USING FUNCTION AND GRAPHICS TYPE PROPERTIES

You can assign basic parameters to the type properties of a wall such as Type Mark, Assembly Code, Type Comments, Fire Rating, Cost, and so on. In addition to these parameters, there are two other type properties that are important to understand: Function and Coarse Scale Fill Pattern. The Function type property of walls is a simple list of values, but it can be used in very powerful ways. A wall’s function can be used to filter schedules or views—for example, if you wanted to hide interior walls for a series of drawings showing only core and shell (exterior) elements. The Function property also affects the default placement behavior when you create new walls. The behaviors associated with each function are as follows:

• Interior—Default height for new walls is set to the level above the active level.
• Exterior—Default height is Unconnected: 20'-0" (8 m).
• Foundation—Default height is determined as Depth, specified down from the active level.
• Retaining—Default height is Unconnected: 6'-0" (2 m).
• Soffit—Default height is Unconnected: 1'-0" (250 mm).
• Core-shaft—Default height is Unconnected: 20'-0" (8 m).

You can also use the Function type property when you export to CAD formats. You can export walls of different functions to specific layers assigned in the Modify DWG/DXF Export Setup dialog box, shown in Figure 12.2. Refer to Chapter 7, “Interoperability: Working Multiplatform,” for more information on exporting.

The Coarse Scale Fill Pattern type property (along with Coarse Scale Fill Color) defines a fill pattern to be applied to the wall type when a view’s Detail Level is set to Coarse. These settings are an important tool to help you communicate your designs more effectively. For example, you might want to set all the fire-rated wall types to display with a red solid fill for coarse views. Using these type properties for walls is a slightly different approach than you might use for design plans in which you want all wall types to display with a black solid fill. For the design plan approach, you can override the fill pattern for the Walls category in the Visibility/Graphic Overrides dialog box for a view or a view template.

When the Detail Level property of a view is set to Medium or Fine, the individual layers of a wall type’s structure are visible—including any fill patterns that are assigned to the materials in the wall structure (you’ll learn more about wall structure in the next section of this chapter). When Detail Level is set to Coarse, the wall type is displayed only with the pattern defined in the Coarse Scale Fill Pattern parameter—if one is defined. This property is best explored with the generic masonry wall types in the default project templates.

Create a new project with any Autodesk default project template, and then place a wall segment using the type Generic - 8" Masonry (Generic - 225 mm Masonry) in a plan view that is set to Coarse. You will see that a fill pattern is displayed. What you are seeing is the fill pattern that is assigned to the Coarse Scale Fill Pattern type property of the wall—not the pattern that is assigned to the material within the wall structure. Select the generic wall segment you just created, and in the Properties palette click Edit Type. Change the Coarse Scale Fill Pattern to No Pattern, and then click OK to close all open dialog boxes. No fill pattern will appear for this wall type in a coarse view. From the view control bar, set the Detail Level to Medium, and you will then see the fill pattern as it is defined in the material within the wall structure.

    EDITING WALL STRUCTURES

We will first discuss editing a wall type’s structure. To access these settings, click the Edit button in the Structure parameter field. This will open the Edit Assembly dialog box, shown in Figure 12.3. From here you can add or delete wall layers, define their materials, move layers in and out of the core boundaries, and assign functions to each layer. You can also add sweeps and reveals or modify the vertical constraints of the layers.

This dialog box is divided into four zones: the Preview window, the Layers table, the Default Wrapping option, and the Modify Vertical Structure options (which are active only when the preview is set to section display). The area above the Layers zone holds basic reporting about the wall type: its family name, sample height in the Preview window, and thickness and thermal properties.

Preview Window  On the left side of the dialog box, you will see a graphic preview of the wall structure in plan or section. If you didn’t activate it in the Type Properties dialog box, click the Preview button at the bottom of the dialog box. To switch from the default plan view to the section view or vice versa, click the drop-down list next to View to choose an alternate viewing option. In the preview, the core boundaries of the wall are shown with green lines. Note that in the section preview, each wall layer is highlighted in blue when you select a row in the Layers table. Also note that you can change the height of the wall shown in the section preview by modifying the Sample Height value in the upper-right part of the dialog box. You can use any mouse-based navigation method to adjust the preview as well as activate the SteeringWheels^® feature by clicking the button at the bottom left of the dialog box.

Layers Table  The Layers table is where you add, delete, move, and define layers of the wall structure. Each wall layer is represented as a separate row of information. Two of the rows are gray, representing the core boundaries of the wall, which will be discussed in greater detail later in this chapter in the section “Creating a Wall Core.” The table is divided into five columns (Function, Material, Thickness, Wraps, and Structural Material):

Function  This column provides six choices for wall layer functions that relate to the purpose of the material in the assembly. Each of these functions defines a priority that determines how it joins with other walls, floors, and roofs. Note that the numeric priority is more important to understand than the name of the function itself.

