Stacked Columns

[lmpka]

I'm trying to created a stacked concrete column where the column can change shapes as it goes up. I first created a column that was created from two extrusions, where the column changed to a smaller size after the second floor, but the hidden edge that I would think would only show at the second floor shows at all the levels above (10 stories). 

I next tried creating a shared column family, and used the two instances in a  structural column family.  Every thing flexed ok in the family editor, but it appears there is a bug in Revit so that when you actually use it in a project, the individual components revert to default values. Reading other posts, it looks like this bug has been around for quite a while. 

Is there a standard practice for handling stacked columns that I'm missing?

[L.Maas · Accepted solution]

Depending on the projects I have used different strategies.

1-Use separate columns for the first floors and different columns for the other floors.

2-Use a smaller structural column going through all floors and use architectural column to 'wrap' around sturctual columns for first few floors.

3-Used a single column, added reference plane and height (type) parameter. Created extrusion from ground level to ref plane and second extrusion from ref plance to next level.

Further it is always good to consider how they would be constructed in real life. It is always a good starting point to decide how to model it in Revit.

[lmpka]

Thanks,

1-My concern is keeping the columns aligned.  It would be really easy to move something on the lower level, and not have the upper level column move too.  I'm also noticing that columns in the same position (but one higher), sometimes choose different grids. The Autodesk site says that there's a dropdown box that allows you to choose which grids as the column grids, but that option is ghosted where I'm seeing it.

2-That might be a possible solution, but I'm trying not to introduce work-arounds. 

3-I tried that.  I created a column that got narrower at the second floor.  The problem is that the hidden edge that you see at the 2nd floor also appears at all the levels up to the 12th floor.

So far my solution is to model the column segment starting with the generic model template, then change its type to a structural column as a shared component (if you start with the structural column, then it gets messed up).  Then I nested that column family into what I'm calling a tiered column. That way I have stacked columns that stays in line, and can be given a type mark. The analytical representation of the column also looks correct. My only problem now, is that the shared components don't show up in the graphical column schedule (not a big problem).

My goal is to figure out how to get things done in Revit without having to use work-arounds, and to get it working with other analytical software.

[L.Maas]

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lmpka wrote:

3-I tried that.  I created a column that got narrower at the second floor.  The problem is that the hidden edge that you see at the 2nd floor also appears at all the levels up to the 12th floor.

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A possible solution for this would be to, in the family editor, create a object style category for the lower and upper part.

In the lower floor plans you can switch off (visibility/graphics override)  the upper part and in the higher floor plans you can switch off the lower part. This can be easily incorporated in a view and prokject template.

[sdsavio.btc]

Hi!  May I ask help on how to create this stacked column in Revit, please?  Thanks in advance.

Stacked Column