Stage 1: Creating Forms with Revit Conceptual Masses
Part 1: Test One of the Example Conceptual Mass Forms by Flexing One Input
For Stage 1 Part 1, I chose to use the given twisting rectangular mass form from the class Google Drive and import it into Revit. The associated inputs/parameters are shown above, and the parameter I chose to flex was the twist, ranging from 100–150 degrees. The story height was 12 ft, and Mass Floors was used in Revit to calculate the total floor area. The constant parameters were chosen based on the site plan and height limitations.
After the Revit family was imported and Mass Floors were applied, Dynamo was used to flex the inputs and export the results. There was a main file that specified the input values and exported the outputs as a CSV file, but the actual alternatives were run in a custom node called “EvaluateSingleInput.” This custom node took in the flexing input range, updated the Revit model based on the specified input parameters, and calculated the outputs.
I chose the range of 100–150 degrees because I was trying to stay within the range of 2.5 million to 3 million square feet of floor area. I realized that with only one parameter being flexed, the values cannot be changed too much while staying within that range. However, I still wanted to show how changing the input parameter changes the mass form, so I chose a larger range at the cost of being slightly outside the 2.5–3 million square foot range. From the results, it seems that between approximately 110–130 degrees of twist gives the desired square footage. Less than 110 degrees gives a larger floor area, while more than 130 degrees gives a smaller floor area.
Part 2: Create Your Own Conceptual Mass Form and Test It
For Stage 1 Part 2, the same process was followed as in Part 1. This time, I made my own tower by creating a Revit profile in the shape of a heart and using the twisting tower template with two profiles. The changeable parameters are the top and base rotation, the tower height, and the width and length of the heart profile.
The parameter I chose to flex was the top rotation, using a range of 90–140 degrees. This time, the desirable square footage range falls between approximately 95–115 degrees. Less than 95 degrees gives a larger floor area, while more than 115 degrees gives a smaller floor area.
Point to Ponder: The advantage of exporting all outputs to Excel is that it presents a neatly organized table for comparing the different design alternatives. It is easy to identify which designs perform better for certain output parameters than others.
Stage 2: Creating Forms with Dynamo or Grasshopper Geometry
Different angles of 0.5 top scale with a middle height of 300 ft:
For Stage 2, I wanted to incorporate the sine-wave element previously used in the class to create a new custom profile as a creativity aspect. Instead of using the given Revit/class shapes, I used waves to make profiles that resemble a flower for the base and top profiles. For the middle profile, I decided to use a circle to add another interesting element to the tower form.
Again, a main file was made with the values of the input parameters shown below, and a custom node called “FlowerBuilding_EvaluateTwoInputs” was created to form the tower based on the given inputs and compute the desired outputs: volume, surface area, and floor area. This time, two parameters were flexed simultaneously for a total of 12 combinations. I chose to flex the size of the top relative to the base, called Top Scale, and the height at which the rotation begins and the profile changes to a circle, called Middle Height. However, theoretically, any of the inputs can be flexed by changing the code to rearrange inputs.
I chose a range of 0.25–0.75 for Top Scale and a range of 300–525 ft for Middle Height. With more parameters being changed than in Stage 1, I had an easier time staying within the desired square footage range while still creating very different-looking buildings. In general, the square footage increased with both Top Scale and Middle Height(less tapering overall if higher up in building).
Inputs
- numberOfPoints
- waveAmplitudeScale
- baseXRadius
- numberOfWaves
- baseYRadius
- middleRadius
- topHeight
- topRotation
- Top Scale
- Middle Height
Point to Ponder: The Middle Height had more of an impact on creating a desirable building form because it had a stronger influence on the square footage, as shown in the table, than how much the top of the building was scaled compared to the base. It also changed the form of the building significantly by controlling where the tower transitions from the flower-shaped base profile to the circular middle profile hence the tapering and the rotation starting point.