• Structure [1] defines the structural components of the wall that should support the rest of the wall layers. This function gives the highest priority to a wall layer and allows it to join with other structural layers by cutting through lower-priority layers.
• Substrate [2] defines continuous board materials such as plywood, particle, and gypsum board.
• Thermal/Air [3] defines the wall’s thermal insulation layer and/or an air gap.
• The Membrane Layer is a zero-thickness material that usually represents vapor prevention.
• Finish 1 [4] specifies a finish layer to use if you have only one layer of finish.
• Finish 2 [5] specifies a secondary, weaker finish layer.

With the exception of the Membrane Layer, which has no priority assigned, all the other layers have a priority value from 1 to 5. These priorities determine how to clean up the intersections between various layers when two or more walls are joined. The principle is simply explained: Priority 1 is the highest and 5 is the lowest. A layer that has a priority of 1 will cut through any other layer with a lower priority (2, 3, 4, or 5). A layer with priority 2 will cut through layers with priority 3, 4, or 5, and so on. In Figure 12.4, layers with the same priority clean up when the two intersecting walls are joined. Notice the way the finish layers don’t join on the right side of the vertical wall, because one has a priority 4 and the other is priority 5.

Material  Associating a material to a wall layer provides graphic (color, cut/surface patterns, and render appearance), identifiable (mark, keynote, description, and so on), and physical characteristics (for analysis purposes) for each wall layer. Using material takeoffs, you can calculate quantities of individual materials used in wall assemblies throughout your project. Keynoting and material tagging functionality are also supported through wall layers and are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 18, “Annotating Your Design.”

A material definition also affects cleanup between layers of joined walls. If the priority of the layers is the same and the material is the same, the software cleans up the join between these two layers. If the priority of the layers is the same, but the materials are different, the two layers are separated graphically with a thin line. In Figure 12.5 the structure layer of one of the joined walls was simply changed from Metal - Stud Layer to Metal - Stud Layer 2.

Thickness  This value represents the actual thickness of the material. Note that the membrane layer is the only layer that can have a thickness of zero.

Wraps  Wall layers rarely end with exposed edges at wall ends or wall openings, windows, or doors. This option allows a layer to wrap around other layers when an opening or wall end is encountered. Figure 12.6 illustrates the layer wrapping of the outer wall layer based on the closure plane defined in the window family. Layer wrapping will be covered in greater detail later in this chapter.

Structural Material  This value represents whether the material within the wall assembly is load bearing or structurally significant in any way. In the example shown earlier in Figure 12.3, you can see that the Structure [1] functional material, Concrete Masonry Units, was given a check mark by default.

Default Wrapping  Although you can specify whether each wall layer will wrap in the Layers table, you must also specify whether these options are activated at all in the wall type. To use this option, you must decide whether the wrapping should occur at openings, wall ends, or both. For inserts, you can choose Do Not Wrap, Exterior, Interior, or Both. Similarly, for wall ends the options are None, Exterior, and Interior. The default wrapping parameters appear in both the Edit Assembly dialog box and the wall’s Type Properties dialog box. Refer to the “Creating Layer Wrapping” section in this chapter for more detailed information about wrapping.

Modify Vertical Structure  These settings are available only when you enable the section view in the Preview window. In this area of the Edit Assembly dialog box, you can add articulation to the wall type using any combination of cornices, reveals, trims, and panels. We will discuss these in the section “Adding Wall Articulation” later in this chapter.

In summary, editing a wall type’s structure begins with adding or deleting wall layers. Each layer is assigned a priority, material, thickness, and wrapping option. To move layers up and down in the table or to add and remove layers, use the buttons at the bottom of the Layers table. Next, we will cover some more complex aspects of wall structure in greater detail: wall cores and layer wrapping.

CREATING A WALL CORE

One of the unique functions of a basic wall is its ability to identify a core. The wall core is more than a layer of material; in fact, it can comprise several material layers. It defines the structural part of the wall and influences the behavior of the wall and how it interacts with other elements in the model. The core boundaries are references to which you can dimension or constrain sketch lines when you use the Pick Walls selection option for floors, ceilings, or roofs.

The example shown in Figure 12.7 illustrates a sample floor in Sketch mode where the outer core boundary of the wall was selected using the Pick Walls method. The core boundaries of the wall are shown as dashed lines for clarity.

When floors generated with the Pick Walls method intersect the walls that were picked during Sketch mode, you will receive a prompt to automatically join the geometry and cut the overlapping volume out of the wall.

If you click Yes to this message and examine the intersection of the wall and floor in a section view, you will see the result of the joined elements (Figure 12.8). Note that you can get the joining prompt to appear again simply by selecting the floor, clicking the Edit Boundary button in the ribbon, and then clicking Finish Edit Mode (green check mark icon). If any portion of the selected floor and related walls still overlap but are not joined, the prompt will be displayed.

