Module 6 - Points to Ponder

What are the principal advantages of creating a conceptual design model using masses before diving into the detailed design and building element modeling?

A conceptual design model with masses is a very simple way to draft a concept and put it into a model to visualize how it would looking. Going into a full detailed design can be very time intensive and would require the modeler to know dimensions and materials and room layouts at a very early stage of the design process, which is not always the case when a building is just be conceptualized. Revit masses can easily be rescaled which is also a big factor for why masses should be used for initial concepts as the final dimensions of the buildings do not need to be known right from the start.

How would you abstract the essential form of these famous buildings using conceptual mass elements that you can create in Revit?

1. One World Trade Center: https://www.archdaily.com/795277/one-world-trade-center-som
1. Equilateral triangles and a vertical rectangle, join them together to create rough shape.
2. CMG Headquarters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMG_Headquarters#/media/File:China_Central_Television_Headquarters_2.jpg
1. Simple rectangle shapes with two vertical rectangles and two elevated horizontal rectangles.
3. Twisting torso: https://www.archdaily.com/771471/santiago-calatravas-turning-torso-wins-ctbuhs-10-year-award
1. Blended rectangle shape, orient it vertically and rotate it to create twisting effect.
4. Apple campus: https://www.archdaily.com/804970/apple-campus-2-held-to-fantastical-standard-of-detail-new-report-reveals
1. Torus shape or a cylinder with the interior cut out.
5. Salesforce tower: https://www.archdaily.com/889519/salesforce-tower-pelli-clarke-pelli-architects
1. Vertical rectangle or cylinder, put a pyramid at top and reduce the point of the pyramid to create a flatter top surface.