2026-03-09 - BIM - Terrain+Curved Stair

Quick recap

The class focused on creating custom stairs and modifying terrain in Revit for an architectural project. Brian guided students through the process of designing curved stairs, customizing railing types, and adjusting terrain to match the stairs' design. He demonstrated how to use void forms to cut away terrain where the building intersects with the site. The class also covered techniques for modifying railing settings and adding handrails to match the project's design intentions. By the end of the session, students were instructed to complete the stairs and terrain work before the next class to stay on schedule, with a bonus 2% available for early completion.

Next steps

• All students: Complete the modeling of custom stairs (including curved stairs) and terrain modifications (including terrain cutting and alignment with stairs) by the next class.

• All students: Finish the tasks covered in class (stairs and terrain) before the next class to stay on schedule for the collaborative project.

• All students: (Optional for bonus) Complete the stairs and terrain modeling by Sunday for a 2% bonus.

• Junecia and McKayla: Present on "links, models," and McKayla: Present on "reference planes" during the next lecture session.

• All students: Prepare for the next class, which will focus on adding doors, outer mirror to the wall, windows, and other details to the model.

• All students: Attend the next lecture session for presentations on links, model line, detail line, and reference planes.

Summary

BIM Class: Terrain and Stairs

Brian conducted a class session on building information modeling, focusing on creating terrain and curved steps. He announced that students would present on links and models, as well as reference planes. The practical portion of the class involved creating custom stairs with non-standard elements, using contour lines and drawings accessible through the class website and Mirror board. Brian noted that completing the day's work would bring students to about 70% completion of the project.

Revit Terrain Creation Process

Brian led a discussion on creating terrain in Revit, focusing on importing a 2D terrain drawing and scaling it to match the site boundary. He explained the process of using the topo solid tool to create a 3D base mesh and adding points at specific elevations to trace the terrain lines. The team learned that while precision is not critical due to the organic nature of terrain, maintaining accurate heights is essential. Brian demonstrated how to import and link images in Revit, noting that even if the original file is deleted, the image remains embedded in the project.

3D Terrain Modification Techniques

Brian led a session on controlling and modifying terrain in a 3D modeling project, focusing on how to adjust topography to accommodate structures like stairs and walkways. He demonstrated how to modify terrain points to create slopes that follow design requirements, using specific examples from a project in Jamaica. The session included practical steps for adjusting point heights, adding walls to close gaps, and planning the placement of curved stairs around a building, with emphasis on using custom features and sketching stairs before creating them digitally.

Curved Stair Modeling Demonstration

Brian demonstrated how to model stairs in architectural software, focusing on creating accurate risers based on a curved design. He explained the importance of using a center point for drawing curved stair lines and showed how to use the array tool to generate evenly spaced risers. The process involved creating 14 risers for one stair segment and 15 risers for another, with proper placement and alignment based on marked center points. The discussion concluded with setting up the stair tools in the Architecture section of the software.

Custom Stair Design Software Tutorial

Brian demonstrated how to create custom stairs using the sketch tool in the software, explaining the three key components: boundary, risers, and stair path. He emphasized the importance of accuracy in drawing these components, as even minor discrepancies could prevent saving the design. During the demonstration, Brian encountered technical difficulties with his computer and screen sharing, but managed to continue the tutorial by sharing audio. The session ended with Brian discussing how to troubleshoot invalid sketch errors and locate areas needing correction.

Revit Curved Stair Creation Tutorial

Brian demonstrated how to create and troubleshoot curved custom stairs in Revit, focusing on common issues like invalid stair paths and flipping errors. He identified that the nosing setting in the monolithic stair type was causing flipping problems, and resolved it by setting the nosing length to zero. Brian also showed techniques for editing stair points to align with terrain, using both wireframe and top view modes to adjust point positions and heights.

Revit Terrain and Stair Modifying

Brian demonstrated how to modify terrain to match built elements like stairs and ramps by adding new points along edges and adjusting them in 3D view. He explained the process of creating custom stairs and discussed the importance of setting correct base and top levels for stairs. Brian also covered how to adjust view ranges in Revit to properly display walls and other elements below certain levels, using a view depth offset to control what is visible in the plans.

Stair and Terrain Modeling Demo

Brian demonstrated how to design and implement stairs and modify terrain in a building model using architectural software. He explained the process of creating two stair flights with 30 steps total and showed how to use void forms to cut away terrain where the building meets the ground. Brian also demonstrated how to create a retaining wall using a void form to shape the terrain properly, and he explained the difference between using cut tools versus void forms for modeling terrain.

Revit Railing Modification Training

The class focused on modifying railings in Revit, with Brian demonstrating how to customize railing types, adjust spacing between elements, and create handrails mounted to walls. The students were tasked with completing the stairs and terrain work from the current lesson before the next class, with an optional bonus 2% if completed by Sunday. The class has a deadline of March 15th for the current project phase, and students will move on to adding details like doors and windows in the following week.

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