CREATING LAYER WRAPPING

To create a layer-wrapping solution for openings that reflect real-world conditions, you must define two settings. First, select the layer(s) of the wall structure you want to wrap and check the boxes in the Wraps column of the Edit Assembly dialog box. You must then specify the default wrapping behavior for the wall type. These default settings can be set in either the Edit Assembly or Type Parameters dialog box, as shown in Figure 12.9.

Specifying the layer wrap settings in the wall type alone may not be sufficient to generate the graphic results you desire. Another set of rules established in hosted families allows you to further customize how layers in a wall will wrap to inserted objects. The following exercise will illustrate this functionality.

Begin by opening the file c12-Wall-Wrapping.rvt or c12-Wall-Wrapping-Metric.rvt from this book’s web page, www.sybex.com/go/masteringrevitarch2016. Activate the Level 1 floor plan, and you should see a wall with an inserted window.

Next, follow these steps to create the wall wrap:

1. Select the wall, open the Properties palette, and click Edit Type.

   Notice that Wrapping At Inserts is set to Do Not Wrap and Wrapping At Ends is set to None.

2. Click OK to close the Type Parameters dialog box.
3. Select the inserted window and click Edit Family on the Modify | Windows tab in the ribbon.

4. When the Window family opens, go to the Project Browser and activate the floor plan named Floor Line.

   You will notice that this window family has been slightly modified from the original Fixed window family in the Revit default library. Two reference planes have been added that allow the depth of the window frame and the wall wrapping to be customized.

5. Select the reference plane that is parallel to the window and just below the window panel. Its name should be displayed at the right end of the plane as Closure. In the Properties palette find the parameter named Wall Closure and make sure the option is checked, as shown in Figure 12.10.

6. Create a dimension between the exterior face of the sample wall and the Wall Closure reference plane.

   You may need to use the Tab key to ensure that you have selected the wall reference and not the centerline of the wall or any other extraneous reference plane.

7. Press the Esc key or click the Modify button to exit the dimension command, and select the dimension you just created.
8. On the Options bar, find the Label drop-down list and choose <Add Parameter…>.
9. In the Parameter Properties dialog box, type Exterior Wall Closure in the Name field and click OK to close the dialog box.
10. Click Load Into Project from the Family Editor panel in the ribbon. You may be prompted to select a project or family if you have more than the two sample files open. When prompted with the Family Already Exists dialog box, select Overwrite The Existing Version.
11. In the Level 1 floor plan of the example project, select the wall and click Edit Type from the Properties palette. From the Structure parameter, click Edit.
12. In the Edit Assembly dialog box, find row 1, which will have a function of Finish 1 [4], and the material Masonry - Brick. Make sure the Wraps option is checked.

13. Set the Wrapping At Inserts option to Exterior, and click OK to close both dialog boxes.

    You should now see the masonry layer wrapping into the opening in the wall created by the inserted window. You can now customize the depth at which the brick will wrap.

14. Select the window and click Edit Type from the Properties palette. Find the Exterior Wall Closure parameter and change the value to 0'-6 5/8" (170 mm).
15. Click OK to close the Type Properties dialog box. Notice how the depth of the wrapped masonry layer changes in the plan view.

ASSIGNING TWO DIFFERENT MATERIALS ON THE FINISH FACE OF A WALL

We will begin our series of exercises by creating a new wall type based on an existing layered wall structure. Activate the Level 1 floor plan, select the two wall segments in the exercise file, and then click Edit Type in the Properties palette. In the Type Properties dialog box, click the Duplicate button and create a new wall type named Mastering - Wall Exercise.

Now let’s assume that you need to create a partial region of the finish face where the material is different but is of the same thickness. For example, you might want to use a split-face concrete block at the base of the wall instead of brick:

1. Activate the default 3D view and select one segment of wall in the view. From the Properties palette, click Edit Type, and in the Type Properties dialog box, click the Edit button in the Structure field to open the Edit Assembly dialog box.

   Make sure the Preview pane is open and the view is set to Section.

2. In the upper right of the Edit Assembly dialog box, change the Sample Height value to 6'-0" (2000 mm).

   Use either the SteeringWheels button at the lower left of the dialog box or your mouse wheel to zoom into the shorter segment of wall in the Preview pane.

3. Click the Split Region button under Modify Vertical Structure, and move your mouse pointer along the inside face of the brick layer to a point 4'-0" (1,200 mm) above the bottom of the sample, as shown in Figure 12.13.

   When you split the layer, the thickness value of the layer indicates it is variable.

4. Select row 2 in the Layers list, and then click the Insert button to add another row immediately below the first exterior layer. Change its function to Finish 1 and its material to Concrete Masonry Units. To open the Material Browser, select the material assignment under the Material column. Using the Graphics tab, set the cut pattern to Masonry – Concrete Block. Then click OK to close the Material Browser dialog box.

5. Click the Assign Layers button, select the new row you created in the previous step, and then click inside the lower portion of the split region in the section preview.

   When the layer is properly assigned to the split region, you will see the fill pattern change to diagonal crosshatch.

