Reference Levels (Non-Story Levels for Better Model Control)

[Pedro Melo]

It would be extremely helpful to introduce the concept of Reference Levels in Archicad — similar to Revit’s Levels — which are non-structural, non-story markers used to define key vertical positions in a model (e.g. ceiling heights, parapets, window datum lines, etc.).

These levels would not function as actual stories, and would not be exported as separate floors in IFC, but would provide a consistent and visible reference for modeling and coordination.

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Proposed Implementation:

• Add a new category of levels in the Story Settings dialog, called Reference Levels

• Reference Levels would:

  • Appear in Section/Elevation views with custom markers

  • Be usable as snapping and alignment guides

  • Be selectable in element settings (e.g. set top of wall or beam to “Ceiling RL +2.7m”)

  • Not generate story markers or impact IFC story structure

  • Have their own layer or visibility control

Optional extras:

• Reference Levels could be grouped (e.g., Ceiling Levels, Façade Datums)

• Could be color-coded or styled differently from real stories

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Why This Is Important:

• Improved Coordination: Ceiling levels, bulkhead lines, parapet heights, etc., can be defined and referenced clearly, without cluttering the Story structure or requiring dummy stories.

• Cleaner IFC Export: No need for fake stories that confuse consultants or clash with structural models.

• More Accurate Modeling: Allows modeling elements like walls, ceilings, and beams in relation to a defined height, not just the nearest story or manual height input.

• Industry-Standard Workflow: This aligns with how many multidisciplinary teams work — especially when integrating with Revit-based consultants.

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Example Use Case:

In a commercial building:

• Ground Floor is at 0.00

• Ceiling RL at +3.200

• Bulkhead RL at +2.600

These are critical modeling guides, but don't warrant actual stories. Currently, workarounds like 2D lines or fake stories are used, which are not robust or parametric.

[Barry Kelly]

We have 2 customisable reference levels now and these can be used to dimension elements based on those levels and place elements in relation to those levels.

But there are only 2.

Are these what you require?

Options menu > Project Preferences > reference Levels.

Barry.

[Pedro Melo]

Yes, I’m aware of the two customizable Reference Levels in Archicad under Project Preferences — they’re useful for dimensioning and basic referencing, but what I’m requesting is quite different.

In Revit, you can create an unlimited number of Levels, which are similar to Stories in Archicad, but with a key distinction: you can define whether or not they represent an actual story (floor) in the building model. These levels act as persistent horizontal planes in the model and can be used as constraint references for elements like walls, ceilings, roofs, beams, etc.

For example:

• A wall’s top constraint can be set to “Ceiling Level 1” instead of just a numeric height or a story.

• If that “Ceiling Level 1” is moved, all elements associated with it automatically adjust.

• These levels appear in sections/elevations and can be used for tagging and documentation — but they don't necessarily generate a story in the model or layout book.

So the wish is for something similar in Archicad: a way to define named, editable horizontal planes that behave like stories in terms of control and constraints, but without being tied to the story structure or exported as IFC floors. These could then be used to:

• Control ceiling heights, beam heights, parapets, etc.

• Serve as top/bottom constraints for walls, slabs, or roofs

• Appear in sections/elevations as reference lines for documentation

In short: it's about modeling flexibility and parametric control, especially in more complex or multi-volume designs where not everything fits neatly into a story-based hierarchy.

[hmartell]

This is something I've posted about before as well:

I would love a hierarchy:

Building / Story / Level.

Buildings can be defined as a groups of Stories, and within those, you can assign stories and levels (as many as you want)

Levels are reference only as they are now, stories create floor plans as they do now. The "relative to_" options could be pull-downs for most flexibility

Event Center: 465'-3" Sea Level

-Basement [story]: -12'-0" (Relative to First Floor or Fixed to another sea level elev)

  - Elevator Pit Level : -3'-0" (Relative to Story)

-First Floor [story]: 0'-0" (Relative to Building Elev or Fixed to another sea level elev)

   - Stage level: +1'-6"

   - Patio level: -0'-1/2"

-2nd Floor [ story]: 15'-0" (Relative to First Floor or Fixed to another sea level elev)

Catering Building: 465'-0" Sea Level

-First Floor [story]: 0'-0"

   - Level 1: 

These could have the UI of Design Options & Keynotes (Nested items in folders etc)

[Rve]

I completely agree with you. It would be fantastic if Graphisoft integrated this into Archicad in this way

[SeaGeoff]

I agree as well. I'm sure we all work around this now in some way or another. I used to use morph planes, then I created a custom reference level object paired with a label. This works quite well but lacks the key feature of a built-in system: being integrated into all the other tools.

