Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

The issues of sustainability are well known. But how can we use Revit to aid our design processes and meet compliance requirements?

Buildings: Consume 40% of energy Emit 50% of greenhouse gases

Key Issues: • Energy

• Carbon Emissions • Embodied Energy • Solar Access • Ventilation

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

• Water • Waste

Ratings Schemes • Green Star http://www.gbca.org.au/green-star/

• ABGR • LEED

Government Compliance Requirements

You need to comply with:

• BASIX • SEPP65 (NSW) • NATHURS

The LEED spreadsheet

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

• This spreadsheet can be modified for use with other

ratings/compliance schemes.

BASIX

http://www.basix.nsw.gov.au/information/index.jsp

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

BASIX Checklist:

You have a BIM – Use It!

Put Revit at the centre of your processes; but… Not everything has to be Revit.

Sun Studies • Shadow plans and elevations

• Animated sun study • Export AVI • Export JPGs

• Multi-day • Single-day

• Use Massing for context

• Use a View template to toggle AMG Settings • Use SketchUp • Render for shadows from foreground buildings, internal

sun study

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

• Trace with detail lines/filled regions and export

• You cannot overlay views for new and existing shadows • Setting the place • Setting True North • Casting shadows to topo/workplane/floors

Setting ‘Place’ in Revit

Set through: • Settings -> Place and Locations • Advanced Model Graphics • Rendering

Creating a user-defined location

• Daylight Saving can be set, but check its applicability on

the study dates. Setting True North

What is Project North and what is True North?

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

• Rotate True North tool

• Testing SEPP65/BASIX/LEED performance • Scheduling performance • Room, Space and Area objects

Still Sun Studies • Setting up the study

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

Animated Sun Studies

• Setting up the study

• Once Setup, Preview Solar Study Appears in Advanced Model Graphics

• Controls on Options Bar

Export Animated Solar Studies

• File -> Export -> Animated Solar Study

• This can be an AVI animation or; • JPG, BMP etc

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

Schedule of Demolished Materials

• Setting up a Phase Filter • Understanding Phasing • Applying Phase concepts to Schedules and Material

Takeoffs • Creating the Material Takeoff

• Filtering for unwanted materials

Area Schemes, Area Plans and Scheduling

Area Schemes • Area Schemes provide the means to look at areas in

different ways. • Areas in different schemes are not double-counted. • Set up an Area Scheme for ESD compliance

Area Boundaries • Area Boundaries are the borders to Areas • Set the Workset before you create the Area Plan • Area Boundaries are Model Lines. • Area Boundaries can be cut and pasted between Area

Plans

Area Boundary Tips

• Turn off ‘Apply Area Rules’, (and keep turning it off!) • Area Boundaries do not need to perfectly closed or

continuous. • Adjust Visibility/Graphics settings in a ‘working’ Area

Plan to make the boundaries easier to place • Test by placing areas, and by isolating the boundaries. • Use ‘Automatically create Area Boundaries’ when

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

creating the Area Plan – but set the Workset first!

Color Schemes • Set up Color Schemes to work with Area Plans and

Plans (and now Elevations and Sections)

• Color Schemes are the best way to detect errors and see your progress in assigning the areas.

• The colours are create automatically by Revit as it finds new values in the model

• The colors can be changed • Area Plans can only create a Color Scheme based on

the values of Areas • Floor Plans, and Sections can only create a Color

Scheme based on the values of Rooms • Rooms are not Areas and Areas are not Rooms • MEP Spaces are related to Rooms

Setting up Parameters to Filter

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

• Shared Parameters

• Project Parameters

Area Plan with Color Fill

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

Scheduling BASIX Compliance with Revit

Exporting Schedules to Excel

• Techniques for keeping it synchronised

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

Presentation Views

Explain your ESD proposals

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

View Studies

Bring in the big guns:

Ecotect

Ecotect knows climate!

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

• Ecotect with Radiance

Revit Architecture – Sustainability Rodd Perey, Architectus

Ecotect with Airpak by Fluent CFD

• Computational Fluid Dynamics

Embodied Energy & Carbon

Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE): http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/sert/embodied/

Rodd Perey, Design Technology Director, Architectus Rodd.perey@architectus.com.au www.architectus.com.au