6. Click OK to close all open dialog boxes and save your project for additional exercises in this chapter.

After you assign a material row to a split layer, you’ll notice that the thickness values of the two layers are linked but you can’t change them in the table. To change the thickness of a split wall layer, click the Modify button and select one of the faces in the section preview. Edit the temporary dimensions in the section preview to change the thickness of the layer.

You may also notice that once a layer is split and an additional layer is assigned to the split portion, the resulting portions can only be the same thickness. In the previous exercise, you split a brick masonry layer to create a region of concrete masonry units (CMU). Although this may achieve the desired graphic result in an elevation view, does it accurately represent the construction of the wall if the CMU is intended to be thicker than the brick masonry? To create a similar result with a vertical layer of varying thickness, you will need to create a stacked wall. We will discuss this later in the section “Creating Stacked Walls.”

If you encounter a situation where you need to merge horizontal or vertical layers that already exist in a wall type, use the Merge Regions button and select a line in the section preview between two layers. Once the mouse pointer is over a line between two layers, an arrow indicating which layer will override the other appears, as shown in Figure 12.14.

ADDING SWEEPS AND REVEALS

Many walls have horizontal articulations that are either attached to or embedded in the wall assembly. Cornices, soldier courses, and reveals are examples of elements that can be incorporated into wall types. To begin adding these, we will continue our previous exercise of creating a new wall type named Mastering - Wall Exercise. In the following exercise, you will add a bullnose sweep to the wall:

1. Return to the wall’s type properties and open the Edit Assembly dialog box.
2. Click the Sweeps button to open the Wall Sweeps dialog box. Click the Load Profile button and open the file c12-Profile-Bullnose.rfa or c12-Profile-Bullnose-Metric.rfa, which can be downloaded from this book’s companion web page.
3. Click the Add button to insert a sweep row. Change the values in the row as follows:
   • Profile: c12-Profile-Bullnose: Type 1
   • Material: Concrete, Precast
   • Distance: 4'-0" (1,200 mm)
   • From: Base
   • Side: Exterior
   • Cuts Wall: Checked
   • Cuttable: Checked

4. Click Apply and you should see the sweep appear just above the split region, as shown in Figure 12.15.

   Notice that the loaded profile was created for predictable results when placed in a wall assembly. For your own wall, you may need to adjust the offset, flip, and setback values to achieve the desired results. Next, you’ll add a different profile to the same assembly.

5. Click OK to close the Wall Sweeps dialog box. In the Edit Assembly dialog box, change the Sample Height value to 12'-0" (3650 mm) so that the next sweep addition won’t conflict with the one you just added. Adjust the section view as required to see the whole wall.

6. Click Sweeps to reopen the Wall Sweeps dialog box. Click Load Profile again and navigate to the default library. From the Profiles folder select the Walls folder, and select either Cornice-Precast.rfa or M_Cornice-Precast.rfa.

   If you cannot locate these files in your default library, you can download them from this book’s web page.

7. Click Add to create another new row and change the values in the row as follows:
   • Profile: Cornice-Precast or M_Cornice-Precast (Metric)
   • Material: Concrete, Precast
   • Distance: 0'-0"
   • From: Top
   • Side: Exterior
   • Offset: –0'-3 5/8" (–90 mm)
   • Cuts Wall: Unchecked

8. Notice that the order of the rows is automatically adjusted, based on the vertical relationship of the sweeps added to the wall. Click OK to close the Wall Sweeps dialog box.

   A negative value for Offset was specified to bring the cornice sweep into the exterior finish layer. Vertical adjustments can be made by assigning positive or negative values in the Distance column.

9. Click OK to close all open dialog boxes, and save the project file for additional exercises in this chapter.

The process to create reveals is almost identical to that used to create sweeps. Simply click the Reveals button to open the Reveals dialog box. Experiment with adding your own reveals to the wall type you’re creating throughout this chapter’s exercises. We’ve added two reveals to the wall assembly (Figure 12.16) using the default Reveal-Brick Course profile family.

In the default 3D view, switch to the Modify tab in the ribbon, and in the Clipboard panel, choose the Match Type Properties tool. Click the Mastering - Wall Exercise wall segment. The mouse pointer will change to a filled paintbrush, indicating that an existing type is ready to be applied to another object. Select the other wall segment to apply the Mastering - Wall Exercise type. When the types of the two wall segments in the exercise file are matched, you’ll see how nicely the sweeps wrap around corners in a 3D or camera view, as shown in Figure 12.17.

MODIFYING WALL SWEEP RETURNS

In the previous exercises, you learned how to include sweeps and reveals in the assembly of a wall type; however, you can also apply a sweep to a wall if it’s needed only in a limited location. For example, you might need to create a chair rail molding in one special room. To accomplish this, go to the Architecture tab in the ribbon and click Wall and then Wall Sweep. You can place a sweep on a wall vertically or horizontally by changing the placement option in the ribbon while the Wall Sweep tool is active. Select a wall sweep type from the Properties palette, and pick the wall faces to which you’d like to apply the sweep. If necessary, the sweep can be adjusted vertically in an elevation or section view.

