Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture Philip Chan, LEED AP Co-presenter: Kelvin Tam, RA, NCARB, LEED AP - NBBJ

Class Code: AB224-7C

Curtain wall system is not just a tool for curtain wall or storefront. When you think outside-the-box, it can

become a powerful design and documentation tool in Revit. We will showcase how to use and customize

curtain wall system in Revit to solve some of the common but complex design problems. This class will

explore the possibility of creating a family using the characteristics of a curtain wall system for another

purpose. We will unfold the secrets of what a curtain wall system can do for you. These skills will not

only benefit individual Revit users but also the entire project team.

About the Speakers:

Philip Chan has worked for a variety of architectural firms for over 10 years. He has been using Autodesk products for

12 years. Philip had been involved in implementing Revit for a number of Architectural firms in the Houston area which

included from setting up office standards, creating and maintaining Revit library content , providing training and

technical support to users. Philip has been a speaker at the local Revit user group. Philip holds a bachelor’s degree of

Architecture and Environmental Design from University of Houston. He is also an Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

certified professional.

Contact: pchan925@yahoo.com

Kelvin Tam has been growing in BIM with Autodesk® since he was a designer at RTKL starting using Revit Building

version 8.0. With a passion in BIM, Kelvin has been thinking out of the Revit package box for challenges that the

program could hardly do and trying to push Revit Architecture to the very limit to satisfy architects' specific needs for

design, documentation and management. He has been working as both a designer and BIM lead on a variety of

building types in the nation's leading design firms as RTKL, Rossetti Architects and NBBJ. Currently, Kelvin is a

project BIM coordinator at NBBJ and is highly involved in setting up standards and protocols for the firm's BIM

implementation. Holding a B.S. in Environmental Design from the College of Architecture at the University

of Houston and a B. Arch from SCI-Arc, Kelvin has a very strong design sensibility and is bringing design

and technology together in the practice of architecture.

Contact: ktam11@hotmail.com

Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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INTRODUCTION

Unlike typical walls, a curtain wall is a system that uses a defined set of rules. In this class, we will take

this concept to apply on different elements for a building or a site components in a project.

Typical Properties Dialog Box of a Curtain Wall System

Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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ALTERNATIVE USE OF CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM

Theater Seating

Concept:

Easy placement. Use it as a linear row of seats other than individual family.

Flexibility. Roll of seating can be place as straight line or curve.

Ease of schedule; accurately report the total number of seats in schedule.

Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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Parking Space

Concept:

Similar to theater seating; parking space can be placed as a linear row other than individual family.

Can be placed in curve.

Ease of schedule; whether it is for 100 spaces or 1,000 spaces.

Parking Space Nested in Curtain Panel Family

Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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Trellis

Concept:

Creating trellis framework as a slope glazing.

Make sure in the type properties – set curtain panel to empty system panel.

Equally and correctly place structural member within the perimeter of the frame.

Easy to make adjustment to the shape of the frame.

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Space Frame

Concepts:

Use conceptual mass to control module parametrically

Relationship of curtain system with conceptual mass

Building curtain panel techniques

Flexing conceptual mass to flex curtain panel size and number

Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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Cabinets

Concepts:

Making use of the whole curtain wall system to do all casework

Basic wall as curtain panel

Curtain wall within curtain wall

Mullions as counter top and splash

Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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ADVANCED CURTAIN WALL SYSTEMS

Double Skin Systems

Corner Panels

Unitized Panels

Louver in System

Double Skin Curtain Wall Systems

Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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Louver System in Curtain Wall Systems

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Spider Clip Curtain Wall System

Concept:

Using nested family inside curtain wall panel family.

Set array value for spider clip as an instant parameter.

Nest structural column family as another sub-component inside curtain panel family; and set column height as

an instant parameter.

Create profile family as a silicon gasket

Not Your Everyday Curtain Wall System in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

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Curtain Panel with Nested Spider Clip and Nested Structural Column

Detail View at Silicon Gasket

Profile for Silicon Gasket

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CONCLUSION

Concept: Understand what curtain wall tools can do for you

Planning: Think about repetitive unit / module

Planning: How individual panel behaves upon stretching length of curtain system

Construction: Parameters in curtain panel families

Construction: Profiles for mullion

Construction: Corner condition

Unlimited use of curtain wall: be creative and experimental

MORE SAMPLES:

3D Tile for Interior Wall Finish Won Door

THANK YOU.