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 foundations are affected by the terrain features as the foundations affect the erection and structural integrity of a building. It's important to accurately model the land geatures in order to find out where there may be issues. Furthermore, some terrain may need to be excavated to design the building properly.

When designing a project...

• Should the building adapt to the terrain?
• Or, should you adapt the terrain to the building?

I believe that there is a balance of how a building should be designed depending on the budget and the terrain itself. For example, if a building needs to be excavated, it would cost more. However, depending on the soil, not all terrain can be excavated and not all buildings would be structurally reliable on specific soil. Buildings can be built on various types of soil but it would affect the foundations and increase the cost of the project.

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?

A case where it would be worthwhile to create a new custom component on Revit is when there are special structural connections or architectural features. For example, special moment frames would need custom components rather than using what readily available. From the architectural perspective, there may be extraordinary design features that are custom made.