We have created a sample chair rail sweep on the interior face of the walls in the c12-Wall-Articulation.rvt exercise file. In the default 3D view, orbit the model to view the interior faces. Let’s take a look at how to customize the returns of a wall sweep:

1. Select the sweep and it will display grips at each end. Zoom the view closer to the end of the sweep that is aligned with the end of the wall segment.

2. Click the Modify Returns button in the contextual tab of the ribbon.

   There are some additional settings in the Options bar.

   

   You can change the angle of the return or return it to a straight cut, but for now leave the options as Return and Angle = 90°.

3. You’ll notice that the mouse pointer changes to a knife symbol. Click the end of the sweep and then press Esc or use the Modify tool to exit the command.

4. Select the sweep again, and drag the grip at the endpoint you just modified to adjust the length of the sweep return around the corner of the wall.

   Figure 12.18 shows how the return can be wrapped around the edge of a wall.

EXTENDING WALL LAYERS

In many types of construction, you’ll need layers of materials to extend within or beyond the constraints of the wall. Some common examples include the extension of sheathing and siding on an exterior wall or gypsum wallboard extending only slightly above the ceiling for interior partitions (Figure 12.19).

Enabling the extension of layers within a wall assembly requires you to unlock specific edges in the section preview of the Edit Assembly dialog box. Once layers have been unlocked, an instance parameter of the wall becomes active: either Base Extension Distance or Top Extension Distance (depending on which edges you unlocked). You can enter this value directly in the Properties palette or adjust it graphically in a section view by dragging the small blue triangle control at the edge of the unlocked layer. Let’s go through an exercise to explore this functionality:

1. From the Architecture tab of the ribbon, click the Wall tool and from the Type Selector choose either the Generic - 5" or Generic - 200 mm type. Click Edit Type to open the Type Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Duplicate button, and name the new type Exterior Siding.
3. Click Edit in the Structure field to open the Edit Assembly dialog box.
4. Add a new layer to the exterior of the wall, set its function to Finish (4), use the material Siding, Clapboard, and assign a thickness of 3/4" (18 mm).
5. Open the Preview pane and switch to section view. Zoom into the bottom of the wall.

6. Select the Modify button and click the bottom edge of the exterior siding layer. Click the padlock icon to unlock the layer (Figure 12.20).

   You can unlock as many layers as you like; however, the unlocked layers all need to be adjacent. For example, you cannot unlock wallboard layers on both sides of a framing layer.

7. The siding layer is now unlocked. Click OK to close all open dialog boxes. With the Wall tool still active, create a segment of wall in the project using the Exterior Siding type. Press Esc or click the Modify button, and then select the segment of wall you just created. In the Properties palette, you’ll see that the Base Extension Distance parameter is now enabled. Change the value to –10" (–250 mm) for this parameter and observe the wall in the default 3D view.

   You’ll see that the siding layer is now extending 10" (250 mm) below the base of the wall, as shown in Figure 12.21.

8. Create a section view that intersects this wall segment, and then set the Detail Level in the section view to Medium or Fine. Select the wall, and you will see grips at the base of the wall indicating the layers that can be modified (Figure 12.22).

You can drag the controls to the required offset or use the Align tool to set the unlocked edge to another reference object. If you use the Tab key to select just the edge, you can use the Move tool to set a precise distance as well.

There are also controls for layers that are locked. Editing the wall with a control of a locked layer changes the Base Offset or Top Offset value and will automatically adjust any Base Extension or Top Extension distances you previously established.

EDITING WALL JOINS

In another common design and construction scenario, you may need to specifically control how two or more walls behave when they intersect. There are a number of ways to customize these occurrences. Let’s examine two scenarios where wall joins may need to be edited: phasing conditions and acute angled corners.

When you create a model for a renovation of an existing building, you will likely create elements that are existing, demolished, and new. In the example shown in Figure 12.23, a new wall and a wall to be demolished are intersecting an existing wall. Notice that the walls are cleaning up with each other as they normally would if they were all in the same phase.

If you would like to change the graphic behavior of the new and demolished walls when they intersect the existing wall, follow these steps:

1. Select the new or demolished wall. Right-click the grip control at the end of the wall you’d like to modify and select Disallow Join.

   This will cause the walls to overlap, as shown in Figure 12.24.

2. To complete the operation, you can use the Trim/Extend Single Element or Trim/Extend Multiple Elements tool, or simply drag the endpoints of the walls to create the most appropriate intersecting condition (Figure 12.25).

    For walls that meet at an acute angle, you can use the Edit Wall Joins tool to control the resolution of the intersection:

1. From the Modify tab in the ribbon, locate the Geometry panel and select the Wall Joins tool.

2. Hover your mouse pointer over an intersection of two walls at an acute angle.

   You will see a box appear around conditions that can be modified with this tool (Figure 12.26).