[ChristianMuntean]

Hey everyone, I´ll do some UI sketches of the possible implementation that hmartell mentioned with some additions to comply with the IFC Data Schema. To expand on this I would introduce a Site level aswell. The hierarchy would be like this:

Site > Buildings > Storeys > Refrence Levels

[ChristianMuntean]

Here´s my quick UI sketch of how it could be implemented inside the Archicad ecosystem. Note: This variant is fully IFC data scheme compliant and provides great flexibility while still preserving the simplicity for the architect that doesn´t want to tinker with reference planes (by choosing a story directly the system knows to pick the main reference plan if no other reference plane was selected)

This is the active Story Settings.

This is my suggestion (open for Feedback and improvements) for managing Sites, Buildings, Stories, and Reference Layers.

And this is my suggested implementation in the Wall tool for example. Pretty much the same concept inside the Slab tool, beam, column, everywhere really...
The red arrow means: "by choosing a story directly the system knows to pick the main reference plan if no other reference plane was selected"

Implementation within the Floorplan Views:

Each Floorplan belongs to a Story, which belongs to a building, which belongs to a Site. The current system of "Show on Stories" requires somewhat a vertical structure of the Stories and doesn´t really take Split-levels or Split-stories into consideration. That´s exactly why the Parameter "Type" within the Table (second Screenshot) is for. "Primary" means in will be taken into account when the system needs to decide what will be affected by "Show on Stories", and "Secondary" means the system will not take that Story into account when dealing with "Show on Stories".
All Stories are exported as IFC Elements, all Reference Levels are not exported in any 3D way or form.

Thanks for reading this through, I hope I summarized the ideas of everyone in this design. And yes I know that this is not perfect, I'm quite aware of some edge cases actually, but I decided that Graphisoft will take care of those further on (hopefully haha). I´m always open to feedback and suggestions, thanks in advance!

Cheers!

[Pedro Melo]

Thanks for the detailed mockup, @ChristianMuntean  — really great thinking, and I love how you’re approaching this with clarity and consistency. The idea of Reference Levels is absolutely something I think Archicad needs — especially for controlling ceiling heights, aligning complex elements, and managing multi-use spaces.

That said, I’m a bit unsure about introducing an entirely new “Site > Building > Story > Reference Level” structure. It’s well-organized, but I worry it might add complexity during modeling. For example, when placing a wall or slab, would we now have to choose both a building and a reference level? That extra step might interrupt flow...

Still — love where this is going, and really appreciate the time you took to visualize it.

I'd be curious to hear if there's a way to simplify the process, possibly by optional steps or a toggle. What do others think?

[SeaGeoff]

Great work @ChristianMuntean. This is a much better reflection of what we all deal with on real projects than what we have now.

I will add one obvious point if I may, which is the need for good graphic marker options and corresponding data. Many of the Reference Levels I establish are neither Stories nor controls for element heights, but rather datum or limits necessitated by permitting agencies, like Average Exiting Grade and Height Limit. In this case I do not need to access these levels within tool settings, but I do need to show them consistently in elevations and building sections.

In the example below all the level markers are custom objects that report their vertical location but are not otherwise connected to any project-wide data. I improved this system by creating a 3D reference plane object that can then share its properties with labels placed in the S/E viewpoints. This helps keeps things coordinated across drawings but is still tedious to setup and maintain. Your concept would take this a step further if a Reference Level could optionally display a marker in any S/E view, similar to a gridline.

[ChristianMuntean]

Thank you @Pedro Melo, I knew these questions would arise. I just forgot to add them to my previous post. That complexity is although only theoretically there, because if you draw a Wall within the ground floor, the system knows exactly which ground floor you are inside, therefore knows what story is linked to that Floor plan, therefore knows the building the Story is within, and therefore knows the Site. By that Archicad would automatically insert those Values into the property of the drawn item.

Drawing within 3D Viewports is a Edgecase for this usecase. For this new system, when drawing in the 3D Viewport you would always have to specify the building and choose the Storey within the Wall/Slab.

Or you could maybe have a default "Active Building" button where you can switch the active Building you would want to draw inside. This "active Building" could look like this:

So as long as "Building 01" is selected, everything you draw in that Floor Plan will be within "Building 01", which is within "Site 01". You would only have to select a Building, not a Site. A Building is within a Site and therefore knows where it belongs to.

For Architects that DO NOT want this added complexity they would only have one site with one building. If that is the case then the system would always insert that building (which is inside that one site) as a default, because well.. there is no other building to insert. The architect that wants it simple doesn´t have to do anything else. He can still use the good old system with only Stories (= Main Refrence Levels) for only one Building and one Site.

For Architects that DO want this added complexity there is that Dropdown on the bottom of each View where they can select the "active Building" they want to model the Walls/Slabs into. And there is always the option to go into the Element itself (Wall/Slab) and change its Building within the Properties (Screenshot from previous message)