There’s no sense in using Save As when you can use design options.
It makes me cringe when a Revit designer tells me that in order to create a different version of the same project, they perform a “Save As” and create an entirely new project. How can they not know about design options?
Here are some scenarios where design options can make your life so much easier and simpler.
Scenario 1:
You are the CAD manager at a firm. Your supervisor comes in and says, “Business has been great. We are hiring more people. We are moving to a new, larger building. Here is the basic open space. Your job is to lay out the cubicles, offices and departments. I want two to three different concepts to present to everyone.”
With Revit, you lay out the exterior of the space and that is the main model. You then create two or three different design options with the different floor plans. You create floorplan views for each design option and bring them to your supervisor.
Scenario 2:
A client hires you to design an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to be constructed in their backyard. The plan is that they will rent it out and eventually may move an elderly relative into the building. They would like to see three different floor plans before they decide what to do with the space. They provide you with the amount of space the unit can take up and the general layout of the site.
Once again, Revit allows you to quickly and easily create different design options within the same project file. You can implement different windows, doors, kitchens, bathrooms, and other details but keep the basic footprint the same.
Scenario 3:
You work for a firm that does kitchen and bathroom remodels. Most clients not only want to see two or three different designs but also want to know what each version will cost.
With Revit, you can create the design options and create a schedule view for each design option, so you can lay out the cost of the cabinets, appliances, and so on.
For design options to work well, you want to create a view for each design option. You can then place the views on a sheet, so it is easy to compare the different floor plans, elevations and 3D views.
Additionally, any common elements, such as walls, doors and windows, should be assigned to the main model. You can move elements from one design option to another or move an element from the main model to a design option or from a design option to the main model.
Keep in mind that the more design options you create, the larger your project file size will get. Most designers will delete the unused or undesired design options once a decision has been made.
The following tutorial walks you through to the process of assigning a design option to a schedule to make it easy to determine how much each design will cost.
Imagine that you are a kitchen designer. You have created two design options to present to a client. The client would like to know the cost of each design. The designer creates a schedule for each design option.
The file used in the tutorial is included for download with this article so you can work along with it.
Open kitchen design options.rvt.
Open the “A101- Design Options Kitchen” sheet.
Go to the View ribbon.
Click Schedule/Quantities.
Highlight Multi-Category.
Type Kitchen Remodel – Island.
Set the Phase to New Construction.
Click OK.
Add the following fields:
- Category
- Description
- Model
- Manufacturer
- Cost
In the Filter tab:
Filter by: Category does not equal Walls
And Category does not equal Floors
This will filter out walls and floors from the schedule.
In the Sorting/Grouping tab:
Sort by Category.
Enable Footer.
Select “Title, count and totals”.
Enable Grand totals.
Set it to Totals only.
Enable “Itemize every instance”.
In the Formatting tab:
Highlight Category.
Enable “Hidden field”.
In the Formatting tab:
Highlight Cost.
Set the Alignment to Right.
Select “Calculate totals”.
Click OK.
The schedule opens.
Click Edit to launch the Visibility/Graphics dialog.
Set the Design Option to “Kitchen w_island”.
Click OK.
It appears the materials for the island kitchen remodel will cost around $8,000.
Highlight the schedule.
Right-click and select Duplicate View→Duplicate.
Rename the schedule Kitchen Remodel – Bar.
Click Edit next to Visibility/Graphics Overrides.
Set the Design Option to Kitchen w_Bar.
It appears the materials for the kitchen with the bar remodel will cost around $11,000.
This tutorial is an excerpt from author’s textbook: “Autodesk Revit 2024 Architecture Certified Professional Exam Study Guide”