3. In the Options bar, you will see a number of choices to help you customize the joining condition between the walls related to the selection.

   

4. To cycle through the available options, choose one of the joining types (Butt, Miter, or Square Off), and then click the Previous or Next button. Some options are shown in Figure 12.27.

    MODIFYING WALL PROFILES

An important extended modeling technique for walls is the ability to customize the elevation profile of a wall segment. There are two ways you can accomplish this: by attaching the wall’s top or base to another element or by editing the sketch profile of the wall. You can apply these methods to basic walls, stacked walls, and curtain walls.

To attach a wall to another element, select a wall segment and you will see the Attach Top/Base button in the contextual Modify tab. Once this command is activated, select either Top or Base, and then pick an object. Walls can be attached to roofs, ceilings, floors, reference planes, and even other walls. Figure 12.28 shows a stacked wall that has been attached to a curvilinear roof by extrusion.

When you use the attach method, be mindful of how the software treats walls that are attached to other objects. After you use this method, the instance parameters Top Is Attached and Base Is Attached will show the status of the selected wall’s attachment. These are read-only parameters and are for information only. Be aware that the top constraint and any other offset or height value will not display the actual height of the wall when it is attached to something. For example, if a wall whose base constraint is Level 1 and top constraint is Level 4 is attached to a floor slab on Level 2, the wall’s top constraint will still be listed as Level 4 in the Properties palette. This anomaly does not affect other calculations such as wall length, area, and volume.

The other method of modifying wall profiles is to edit the sketch profile of the wall. To do this, select a wall and click the Edit Profile button in the contextual Modify tab. This will open a Sketch mode in which you can draw a new boundary for any edge of the wall shape, as shown in Figure 12.29. Click Finish Edit Mode to complete the operation.

    REPLACING PANELS AND MULLIONS

Next, you’ll replace panels in the wall you just created. As we explained earlier, panels are subcomponents of the overall curtain wall, so you may need to press the Tab key to select a panel and view its properties. Special selection tools for curtain walls are available in the context menu when you highlight a mullion or a panel.

In the following exercise, you will replace the narrow band of glazing panels with solid panels:

1. In a 3D view, select one of the glazing panels in the narrow horizontal band (press the Tab key to select it if necessary).
2. Right-click and choose Select Panels ➢ Along Horizontal Grid, as shown in Figure 12.37.
3. With all the glazing panels selected along the horizontal grid, go to the Type Selector and find the type named Solid under the Family System panel (note that the Glazing panel type is in the same family as the Solid panel).

CUSTOMIZING CURTAIN GRID SEGMENTS

In the last part of this exercise, you will practice the techniques for adding or removing segments of curtain grids in order to refine your curtain wall design.

To become more familiar with this technique, you will add a curtain grid to the midpoint of the right-center panel and delete the division between the two panels to the left of the added grid, as shown in Figure 12.38.

Follow these steps:

1. Begin by activating the Curtain Grid tool from the Architecture tab. In the Placement panel at the right end of the ribbon, click the One Segment button. Hover your mouse pointer over the bottom edge of the right-center panel and snap to the midpoint of the panel (Figure 12.39).

2. The second step is tricky. You do not continue creating another division in the short panel above the center panel. Instead, press the Esc key or click the Modify tool to exit the Curtain Grid command. Select the vertical grid line you created in step 1 (you may need to press the Tab key until you see the dashed line indicating the curtain grid).

   Notice that the grid extends the entire height of the wall (Figure 12.40).

3. With the curtain grid selected, click the Add/Remove Segments button in the Modify | Curtain Grids panel of the Modify tab. Pick the segment of the curtain grid that passes through the short panel. Press the Esc key, and you should see that the short panel is also split in half.
4. Activate the Mullion tool and place mullions on the division between the two center panels, as shown in Figure 12.41.
5. Press the Esc key or click Modify. Select and delete the horizontal mullion between the two left panels (this step is optional).

6. Similar to the process of adding grid segments, select the horizontal curtain grid below the narrow band and click the Add/Remove Segments button in the ribbon. Click the segment in the left-center panel.

   If you did not delete the mullion in step 5, a warning will appear prompting you to delete the mullion segment. The result should look like the wall shown in Figure 12.42.

PLACING DOORS IN CURTAIN WALLS

In the next exercise of this topic, you will swap one of the curtain panels for a door panel. Door families for curtain walls can be found in the Doors folder of the Revit default library, but they behave differently than regular doors. The height and width of the curtain wall door are driven by the curtain grids—not the type properties of the door. Follow these steps:

1. From the Insert tab on the ribbon, locate the Load From Library panel and click the Load Family button. Navigate to the Doors folder of the Revit default library and load the Door-Curtain-Wall-Double-Glass.rfa or M_Door-Curtain-Wall-Double-Glass.rfa family.

   If you can’t find these default families, you can download them from this book’s web page.

2. Zoom into the bottom-middle panel in your curtain wall. Delete the mullion under this segment, as shown in Figure 12.43.

