Exercise 7.3.1: Creating and Comparing Conceptual Estimates
Figure 7.3.1
Figure 7.3.2
In this exercise, students will learn how to:
- Create conceptual mass families to quickly model conceptual design alternatives.
- Add parametric controls to dynamically flex the mass size and shape.
- Use mass floors to divide a mass form into floor levels and quantify key metrics (area, perimeter, and volume) for each level.
- Schedule and total mass floor areas.
- Add parameters and simple formulas to compute conceptual cost estimates.
Student Exercise
Unit7_Lesson3_Exercise1_Start.rvt
- Create a conceptual cost estimate for the conceptual mass model contained in the dataset.
o Divide the conceptual mass into mass floors with a 12-foot floor-to-floor height.
o Create a schedule of the mass floors and calculate the total area available.
o Add a calculated value parameter to compute a cost estimate for each floor and the total conceptual cost for the entire building based on the areas enclosed.
- Duplicate the previous estimate and adjust the copy to allow you to refine the estimate on a floor-by-floor basis:
o Add a shared parameter to assign a function to each of the mass floors.
o Update the schedule to use different costs per square foot based on the function assigned to each mass floor.
o Add a calculated value to the schedule to compute a conceptual cost for each mass floor based on the function specified.
- Add parametric control to the conceptual mass to enable you to quickly test different configurations and see the impact on the conceptual estimate.
o Edit the conceptual mass family and add parameters to quickly change the length, width, and height of the mass.
o Reload the mass family into your project and flex the new parameters to see the impact on the conceptual cost estimate.
o Set up design options to enable you to test and display conceptual estimates for three different length/width/height configurations.
