ARCH 653 BIM Projects

Jordan Pennington
ARCH 653 Project 2: BIM API Application
Design Intent

For Project 2, the goal was to create a BIM API application that could modify Project 1. Since a major element of Project 1, the Shipping and Transport College by Neutelings Riedijk Architecten, is the curtain panel systems it was decided that the design intent for this project should be to modify the appearance of the curtain panels. The curtain panels systems have a checkered pattern of gray and white metal panels. The API application for this project was created to alter the pattern of the gray and white panels, creating a random pattern instead of the checkered pattern. This would be a good application to use for this project, one would be able to see the final project with different patterns of gray and white that could be used instead.

Existing curtain panel checkered pattern on Project 1

Getting Started

To begin this project, the curtain panel template from the sample API applications was used, specifically the template for curtain panel by pattern. In order to implement the design intent, the lines of the code that included the Thickness parameter were deleted. Then, the ID number of the mass project was changed to correspond to the mass project of Project 1 (obtained from the project file of Project 1). Next, the ID numbers of all instances of the individual curtain panels was included in the code (these IDs were obtained from the project mass file of Project 1).

ID of project mass

IDs of curtain panels

Finishing the Code

Now that the API code has the IDs that properly correspond to the elements of Project 1, the action of the code needed to be altered to implement the design intent. The last few lines of the code in the sample project generate a random pattern of colors that are also randomized. The last few lines of code were altered so that the project would generate random patterns of only two different colors, the same gray and white that are part of Project 1.

Code written to create random colors

Code written to create only white (0) or gray (100)

Errors and Attempts to Fix

After making all the changes to the code so that it could be applied to Project 1 the code was able to build successfully without errors. However, when the .dll file was loaded into the Project 1 Revit file, it would not run. There was a problem with the parameters that were listed in the code, the name of the parameter that was being changed, “Material”, was not found in Project 1. To fix this, I went back to Project 1 and opened the project mass in the Edit Family option. Then the two different curtain panel families were each opened with the Edit Family option. In the curtain panels’ family files the parameter “Material” was added and applied to the portion of the panels that are the gray and white colored segments. The panels were reloaded into the project mass, where the Material parameter of the two panel systems could be manually changed, and the project mass was then reloaded into the Project 1 project file.

Error window when trying to run the .dll command file in Revit project

Select project mass in project file

Select curtain panel families in project mass file

Editing curtain panel families

Addition and application of parameter “Material" to gray and white portions of curtain panel

“Material” parameter is editable in the project mass file

“Material” parameter is editable in project file

Result: still has error when running

I thought that this would resolve the problem, but when the .dll file was ran again the same error window appeared. After checking and double-checking the different files that make up Project 1 and trying a few other things, I currently have not resolved the issue.

Add-In window with .dll file available

Same error appears

Jordan Pennington

ARCH 653 Project 1: Shipping and Transport College, Neutelings Riedijk Architecten

Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 2005

Model Description

The mass model was made in Revit using the “Create Form” function in a conceptual mass template. The form is made of three different solid forms and one void form. Together, these make the rectangular base, the tower, and a protruding volume at the top of the tower. After creating the different forms, I edited individual faces of the forms by moving their edges and points to create the different angular faces of the building. Dimension parameters keep the geometry of the different solids working together if the mass of the model changes.

Parametric Building Envelope

Next, the parametric building envelope was created by altering the “Rectangle Surface” curtain panel family. A system of gray and white corrugated metal panels create a checkered pattern with strips of glazing in between. To create this system, the original rectangular panel was edited to the proper dimensions and then divided into 8 individual panels (4 metal rectangles and 4 glazing rectangles). A surface form was then created for each of these individual panels (after setting a rectangular sweep was created along the edge of these boundaries). This allowed each of the individual panels to have a material parameter (gray metal, white metal, glass) that could be defined once loaded into the project.

Parametric Building Envelope, Panel 2

A second, similar panel system was created in the same way for the surfaces of the building that have the same gray and white checkered pattern, but do not have glazing.

The surfaces of the conceptual mass were divided with vertical and horizontal grids that were set by distances that corresponded to the dimensions of the parametric panel. The two curtain panel systems were then loaded into the proper surfaces of the conceptual mass model. Once the panels were loaded to create a custom curtain panel system, there were some issues with the original location of the systems. Some needed to be offset vertically or horizontally. Surfaces of the mass that had edges at angles other than 90˚ required the curtain panel system to be rotated.

Once the massing model was loaded into the project file, the different materials could be assigned to the new material parameters of the curtain panel systems.

Finishing the Massing

Once the conceptual mass was loaded into the project file, floors, roofs, and walls were massed by face. Other exterior details were added such as curtain walls and a site, which is located on a dock along the coast of the North Sea.

Sample Floor Plan

The floor plan and reflected ceiling plan of level 9 were modeled to illustrate how the majority of the building, the tower, is used. It consists mainly of classrooms and offices and features a series of escalators at the core of the tower.