by John Flanagan
When you begin a project, you often use the default types supplied with Revit for elements, such as walls. Later, you start creating custom standards and need element types in accordance with those standards. This echoes Revit’s recommendation of working from the general to the specific.
Basic Wall Parts
Walls in Revit can range a great deal in complexity. Early in the design process, walls can be more generic, vertical barriers for space and function. As the design progresses, these generic walls can be swapped out for more specific compound walls that indicate a range of materials as well as geometric sweeps and reveals.
Creating Generic Walls
Initially you want to understand how walls generally work and how you should modify them. Revit uses a system of “Generic “ walls that in most cases are not made of anything specific. They’re basically about the correct thickness for the required structure. Use these generic walls during the design process, and then swap out these walls for more specific geometry later.
By default, the generic walls that have no specific structure are visually identical to walls that contain structure and finish layers. So it’s a good idea to make your design walls visually unique. This way, you’ll know what has to be swapped out for more specificity later. And there are more advantages, such as giving your walls transparency, that will help you visualise your design.
Creating Compound or Layer Based Wall types
My latest White Paper (Ref: Creating Compound Wall Types - February 2013), outlines the steps required to create compound or layer – based wall types. Walls are used as the primary example, but floors, roofs and compound ceilings follow the same format.
Please download the white paper below for more details: