To increase productivity and get the best results when using Site Designer, follow these recommendations.
Do not mix Site Designer elements with Revit-based site elements
If you choose to use Site Designer for site design, use only Site Designer to create site elements. Do not create some site elements using Revit and other site elements using Site Designer.
If you try to use both types of site elements, the toposurface can produce an inconsistent state, and errors may result. In particular, Revit-based building pads, subregions, and graded regions can cause issues.
If you have already created some Revit site elements, delete them before using Site Designer.
Exception: You can use the Revit Toposurface tool to create or import a toposurface in the site plan.
Prepare the toposurface
Before you begin to use Site Designer, prepare the toposurface in the Revit model.
- Import or create the toposurface using Massing & Site tab
Model Site panel
(Toposurface).
- Make the toposurface large enough to accommodate the entire site design. Increasing the toposurface later is not recommended and may introduce errors.
- When the Revit-based toposurface is ready, change its Phase Created property to Existing.
- In Site Designer, use the Set Base Toposurface tool to create a copy of the existing toposurface, with its Phase Created property set to New Construction. This copy becomes the proposed toposurface, which Site Designer manipulates.
For step-by-step instructions on this process, see Create a Toposurface for Site Designer.
Use existing host lines for new site elements
When using Site Designer to create an element, you can host the element using an existing line, or you can sketch the line using Site Designer tools.
In general, elements created using Site Designer sketched lines can be difficult to modify. To avoid these issues, use the Revit Model Line or Detail Line tools to sketch the desired host lines or closed loops for new site elements.