Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Exercise 1: User Interface

Exercise 1: User Interface

Lesson Overview
This section is intended to introduce users to the basics of Autodesk Project Vasari. The skills learned here will allow you to utilize the wide range of modeling and analytical tools within Project Vasari. In addition to this, you will learn to import CAD and raster files, select model objects and manipulate the work plane. To begin this session, lets start with a new project file. Click New under Projects to open a new Autodesk Revit Architecture (.rvt) project file. This file will open natively in Revit Architecture software as well. Project templates can also be opened, and custom templates can be saved with predefined project information, settings, families, graphics settings, etc.

In this exercise, you will be introduced basics interface techniques to begin using Project Vasari. You will learn to: Basic Navigation Change Views Use the Tabs and Contextual Menus Import Files into Vasari Select Objects Orient the Workplane

Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to: -

Navigate through the Vasari Modeling environment Use the tool tabs and contextual menus Change camera view Import AutoCAD and other CAD data. Import reference raster images for design. Use a Google Maps image underlay.

Suggested Exercises
Exercise 1.0: Navigation and Views
Exercise File 01.1 Navigation and UI.rvt Video Tutorial

Video 1.0: Navigation

Navigating the Modeling Environment Begin this section by trying each of the navigation operations around the sample model objects in the first exercise file. 1. Pan By pressing in and holding the middle mouse button, you can pan within the modeling environment.

2.

Orbit By pressing the shift key on your keyboard while holding down the middle mouse button you are able to orbit around your model.

3.

Zooming The scroll wheel on your mouse can be used to zoom in and out on the modeling environment. Pressing ZA in sequence is the keyboard shortcut to zoom to model extents.

4.

ViewCube By clicking and dragging the ViewCube on the top right of the Vasari interface, you can orbit your model as well. By clicking on any of the faces, edges or corners of the cube, you can orient the camera view to a predetermined view. You can also click and drag on any of the orientations of the ViewCube to constrain the rotations.

5.

Views in Project Browser On the left side of the Vasari interface, you can access the stored project views. By double clicking on the Views in the Project Browser, you can expand the menu to show all of the saved views. By double clicking on a view, a new window set to the desired project view will open.

Exercise 1.1: Importing, Selection and Work Planes Exercise File

01.2 Import-select-workplane1_Start.rvt Video Tutorial Video1.1: Importing and Setting Work planes Importing, Selection and Work Planes Begin this exercise by opening a new project in Vasari. In this section, the exercise files associated with each operation will show the exercise in a completed state. Importing Files

Often a two dimensional CAD or raster underlay is used to guide the layout of a model. Project Vasari is capable of importing a number of file formats such as JPEG, TIFF, DWG, DXF, DGN, and SKP (Sketch up). We will start by importing the CAD underlay file called Site Underlay.DWG into a new Vasari project. Under in the upper left corner > Import > Import CAD

It is important to note the various options at the bottom of the import screen. You have the option to filter and orient the imported CAD depending on your needs. For this exercise, set the Colors drop down to preserve the original CAD colors, also set the Positioning drop down to origin to origin.

The process of importing an existing raster image is very similar to the CAD import. Click App menu > Import > Image.

Setting Location, Weather Data and Google Earth Site Images When creating a project, the location of the site can be specified in multiple ways. Specifying an exact location is important for solar analysis and energy analysis as well as contextual design. This location can be selected by street address, major city, or latitude and longitude. The location is also associated with weather data used in the Conceptual Energy Analysis. If you are looking to import a site image for sketching over top of, Project

Vasari has an embedded tool for importing Google Maps. 1. Click Analyze > Project Location > Location or in the ViewCube >Location.

The Location Weather and Site dialog displays an interactive Google Maps interface that can be navigated by searching for a city. Once in the area of the site, drag the red cursor over the site to specify exact longitude and latitude. Note: Internet connection required. You must be signed into Autodesk Online Services to access weather data. The weather data is populated with data from the 2007 ASHRAE Handbook. This option is recommended for HVAC and mechanical work. On the left side of the dialog, there is a list of weather stations from which all environmental data is available. Select the weather station closest to the site. In this case, choose weather station 59385.

For Project Address, enter San Diego, CA. Notice it brings you to a default city center location. You can simply click and drag the home pin to your desired location, or you can enter in specific longitude and latitude coordinates. For this lesson, enter in 32.71 N, 117.17 W. Next, click Import Site Image on the bottom right side of the dialog. This will be the underlay image from Google Maps that will come in as a textured surface and will be used as a reference for modeling the site context as well as establishing the site extents when massing. Note: You can change the size of the dialog to create different aspect ratios for the underlay image. You can use the mouse wheel to zoom and pan to get the image you want before importing.

The imported image may require some manipulation to get it to align more closely with the model and CAD underlay. It is not important that it aligns perfectly, it is mainly for reference and context.

Selecting Objects The default command in Vasari is Modify. You can always get to it by clicking the Modify button on the left side of the Ribbon. Or from inside other commands by pressing the Escape key (esc). Elements are highlighted when you hover. They change color when you select them.

Forms are made up of elements, such as faces, edges and points. You can use the Tab key, combined with the left mouse button, to cycle through the available elements, before selecting the one you want. Press and hold the control key to add an object to your current selection. Right-clicking on an element, or a blank area of the view, provides more commands related to your current selection. When you select an element, such as a completed mass, you will see relevant properties presented in the Properties palette on the left. You can modify the properties of that element, and the changes are made immediately Double-clicking on a mass allows you to start editing it. You can move it using 3D control widgets, or by typing dimensions.

Setting and Showing Workplanes

Exercise File
01.2 Import-select-workplane2_End.rvt

Work planes are crucial to understanding modeling in Vasari. Geometry is always associated to some host surface or plane. Elements can be detached from constraints but will still maintain some sort of relative offset to some particular reference plane or surface.

In some views, the work plane is automatically set. In other views, such as elevation and section views, you need to set the work plane. The work plane is necessary for sketching operations and for enabling tools in particular views, such as Rotate and Mirror in a 3D view. Two ways to set a plane: 1. Select the Set Tool Within the work plane dialogue box, you can select an existing workplane by name, or by choosing to pick a plane from the modeling environment. While in the Vasari 3D environment, simply select an existing reference plane or grid. Use the Show tool Reference Points Reference points contain three reference axes which can either be set to reflect the global coordinates or the local coordinates where the point is located. to display existing work planes.

2.

Reference Lines Reference lines each contain four planes of reference, each of which are associated with the vector of the line. The two which lie on the line are parallel to the vector, and the end point planes are normal to the vector. Levels To set up levels for the project that will be shared between all of the design options we are going to create. To do this, simply select all the reference planes that are created by default when you option up the file.

While holding the Shift key, drag those reference planes up vertically. You can easily change the spacing by clicking on any plane and entering a new value where you see the current dimension. For the San Diego campus there is a 12 foot (3.6576 meters) distance

between each reference plane. Autodesk Project Vasari uses these planes as floor datums to create floors in the masses we will create for energy modeling. These are calculated as floor to floor heights and will define the floor areas to measure. You can create parameters that drive the distances between each reference plane so you can explore how the floor to floor heights affect the overall project later on. It is important to remember that all modeling in Project Vasari happens in relation to these reference planes, so create as many as are appropriate to your project intent.

Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Exercise 2: Creating and Modifying Form

Exercise 2: Creating and Modifying Form

Lesson Overview
When you start working in Autodesk Project Vasari, you may already have a few sketches of ideas for the campus. You should have a conceptual basis for the design, notebook sketches and ideas. In this section you will learn basic 2D sketching and 3D modeling skills by creating several low-rise buildings on our site based on a basic CAD layout. In this lesson, you explore basic techniques for using Project Vasari to set up a project location. You will learn how to: 2D Sketching and 3D Modeling Creating Basic Mass Forms Manipulate Forms Using Modeling Tools Create Mass Floors and Area Schedules

Learning Objectives
Sketch and extrude several simple masses Edit mass forms in-place

Suggested Exercises
Exercise 2.0: Basic Sketching and Extrusion
Exercise File 2-0 Create Form Modify Form1_Start.rvt Video Tutorial Video2.0: Creating and Modifying Forms Once the exercise file is loaded, modeling can begin.

In this example, we see a set of lines and polylines drawn in AutoCAD and imported. For this exercise, we want to create a series of low buildings using the closed CAD lines as a template for the footprints.

Begin by temporarily hiding the map image by selecting the image and pressing HH on your keyboard. To unhide, press HR. Next, click Create Mass tool under the model tab. Using the modeling lines, sketch the profiles of each mass footprint you wish to create, ensuring that each sketch is a closed loop. To extrude, select the curve and select Create Form at the top of the ribbon. This creates a parametrically controlled form where you can use a 3D control to push, pull, and edit the form on any face. You can perform blends, sweeps, extrusions, and Boolean operations in this environment. For the low buildings, this exercise will only be using the extrude commands. When you are finished with each building, click Finish Mass.

Modifying Form Once you have created and finished your basic building mass extrusions, you can go back into the Mass Editor by selecting the mass object and clicking the Edit In-Place on the ribbon.

By selecting a face individually, you can use the many modeling tools to manipulate the surface and overall form.

Another helpful modeling trick is to hit the space bar with a surface, edge, or point selected. This toggles between a 3D control that operates in the world XYZ coordinate system and object-specific coordinate system, enabling you to move and edit the object more precisely.

3D control Orientation

When you have successfully done this step, the model should resemble the following:

Mass Floors After modeling and selecting Finish Mass you can use the reference planes as datum to create floors for calculating square footages (or meters) and enabling the Conceptual Energy Analysis features. The Mass Floors button is right next to Edit MassIn-Place whenever a mass is selected. You can move your reference planes around to edit the floor-to-floor heights and the model automatically updates. Notice in the Project Browser, under Schedules, a new Mass Floor schedule is automatically created. Open it and see how area totals are tracked per floor. Schedules can be added and edited for almost any geometry or data in Autodesk Project Vasari.

Area Schedules By creating mass floors, you automatically create and populate a schedule of information based on the floors you just created. The Mass Floor Schedule is located in the Project Browser under Schedules and Quantities.

Additional Resources
Project Vasari Essential Skills - Work planes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V6TjWODEgw&feature=view_all&list=PL43803D4C2D8AF15E&in dex=5

Project Vasari Essential Skills - Draw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nyW1UHhTws&feature=view_all&list=PL43803D4C2D8AF15E&in dex=7

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Project Vasari Essential Skills - Select

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2swT6LOIpCs&feature=view_all&list=PL43803D4C2D8AF15E&ind ex=8

Project Vasari Essential Skills - Edit Mass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY5Np1IYmy0&feature=view_all&list=PL43803D4C2D8AF15E&ind ex=6

Project Vasari Advanced Skills - Drawing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAryDgdhB1A&feature=view_all&list=PL43803D4C2D8AF15E&in dex=13

Project Vasari Advanced Skills - Create Form Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxyXV2csUn4&feature=view_all&list=PL43803D4C2D8AF15E&ind ex=14

Project Vasari Advanced Skills - Create Form Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJfJZUOso2c&feature=view_all&list=PL43803D4C2D8AF15E&ind ex=15

Project Vasari Advanced Skills - Reference Lines

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjIqUOiJg3M&feature=view_all&list=PL43803D4C2D8AF15E&inde x=16

3D Levels (Reference Planes, Mass Floors)

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP21/Help/0074-Prelimin74/0077-Conceptu77/0091Drawing_91/0098-3D_Level98

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Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Exercise 3: Parameters

Exercise 3: Parameters
Lesson Overview
This exercise will focus on the creation of several configurations of the tower in the corner of the site. Adding parameters to the project can increase efficacy of the design process and show design intent more clearly. Like in Autodesk Revit Architecture software, parameters can be added to make adjustments to the design or to constrain form to particular values. We will begin by explicitly manipulating the tower to generate several options (straight extrusion, tapered and twisted). Then we will use a parametric approach to create similar forms. Once parametric controls are in place, we will explore how we can quickly iterate formal options for analysis in the upcoming exercises.

Learning Objectives
Creating Tower Options: Extrude, Taper and Twist Adding Parameters to Control Shape Create Several Design Options For Analysis

Suggested Exercises

Exercise 3.0: Parameters

Exercise File 3-0 Parameters1_Start.rvt Video Tutorial Video 3.0: Parameters

Creating the Parametric Tower Mass At this early stage of the design process, focus only on a few general parameters. Explore different goals of our models as to not over constrain them. You will focus on exploring height, tapering and rotation of the tower. Start by either sketching your own footprint and extruding a mass or select the existing tower and Edit-in-Place. Add a dimension parameter for the height by keying in DI and setting it in the Project Properties dialog. Ensure you the work plane is correctly set to constrain the dimension vertically. Verify that the tower height is being driven by the dimension, by trying a few different values.

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Mass with Height Dimension

Creating a Parameter: Now that there is a tower in place, we want to be able to change the height with the Parameter Properties dialog. Select the dimension you just created to drive the height of the tower. When the dimension is selected, below the ribbon you will see a series of options become available in the Options Bar. In the Options bar, click Label>Add Parameter.

In the Parameters Properties dialog, give your new parameter a name relevant to what it is intended to control. Make sure to select Instance and that you group the parameter under Dimension. Once completed, you should be able to control the Height (or any other parameter you choose to set) using the Properties dialog in the project environment.

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Exercise File 3-1 Parameters2_Tower.rvt 3-2 Parameters2_End.rvt Now that you have a basic understanding of parameters in Project Vasari, we can move on to creating a simple parametric rig to control the form of our twisting tower. Begin by either creating a new mass within the project or creating a new mass family. Our goal in this exercise is to create a surface with XY axis rotation controls imbedded within its construction, from which we will loft to a stationary bottom surface (Building footprint). To do so, we must construct the geometry to be driven by a rotation parameter. Begin by placing a reference point at the center of where you wish the object to rotate. For this example, the intersection of the default reference planes. From the point, draw a reference line which originates from the reference point to an arbitrary location off to one side. This line will be host for the model geometry you are about to create, so its dimensions are not important. Place an angular dimension between any axis and the newly created reference lines. Assign the dimension as a parameter as you did in the section prior to this with a descriptive name such as Rotation Angle. To prevent future issues, make sure to test the parameters as you create them.

