Stadia Design Best Practice

[L3GO-Ed]

Hello guys,

Greetings from a Civil 3d user trying to learn Revit.

I am undertaking a school integrated design project which involves (as a major component) a design of a 12 thousand capacity stadium . The design is to consist of Architectural, Structural and MEP components. So having heard of what Revit can do, I knew it would help me a great deal. I have gone through tutorials (@Paul_F_Aubin and bryan myers) and felt somewhat confident to start but the elliptical geometry of the Stadium seems daunting.

My first step was to place radial grids. However the elliptical grids seemed impossible. Can grids be closed for closing ellipses (a combination of joined arcs). Plus are these elliptical grids even required. Because I was able to layout my column grids along the radial grid lines either-way.

Now the Grand stand (stadium seating stands). Sample short clips I have watched seem to achieve these with massing. 🤔🤔. Is Massing the only way to go? I was thinking of the traditional way of grids and columns with the hope to use my model for phases including structural detailing, MEP design, QTO and then presentation. 

A colleague at office talked of the sweeping tool to create the stepped slab for the seating stand..... too many ideas am getting.... I need to achieve a model with the seating stand as a monolithically cast slab similar to stairs; as this will be the way it will be structurally analysed and designed.

Have a look at my conceptualized layout below;

 

I will greatly appreciate any advice guys.. Thank you in advance

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

With regards to your grids, they cannot form closed loops, but they can be almost closed. It is therefore possible to create the elliptical grids (assuming they are made up of curve segments)for the layout.

If they are actually required, no not really, although it is good to have a reference point for each column as a grid intersection.  For setting them out you could also just use lines.

Regarding the stands, I would also suggest that these are created using a sweep.  The vomitoriums can then be created using voids.

I recently had to model a stadium.  A useful feature was to create the seating using railings that follow the curves of the stands.  Each seat was a baluster family.

[L3GO-Ed]

Thank you @Anonymous . 

Really appreciate this nod;in the right direction.

[Paul_F_Aubin · Accepted solution]

I agree with what @Anonymous said. It is nice to have the column grids for reference and for documentation purposes, but they are not required. Revit will let you place columns anywhere. So grids are just for orientation and helping folks find their way around. There is a multi-segment grid option. You can sketch the shape. I don't believe ellipses are allowed, but you can do several connected arcs. I would probably do curved multi-segment ones on the left and right and then separate top and bottom ones, because as Tim pointed out, they cannot be closed. Of course another challenge you will have is that you cannot use the same number twice, so you will have to be clever about your naming. 

As to the modeling, there are many ways you can go. If it is to be a concrete structure, I would be curious how a structural engineer would approach it. I don't recommend masses. Massing is meant to be a study model upon which more "permanent" geometry is based. The Mass category does not behave like other categories and you don't want to force people to have the Mass category turned on all the time. 

To use sweeps, and not use masses would require building actual families. I might be inclined to go that way, since it looks like many of the bays are similar and you can probably have just a few families that get repeated around the structure. Using a family also allows you to categorize it properly. And of course, you can use any geometry you like in a family including sweeps and voids. 

But you can do this many ways. As Tim pointed out, railings is an option. I don't like having these categorized as railings though. You could just build a series of floors stacked up on top of each other. Floors can have custom slab edges (essentially sweeps running along the edges), so I think they might work quite well and this might even be the prefered method for structural, but I am not certain of that. 

Anyhow, it is good that chose a nice simple project for your first Revit project LOL. 🙂 Good luck

[constantin.stroescu]

If I'll have to do this project , I'll begin with Mass . This method allows, in my opinion, a more flexible Conceptual Design.

So,  I'll try to do it roughly as follows:

• First create a Mass - Sweep with the Profile placed on a Plane defined by a Driven by Host Point ( placed on the oval path). I suggest to use for the Profile a ( probably closed) Spline instead of a chain of arcs and lines in order to obtain a seamless pattern in the next step

• then use UV Grids to make a rectangular pattern

• create Floor Mass at the Project's Levels - and turn them later into Floor by Face.  Create Wall (and Roof if required) by Face for the envelope.

• for non Horizontal Floors . use Slope Arrow and/or Modify Subelements .
• Place Grids by using Pick Lines for radial Grids and Multi-Segment option with Pick for the "curved" Grids. I'll pick on UV Grid Line or on Nodes...

• Place Structural Columns using Column at Grids...

• In brief I'll begin with Mass in Conceptual Design  , make changes required by owner at this stage, then once the project is approved I'll turn to refine it with Architectural and Structural Elements

[L3GO-Ed]

Thanks alot...

Wow... this *simple first project has me fascinated about revit.

[L3GO-Ed]

Thank you @constantin.stroescu .

True, so massing is the way to go for the quick layout of conceptual designs.