Topo surfaces and building pads with "holes"

[Anonymous]

Hi:

I am working in a building in a very steeply site, so I want to show each plan in an isometric view. I have a section box in the isometric views. I have a topo surface and a number of buildings pads that work fine in plan and section.

In isometric views, however, the area below the pads is empty, as if the pad would make a hole. I'm attaching two drawings, one of the whole surface and other with the section box in a lower level showing the problem.

Is there a workaround? I have read about using masses instead the topo surface but it sounds really complicated.

Thank you very much

[barthbradley]

Nothing to troubleshoot. This is how it is. 

It has subtracted that surface for cut&fill computations. 

Or am I misunderstanding you? 

This might assist you:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/EN...

[RDAOU]

@Anonymous hi

It is a topo surface (emphasis on surface)

it is not a mass so that when u hide the pad u see earth below. You can see the full only when the surface is cut by the section box. To get what u r looking for u need to have the topography as a massed element

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Thank you for your answer. I understand that the topo is a "surface". But still, in the 3d views it works different than in the sections, where the space below the pads is not a hole. What is different is  what happens with the surface when it is defined with a pad.

I managed to "solve" my problem including some objects with earth material and hiding its borders. But still I believe there is a bug.

I absolutely love Revit, but the site tools are frustrating.

Thank you very much,

Silvia

[ToanDN]

What if you increase the density of Additional Contours under Site Settings, aka smaller Increment distance?

I tested with a not so steep topo and another very steep topo.  There are no holes.  

[Anonymous]

Hi again:

The problem is when the section box goes below the pad. That is needed when the site is very steeply.  It happens in plan and in 3d views.

I made another test, see my file.

Thank you very much,

Silvia

[loboarch]

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I managed to "solve" my problem including some objects with earth material and hiding its borders. But still I believe there is a bug. 

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In the most strict sense of the word "bug" (and the way the development team would see this), this is NOT a bug. It is "as designed". The toposurface in this case is just not designed to show "depth" in the condition you have. I can understand how it is frustrating and you have to find ways to show what you want but the tool is working the way it was intended, it is just not doing what you want/expect. This is a usability issue but it requires additional coding and requirements to make it do what you expect.

[RDAOU]

The same applies even without a pad...Mostly when there are point that drop below the section box and when having trenches/tunnel construction...t will show as a hole or a blank. That's how it has always been. It doesn't serve all purposes but I do not see a bug in it, it is as Jeff said "it does what it has been designed to do"

The only neat way around it is to use massing the topography once all points are set and deemed final...when it is on the lower part there is a cheat to make it look filled by adding fake points around the boundary to extend the topo surface below the lowest actual point  (I ve never used that but I have seen many do)

(Topo to the left is something similar to what you got and the one to the left is just a valley like terrain)

[barthbradley]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Nothing to troubleshoot. This is how it is. 

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...or, how Barth put it at the onset: "This is how it is".

[ToanDN]

What about make the pad ridiculously thick, with ton of dirt below the actual pad layer?  

[Anonymous]

Hi:

That is a good idea. However it works fine in 3d and plan, but not in section.

Thank you,

Silvia

[Anonymous]

Hi:

I understand probably is not a bug. For me, not a developer, bug is just an error. Maybe not. But if that is how it is designed to be, the design is wrong. The earth is not a surface.

And if it were a surface, the sides of the box should be empty, and the hole should be also in the sections. I just want the plan and 3d views to behave the same way the section does.

But I see I have to live with it...  Is there a place where to ask for improvements and changes in Revit?

Thank you very much,

Silvia

[loboarch]

You can submit ideas here.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/revit-ideas/idb-p/302/tab/most-recent

You might want to search the  Idea station first to see if there is anything close to what you are describing.

[barthbradley]

As a co-worker of mine always says; most “bugs” can be attributed to a “loose nut behind the keyboard”. By this he means: the operator, not the hardware.  

I understand your frustration, Silvia, but the problems you’re having can only be caused by incorrectly using the tools. If the Building Pad tool was used correctly, there would be, without a doubt, a portion of topography associated with that “hole”. By its very definition, a “hole” cannot exist without something to make a hole in. And, that portion of topography WOULD have depth and volume that you would be able to see three dimensionally – as well as report it as cubic feet added or subtracted, if you have used the tools correctly.

So, my first guess would not be based on the assumption that it’s not there; rather that it’s there but not seen. Maybe it’s in another phase? There are also a half-dozen other possible explanations that could explain why you’re seeing a “hole” in place of earth (like maybe it’s a Split Surface), but I’ll leave you to find those out on your own. Like I said before, there is nothing to troubleshoot and you don’t need a “workaround” to get where you go. Just use the right tools in the right way and Revit will give you what you want. Promise.

Good luck to you.