VAULT-BUILD: A Parametric Underground Cistern Configurator
Intended users
The intended users are architects, civil designers, structural designers, BIM modelers, and sustainability-focused project teams who need to test below-grade rainwater or stormwater storage options during early design. The tool is especially useful when teams are still adjusting storage capacity, vault dimensions, access locations, and pipe elevations before committing to a detailed civil or structural design.
Need you’re trying to provide a solution or support for
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Underground cisterns and concrete vaults are often modeled manually, even though their basic geometry follows repeatable rules. Designers frequently need to test whether a proposed below-grade box can provide enough usable storage volume while fitting within site, depth, access, and utility constraints. Small changes to length, width, depth, wall thickness, slab thickness, or pipe invert elevation can affect storage capacity, excavation quantity, concrete volume, and coordination with adjacent systems. This tool supports early decision-making by allowing users to quickly configure a rectangular underground cistern, visualize the resulting Revit geometry, and check whether the proposed dimensions meet basic storage and constructability requirements.
Inputs
The main design variables will include the cistern’s internal length, internal width, internal height, wall thickness, base slab thickness, top slab thickness, access opening size, access opening location, inlet pipe diameter, outlet pipe diameter, inlet invert elevation, outlet invert elevation, and target storage volume. The setup constants will include the selected insertion point, top/rim elevation, minimum wall thickness, minimum slab thickness, minimum access opening clearance from edges, minimum pipe clearance from slab and wall edges, and freeboard allowance.
Underlying logic of the model you’ll implement
The tool uses internal dimensions and thickness inputs to calculate outside dimensions and generate a parametric concrete box consisting of a base slab, walls, and top slab. The assembly is placed relative to a selected point and elevation in Revit. Usable storage volume is calculated using internal dimensions and freeboard, then compared to the target volume. Basic clearance checks validate pipe and access locations, with warnings issued for invalid configurations.
Outputs
The primary output is a Revit/Dynamo model of a rectangular underground cistern with slabs, walls, and inlet, outlet, and access markers. Additional outputs include usable storage volume, concrete volume, excavation volume, overall dimensions, depth, and validation warnings. The final deliverable will be a Dynamo/Revit 2026 tool that allows users to generate and modify preliminary cistern designs through named inputs without needing to understand the underlying graph.