Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> How to create a realisticly-divided curtain wall made by multiple curves?

musiker

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Hi, there, all Revit power users, I am a newbie to Revit 2012, and recently I am in DD phase and designing a buildng's curtain wall facade. What is unusual (for revit?) is that the bldg. outline is consisted by several continous curves, so my job is to use the Revit curtain wall tools to evenly divide the multi-curved facade with mullions between a fixed distance, while leaving the possible remainders at each ends or somewhere else as I wish. Sounds easy enough to an AutoCAD user like me.

However, when I started modelling in Revit, I found out it is not that simple. Because Revit don't know polylines, it can only recognize each curve segment of the polyline I imported from AutoCAD as a single curtain wall. Therefore, it will automaticly generate a grid for each curved curtain walls at the joint, which is considered as the beginning and end of the two adjacent curtain wall systems, and the remainder of the other curtain wall grid will also be put there (shown in Pic1). And obviously this is not what an architect would want and how curtain wall is constructed.

Although dissapointed, still I knew this is not the end. Then I tried to divide the curves in an old fashion, manually, in AutoCAD. And import the DWG file back into Revit, I generated a set of Reference Planes, and using them to align each of my mullions, and then delete those two vertical mullions at the curve joint, manually. But still there are problems at the curve joints, the horizonal mullions and glazing panels of the two adjacent curtain walls are angled to each other. (Shown in Pic2) What is more, this solution, although seems okay on floor plans, still won't work in elevations or 3D, because actually still gaps are visable everywhere I look. (Shown in Pic3)

So my question is: Is there any advance technique, instead of intensive manual labor (imagine there are several bldgs all enclosed by this kind of curtain walls) to model continous curved curtain walls in Revit? If not, how could we make these two transoms a straight piece?Is it possible to join two curved curtain walls to eliminate the gaps?

Looking forward to your advice! Thanks a lot!

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musiker

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Pics are here

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Typhoon

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Watch the video: http://screencast.com/t/mwbx8bDUR

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ameliephaine

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Exactly what I needed! Thanks!!!! ^_^

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musiker

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Hi, Typhoon,thanks for the creative method u showed us, quite effective for solving the graphic problem. However, if the panel is using a wall type, all the panels between the mullions will be curve shape, instead of regular everyday glazing. And whats more, when I think about this graphic problem, I realize actually this line in reality should exist if we are strictly using the curves as ours CW location line. So still want to use system glazing panel, I find a way to achieve what I want.

So this is my solution, really primitive, but works. Create a gap between these two curves according to the grid decided by the fixed distance, create two curtain walls using pick line tool, make sure all the gird will be placed at the right location, delete useless transoms and glazing panels, then create a in-between glass panel (actually a part of CW), problem solved! See picture.

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musiker

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However, I still got questions for CW. It is about the CW location line, as u all know it is defined as the outline of the CW, and as the room boundry, so this make all room area calculation overestimated.

Since I am too lazy to create thousands of room separation line by clicking all these mullions and transoms in the whole project of which all CWs are curved, and cannot offset the location line without moving the CW, so the only way to force it into interior is to offset it and then flip the CW, then adjust the offset of panels and mullions. However, then I got this (shown in pic.), hell, two annoying gaps by the mullions!:p

Anybody, is this fixable? Or any better way to make a normal CW's location line inside?

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musiker

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Sorry, the location line is predefined as the center line of the CW

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