Have Your Form and Function Too with Conceptual Massing in Revit
Life as an architecture student in the studio gets exciting when it comes time for the first big “real” project. No more abstract stick and cardstock models! During your initial research or precedent study, it isn’t hard to get lost in a quest for the perfect form by scrolling through image after image of some of the most interesting buildings out there. Some are practical while others not so practical.
One of the first things you learn as a student is the form follows function principle. You have those on one end of the spectrum who design with form as their main motivator, and on the other side the opposite holds true where you must let function determine the form.
Perhaps you consider yourself somewhat of a hybrid of the two. You want your designs to be safe, sustainable and, yes, have function as well. No matter how hard you try though you can’t resist this creative itch compelling you to push boundaries, be unique and create something of beauty. Your goal is to be able to "hop in and out of the box" with your thinking during the design process.
Achieving such a goal can be quite challenging. Between trying to balance your time between site analysis, code research and form exploration (with 3D, meaning hours of hot gluing and most likely nearly severing your finger with a X-acto knife), and then creating floor plans, elevations, site plans, etc. - you understand.
You may be wondering if there is a tool out there that will allow you to be creative with form, work fast and still be functional. Well, the Conceptual Massing environment in Revit will allow you to do just that. You can create form while still thinking about things like floor plates, glazing, egress and circulation. The speed at which you can place walls, floors and even stairs into your unique form will allow you to keep the ideas flowing while maintaining a realistic approach to problem solving.
So when you grow tired of sticky finger tips, burn marks and possibly even a few stitches, start working in Revit's Conceptual Massing environment to develop your concepts. You'll be amazed at how fast and easy you can go from an idea or simple sketch to a solid, unique and buildable concept with little effort.
See how you easily design form with function with Revit tutorials.
Perhaps you consider yourself somewhat of a hybrid of the two. You want your designs to be safe, sustainable and, yes, have function as well. No matter how hard you try though you can’t resist this creative itch compelling you to push boundaries, be unique and create something of beauty. Your goal is to be able to "hop in and out of the box" with your thinking during the design process.
Achieving such a goal can be quite challenging. Between trying to balance your time between site analysis, code research and form exploration (with 3D, meaning hours of hot gluing and most likely nearly severing your finger with a X-acto knife), and then creating floor plans, elevations, site plans, etc. - you understand.
You may be wondering if there is a tool out there that will allow you to be creative with form, work fast and still be functional. Well, the Conceptual Massing environment in Revit will allow you to do just that. You can create form while still thinking about things like floor plates, glazing, egress and circulation. The speed at which you can place walls, floors and even stairs into your unique form will allow you to keep the ideas flowing while maintaining a realistic approach to problem solving.
So when you grow tired of sticky finger tips, burn marks and possibly even a few stitches, start working in Revit's Conceptual Massing environment to develop your concepts. You'll be amazed at how fast and easy you can go from an idea or simple sketch to a solid, unique and buildable concept with little effort.
See how you easily design form with function with Revit tutorials.
