Export terrain and surrounding buildings geometry to Revit

[aguilhaumaud]

Hi,

I'm wondering how to export terrain and surrounding buildings geometry into a single file to get it in Revit in the coordinate system of my choice. I want to get an editable terrain in Revit and buildings geometry as Volumes families.

I did not find the right method throug the different ways to export from Spacemaker.

[julie.louise.johnsen]

Hello Alexis!

Thank you so much for your great question! 

I will try to give an explanation below. Not sure if you are aware, but we recently released a Revit add-in (still in beta) that I think might help you in this situation: 

1. Download the Revit add-in (more info here) 
2. Open your Spacemaker proposal that you want to send to Revit (more info here)
3. Open a new project in Revit and fetch the Spacemaker proposal using the add-in
4. If the model sent from Spacemaker do not have the coordinate system you want to use for your project, you can georeference your model in Revit by defining the coordinate system within the "Project location" under the "Manage" tab in Revit
5. If you do not have the necessary map data already, or unable to map your coordinate system so it aligns with the exported coordinate system, you can export a reference map from Spacemaker that will help you doing this (see steps below)
1. In Spacemaker: Export project data by choosing "Export layers" in the edit "Layers" menu, see picture below (more info here) and remember to choose the wanted coordinate system for your project
   
   
   
   
2. In Revit: link one of the DXFs that you exported from Spacemaker, and align it to your already imported model. You may need to move and rotate it to your project so it fits perfectly. Create a new site in "Location" and then choose "Acquire coordinates" in the "Coordinate" tab of the imported DXF
3. You will now have two coordinate system for your project that can be changed by selecting the site in Location
   

Hope this works - and please let us know if you need more guidance. As the Revit add-in is a new feature still in beta it would also be great to hear what you think, and even do a meeting to learn more. 

Bon week-end!

Julie

[aguilhaumaud]

Thank you for your reply.

But actually I'm trying to import data into an already georeferenced Revit file. I have to keep this coordinate system into my Revit project. And Revit does not allow switching from one coordinate system to another directly in the Manage tab as you suggest. So I need to be able to export from Spacemaker directly into my coordinate system defined in Revit.

[julie.louise.johnsen]

I see. For now, you cannot select the coordinates you want with the Revit add-in, the exported project base point will be the same as in Spacemaker. We have noted down that this is something you would like to be able to do. All feedback on this feature is most welcomed, as we are developing it as we speak, so please tell us if there’s other things you would like to be able to do.

In the meantime, we think the following work around can help solve your issue. 

1. Create a new project in Revit and use the Revit add-in to fetch the Spacemaker model
2. In Revit, link the project that contains the Spacemaker model into your existing Revit project
3. Move and rotate the imported Spacemaker model to align it with your already existing Revit model

Let us know if this doesn't help or if you have any further questions 🙂 

[arne.bassoe-eriksen · Accepted solution]

Hi aguilhaumaud, 

Until we have released the functionality that you are asking for there is a workaround that will do the trick for you. However, the process has a few more steps. I have attached a recipe and a short recording below showing the steps. 

Download all layers, including the surrounding buildings

1. Go to Layers and click Edit
2. Click the three-dotted menu next to your scenario name and choose Export layers. Then pick your preferred coordinate system. A zip file will then be downloaded. 
3. Unzip the file and inside you will find a folder named "site_config". The file with the surrounding buildings for your site will be named "surrounding_building_barriers.ifc". 
4. You find more layers here as well, such as the roads, site limit, etc. 

Terrain

The only thing that is not downloaded here is the terrain. That can be downloaded through these steps: 

1. Go to Layers and click Edit
2. Go to the Terrain layer. In the right panel, there is a button Export terrain as .obj. When you click that one you can choose your coordinate system of choice. 
3. Then import that file into your preferred software