Your model geometry will need to be hosted onto this reference line in order establish a relationship to its rotation parameter. To do so, you must set the reference plane to the reference line you wish to build off of. Once you have finished drawing your hosted geometry, check to see whether the rotation parameter is functioning correctly.

To prevent future issues, make sure to test the parameters as you create them. Your geometry should now react to changes in the parameters they are related to.

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Create a second level by copying and moving it up. Then copy and paste all of the objects you just created onto the second level. This can done using the Paste from clipboard options under the Paste tool. Select Aligned to Selected Levels and select level two. After you have your objects pasted correctly, you need to convert your model geometry to reference geometry in order to retain control of your parameters. Select the profiles of the rectangles and select the Is Reference Line check box in the Properties dialog.

Next, loft the two reference profiles together by selecting them and clicking Create Form on the ribbon. Test the twisting parameter to ensure that everything is functioning as intended.
Loft Rectangles

Rotate parameter, loft should update

Additional Resources
Dimensions

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http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0279-Visualiz279/0399-Dimensio399

Temporary Dimensions Permanent Dimensions Listening Dimensions Dimension Witness Lines Modifying Dimensions Dimension Properties

Parameters
http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0669-Tools_an669/0800-Project_800

Creating Project Parameters Creating Shared Project Parameters Reporting Parameters

Formulas
http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0669-Tools_an669/0804-Formulas804Resizing Elements with Formulas

Using Formulas for Numerical Parameters Valid Formula Syntax and Abbreviations Conditional Statements in Formulas

Creating Design Options

Exercise File 3-3 Parameters3_DesignOptions.rvt

Video Tutorial Video 3.3: Design Options

To test and analyze multiple forms or schemes in Autodesk Project Vasari, use Design Options. Design Options is a framework for modeling, analyzing, and visualizing iterations during design. A team can develop, evaluate, and redesign building elements, specific spaces, or discrete components while not affecting other parts of the model. For example, on a large scale, options may test different placements of a tower and its solar effects on adjacent buildings. On a smaller scale, design options could test alternative shading devices on a wall. After energy analyses have been run, the results can be compared side by side and an informed decision about the design is made. The design develops after

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multiple studies and analyses hone in on a design specific to the formal, environmental, cost, and design criteria laid out by the designer. You now have a basic sketch of what the building may look like, but the next step is to experiment with the form and explore many possibilities. To use all of the modeling options, parameters and design options are necessary for quick changes. In this lesson, you will set up a few variations of the tower form using design options. Using Design Options Design Options is a built-in feature for modeling and analysis in Autodesk Project Vasari to quickly explore permutations. Start with the base model, imported CAD objects, a site model, or a blank slate. Combining Design Options with project parameters is a great way to organize your model and works in a similar way as layers do in other 3D applications like Autodesk 3ds Max Design software. The primary difference here is that Project Vasari automatically categorizes all of the models components, from a conceptual mass down to the different types of glazing. This detail enables the design options feature to be a higher level group that can be turned on or off. When you create a parametric model within a design option set, it is easy to copy it, make some changes, and compare the differences between options in the Conceptual Energy Analysis environment. Setting Up Design Options You should now set up your project file with Design Options. In Project Vasari, Design Options work very similarly to layers in other programs. To set them up, find the Design Options button under the Analyze tab. You can either click Design Options or key in DO to enter the dialog. By default, the existing modeled geometry is the base option and is labeled.

Main Model, Option Sets, and Options

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Adding Geometry to a Design Option To create a set of three options with parametric tower varieties, create a new set. Label the new set Tower Options. The first set we rename to Main Building and leave the base mode geometry on it. Within the Options set, create three options: Twist, Taper and Straight. Next is to create three new views, one associated with each design option.

In the primary set with the correct corresponding view activated, place one of the tower options. Repeat the same process for each of the tower options. Now you can toggle between three tower options by selecting the drop down menu in the view bar at the bottom of the screen.

Bottom Right Design Options Toggle

Switching Objects from one design option to another: As you go through the process, you may want to switch a mass between Design Options. Now that you have multiple tower options and a temporary building family, you will need to organize these into a logical set. You can either copy and paste an object into a Design Option or add new geometry in the dialog. With these three options set up, run the analysis tools and make an informed decision about which option to pursue.

Design Options A, B, and C

Additional Resources
Design Options http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0075-Prelimin75/0206Design_O206/0207-Design_O207

Design Option Overview Design Option Workflow Design Options Terminology Best Practices for Design Options Creating Design Option Sets Adding Design Options

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Working with Design Options Viewing Design Options Considerations When Using Design Options Troubleshooting Issues with Design Options

Typical Uses of Massing Studies

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP21/Help/0519-Analyze_519/0520-Massing_520/0521Massing_521/0522-Typical_522

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Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Lesson 4: Orientation, Sun Path & Solar Radiation

Lesson 4: Orientation, Sun Path & Solar Radiation

Lesson Overview
The goal in the preliminary sun path study is to figure out where solar heat gain is most extreme and the best way to mitigate it. This will help you visualize and make informed decisions about materials, energy loads, and financial costs. First, go to the bottom of the screen and turn on the solar path in the view toolbar. In this dialog, you can specify the size of the solar path as well as the suns location per date and time. Use the solar path tool to visualize basic shadows and their change over time. This path can be animated and visualized in different ways for analysis and visualization. Once you know how the sun is hitting your building, you can use this information to change your design accordingly.

Learning Objectives
Setting Project Location Using sun path tools to analyze towers on different dates Visualizing sun path, animations, and shadows Solar radiation analysis

Exercise 4.0: Orientation, Sun Path and Solar Radiation

Exercise File 4-0 Orientation,Sunpath,Radiation.rvt Video Tutorial Video 4.0: Sun Path

Setting Project Position and Orientation Often you may find when you import a CAD underlay or a site image that the project north and true north are not aligned. Establishing north correctly must be sorted out in order to proceed, as orientation of your buildings is essential to producing reliable analysis results. Begin by opening a 2d plan view of your project under the project browser. To access the set of tools which allow you to rotate project/true north, you are required to be in a plan view. This functionality can allow you to view your project and draw orthogonally while maintaining true north.

Sun Path Tool The sun path is a visual representation of the sun's range of movement across the sky at the geographic location you specify for a project. Using the sun paths on-screen controls, you can create solar studies by placing the sun at any point along its daily or yearly path.

The location of the sun can be manipulated by grabbing and pulling the graphic sun on the model or by explicitly defining a date range and a time. To define an explicit date, click on the sun icon in the lower view bar and select Sun Settings. In this dialog, you can set any explicit solar time for its position. It is also possible to add and edit sun setting presets.

Preview and Export a Solar Path Animation

Within the View Options, use the Solar Path toggle to select Preview Solar Study and define an animation timeline. Shadows must be on to preview a solar study. To export the solar study, select Export under the Applications menu and choose Images and Animations > Solar Study. This will provide a dialog for the video settings and directory before rendering out the animation.

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Sun Path Change the visual size of the sun path relative to the model in the properties dialog box with the sun path selected. This does not change the behavior of the sun other than its visual properties. Shadows Activating shadows in Project Vasari is done on the settings bar at the bottom of the modeling screen. Shadows are reactive to changes in time (Solar Position).

Sun Path Settings Options and settings for the sun path tool are located on the bar at the bottom of the modeling screen next to the shadow button. Sun settings can be set to reflect a single moment in time, a few hours, a whole day, or over the course of several days. You also have the option to select certain presets for equinox/solstice or seasonal studies. Constraining your analysis can help you better understand the solar implications during peak load times of summer, or to perform a solar access analysis during the winter.

Solar Radiation Studies

After the Sun Path is set, we run a more precise solar radiation analysis based on the Autodesk Ecotect Analysis software solar analysis tool. Radiation analysis shows solar heating load incident to the envelope of the building. It displays the intensity of the solar heat transfer and allows the user to either choose to change the orientation of the building or add shading to the exterior or conceptual constructions. In Show Mass Form mode, select the masses we want to run the Ecotect Solar Radiation analysis on. Analyze each of your tower options. In the respective dialog, there are options for resolution, units, and the ability to define only certain faces of the selection to analyze. Like other energy analysis tools, a higher resolution analysis takes longer. Keep this in mind when selecting faces and be careful not to analyze unnecessary geometry.

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Analyze and Iterate After completing the radiation analysis, the results are visualized directly on the model. With these results, the red color shows the highest radiant heat transfer to the skin of the building on the southern facing walls. If you decide after this analysis that there is too much solar heat gain due to the form of the building, you can either edit the existing forms or you can use the Design Options to try out different forms and settle on a solution with a more appropriate amount of exposure. Analysis Display Styles You can adjust the visual display styles to suit the needs of your project. Multiple display styles can be useful for visual analysis as well. Analysis Display Styles, found under Manage > Settings, is an option for customizing the visual display settings of the analysis tools. You can create new or multiple views and use them for different analyses while documenting your process. These styles are available throughout the Project environment, but not in the family editor.

Exporting a .csv file of this data is also possible, and can be exported through the Solar Radiation analysis dialog.

Figure 6.3.15 Complete Solar Radiation

Analysis visual Marker Style

After the sun path and solar radiation study, we know much more about where solar exposure is greatest and can try a few methods to curtail energy use. Solar incident radiation is a simple but telling tool for understanding how the form is impacted by the sun. Roof and wall pitches, shading devices, and siting are all basic ways to lessen the impact of solar radiation. If using photovoltaic panels, this tool can be used conversely to gain

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more solar energy. In any scenario, keep in mind the context. A dense urban environment may need different glazing or daylighting strategies at the base of the building versus higher floors. Since you can visually see the southern facades show the most solar gain we will adapt our program and energy use accordingly. Arranging the types of program and conditioned spaces in the building, based on analysis, can help energy use at a primary level. After adjusting the energy settings by program, you will design an adaptive component with a variable shading element to use on these solar-intensive facades.

Additional Resources
Solar Studies
http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP21/Help/0519-Analyze_519/0570-Solar_St570

Solar Studies Overview Solar Studies Workflow Setting up and Creating Solar Studies Previewing Solar Study Animations Saving Solar Study Images to Projects Exporting Solar Studies Troubleshooting Solar Study Issues Working with Sun Settings

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Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Lesson 5: Conceptual Energy Analysis

Lesson 5: Conceptual Energy Analysis

Lesson Overview
Conceptual Energy Analysis (CEA) is a high-level analysis tool to deliver preliminary feedback and understanding of how the model created responds to site and climatic environment. This process can and should be used multiple times at different stages during the design process. It works for different scales but generates a set of data most relevant to comparing multiple design options of the same building. It will become important to spend some time thinking about the resulting data from the analysis as Vasari cannot speak to the implications of the new information.

Learning Objectives
Set Energy Settings and baselines for Conceptual Energy Analysis Perform a Conceptual Energy Analysis Review analysis results

Exercise 5.0: Conceptual Energy Analysis

Exercise File 5-0 ConceptualEnergyAnalysis.rvt Video Tutorial Video 5.0: Conceptual Energy Analysis Enable Energy Modeling In the Energy Analysis panel, click Enable Energy Model. This associates exterior walls with an energy envelope and glazing system to use for analysis. Once energy modeling is enabled, use the four different Energy Model Display modes to visualize and test different aspects of the model.

Energy Model Display Modes Modeling, analysis, and model management all become easier when using the right display mode. The Energy Model Display Modes are different view and selection settings for working with the model. Under Analysis > Energy Display there are four different options: By View, Form, Surfaces, and Zones.

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Model Display Modes

Show Mass Form This option displays all mass instances and forms in all views, even if the mass category is turned off in Visibility Graphics. Show Mass Surfaces Use this mode for changing conceptual constructions and other energy settings for individual mass surfaces (floors, slabs, walls, roofs, glazing, and skylights). Use Tab to cycle through and select different surfaces and objects individually. Show Mass Zones

Mass Form

Mass Surfaces

Mass Zones

For Conceptual Energy Analysis this displays individual mass zones. This allows selecting individual zones and editing unique settings. NOTE The energy analysis tool in Project Vasari will not allow you to isolate an individual mass in a project for analysis, so for this example we will be allowing it to look at all of our masses. Typically when performing an energy analysis, you would not simulate several buildings at once, you would do them individually. Just as a note, this example is purely to illustrate the process of conducting an energy analysis in Project Vasari. Appropriate Level of Detail During the modeling process, make sure not to be too detailed. Energy modeling for many of the quick analysis tools Autodesk Project Vasari has to offer is best done at a very basic level first. Adding lots of detail takes more time for testing options that may not be used. Energy analyses are processor-heavy operations that are often rough results of many variables. Simple models simply work better.

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Creating Zones and Assigning Programs to Spaces In this exercise, create new custom Zones in order to specify the program and conditioning type of different parts of the main building. You will be able to choose from a comprehensive list of use types, ranging from active storage to gymnasiums and auditoriums. You will also specify if those zones are heated, cooled, naturally ventilated, or mechanically ventilated. This functionality is achieved is by creating new geometry based on what has already modeled and cutting it out of the main building model. This performs two functions. It creates a custom space to isolate and add more detail to as well as provides a conceptual space specifically for running Conceptual Energy Analyses. If you are dealing with simple, orthogonal geometry, you can use the Core Offset option within the Energy Settings dialog. The core offset enables you to create a perimeter zone that is used to specify the conditioning settings for the areas closes to the exterior facades (which typically require more conditioning) and an interior zone. You may also use the Divide Perimeter Zones option also found in the Energy Settings dialog, which will divide your model by orientation, leaving you with four zones, one per each cardinal direction. This is particularly useful responding to the southern orientation with a different approach than the northern orientation. Specifying Individual Program Spaces Once all of the zones are created there are two options. You can select an individual zone and assign program to it by moving over to the properties dialogue and choosing a value for the Space Type field. Alternatively, you can create a Mass Zone Schedule to have a fast way at assigning program and conditioning type information. This will display all of the zones created, where you can also click on a cell within the schedule and have that particular zone become highlighted in the actual model.

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To create a schedule, click Manage tab > Schedule. For all of the detailed program assignments, simply open up the schedule created in the Browser.

Energy Settings Before using specific analysis tools, setting the project Energy Settings is a good first step. Use the Energy Settings dialog to set global values for the projects location, building type, phase, and energy model settings. Click Analysis tab> Energy Analysis > Energy Settings. Here are the settings used for the academic campus. Even though these were set first, they can be reviewed and edited at any time during the process. Energy settings can be edited per program space also, but this is the first step to standardizing a base setting. These options will be explored in Exercise 6.3.3: Changing Energy Settings per Analysis.

Additional Resources
Introduction to Conceptual Energy Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhimRBoaIlQ

CEA Detailed Workflow

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP21/Help/0519-Analyze_519/0618-Conceptu618/0620CEA_Deta620

Conceptual Energy Analysis Resources http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0521-Analyze_521/0620-Conceptu620

Best Practices for Conceptual Energy Analysis Energy Settings Customizing the Energy Model Troubleshooting Issues with Conceptual Energy Analysis Energy Analysis Terminology

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Changing Energy Settings Per Analysis

After the solar analysis, you can see how the sun is affecting the mass and can take some steps to change the design. This exercise will cover how to control the energy settings of each surface or space individually. Through a schedule, you will organize the facades in response to the results of an analyzed Energy Model. This will enable you to quickly toggle and test different target glazing ratios, conceptual constructions, and energy settings. These settings simulate abstract factors that influence the energy model like heat generation, material properties and insulation. The aim is to strategically group surfaces that will need similar design solutions like integrated solar shades or a particular material property (conceptual constructions) by orientation.

Facades By Orientation

It may become useful to create a schedule to manage all of your faade faces as they may become too complex to pick individually. To do so, start by creating a schedule that contains all of the mass surfaces in it similar to how we created a Mass Zone Schedule. This will enable you to quickly assign different conceptual constructions and target glazing percentages. A spreadsheet format that has direct interrelated connections with the model is a great way to edit program assignments iteratively. You can duplicate the model into a new design option to save your original settings while pursuing alternative options. Alternatively you can easily change settings from the model directly by using the Tab button to select each surface. Once selected, go over to the Properties>Setting Properties. The advantage of creating a schedule, however, comes with managing much larger amounts of surfaces through filtering them by type, or any other property. As per the understanding of the Ecotect Solar Radiation Study, you can change the amount of glazing of the areas that are the most exposed to the sun. You also have the option to test if they are shaded or not. Since you are working on a per surface basis, you can individually change all of the southern faces first, reducing the amount of glazing and enabling shading. For a full list of the changes made to each design option, open up the Mass Surfaces Schedule.

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Analyzing the Energy Model To run a test of the options that have been set up, click Analyze tab > Analyze Energy Model. This will send the model information to Autodesk's cloud-based service that will in turn generate an Energy Report. The following topic will discuss how to compare multiple analyses side by side.

Additional Resources
Comparing Conceptual Energy Analysis Results
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XRx94QFntY

Energy Model Settings

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0521-Analyze_521/0620-Conceptu620/0625Energy_S625/0628-Energy_M628

Conceptual Constructions
http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0521-Analyze_521/0620-Conceptu620/0625Energy_S625/0629-Conceptu629

Create Energy Model Core Offset Divide Perimeter Zones Glazing Is Shaded Target Percentage Skylights Skylight Width & Depth

Conceptual Energy Analysis Results and Compare

One of the most exciting features in Autodesk Project Vasari is the ability to have the assumptions and results of your Conceptual Energy Model automatically generated in a well-organized, concise, graphic format. In addition to being able to easily visualize what parameters are influencing the results the most, there is also the ability to easily compare multiple Conceptual Energy Model Results. This section will highlight a few of the most significant comparisons from this study.

Life Cycle Energy Use/Cost Often comparing the construction cost to the lifecycle cost is an important metric for balancing environmental design and construction. This table summarizes the estimated energy usage and cost over the life of the building, assuming a 30-year life span. Energy Use Intensity Energy use intensity (EUI) is a per-floor-area unit of measurement that describes a buildings energy use by area. EUI represents the energy consumed by a building relative to its size and as such can be informative when comparing options of different sizes. Electricity EUI refers to source energy use intensity, focusing on electricity required to run the building. Fuel EUI represents the total amount of raw fuel that is required to operate the building. Total EUI sums these two and incorporates all transmission, delivery, and production losses, thereby enabling a complete assessment of energy efficiency.

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Generating a Conceptual Energy Analysis To use the Conceptual Energy Analysis (CEA) feature, you must sign in to Autodesk Online Services by clicking Sign In in the top-right corner of the application frame. This is your Autodesk ID and allows you to sign in to the Labs energy analysis features. The CEA tool uses information from the Autodesk servers to analyze your model and generate results. After preliminary analysis and energy settings at in place, click the Analyze Mass Model button under Analyze > Energy Analysis. An alert appears in the bottom-right corner once the analysis is complete, or view the progress by clicking the Results and Compare button. The left sidebar displays completed analyses and the progress of in-progress analyses sent to the Autodesk server.

Results And Compare, Energy Analysis

View Results and Compare You can display multiple analyses for side-by-side comparisons using the Results and Compare tool. This dialog shows all of your analyses and shows results individually or side-by-side. Use Ctrl + Click to select multiple analyses for comparing in the same window. This is a great way to see how explicit changes in the design, whether a material change, a form change, or something completely different, can influence the cost, energy consumption, or metrics of the project. A Note on Accuracy & Detail in CEA It is relatively easy to analyze your model and get back results, but what is more useful or interesting is when that data is used to help make particular design decisions. The reality is that the best option may not always be the lowest energy use or the most efficient, but a tradeoff between multitudes of conflicting options. Although the numbers coming from the analysis may become more accurate with more detail, there is a point of diminishing returns. Dont overload the model and more importantly, the results compared are most meaningful only in relation to themselves.

Additional Resources
Conceptual Energy Analysis Best Practices
http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0521-Analyze_521/0620-Conceptu620/0623Best_Pra623

Conceptual Energy Analysis Reference: Details and Assumptions

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0521-Analyze_521/0620-Conceptu620/0663Referenc663

Results and Compare

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0521-Analyze_521/0620Conceptu620/0631-Results_631

Energy Analysis Charts and Tables

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Emailing Energy Analysis Results Exporting Energy Analysis Results

Energy Analysis Charts and Tables

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/TP25/Help/0521-Analyze_521/0620Conceptu620/0631-Results_631/0632-Energy_A632

Mass Building Performance Factors Energy Use Intensity Life Cycle Energy Use and Cost Renewable Energy Potential Annual Carbon Emissions Annual Energy Use/Cost Energy Use: Fuel Energy Use: Electricity Monthly Heating Load Monthly Cooling Load Monthly Fuel Consumption Monthly Electricity Consumption Monthly Peak Demand Annual Wind Rose Monthly Design Data Annual Temperature Bins Diurnal Weather Averages

Communicating Analyses: Representation & Graphic Settings

Autodesk Project Vasari allows you to generate a building information model and energy model simultaneously. This lets you not only share your work with others in file formats that they can use, but also allows for sophisticated visualization settings that make your analyses really come to life.

