topic Re: Looking for your opinion in Project data & BIM

Looking for your opinion

Anonymous — Fri, 26 May 2023 07:05:32 GMT

Looking for your opinion

Hello everyone.
I am doing a project that is largest so far for me. It is 6 storey, 91 unit apartment building.

I did this project using “Hotlink Manager” for the actual unit walls bathrooms kitchens. And exterior walls and walls between units are placed on drawing using wall tool.

So my question is: What is the easiest way to detail these (17 different) units so even if something changes in the unit (i.e.: wall moves or bathroom changes) It will update automatically.

I tried using Detail marker but updating does not work the best plus everything is in 2D.
Also I tried using white Fill and filling everything around the unit so I can see only the unit working, but problem with that is that there is way too many layers (17 units and 17 different fills and its layers).

Does anyone have any other solutions?

Thank you
Dragan

Re: Looking for your opinion

Scott Bulmer — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:01:04 GMT

When you say 'detail', are you referring to large scale arch/struct. details, or are you referring to singling out the unit plans for individual dimensioning and annotations?

Re: Looking for your opinion

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:20:23 GMT

Yes I do mean singling out the unit plans for individual dimensioning and annotations

Re: Looking for your opinion

Laura Yanoviak — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:27:27 GMT

What we've done is have an individual file for each unit, which contains the interior perimeter of the unit indicated by a 2D polyline. Only interior unit elements (in other words, no exterior or common walls) are placed in these plans. We then Hotlink these files into the master model file in 2 places: within the building floor plans (where then exterior and common walls are added, along with stairs, elevators, etc.) -- and to a Story dedicated to individual unit plans (this is where the units are annotated and dimensioned). Hope this makes sense...

Re: Looking for your opinion

Scott Bulmer — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:33:57 GMT

The way we do it is to have a separate PLN file containing all unit plans, each plan standing alone. Those plans (saved as modules) are used as the modules imported into the Master building PLN. Those unit plans have the exterior walls on a special layer that can be hidden after importing as modules into the master building plan.

So, the separate unit PLN/MOD file has a dual purpose and includes; the dimensioned annotated unit plans that will be placed in your master building Layouts, as well as modules for placing into the overall master building model (with the exterior wall layer off for the units).

It works!

Re: Looking for your opinion

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 16:33:19 GMT

We go a little further and put all the unit plans on individual stories - this allows for cutting and pasting and other copying of elements between units - and allows for general set up for publishing the modules - Takes a little more time up front but is a speedier update by not having to open individual files. Also simplifies a little file management. When updates are needed just publish a revised set of modules.

In updating to 10 it would appear that exterior and demising walls are better in the main plan and the modules would contain the interior information. This does create a condition that the windows and exterior doors require placement in the elevations/plans of the main plan - but this is a better way for the exterior design to be coordinated.

Always more than one way to do something.

Lew Bishop
Jon Worden Architects
G5 Dual 2.0 - 4 GB - nVidia 6800
OS X 10.4.7 AC 10 966

Re: Looking for your opinion

Laura Yanoviak — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 14:45:52 GMT

We also publish to MOD prior to hotlinking into the master model file.

Hadn't thought about placing all unit plans in one file, but this was before we were comfortable with Teamwork -- good idea -- LJY.

Re: Looking for your opinion

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:57:21 GMT

Hi Laura,

Laura wrote:
We then Hotlink these files into the master model file in 2 places:...

I like the idea (specially because we can list elements for each unit/story), but this action duplicates the size of the main file, isn't it?

I think graphisoft should improve the hotlink manager by giving a name(like unit 1A, unit 1B... For listing the elements) and control the visibility of each instance of hotlinked modules. What do you think?

Re: Looking for your opinion

Laura Yanoviak — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 16:12:18 GMT

I'm not quite sure I understand you, but will attempt a response...

The files that are hotlinked are MODs and are not very large -- for an 18 story building, there may be dozens of instances of the same hotlink.

I suppose, if you wanted to, you could create a unique layer within the master model file for each unit and place the hotlinks on their respective layers, which would allow you to control the visibility of each instance...

Re: Looking for your opinion

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 16:55:04 GMT

Laura wrote:
I suppose, if you wanted to, you could create a unique layer within the master model ...

Yep... but I can't list the elements in the "master layer" which is the main problem...

Re: Looking for your opinion

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 01:27:01 GMT

The file size of the modules seems to be in line at 22.5MB for about 35 different versions of units from flats to thownhouses. The ability to publish a set version of the units for each function, i.e. modules to assemble the building, mods for export to dwg for consultants and other versions for presentation etc. is the key to the productivity of the system. The project in question is a midrise steel framed building of about 70 0r so units..(No comment about the individuality of the unit plans) we just like variety. Updates are fairly quick even when accessed across our MAC network. Schedules have been extracted from the units alone and the public areas of the building generate the general stuff. Haven't gotten to the finishes and equipment lists yet but expect the system to do it fairly easy.

Lew Bishop
Jon Worden Architects
G5 Dual 2.0 4GB nVidia 6800
OS X 10.4.7 AC 10 966

Module Nightmare

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:45:18 GMT

I'm in the midst of a nasty mess right now.

Working on a our story townhouse, that I wanted to share with people in my office.

It's carried over from AC 9, so it has old Lib parts, which I'm sure complicates things.

I started trying to use Teamwork, but the file slowed way down.

Then figured, change each floor to a mod, and hotlink back to host. Then I noticed all int. elevation work is lost in the mod. Better to hotlink a pln, and keep each floor int. elev in the individual floor pln. The each workerbee can do their layouts regarding that floor, and they can be imported to the host for publication (all to get a list of drawings.)

However, saving each floor as a pln, they generate errors, and all my walls have vanished.

What have I done wrong? Why do the AC gods frown so?

Hey, here's a suggestion: Post a table of what info gets held in Mod files, and where it is appropriate to hotlink them vs. plns. And what operations work in each. (SEOs work between wall of one mod and roof of another. Acutally, you can SEOs within a mod that is already in a host. Mods don't save views.)

Re: Module Nightmare

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:05:43 GMT

Nathan wrote:
However, saving each floor as a pln, they generate errors, and all my walls have vanished.

What have I done wrong? Why do the AC gods frown so?

There are basically two methods which differ only in the details:

1: Link the PLNs directly. They link floor by floor so there is no need to save the stories as separate files. This has the advantage of being easy to set up and very automatic. It has the disadvantage of denying any control over what is included in the linked files.

2: Publish the stories as modules. This allows detailed control of which layers are included in the linked files.

In either case the interior elevations are best developed in the source files and linked as drawings to the layout set. The only way to share 2D data between sections is to publish those separately as modules. This is a situation where fully developing the model will really pay off so that building elements don't have to be drawn in 2D.

Re: Module Nightmare

Laura Yanoviak — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:27:34 GMT

Nathan wrote:
...change each floor to a mod, and hotlink back to host. Then I noticed all int. elevation work is lost in the mod. Better to hotlink a pln, and keep each floor int. elev in the individual floor pln. The each workerbee can do their layouts regarding that floor, and they can be imported to the host for publication (all to get a list of drawings.)

However, saving each floor as a pln, they generate errors, and all my walls have vanished...

Publish to MOD to hotlink into master model; keep the PLN as a working file for editing and to generate interior elevations, etc. Just remember to publish to MOD again after making changes to keep MOD file current.

Re: Looking for your opinion

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:21:30 GMT

This is all to avoid/ work around teamwork, right? Or do people use published mods in conjunction with TW?

What elevation marker do you use now?
How do you key elevations if they aren't in the host? (Sorry LY, but keeping the markers in the host means only the host worker gets to work on them.) The Hotlinked plans need to be referenced in the hosts' layout or they don't show their elevation markers, but then they only know what they are referencing if its in the host file.(or is it time to retire the Multi Elevation Marker? )

And is it true that hotlinked data doesn't show up in schedules? I've set most everything to schedule in this job, and don't want to risk loosing that. I realize that the schedule is no longer 2-way: Doors in the Linked plan can't be modified from the host's schedule, only the hotlinked PLN.

Re: Looking for your opinion

Laura Yanoviak — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 15:10:00 GMT

Publishing to MOD helps keep the master model file size manageable -- it doesn't have anything to do with working with TW.

We don't use the Interior Elevation Tool, in that it's impractical (at best) and was downright unpredictable in AC9. We use individual SE Markers. I don't know why these couldn't be placed in the host...