If you have to model an existing landscape in Revit, Dynamo can be an excellent tool to automate that process. Not only can you quickly create existing hardscape (that follows Topo), but you can also automatically place and size existing trees using survey data.
In fact, you can use this process to automatically place any element that exists in your AutoCAD survey as a block.
Topography in Revit can be tricky to manage for a number of reasons, but I would say the most limiting factor is that you can only input points (meaning, you cannot input contour lines or a mesh). If you do use a mesh or 3D lines to create a Topo, Revit simply takes the points from those elements and gives you no control in the generated mesh and contours.
This can be fairly frustrating, particularly if you are accustomed to Civil 3D, where you have control over these elements. Unfortunately, this is an issue that is hard-coded into Revit Topos, so until Autodesk decides to fix the Revit surface engine there isn’t much you can do (besides use other elements, which can be a partial solution).
Once the Topo is generated, you can extract the contour lines and underlying mesh elements by exporting a 3D view to dwg. And with Dynamo, you can extract all three Topo elements (points, contour lines, and mesh) entirely within Revit.
There are essentially three different methods for creating Topography in Revit:
When working with survey files, the first option obviously is not feasible and the third option usually has less than desirable results. Continue reading
One of the pitfalls of using Areas as planting areas is that Areas do not have any 3d representation. This can become an even bigger issue if you want to create a rendering that shows the plants in those Areas.
But with Dynamo, you can automatically place individual Planting components in their respective Areas based on their spacing and types.
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