Rooftop Gardens/Walkable Roof

[Anonymous]

Hello all, 

I might be asking a rookie question here: 

Which building element would you use to model rooftop gardens/walkable rooftops? 

It may seem logical to model them up as floor elements as you maybe have doors opening onto them, or stairs leading up to the platform.

But would they count towards the total floor area for the schedules? 

Or it is better to use a roof element, but set a separate family type? 

Open for discussion and comments. 

Thanks! 

[Chonghyuk.Lee]

Hi @Anonymous,

Thank you for visiting Autodesk Forum.

If I understand correctly, you know which element will be good for rooftop gardens and walkable roof.

It will depend on your demand, if you want to calculate the area in schedule.

It's hard for me to suggest other than floor element unless you have specific requirement.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank you for participation in Forum again. Have a great day!

[Anonymous]

Hi Chonghyuk,

Thank you for your reply. 

Yes, because technically it is a roof, the top of the building.

But if it is open for walking on, or some kind of roof garden, must we change it to become a floor element? 

What are your thoughts? 

[ToanDN · Accepted solution]

You can use either. You can create a different floor type to filter it out of the regular floor schedule.

[Anonymous]

Hi there, 

Thanks for your suggestion! 

I think filter is a good idea! 

Thank you for your help!

[Chonghyuk.Lee · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

Like @ToanDN said, you can filter it and I have tested whether we can calculate area for Roof element and it worked fine as expected.

You can have any of elements you prefer.

I will leave this question open to get more ideas from other Revit gurus.

Thank you for participation again.

Have a great day!

If my post answers your question, please click the "Accept as Solution" button.  This helps everyone find answers more quickly!

[ToanDN · Accepted solution]

There are some fundamental differences between a floor and a roof in Revit so you may want to consider before making a decision:
- a floor can be a structural element; a roof cannot
- a roof can be curved (roof by extrusion or by face); a floor cannot (except model in place)
- when you change a floor assembly thickness, it keeps the top and adjusts the bottom; roof is the other way around

It's not uncommon to build a 'roof' consisting of both a structural floor and a roof on top of it.

[PijPiwo · Accepted solution]

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@ToanDN wrote:
It's not uncommon to build a 'roof' consisting of both a structural floor and a roof on top of it.

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That would be my approach, so roof based families like skylights, roof vents, fascia etc. can be added to the roof and having a structural floor below is a plus as well.

[Anonymous]

Thank you ToanDN and PijPiwo for the helpful suggestions! Always good to hear suggestions from experienced users!