   (You don’t want to have a tripping hazard at your door!) Remember, you may have to press the Tab key to select the mullion.

3. Select the bottom-middle panel and go to the Type Selector. Find the door family you just loaded and select it from the list so the results look like the wall in Figure 12.44.

   The door swing can be adjusted in the plan as with any other door.

PLACING CORNER MULLIONS

Revit includes special mullions to be used at the corners of two curtain walls. These mullion types are unique in that only one is needed to connect two wall segments. In the default project template, you will find four corner mullion types, as shown in Figure 12.45: (a) V Corner Mullion, (b) Quad Corner Mullion, (c) L Corner Mullion, and (d) Trapezoid Corner Mullion.

Corner mullions cannot be customized beyond the shapes included in the Revit project template; however, you can modify the material assigned to the mullions as well as the offset and depth dimensions in the type properties. When you use corner mullions between two segments of curtain wall, they will automatically adjust to the angle between the segments, as shown in Figure 12.46.

Before you place a corner mullion, make sure the endpoints of the two curtain wall segments are cleanly connected. You can drag the endpoint controls of the walls or use the Trim/Extend To Corner tool. To place a corner mullion, simply use the Mullion tool and select one of the corner edges of either one of the wall segments. If you have already placed a regular mullion at the end of a curtain wall segment, select the mullions along the vertical edge, and then use the Type Selector to choose a corner mullion type. Remember that you can use the context menu (right-click and select Mullions ➢ On Gridline) to make the selection easy.

MODIFYING PINNED PANELS AND MULLIONS

You may have already noticed that when a panel or mullion is selected from a predefined curtain wall type, it appears with a pushpin icon. This indicates that this element is part of a system and cannot be changed without additional action.

To change or delete a predefined panel or mullion in a curtain wall instance, select the element and click the pushpin icon. The icon will change to a pushpin with a red X next to it. At this point, you can change the element using the Type Selector or delete it (only mullions can be deleted).

CREATING CUSTOM CURTAIN PANELS

A curtain panel does not have to be confined to a simple extrusion of glass or solid material. You can create any kind of panel family to satisfy your design requirements. When creating a new panel, be sure to select the Curtain Wall Panel.rft or Metric Curtain Wall Panel.rft family template file. The width and height of the panel are not explicitly specified in the family; instead, the outermost reference planes will adapt to the divisions in the curtain wall into which the panel is embedded. If required, you can adjust the panel geometry to offset within or beyond the reference plane boundaries in the family. This is useful for creating butt-glazed curtain wall assemblies. The following feature contains examples of situations where you might want to consider custom curtain wall panels.

BUILDING A PATTERN-BASED PANEL FAMILY

In the following exercise, you will build a simple rectangular panel and apply it to your divided surface:

1. Click the Application menu, choose New ➢ Family, and select the Curtain Panel Pattern Based.rft or Metric Curtain Panel Pattern Based.rft family template.

   Figure 12.58 shows the pattern-based curtain wall family template, which consists of a grid, a series of reference lines, and adaptive points. The grid is used to lay out the pattern of the panel. The adaptive points and reference lines act as a rig, defining the layout of the panel. You can construct solid and planar geometry within and around the reference lines to form the panel.

   When a panel is applied to a divided surface, the points in the panel adapt to the UV grid and the panel will then flex accordingly. As a general rule, the grid pattern in your curtain panel family should match the pattern on the divided surface to which it is applied. For example, if you have applied a hexagonal pattern to your divided surface, make sure the curtain panel family is also using a hexagonal pattern.

2. You now need to decide what pattern you will use for the component. To change the pattern, select the grid, go to the Type Selector, and change the pattern to Rhomboid. Notice how the adaptive points and reference lines update to reflect the change. Review the various patterns that are available to you. Revert to the Rectangular pattern.

   Modeling a pattern-based curtain panel is similar to how you would sketch and construct a form within the conceptual design environment. You use points, lines, and reference lines to construct geometry.

3. Select one of the adaptive points and drag it. These points move only vertically, not horizontally.

   As you move the point, the reference lines attached to the point will alter the shape. Therefore, as you build geometry on the defined reference lines and an adaptive point is moved or adjusted, the reference lines are altered and the geometry constructed along the reference lines updates to reflect the change.

4. To reset the adaptive points back to the grid, select the grid and you will notice a Reset Points To Grid button in the Options bar. Click the button to reset the points.
5. Select the four reference lines and click the Create Form ➢ Solid Form button in the ribbon. Two icons now appear in the middle of the model view (Figure 12.59), giving you the option to create an extruded form or a flat planar surface. Select the icon for the planar surface.
6. Next, you will flex the geometry to test its consistency. Select one of the adaptive points and move it vertically. Observe how the geometry flexes, as shown in Figure 12.60, and then reset the points to grid.

