tools 378 Importing CAD Details 391 Reusing Details from Other Projects 391 Chapter 12 Printing 395 Printing Your Documents 396 Revit Printing Tips 404 Publishing Your BIM Data 405 Chapter 13 Advanced Topics 413 Understanding Families 414 Using Design Options 427 Worksharing the Multi-User Environment 433 Chapter 14 Tips and Troubleshooting 439 Optimizing Performance 440 Best Practices 441 File Corruption 446 Index 449