part 1
Creating Forms with Revit Conceptual Masses
For this assignment, I explored parametric tower design using Revit conceptual mass families and Dynamo. The goal was to test how changes in geometric input parameters affect building performance metrics such as gross floor area, gross surface area, and gross volume.
For the first part of the assignment, I used one of the provided conceptual mass families from the shared library, a twisting rectangular tower mass. Using Dynamo, I connected the tower geometry to a parameter slider and flexed the Twist parameter while maintaining the overall tower dimensions. This allowed me to quickly generate multiple design variations and evaluate how the building geometry changed dynamically as the tower rotation increased.
The conceptual mass was divided into mass floors using Revit levels, which allowed Revit to automatically calculate the evaluation metrics. Dynamo was then used to read and report the values for:
- Gross Floor Area
- Gross Surface Area
- Gross Volume
part 1.2
Original Conceptual Mass Form
For the second part of the assignment, I created my own original conceptual mass form using the provided twisting tower template as a starting point. I modified the tower profiles to create a more asymmetrical and dynamically tapered form with a warped exterior surface. By adjusting the upper profile geometry, the tower developed a more dramatic leaning and twisting appearance compared to the original example tower.
After loading the new conceptual mass into the project environment, I reused the Dynamo workflow from Part 1 to flex and test the new tower geometry. The building form was evaluated by adjusting parameters such as Top Width and rotational values while monitoring the resulting building performance metrics.
Point to Ponder
What’s the advantage of exporting the values to Excel?
Exporting the values to Excel provides a much more efficient way to organize and compare multiple design alternatives. It also makes it easier to analyze trends between parameter changes and resulting building metrics without constantly reopening the Revit or Dynamo models. Additionally, Excel allows the data to be shared more easily with other team members who may not have direct access to the modeling software.