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 model the toposurface properly in order to clearly visualize the terrain and challenges that may be encountered whilst actually constructing the building. Floor slant and depth are greatly impacted by topography, as well as potential roof slant and entry level.
When designing a project...
- Should the building adapt to the terrain?
- Or, should you adapt the terrain to the building?
The building should be constructed to fit the terrain. When construction occurs, it is expensive to model the terrain for liking. It is much easier and simpler to work with the terrain at hand in order to create a working, safe design. Modifying terrain can be dangerous and can disrupt floor levels and slant.
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?
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 need to be proportionate and aligned in order to account for building levels and floors. Building modeling in Revit is very helpful, as it auto corrects stair width and height in proportion to the height of the next floor. This can be useful as it prevents mathematical errors that could result in incorrect dimensions and levels.