You all know design is an iterative process where we ideate various concepts and options before reaching to a final conclusion. Comparing different design approaches for spaces and building elements to comprehend the variations in each of their overall impact helps the designer proceed with best suited solutions. Showing the clients alternative options is also an inevitable part of the whole process. Thus, Revit has facilitated your need with a distinct tool called ‘Design Options’.
Let’s explore its use to develop alternative furniture layout options for a living room
1. Create design options set & design options
Design option set is a collection of multiple design options for your design problem. Open design option dialog box and create a design set and name it aptly e.g. Living Room Layouts.
Now, create design options within this set and name them e.g. Furniture Layout 1, Furniture Layout 2 and so on.
Tip: By default, one design option is primary and remaining are secondary options. You can select any design option and change it to primary
2. Add building elements to design options
The next step after naming is to select a design option and start adding elements to it. To do this, you should click on ‘Edit Selected’ and start placing furniture in the plan view. After the layout is set for the room click on ‘Finish Editing’. Repeat the same process for the other design options where you can place furniture differently.
Tip: In status bar, you can access design option tool and also switch between different design options to view and work with their elements.
3. Create dedicated views for these design options
Another step you may want to follow after creating design options with added elements is to dedicate views to these design options. Thus, you need to create duplicates for e.g. of plan view equal to number of design options.
Rename these views with name of respective design option for ease of identification
Now activate the view and then open visibility graphics dialog box. Here under design option tab, select the corresponding design option. Repeat these for other dedicated views as well.
This will organise different dedicated views for living room’s multiple design options showing alternative furniture layout. You can then place these views on the sheet and send to clients or team members for easy comparison.
Final Tip: At last, when one of the design options is finalized, you select that option and make it primary. Then you select the design option set and click on ‘Accept Primary’.
This will make the primary design option part of the main model and everything else will be deleted.