Graphics Display Styles It is important to be able to clearly communicate your design and analysis. Project Vasari has a number of graphic display settings, including the ability to turn on or off Analysis Display Styles. Under Manage > Settings is an option for customizing the visual display settings of the analysis tools. You can create new, multiple views and use them for different analyses while documenting your process. These styles are available throughout the Project environment, but not in the Family editor.

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Visibility Graphics You can use the visibility graphics tool (keyboard shortcut VG) to manage the way in which any set of objects in your file are displayed. Here you can filter, group, and change the way Vasari displays your objects in specific sheets, renderings, and in the viewport.

Communicating Your Work: Export PDF, Images, and gbXML Export images from the analysis and a PDF of the data in the Results and Compare within the dialog. For visuals of the model at different times of day, solar radiation analysis, or other results specific to the mass, Export Images and Animations through the Application menu. An exported gbXML file contains all of the heating and cooling information for a project according to the gbXML file structure. GbXML is an available option to communicate with third-party analysis tools to help leverage information about the models energy consumption characteristics. This functionality enables you to hand off your Conceptual Energy Model to an energy specialist, for example, while you continue to refine your design.

Additional Resources
Building Performance Factors

Location Weather Station Floor Area Exterior Wall Area People Exterior Window Ratio Fuel Cost

Reference for Conceptual Energy Analysis

Building Type Data Occupancy Schedules Building Operating Schedules HVAC Systems Space Type Data

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Visibility and Graphic Display in Project Views

Object Missing Overriding Visibility and Graphic Display of Individual Elements Overriding Graphic Display of Element Categories Removing Graphic Display Overrides for Element Categories Specifying Element Category Visibility Applying Transparency to Faces of Model Element Categories Controlling Visibility and Graphic Display of Elements Using Filters Hiding Elements in a View Overriding Individual Lines in an Element Overriding Host Layers Troubleshooting View and Visibility Issues

Assessment
After all the modeling, set up, and energy reports in the prior lessons everything is starting to come together. Take this time to explore and compare different assumptions. Keep track of the changes you are making by clearly labeling your analyses with the variables you are changing. Work towards isolating a particular variable to understand how it is affecting the whole model and build upon that knowledge. Here are some questions you can now answer with a few clicks of the mouse.

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What if you change all of the glazing ratios to 10%? In this case, you will most likely see changes in which element is the largest consumer of energy in the building. Because of the mild San Diego climate, you are able to use higher target glazing percentages, but by decreasing them, the amount of solar radiation that penetrates the buildings envelope is decreased. This means that most of the heat that must be exhausted from the building will be coming from the occupants. This may reduce the Energy Use Intensity, save tens of thousands of dollars over the 30 year lifecycle of the building, but it also means fewer views and may inadvertently create the necessity to turn on the lights during the day. In this scenario you are getting to the heart of what performance based design is all about: balancing and tradeoffs.

How does the conditioning of spaces in different climates affect the annual energy use? How do conceptual constructions affect energy use also? Setting the HVAC type for different spaces changes the energy needed to heat and cool the space over the year. Conceptual constructions are Project Vasaris method of adding a performance characteristic to a wall. This accounts for R-value, and as such the heating energy performance of the building.

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What would be the ideal height for the tower option? The reason why you used a parametric tower and optional extra buildings was to see a tradeoff in play. As you increase the tower height, you add more conditioned space. However, there is a different environmental cost associated to different program and even adding the same amount of space in a different program type may change the results. Consider program type as well as surface area in different design options.

Monthly Fuel Consumption

Is EUI or Life Cycle Energy Cost a better metric to use for lowering energy use? Similarly to the EUI, looking at one number without context will not give a clear answer. The second option is cheaper, but also uses more fuel over the life cycle. How can this be? Fuel is relatively cheap, but also probably comes at the cost of a higher carbon footprint. Consider which factor is most important to the project when deciding on final solutions. Skylights may also make a space more enjoyable, another factor that can be measured by no number.

What is the best way to look at multiple variables at once? Like any good experiment, it is best to compare only one variable at a time. These values are also most meaningful relative to themselves. Focus on a few individual goals and measure specific differences in a similar model. Monthly GBS Data Monthly figures can be Monthly GBS data does not represent the peak loads used for sizing of equipment. These charts also do not represent loads caused by ventilation air, which can have a significant impact in densely occupied buildings. To reduce cooling and heating load in future iterations of your project, you can use the monthly graphs to identify the critical components to building energy use.

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Cooling energy breakdown

Heating energy breakdown

Additional Resources
Best Practices

Best Practices for Conceptual Energy Analysis CEA Detailed Workflow Conceptual Energy Analysis

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Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Lesson 6: Ecotect Wind Rose and Wind Tunnel

Lesson 6: Ecotect Wind Rose and Wind Tunnel

Lesson 6 Overview
Understanding the prevailing wind patterns of your project site can be useful when it comes to designing ways to take advantage of natural ventilation or to screen occupants from uncomfortable windy conditions. The Project Vasari wind tunnel and wind rose tools allow you to study the local wind conditions and simulate the physical interactions of wind and your design.

Learning Objectives
Visualizing Wind Direction and Speed Wind Tunnel Analysis on Different Towers

Suggested Exercises
Exercise 6.0: Wind Rose Visualization
Exercise File 6-0 Wind_Start.rvt Video Tutorial Video 6.0: Wind Rose and Wind Tunnel Visualization Wind Rose Diagram From Weather Data The wind rose is a versatile tool for visualizing wind patterns for your specific site. You are able to limit the analysis period by year, season, month, week or day, allowing you a wide range of controls depending on what is important to your project. Begin by ensuring that you are logged into Autodesk Online Services with your Autodesk account in the upper right hand area of the Vasari application frame. This enables Vasari to access wind data from a weather file associated with your site.

The next step would be to ensure that you have your site location set correctly and a weather station assigned. You should pick the weather station that is closest to your site. Next, activate the Ecotect Wind Rose tool, which is located under the Analyze tab.

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The wind rose interface allows you to choose between a number of Google maps underlays. The default mode is set to display yearly average which will allow you to glean the general wind pattern of your site.

To control the analysis period, click on the Advanced time/date selection. On the bottom of the dialog, you will see the interface for narrowing your wind visualization period. Once you have a desired wind rose diagram selected, you can import as a family into the project by pressing (Send wind rose to BIM project).

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Reading a Wind Rose Diagram To understand the diagram, you must be able to read three pieces of information simultaneously.

