By John Flanagan
The focus is the overall shape and footprint of the building which you develop in a massing study.
Placing Basic Mass Elements
Existing massing elements can be inserted into a project using the Place Mass command. The above example was created from the Mass Box Standard form and the Mass Dome Standard form. After you place the mass in an open project, you can apply materials with the paint tool or from element properties.
- > Click Insert tab Load from Library panel (Load Family).
- > Navigate to the mass family file, and click Open.
- > Click Massing & Site tab Conceptual Mass panel (Place Mass).
- > In the Type Selector, select the desired mass type.
- > Click in the drawing area to place the mass instance.
Creating and Modifying Mass Elements
You can create your own mass elements in a project as an In-Place Mass or in a separate Conceptual Mass family.
Making Buildings from Mass Elements
Once you have finished the massing study, you can apply walls, curtain systems, roofs and floors to the faces of the mass element and proceed to the next step in the design process.
- To view mass elements, click Show Mass in the Massing & Site tab>Conceptual Mass panel.
- Masses do not print and cannot be exported unless the Mass category is made visible in the Visibility/Graphic Overrides (VV) dialogue box. This is off by default in the Revit template files.
Conclusion
You can create masses within a project (in-place masses) or outside a project (loadable mass families). In-place masses are used for mass forms that are unique to a project. Loadable mass families are typically used when you will be placing multiple instances of the mass in a project, or when you will use mass families in multiple projects.
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