Autodesk FMDesktop

[#1]

I'm only on the 3rd floor of my first FMD project, and I've gotten to
the point where I've created spaces for the entire floor (just under
150,000 sq ft) BUT, I haven't created spaces for the atriums.

I've got this huge patch of footprint, but, I can't put anything there
by way of assets... should I just leave the space out so no one on the
end thinks it's a usable space? or should I leave it in for some other
reason (like making the overall sq ftge mesh better with the space
inside that is accounted for?)?

Pardon the newb-like question on this one, but, I don't recall seeing
this particular topic come up before.

Appreciate any thoughts / opinions on what methods have worked for others.

Cheers!

Melanie Perry
***not all who wander are lost***
http://Tech-Tea.com
http://AUGI.com/AutoCAD
http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com

[#2]

Sorry to say this, but the answer is, "It depends..."

It depends on what you want to accomplish with the data/model. If you are a obsessive about matching the BOMA or IFMA space standards, you would want to treat it to match them. That probably means you poly-line it at the floor of the atrium, classify it according to it's usage, and do nothing at the upper levels. I say probably because I unfortunately don't recall what the standards say and I don't have time to look it up. On the other hand, if you have "stuff" hanging in there at various levels, you may want to define a space at each floor so that you could place the hanging equipment and write work orders against it and have a location attached automatically. A little bizarre, but I could see it. I have also seen people poly-line the atrium at each floor because they compute their floor area based upon outside dimensions (instead of where there really is a floor) and want their area totals to match up.

So, no real clear answer, unless you are sticking to BOMA/IFMA.

Mark Evans

[#3]

lol... that's what I was afraid of.

Thanks for the speedy reply, Mark, much appreciated.

I think I'll leave it empty.

Cheers!

Melanie Perry
***not all who wander are lost***
http://Tech-Tea.com
http://AUGI.com/AutoCAD
http://mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com

Mark Evans wrote:
> Sorry to say this, but the answer is, "It depends..."
>
> It depends on what you want to accomplish with the data/model. If you are a obsessive about matching the BOMA or IFMA space standards, you would want to treat it to match them. That probably means you poly-line it at the floor of the atrium, classify it according to it's usage, and do nothing at the upper levels. I say probably because I unfortunately don't recall what the standards say and I don't have time to look it up. On the other hand, if you have "stuff" hanging in there at various levels, you may want to define a space at each floor so that you could place the hanging equipment and write work orders against it and have a location attached automatically. A little bizarre, but I could see it. I have also seen people poly-line the atrium at each floor because they compute their floor area based upon outside dimensions (instead of where there really is a floor) and want their area totals to match up.
>
> So, no real clear answer, unless you are sticking to BOMA/IFMA.
>
> Mark Evans