Velocity Wind speed is indicated by the color of the region on the diagram. The units can be toggled at the bottom of the dialog box between Knots, Meters/sec and Km/hr. Unfortunately, there are no settings for imperial units. Frequency Each of the rings in the diagram corresponds to a scaled percentage of the analysis time which the wind is blowing at a certain velocity from that specific direction. The frequency reading is along the south axis of the diagram and will scale automatically. Direction Wind direction can be understood as the direction from which wind is blowing. The diagram displays direction according to cardinal directions. Ecotect Wind Tunnel The Wind Tunnel feature can be used in conjunction with Ecotect Wind Rose analysis to dynamically simulate the impact of wind speed and direction on your projects. This prototype plugin provides a simplified computational fluid dynamics simulation that provides designers and engineers with a virtual wind tunnel to gain an insight on aerodynamic effects early in the design process. Main uses for this tool are: Exterior Air Flow: 2d and 3d tools provide a highly visual understanding of how air will flow across your building and site. Pedestrian Comfort: 3D simulations of key airflow circulation paths to provide an indication of the potential impact on pedestrian comfort. Ventilation Boundary Conditions: 3D simulations of air flow across buildings to estimate the external pressure envelope. Preliminary wind loading calculations

Begin by clicking Analyze tab > Ecotect Wind Tunnel. The wind tunnel tool is a stand-alone module which imports all visible geometry into its analysis environment. If you wish to exclude anything from the wind tunnel analysis, hide it before activating the tool.

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There are two ways of controlling the settings for the wind tunnel, either using the compass which hovers in the modeling environment, or using the sliders and toggles on the bar to the left. Like the wind rose tool, the wind tunnel tool only displays in metric units. Wind Rose

The wind rose associated with your site can be applied to the wind tunnel compass by checking the wind rose box under Model Display. It will display the current wind rose analysis settings, and will update as you change it. 3D Volumetric The Wind Tunnel Tool can be set to display data volumetrically which shows the impact of wind in three dimensions. The 3D functionality has a number of ways to create wind visualizations, all of which can be toggled under Display settings. 3D Axis Changing the orientation of the analysis plane from horizontal to a vertical setting will allow you to view wind behavior from an elevation perspective. This can be found under 3D Axis in the 2D Grid Slice dropdown box. To modify your model geometry based on the airflow simulation, close the Wind Tunnel feature. Then edit your model(s) in the Vasari modeling environment and then reopen the Wind Tunnel tool to iterate the analysis on your revised model geometry. Only visible geometry will be included in the wind analysis, so ensure that only vital geometry is included, otherwise the simulation performance may be affected. Experiment with the calculations and your conceptual models to optimize potential air flow impact. Setting the 2D and 3D Grid Boundaries The size and shape of the bounding volume and its relationship with the geometric model can have a significant impact on the calculated air flow. The air flow calculation knows nothing beyond the boundaries of that volume; it is an absolute limit. If you create a grid that is too close to the side of a model, the air will be

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artificially squeezed up against that volume boundary. In reality, that air would have been able to expand much further into the space beyond, but instead it is forced through a small gap that will likely result in a localized area of high pressure and artificially increased air speed. This means that a 2D air flow analysis considers only those parts of the geometry that it actually intersects, and uses only air flow paths that exist within that 2D plane. If any geometry lies slightly outside that plane, both it and its potential turbulence effects are effectively ignored. When the analysis grid extents are properly set up, you can see the difference in results in that it alleviates areas of high pressure which occur between the model masses and the grid boundary.

Additional Resources
Using the Wind Tunnel Feature Ecotect Wind Tunnel Feature Known Issues with Wind Tunnel

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Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Lesson 7: Divided Surfaces

Lesson 7: Divided Surfaces

Lesson 7 Overview
Project Vasari can divide a range of surface types (planar, ruled surfaces, revolved surfaces, and double-curved surfaces) to rationalize the surface into parametric buildable components. This tool can quickly and easily create a means of applying controllable patterns and panels to any mass surface.

Learning Objectives
Create various paneling options (UV, floor plates, reference planes) Applying default patterns and panels

Suggested Exercises
Exercise File 7-0 Divided Surface.rvt 7-1 Divided Surface_Twisted Tower Video Tutorial Video 7.0: Divided Surfaces Dividing Surfaces This exercise discusses the steps necessary to control the way in which surfaces are subdivided, patterned, and rationalized. The Pattern Based Family loaded into the project will be instantiated on the selected subdivided surfaces. You can control these surfaces with a series of parameters that affect the spacing and number of U and V divisions. This creates different conditions for how the curtain panels will display and perform on the surfaces we are subdividing per different parts of the project.

For example, one solution may be to drive the amount of glazing in a panel parametrically based on the amount of solar radiation it will receive. The parameters used to drive the number of subdivisions will help enormously to test different panel types, sizes, and orientations.

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Begin by opening the 7-0 Divided Surface.rvt project file. We are going to be focused on the tower for this exercise by creating the control surfaces from which a curtain panel family will be hosted.

Under the Analyze tab> Design Options, ensure that the correct tower design you wish to focus on is activated. Once that is done, select the tower and click Edit Family, from here we can directly edit the attributed of the tower design. When we are finished, we will load the newly attributed tower family back into the original project environment. When you are inside the tower family, isolate your selection to the vertical walls by holding the control button to multiselect and the tab button to cycle through selection possibilities. Once you have the vertical walls, click Divide Surface on the ribbon.

The UV grid acts as a guide in patterning the surface. Manipulating the divided surface also manipulates the parametrically dependent patterns and components. The vertical walls will be divided according to the default U V spacing. Grid settings are located in the Properties dialog when you select the divided face. Changing the U values will affect the horizontal profiles, where the V values control the vertical profiles. UV lines can be controlled by a fixed Number whereby it will evenly space across the face, or you can choose to control them using a fixed distance, where they will be drawn at every increment which you set. You can control the rotation of the UV grid lines by specifying an angle in the Properties dialog. U and V angles can be controlled together by changing the All Grid Rotation or individually by changing the Grid Rotation under the corresponding U or V Grid controls. Custom UV Grid You can also divide a surface by using intersecting 3D levels, reference planes, and curves drawn on reference planes. To do this, begin by setting up some reference geometry. In this example, reference planes were used as our intersection geometry. To begin creating your custom UV grid, select the specific face you want to customize and click Intersect. Next is to select the intersection geometry, which in this case are the reference planes. To complete the operation, click Finish.
Set Ref. Planes Intersect face w/ Ref. Plane Custom UV Grid

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Applying Default Patterns and Panels Now that you have your means of controlling your patterns set in place, we can begin to assign some default patterns and panels to the surface. Select the face(s) which you want to apply patterns to and select the pattern drop-down menu in the Properties dialog on the left.

Now that you have a pattern applied to the surface, make sure to test that the grid and pattern updates to changes you make in geometry.

