Module 3 points to ponder

Your Name

Drew Vallero

Submitted For

Module 3 - Points to Ponder

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Please share your comments on 3 of the following Points to Ponder questions. (Choose 3 of the questions below.)

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?

The levels of a building are most affected by the terrain features; one of the first decisions I had to make was how I wanted to position my house on the landscape and how the levels would work (i.e. basement vs. upper level). In the end, it is important to have an accurate model so you know how the building will be situated on the land and how inhabitants will be able to use the space.

When designing a project...

Should the building adapt to the terrain?

I think the building should adapt to the terrain, much in the same way the design of the building should take into consideration the existing/prevailing design strategies in the local area. Otherwise, your design will be resisting nature, which is not setting yourself up for sucess.

Or, should you adapt the terrain to the building?

What considerations affect a project team's decision-making when deciding the floor-to-floor height to use in a multi-story building?

From a real estate developer's perspective?
From a designer's perspective?
From an engineer's perspective?
From a builder's perspective?
From an owner's perspective?

What are the advantages of stacking the levels of a multi-story building vertically?

Can you share an interesting example of a building that doesn’t vertically stack (where the floor plates change their shaped radically between the floor levels)?
What were the advantages or reasons for non-vertical stacking?

One advantage of stacking the levels of a multi-story building is that it makes the workflow more efficient. Rather than create a whole new level from scratch, you can easily copy and paste a level. If the vertical structures of a building aren't perfectly 90 degrees (i.e. they follow a more organic shape, or they lean inward or outward) then the building wouldn't vertically stack.

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?

Describe a case when it would be worthwhile to create a new custom component in Revit… How do you decide when customize versus using readily available components?