Exporting site models for CAD – Using site models in Revit

You can follow the workflow below to get a Revit model out from Scalgo Live.  Our Getting Started video goes through all the steps of this workflow.

1. Export from Scalgo Live.
   Export the area targeting Revit. This produces a DWG file.

2. Create a New Revit Project
   Open Revit, create a new project, and choose a template.

3. Open the Site Plan
   Switch to the Site floor plan view.

4. Link the CAD File

   • Go to Insert ➤ Link CAD.

   • Configure settings:

     • Untick Current view only.

     • Untick Correct lines that are slightly off axis.

     • Set Units to meters.

     • Set Origin to Internal Origin.

     • Choose Layers/Levels ➤ Specify....

   • Select the DWG file and press Open.

   • In the layer picker, deselect all except the surface layer.

   • When zooming out, a point cloud representing the surface will appear.

5. Set Geographic Location

   • Go to Manage ➤ Project Location ➤ Coordinates ➤ Acquire Coordinates.

   • Hover over the linked Import Symbol and select it.

   • Confirm that the GIS coordinate system is correctly acquired.

   • In Project Location, choose Location ➤ Get Location from Survey Point.

6. Create the Toposolid

   • Switch to a 3D view.

   • Go to Massing & Site ➤ Toposolid ➤ Create from Import.

   • Select the linked Import Symbol and the surface layer.

   • A toposolid is created, with customizable material properties (e.g., Grassland).

7. Unlink the CAD File
   From Manage ➤ Manage Links, remove the linked CAD file.
   The toposolid now contains the topography, making the link unnecessary.

8. Add Subdivisions

   • In 3D view, select the toposolid and click Subdivide.

   • Use Insert ➤ Import CAD with the same settings as before.

   • Import one of the specific layers such as paved_roads, unpaved_roads, or water. For Flooded areas, import the DWG file obtained from Scalgo Live using Flash Flood Mapping ➤ Flooded Areas ➤ Polygon ➤ Extent polygons.

   • Complete the subdivision and adjust material and contour properties as needed.

   • Each subdivision of the toposolid has a height - in the 3D view, you see it actually slightly raised above the ground surface.  For roads and water, you will want to set this to a few centimeters only.  Make sure that the flooded areas subdivision is higher  than the road subdivision, so that flooding is visible on top of roads.

9. Add Buildings

   • In the Site view, go to Massing & Site ➤ In-Place Mass. Name the mass (e.g., "Buildings").

   • Use Insert ➤ Import CAD and select the buildings layer.

   • Align coordinate systems when prompted.

   • Finish the mass creation.

   • To edit individuals faces (such as increasing or decreasing the height of selected buildings), select the imported building group, choose Edit In-place and then Partial explode and apply these settings.

Linking and unlinking the CAD file is required only when the model needs to be properly geo-referenced. If you plan to use the model solely for visualization, you can skip steps 4, 5, and 7, and just "import" the CAD file in step 6.   Note that you will not be able to reimport a Revit model into Scalgo Live if it has no geo-referencing, and Revit will not be able to compute accurate sun height and shadow directions during rendering for a project without location.