Building Pads and linked file

[password5]

So, I am pulling my hair out here. I started using revit 3 months ago and have been learning along the way, either through forums or colleagues.

When I first started, I was asked to built site topography then 1 month later, I was asked to start building the building onto the site. I know this might be rookie mistake, that I should have linked the topography in rather than just build my model straight on the topography file.

Anyway, we have been talking about deleting the topography in current model and link the topography in instead, as it will reduce the file size etc (the file size is not huge at the moment). 

So when I link the topography in, I can't cut & fill at all. The project has a few different split level because of the nature of the topography and various places need a building pad for the cut & fill.

Does that mean I have to do the building pad on the site model file (which has no building) and then just link it? Does that mean that everytime my building shifted, I will need to go back to the linked site model file to shift it or else the building pads stay the same while the rest of the building has shifted?

Is there any major NO NO to have my site topography in rather than link it? Because the architect of the project is currently doing the plan in Microstartion, so when I built the model/ any changes, i will have to import his drawings in and change accordingly and sometimes the drawings are not exactly accurate when it comes to cut and fill part. 

Please help!!

Thanks.

[t.brandon]

This question was posted in 2014 yet there have been no replies.  I have the same issue now in September 2016.  Surely someone knows how to fix this???

[Alfredo_Medina]

Welcome to the forum.

I don't know why the original question did not get an answer. Let me try to help. There is not anyhing to fix in this case. The user decided to link the topograhpy. However. I don't see the benefit of linking the topography. Performance is more important than file size. And performance can be controlled by using worksets and saving the central file with the Specify option. Everytime you open the file, Revit will present the list of worksets. If you don't need the topography for this session, just don't open that workset. Keep it in the same file, so that the topography is there when you need to adjust it to the building.

[ToanDN]

A link in Revit is read-only.  It is used for model/ discipline coordination/ collaboration.  If you are trying to find a way to edit the geometry of a topo link model directly within the host file then it is not going to happen.  You can either:

- Import the topo link to the building model and perform cut and fill in there

- Open the topo file, link the building model in, and perform cut and fill based on the building model geometry

[t.brandon]

Thanks for all the help.  I decided to abandon the linked topography file and rebuild the toposurface directly in the site model from a linked DXF file..

[Seychellian]

I am a bit confused how to manage this.

I have a site which is being developed for a series of buildings (roughly 10-12). It is not practical to try to use one file for all these projects so we have modelled the site in a separate file and import it into each project. 

The issue however is that in each of the projects we need to make adjustments to the topography (cut, fill, grading etc) and this seems to be impossible without going back to the master site model and doing them there which is difficult to co-ordinate and impractical.

Am I missing something? Thanks!

[ToanDN]

Link the building files back to the site file and use them as the reference to create pads and other site work.

[Seychellian]

Hi thanks for the reply. I tried doing that but the co-ordination tackling it this way is nightmare. I find myself trying to align elements like pads foundations retaining walls and slabs between the 2 files. I cant work out whether I am doing this inefficiently and there is a smarter way to do it or whether this is just the best approach. Instinctively it doesn't feel like the latter. 

[Anonymous]

Build ALL site modeling in the SITE Model....leave the building model for the Building only.  If a site wall needs to be modified it is done in the site model.  So if you have retaining walls that have nothing to do with the building in a building model, remove them.

The building pad I usually set as the crushed gravel below the slab...so it is still used vs being hidden.  So it takes a little extra care/math to place properly.  I also create levels for each building...but just the main floor within the site model. 

[Seychellian]

Hi mpwuzhere,

Most of the buildings that we proposing have basement levels that are below the surface of the terrain. Many of them have multiple levels that are "subterranean" i.e split levels, trenches, ponds, pools. there are a lot of elements that intersect with the site. Leaving them out of the main project file isn't really an option, but having said that trying to co-ordinate how they interface with the site plan is incredibly laborious. I have wasted a lot of time today just trying to get the 2 files to align properly. If there are any changes (which I have no doubt there will be) this will all need to get re-adjusted.  Is this truly the only method of setting it up?

[stingers80-cgarchitect]

A year has passed,

Have you found a method to have the building pad automatically cut the topography File (when moved)?

I am using the same method for Site plan File and Linked Building and wondering about the best way to do this.

Thanks,

[SteveKStafford]

There is no integration of elements between linked files, in this case Building Pads cutting a Toposurface. They must be in the same file to relate to one another in this way. In separate files they are utterly separate.

[ToanDN]

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@stingers80-cgarchitect wrote:

A year has passed,

Have you found a method to have the building pad automatically cut the topography File (when moved)?

I am using the same method for Site plan File and Linked Building and wondering about the best way to do this.

Thanks,

---

Link the Building file in the Site file (overlay) and edit the building pads to match.