Revit API - Video

Revit API modeling - Details

The first step in the project was creating an opening/window family with the following type parameters

• Width
• Height
• Hour of the Day
• Month of the Year

This family was then imported into the project as a window in a room with specified area and function
The daily horizontal illumination values for Chicago were retrieved from the weather file and were averaged over a month . These values were input into a spreadsheet (row=hour and column=month).

3 tasks were selected for the room function and corresponding IESNA recommended values for illumination levels were noted.

• Function 1 = Office (46.45 footcandles)
• Function 2 = Supermarket (69.67 footcandles)
• Function 3 = Assembly Area (23.93 footcandles)

In the C# code, the window and room ids were assigned
The window parameters were obtained
The room parameters were obtained and the interior illumination levels were assigned to each function.
The exterior illumination levels were obtained from the csv file based on the hour and month parameters in the window family
The window width was calculated using the CIE method of illumination calculations. This formula is based on the room area, interior illumination (room function) and exterior illumination (hour and month). Minimum width was set at 0.75ft and maximum width set at 1.8ft.

The revit model returns the exterior illumination, the interior illumination and the width of the window.

The final images of the facade

Using Revit API - Summary

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The aim of the final project was to develop a fenestration system that responds to both the climatic conditions (i.e. the horizontal illumination over the period of a year) and the function of the space that it encloses to increase or decrease opening size to provide adequate lighting levels in the space at all times during the day (daylit hours only) for the task specified in the space.

Design inspirations - Jean Nouvel’s fenestration systems

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS

• The basic fenestration panel comprised several opening families which can be parametrically adjusted for size.
• Parameters for hour of the day and month of the year were added to the opening family.
• Horizontal illumination data for Chicago was retrieved from the weather file and set up in an excel spreadsheet.
• Data for lighting requirements for 3 tasks was retrieved from IESNA recommendations.
• The lighting levels at task height was calculated as a function of exterior illumination, glazing area, room function and room dimensions based on the CIE method of lighting calculations.
• The given C# code was modified to retrieve exterior illumination levels based on hour and month inputs and interior illumination levels based on the room function.
• Based on the above data, the required size of the windows were calculated. This will drive the opening dimensions parametrically.
• This prototype has been tested for one room on one floor, but the module can be easily replicated for multiple rooms on all floors of the project. As an extension of this exercise, one section of the façade in the project can be parametrically modeled to see how the elevation looks like for different room functions and at different times of the year

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Parametric Model

The parametric model selected for the Project was an array of building-integrated photovoltaic panels at the 4 roof garden levels, which provide some shade and also generate electricity. The PV panels were planned to rotate by the month of the year. The parametric properties associated with the model are:

• Panel width and length
• Panel thickness
• Horizontal panel array based on total width and panel width
• Vertical panel array based on total width, panel width and the slope of the panel (so that one panel does not cast shadow on the next panel)
• Slope of the panel is auto-calculated based on the latitude and month of the year, i.e. actual angle of the sun is not required, only latitude and month of the year is required
  

Project Renderings

Interior Views

Because I will not have time to render all the screen-shots I grabbed of my building (It took 2.5 hrs to render the exterior), I will post some of them here.

Project Description

The building selected for Project 1 was designed to be headquarters of a company in Chicago. The building was designed as a 40 story office building with amenity floors at the lower levels and office spaces at the upper levels. It was designed as a LEED Platinum building with wind turbines at the building top, building-integrated photovoltaics, rainwater harvesting and ground-source heat pumps.

I reduced the number of floors from 40 to 25 by sloping the south wall 15 degrees instead of 10 degrees in the original design, and simplified the original curtain system. I detailed out the first 3 floors of the building including the basement parking level (In the interest of time, it was not physically possible to detail out all 25 floors). The actual building mass with the sloping south wall and the sloping walls of the 4 roof gardens were modeled in AutoCAD and imported into the Revit project as a building mass. The curtain system was added by face, and the mullions and joints were individually adjusted. Because the mass was imported as an AutoCAD mesh object, Revit could not automatically compute areas and add floors. Therefore, the floors had to be individually added.

Pictures and other details forthcoming.