TECHNOLOGY
Rhino.Inside.Revit Allowing Design to Drive the Process I work a lot with young architecture
forms, we do so because they’re the
one might go about constructing
students, and one of my favorite
right formal gestures for the job and
them. That’s why discussions about
things about working with new
not because we’ve failed to consider
things like origami (where stiffness
designers is bouncing back and forth
the alternatives.
is achieved through the addition of
between considerations of formal
a crease) and ruled surfaces, which
gestures and material constraints.
Many young designers begin
permit the construction of curved
Re: the former, there’s a lot more to
their architecture careers with an
surfaces from straight elements
architecture than boxes, gable roofs,
understandably limited view of
(like light timber!) are really useful
and extruded floor plans; though we
what architectural forms can be
in school: they expose students to
may still frequently arrive at those
and even less knowledge of how
new formal languages while also
Image credit: Brian Wurst
prompting students to consider their construction through architecturallyanalogous materials (paper: sheet metal, dowels: 2x4s).
More often than not, there’s an unintentional followup challenge: now that we know how to make it, how do we make it in Revit? I’m a big Revit fan, and although it would be wholly inaccurate to claim I’m an ace Revit user I do use it frequently and, I like to think, competently.Still, I sometimes find myself in circumstances where I struggle to use the software’s built-in modeling tools to achieve geometries that might easily be generated using another software.My preferred “other software”?It’s McNeel’s Rhinoceros 3D, which is why I was so pleased to learn about the recent collaboration between Autodesk and McNeel that’s brought us Rhino.Inside.Revit. (their punctuation, not mine).
Consider our test case:
The Mitosis Duplex, a design I’ve
got to miter all of those rafters.We
So how does it work?Well, like a
had kicking around for a while and
all suffer for fashion, though, right?
whole lot of things in the design/
which I’ve chosen for this example
production world, there are probably
because it contains a roof geometry
The Rhino.Inside plug-in made
a lot of ways to do it.I like this quick-
whose means of construction in
quick work modeling this roof.With
and-easy method:
Revit wasn’t immediately obvious
the walls already modeled in Revit
(to me, anyway) but which could be
(though these could also have been
generated in Rhino in a matter of
generated in Rhino or after the fact in
Getting the Reference Geometry from Revit to Rhino:
seconds.It’s a diagonally-symmetric
Revit, where one software ends and
Grabbing the reference geometry
duplex with a playful twist on a
the other begins is kind of up to the
from Revit is easy.It requires that
and select your Revit components.
and Grasshopper, so yes, of course.
3-faced gable roof.It’s all ruled
user), it’s pretty easy to bring in the
you construct a basic Grasshopper
Done!
Someone’s probably written a
surfaces so it can be constructed
Revit-generated reference geometry,
script (wait!Don’t panic!) that requires
using ordinary materials, though it
model on top of it, and then kick that
no knowledge of Grasshopper to
Can this be way “smarter” and more
what I usually need it for this gets the
might be a long day for whoever’s
modeled bit back out to Revit.
construct.Drop the pieces in place
sophisticated/complex! It’s Revit
job done, though. Simple as that.
master’s thesis on this one step. For
Getting the Goods Back to Revit:
(what’s not shown won’t be exported),
designers with different skill sets and
Ready to send your Rhino stuff back
then save the model as a DWG.
make it easier to quickly model design
to Revit?There are a lot of ways to
Here’s the really important bit: when
options and to conduct charettes.
do it, and you can choose your own
saving, pop over to the Solids tab and
adventure based on how Revit-y you
make sure the “ACIS Solids” option is
need your model to be.Just need a
selected.If it’s not, you’re doomed to a
shape that shows up in the model/
horrible mesh modeling experience!
rendering? The Geometry from Direct
So What?
Shape Component will get you there.
Here’s why tools like this are
Do yourself a favor, though, and at least give it a name and assign it a Revit category so that your VG filters will work properly.Modeled a bunch of components at once (like pavers) and want to bring them in as individual elements that you can manipulate separately in Revit after the fact? No sweat: just add a graft to the script. Need it to be a real Revit component (like a system-recognized wall type)? There are a lot of tools for that too that are beyond the scope of this piece. This roof is a special situation, though, and can be (mostly) accomplished through a handy trick that’s almost exactly the same as the workflow described above, though with a little twist: use Revit’s Rooffrom-Mass functionality, then do all of this same stuff, but do it in the Conceptual Mass Template. Using tools like this makes it easier
About the Contributor HARRISON FLOYD Assoc. AIA, PE, Emerging Professional
important enough to me to bother
Harrison Floyd, a graduate of
with a blog postpiece about
Clemson University with a Master of
it:sometimes, the tools and systems
Architecture and Digital Ecologies
that we make for ourselves to make
certificate, also holds a Bachelor of
our lives easier become restrictions
Science in Mechanical Engineering
themselves.Revit makes, like, 90%
from the University of South Carolina.
to achieve complex forms “within”
them completely separately and them
of our jobs way easier, but does that
Harrison’s strong foundation in
Revit instead of having to model
import them as a generic mass.
mean we shouldn’t lean into the other
engineering allows him to bring a
10% because we can’t do, or don’t
dynamic perspective to the projects
Of course, the old
know how to do, that part in Revit?It
with which he is involved.
Save-As method is
doesn’t, especially because that extra
still a possibility, too:
10% is probably on the design side;
While at Clemson, Harrison won
if there’s no plan to
if we turn our minds back to design
the AIA Henry Adams Medal and
bring the geometry
school, we know that there’s a big
the Edward Allen Student Award
back into Revit, then
difference between 90% and 100%.
in 2021 and the Martin A. Davis
saving the model as
Award in 2020, served as a graduate
a DWG and opening
Expanding on that point: this is
teaching assistant for Architecture
it in another software
a big firm, and there are a lot of
Foundations, and first worked at
works great.Just
talented designers herein the field of
LS3P as a summer intern. He is
open a 3D view, use
architecture.Not all of them use Revit,
currently teaching first and second
the section box in
and those who do aren’t necessarily
year studios and a portfolio class
Revit to crop the
power users; none of us should
at Clemson. Harrison also serves
model to the parts
have to be to make good designs
as a Clemson liaison for AIA
you want to export,
happen.Complementary tools like this
Columbia, and is a Board Member
use your VG filters
allow for more collaboration among
of the Southern Off-Road Biking Association and the South Carolina Architectural Foundation.