Additional Resources

Rationalizing Surfaces Patterning Surfaces Understanding UV Grids Editing the Patterned Surface

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Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Lesson 8: Pattern Based Families

Lesson 8: Pattern Based Families

Lesson 8 Overview
Now that you have established a framework for surface rationalization, you can begin to get creative with what you choose to host to it. The default patterns tend to be simplistic and may not accurately represent your project ambitions in the way you imagined. Luckily, you are able to create custom parametric curtain wall family panels which will conform themselves to the grid of your divided surface.

Learning Objectives
Create custom curtain wall families Instantiate your custom panel to your surface grid

Suggested Exercises
Exercise File 8-0 Divided Surface.rvt Video Tutorial Video 8.0: Paneling

Curtain Wall Family Begin this section by creating a new family. You will be prompted to choose between 3 choices of family templates. For this exercise, choose Curtain Panel Pattern Based. This will open a template with reference lines and reference points which you can use to create your panel.

Pattern Grid The underlying grid can be changed by selecting it, and changing the pattern type in the properties dialog drop down menu on the left. These provide the ability to make a panel based on a predefined pattern. For this exercise, we will choose the Hexagon pattern as the basis of our panel construction. We will be creating a simple frame with parameters to control the patterning uniformly across our system as well as locally on a frame by frame basis.

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Building Your Panel Start by placing a point anywhere on the reference profile of the hexagon. Next, draw a reference rectangle which is hosted to the point you just created. Ensure that you have the reference plane set correctly to the point. To be able to have control of the frame size, dimension your hosted rectangle.

After you dimension the rectangle, select each of the dimensions and assign a relevant height/width parameter to be able to vary its size in the project environment. The next step is to sweep the rectangle about the hexagon to generate the form of the frame. To do this, multi select the hexagon and the rectangle and click the Create Form.

Finish the panel by creating a glazing infill using the inner edge as a boundary. You can either draw a new boundary along the inner edge of the frame or you can multi-select the existing edge. Either way, once finished, click Make Form to generate the glazing panel. You can edit the material by clicking the panel and changing the material type in the properties dialogue box on the left. Once you have made it to this point, you should check to see if your panel functions correctly. Select the underlying grid and alter the dimensions on the left. If all is well with your panel system, it should have updated along with the grid dimensions.

Loading a Family When you have finished testing your panel, you can load it into a project to be applied to your divided surface. For this example, we will be using the twisted tower example called 8-1 Divided Surface_ Tower.RFA. Make sure this file, or another file is open for you to load this family into. When ready, click Load Into Project. If prompted, select the project which you want this family to be loaded into.

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Assigning Custom Pattern Families In the tower family, select the divided surfaces which you intend to apply your custom pattern to. In the upper left of your screen click the pattern selection dropdown and scroll until you find the family which you loaded. Note Applying this family to a doubly curved surface will cause it to break as it cannot reconcile the glass infill panel to the surface geometry. Use this panel family only with non-compound curves, or go into the family and delete the glass.

To alter the parameters of your panel, you can either double click on the family in the project browser and change values there or go back into the panel family and alter the parameters directly. By creating and assigning a Type parameter, you can control your panel form globally, by making it an instance parameter, you edit their values locally.

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Autodesk Vasari Workshop 2012 Workshop Lesson 9: Adaptive Components

Lesson 9: Adaptive Components

Lesson 9 Overview
The Adaptive Component functionality in Project Vasari is intended to work in conjunction with the pattern-based curtain panel tool. This functionality is designed to handle cases where components require more flexibility to adapt to many unique contextual conditions. For example, adaptive components could be used in repeating systems generated by arraying multiple components that conform to user-defined constraints. Adaptive components can also be useful for filling in end panels which the pattern based panels are unable to create.

Learning Objectives
Adding more control over custom panels Quantity extraction, material takeoffs

Suggested Exercises
Exercise File 9-0 Adaptive Components.rfa Video Tutorial Video 9.0: Adaptive Components

Adaptive Components You may have noticed in the previous section that the edges of the pattern-based panel faade we created automatically cleaned up its edges, though it did not resolve the edge conditions correctly, it merely chops the edges. In this section we will be taking a look at ways to deal with these types of issues which require a bit more flexibility and custom input from the user to resolve these unique contextual situations. Start by opening the 9-0 Adaptive Components.rfa project file. which will act as the host for our adaptive component. Then click New >Family, to open an adaptive component template. Placing Points Place 3 points in the modeling environment, location is not important for this step. These points will be our adaptive component reference points, from which the flexible panel will be created.

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Adaptive Points Next step is to make these points Adaptive. To do this, select the points and click Make Adaptive on the ribbon. The Make Adaptive command only displays when you have points selected. The order in which you create the points is important as this will dictate the order in which you must place them in the project environment. Once you have made your points adaptive, you will see the ordering by which you created the points displayed above them. The framework of this panel will be created using reference lines. Make sure to have 3D snapping turned on and the Make Surface from Closed Loops option turned off.

Similarly to the section on custom pattern based families, place a point on one of the lines from which you will create a hosted rectangle. Make sure to set the reference plane to the point before you make the rectangle. Add dimensions to the rectangle for both the depth and width. Next, parameterizing both dimensions to control each panel attribute and create the frame by sweeping the rectangle along the reference lines using Create Form. Finish the panel by creating the glazing panel in the center either by multi-selecting the boundary or drawing in new reference lines and assigning a glass material. Now you can test your rig by selecting one of the points and dragging. You should see everything update in response to the change in location on the reference point, as they are the reference to which everything is built upon. When you are satisfied that everything is working as intended, load it into 9.0 Adaptive Components_Start. Placing Panels Before you begin placing the panel, we need to change a few settings. First, select the divided panel surfaces and ensure that the Border Tile setting is set to Empty. When set to Empty, Vasari will not create partial panels and trim them at the edges. This is not the job of the adaptive component you just created. Next, we need to turn node points on for reference when placing the adaptive panel. Node points show the boundary conditions of the panels. To activate this, select an individual divided surface (one at a time for this step) and activate the Surface display mode in the upper right of the ribbon.

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The next step requires a bit of blind faith, as the button to activate the nodes is not directly visible. With the divided surface selected and surface display activated, hover your mouse over the bottom right corner of the Surface Representations panel. A small button will display.

When you click this button, a Surface Representation dialog displays. Click Surfaces tab, select the Nodes check box and press OK.

Now that you have everything prepared, we begin to place some panels. You can find your loaded adaptive panel in the project browser under generic families. When you have this located, drag and drop it into the project, this will begin the placement process which consists of locating the host points of the panel on the pattern based family surface. Make sure to click on the node points as the host points. This process is made easier if done from the back of the surface as the pattern based family is also hosted here as well and might be obscuring the node points.

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Depending on if you clicked in the correct order (clockwise vs. counter clockwise) your panel may have been hosted behind the surface as opposed to on top of it with the pattern based family. Instead of deleting the panel, you can select the panel and select the Flip check box in the Properties dialog. This option flips the directionality associated with this panel.

NOTE: It is important to note that our adaptive component does not have a relationship to our existing curtain panel component, so if you were to change the one, it will not affect the other. You will need to make sure to manage both systems independently of one another.

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Additional Resources

Adaptive Placement Points Adaptive Components Stitching Borders of Divided Surfaces

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