BIM-based Parametric Model: Emerson College Los Angeles (ELA) by Morphosis

Arch 653 Building Information Modeling in Architecture
Spring 2017
Instructor: Dr. Wei Yan
Texas A&M University

Project Description

This projects, according to the architect, represents “a college campus condensed into urban site”.  Emerson College Los Angeles (ELA) is located in Hollywood, the center of entertainment industry and the second largest city in the United States (figure 1). The site is 0.8 acres / 0.32 hectares and the total area of the project is 120,000 ft² / 11,148 m². It was designed by Morphosis Architects (Thom Mayne) between 2008 and 2011. The construction of ELA started in 2008 and was finished in 2014.

The new facility hosts the seven disciples offered by the School of Communication and the School of the Arts. It also has workshops, lectures and others events to engage with alumni and LA community. ELA’s program includes ground floor café and retail; classrooms, screening and mixing rooms; outdoor terraces; housing for approximately 217 students, along with faculty and staff; amenities, including a fitness center, lounge and kitchen; bike facilities and three levels of below-grade parking.

The geometrical configuration of the facility is composed of three essential components. First, two slim 10-story residential towers, housing up to 217 students, that stand on the top on the parking floors. Second, these two towers are bridged by multi-use rectangular platform. These two components represent the residential zone and construct a frame to the third component; two sculpted free-form in the central open volume. They represent the academic building that hosts classrooms and administrative offices

and defines multi-level terraces and active interstitial spaces to foster informal social activity.

Parametric Modeling Diagram

Conceptual Mass

Option One

In this option, all the masses of the building are created in one conceptual mass (file).

·       As a start, a morphological analysis was conducted to the building. The geometry of the building follows 10 ft module on a larger scale and each 10 ft is divided into 3 parts. Accordingly, on a smaller scale the geometry follows 3 feet 4 inches module.

·       Second, one of the limitations in Revit is that the option of module is only available in the project environment (Work Plane). However, we can still have a module inside the conceptual mass as a nested family. The 10 ft module is created as a separate family, then it’s used to create a larger module via Array option in which the numbers of the module units in the x and y direction are controlled through the array parameters. Finally, this family (Generic model) is loaded into the conceptual mass file to guide the creation of masses.

·       Third, the geometry of the building can be separated into two parts: First, the rectangular prisms group which forms a container for the second part: curvilinear masses that float in the middle.

o   The parameters of each rectangular prism include: the depth, width and height  

o   For the curvilinear masses: they were created through using the command Loft on serval reference planes and each plane has different orientation. Accordingly, to change the shape of any mass, the profile can be accessed and updated. Another limitation appears here, is changing the angel of the reference plane afterword. Revit only allows the user to draw the reference plane in a specific angel from the beginning but it cannot be rotated afterword.

·       Note

o   The higher number of parameters (Length) in the Revit conceptual mass the harder for the user to control them and their behavior.

o   The control of some parameters depends on which view you are using and what method. The height parameter in this model for example can be controlled properly from the elevation view instead of using the (Family type) dialog box.

Option Two

To reduce the number of parameters and masses in the previous model, this option separates the rectangular prisms masses and the curvilinear masses into two separate conceptual mass files.

·       This option allows the user to try multiple design options through changing the shapes of the masses that float in the middle ( new families). For example, several design options of this part of the design can be modeled in several conceptual mass files and the user can import each one of them (as nested family) without remodeling the whole masses.

·       Passing parameter: In this option the mass offset from the ground parameter (in the curvilinear conceptual mass file) = the podium height (in the rectangular prisms conceptual mass file).

·       Pattern Based curtain walls: The pattern based curtain wall is used to model several details in the project such as building skin, cladding system and structural system (truss) as following:

o    The first skin is a louver system that covers the towers and the bridges. However, the angel of the louvers change according to its location and the time. Therefore, one panel with rotational parameter can actually fulfill this requirement.

§  First, a one strip of the louvers is created (as a family) with a rotational parameter as well as length, material, extrusion parameters.

§  Second, this family is loaded into (curtain panel pattern based family) to create a 10 ft louvers panel with rotation and material parameters.

§  Third, a plane in the conceptual mass is divided by fix distance 10 ft in the u and v directions. Then, the louvers panel is loaded and placed on this surface.

§  By changing the rotation angel in the type parameter (create new type: angel = 0 instead of 90), the closed louver skin can be created.

o    To create the cladding panels of the curvilinear masses:

§  The surfaces (in the conceptual mass) are divided using 1\3 Step pattern.

§  And a (curtain panel pattern based family) with 1\3 step pattern layout is used to create the panel. It consists of a simple plane and a frame. The parameters of this panel are: material parameter for the frame and the panel, the thickness of the panel and the dimensions of the frame.

o    The folded plates skin: it consists of shifted folded steel plate hanged on steel rods.

§  The two planes (in the conceptual mass) are divided using Rhomboid pattern (this pattern was used in order to achieve the shifts in the arrangement of the plates).

§  And a (curtain panel pattern based family) with Rhomboid pattern layout is used to create the panel. It consists of circular rod in the middle, folded plate that can be controlled by changing the location of the reference point.

§  Additionally, a glazed panel and a frame were added to offer extra design options. And they can be turned on or off through the visibility parameters.

§  one limitation in modeling this skin is that the parameters of this skin (shape and spacing) in the original design are based on a bitmap which cannot be done through using Revit alone. Dynamo, a visual programming extension for Autodesk Revit, can be used to overcome this limitation.  

o    The last pattern based panel is a truss system

§  A (curtain panel pattern based family) with Rectangular pattern is used to create a truss panel.

·       Limitations:

o    Typically, after modeling the curtain panel pattern based families and using them in the conceptual mass file, the conceptual mass file should be loaded into the project environment. However, the Revit gives warning if the size of the file is larger than 10 mb because this might reduce the performance of the project file. The size of the conceptual mass is 130 mb and loading a file with this size into the project environment freezes Revit and the file keeps crashing.

o    Accordingly, a possible solution would be to load only conceptual mass file that is 10 mb or less.

Option Three

In order to load a conceptual mass file that is 10 mb or less, the curtain panel pattern based families cannot be part of the conceptual mass and they need to be modeled separately inside the project environment as part of In-Place conceptual mass.

Project Environment

·       In the project environment, two conceptual masses were loaded: the rectangular prisms mass and the curvilinear mass. Since the skin in rectangular prisms mass are simple planes, then they are easy to be created as In-place Mass in the project environment. Therefore, this mass file was loaded without curtain panel pattern based families. However, the curvilinear surfaces are harder to be modeled as In-Place Mass, therefore the curvilinear was loaded with simplified curtain panel pattern based family ( only panel , no frame).

·       In the project environment several details of the project were added:

o    Floor slabs

o    Roofs

o    Glazed curtain system

o    Handrails

o    Stairs

o    Sit component and landscape

o    Furniture (for the dorms part inside the towers)

o   Doors