Why is it important to accurately model the land features of your project site with a toposurface?
- What aspects of a building design are most affected by the terrain features?
It is important to accurately model the land features of your project site with a toposurface so that you can understand the best location to build the project, site properties, and what the elevations are around the site. The terrain features affect the ground floor, orientation of the building, and how deep you want the first floor to be into the ground. The type of material used for the foundation and ground level walls is also affected by the terrain features. For example, in Module 3, I used concrete walls for the first floor (because it was partially underground) but wooden walls for the upper level.
When designing a project...
- Should the building adapt to the terrain?
- Or, should you adapt the terrain to the building?
When designing a project, I believe it is better for the building to adapt to the terrain. This causes less disturbance to the surrounding ecosystem, since you can do less digging and modification of the terrain. This may also lower the cost of developing the site and helps ensure that the building is structurally sound and able to withstand the specific challenges it may encounter in that location.
Why do stairs follow specific proportions with a set relationship between the tread length and riser height?
- How can building modeling help prevent the mistakes that often occur when designing and installing stairs?
Stairs must follow specific proportions with a set relationship between the tread length and riser height in order to ensure that users are safe while walking on the stairs. It is possible to make the stairs too steep or unevenly spaced, which may be impractical and dangerous for potential users. Building modeling can help prevent mistakes from occurring when designing and installing the stairs because you can use tools in Revit to make sure that the stairs are properly designed (with the correct riser height and tread length) before the designs are finalized and construction begins.