Video: Place Curtain Grids

Place regular and irregular curtain grids on a wall.

This video demonstrates the following:

1. Understand how regular and irregular curtain grid patterns are defined and modified.
2. Select and isolate a curtain wall to transform into a curtain wall with an irregular pattern.
3. Change the curtain wall type to one with no grid definitions.
4. Place vertical and horizontal grids on the wall.

Note: This video was recorded using Revit 2018. When using a newer software release, you may notice differences in functionality and user interface.

Transcript

When a curtain wall has a regular pattern, the curtain grids are most easily defined by the type properties of the curtain wall. You can edit the type property for the pattern and update the curtain wall with grids and mullions. If you have an irregular pattern, you will need to manually place the curtain grids. Temporary dimensions in the canvas and controls on the ribbon are used together to define a complex grid system for your curtain wall designs. ​

In this example, we will transform this regular curtain wall into a curtain wall with an irregular pattern. First, select the wall and isolate it in the canvas with the "glasses" on the View Control Bar. This will make it easier to see our edits as we do them. ​

Change the curtain wall type to a curtain wall with no grid definitions. This gives us a blank curtain wall to work with. To add a grid to the wall, on the Architecture tab, click Curtain Grid. Position the cursor near the top or bottom edge of the curtain wall, and you will see a preview of the grid. Click to place the grid. Using the temporary dimensions, place vertical grids in an A, B, B, A pattern. Even though this is a regular pattern, it can't be defined in the wall type properties. ​

Now place horizontal grids. When the cursor is near a vertical grid, you will see a preview of the grid. This time, instead of clicking to place the grid on the entire length, we will use the controls on the ribbon to control where the grids will be placed. Currently, All Segments is selected, so a grid will be placed along the entire length of the curtain wall. To place segments in the small panels of the wall, select All Except Picked. ​

Click to position the grid, and notice that a red line is displayed. Now, click the segments you do not want to have a grid line — in this case, the larger panels of the pattern — and the red line will be dashed. Click to start a new grid, or another command to save the changes. ​

Place grids bisecting the larger panels by using the One Segment setting from the ribbon. When selected, only the segment clicked will receive a curtain grid. ​

By manually placing curtain grids, and using the ribbon controls, you can create complex curtain wall patterns in your designs.