7. Switch to the Architecture tab in the ribbon, and from the Draw panel, select the Point Element tool. Place a point on one of the reference planes, as shown in Figure 12.61. This point becomes a hosted point; observe how its symbol is smaller than the symbol for the adaptive points. Select the point, and from the Properties palette change the value of the Show Reference Planes parameter to Always.

   This will make it easier to build geometry using the hosted point in later steps.

8. From the Architecture tab and the Work Plane panel, click the Set button (Set Work Plane tool) and pick the work plane of the hosted point.

9. Draw a circle with a radius of 6" (150 mm) on the work plane of the hosted point, as shown in Figure 12.62.

   It can be a little tricky drawing the circle onto the active work plane of the hosted point. Therefore, use the Show Work Plane tool to display the active work plane for the point. This will make the process of sketching the circle easier.

10. Select the circle and the four default reference planes, and then choose Create Form ➢ Solid Form.

    This will sweep the circle profile along the four reference planes, as shown in Figure 12.63.

    When building your curtain panels, consider how you will assign geometry to appropriate subcategories. This will ensure that you have full control over the elements from a visual and graphical point of view. For details on assigning geometry to subcategories, refer to Chapter 15, “Creating Stairs and Railings.”

11. Save the family as Square-CWPanel.rfa.

APPLYING COMPONENTS TO A DIVIDED SURFACE

Now that you have created a pattern-based curtain panel family, you’ll need to load this family into your conceptual mass family and apply it to the divided surface, replacing the graphical pattern with the actual component.

1. Download and open the file c12-Square-CWSystem.rfa from this book’s web page.
2. Load the family file Square-CWPanel.rfa you created in the previous exercise into this file by clicking Load Family on the Insert tab of the ribbon, or switch to that file and click the Load Into Projects button.

3. In the conceptual mass file, select the pattern and divided surface. In the Properties palette, click the Type Selector, and scroll down the list until you find the name of your pattern-based curtain panel family.

   Your new panel family will be listed under the pattern within which it was designed. The component will now be applied to the patterned surface, as shown in Figure 12.64. Note that the more complex the surface and component, the longer it will take to load.

CREATING A PYRAMID CURTAIN WALL PATTERN-BASED FAMILY

Now that you have mastered the technique of constructing a simple planar curtain panel, let’s look at how to create a pyramid type panel. You will add a type parameter to your pyramid curtain panel so that you can vary the apex of the panel:

1. Start a new family using the Curtain Panel Pattern Based.rft or Metric Curtain Panel Pattern Based.rft family template.
2. Place a reference point, ensuring that it snaps to the middle of one of the reference lines included within the template. Place another reference point on the reference line opposite the one you previously placed, as shown in Figure 12.65.
3. From the Architecture tab in the ribbon, click the Reference tool and ensure that 3D Snapping is activated in the Options bar. Draw a reference line between the two newly placed hosted reference points, as shown in Figure 12.66.
4. Place another reference point, so that it becomes hosted, at the midpoint of the previously created reference line (Figure 12.67). Select this reference point, and from the Properties palette, make sure that Show Reference Planes is set to Always.

5. From the Architecture tab, choose the Set Work Plane tool and select the work plane of the hosted point at the middle of the previously drawn line. Activate the Reference Line tool and uncheck the 3D Snapping option. Draw a reference line vertically in the Z plane from the hosted point.

   Ensure that the start point of the reference line is locked to the hosted point. You may need to drag the end of the reference line, nearest to the point, in the Z direction before dragging it back to the hosted point. This will ensure that the lock symbol will appear.

6. Select the vertical reference line to display the temporary dimension, and turn this into a permanent dimension by clicking the dimension icon.
7. Select this dimension and then choose <Add New Parameter…> from the Label pull-down in the Options bar. Assigning this dimension to a parameter will allow you to alter the apex of the pyramid panel as needed. In the Parameter Properties dialog box, name the parameter Apex_Height. Click OK to close all open dialog boxes.
8. Add a series of reference lines using the 3D Snapping option from the apex to the four points on the base of the pyramid, as shown in Figure 12.68.
9. You will now create faces on each slope to complete the pyramid shape. To do this, select one reference line from the base and two reference lines on the sloping edges (use the Ctrl key to add lines to your selection), and click the Create Form button. Select the planar triangular face rather than the extrusion (Figure 12.69).
10. Repeat step 9 for the three remaining faces until you have a completed pyramid, as shown in Figure 12.70.
11. It is important that you flex the pyramid to check that you can control the height of the apex. Open the Type Properties dialog box, and you will see the parameter named Apex_Height. Change the value a few times and click Apply after each change. The pyramid panel should change in height. Save your file as Pyramid-Panel.rfa.

12. Open the file c12-Pyramid-Project.rfa from this book’s web page. Load your Pyramid-Panel.rfa family into the c12-Pyramid-Project.rfa. Select the surface, go to the Type Selector, and choose Pyramid-Panel.

    Your pyramid shape curtain panel will now be populated across the divided surface, as shown in Figure 12.71.