Trying to export a mixed-use project with cove.tool's Revit Plugin? This tutorial will walk you through the basic workflow of creating custom views for a multi-use project and tips to know when creating and exporting your building's geometry.
Before you Begin: Build a multi-use project in cove.tool
Start a new project in cove.tool. In the project-details page, select up to three building types in order to generate a mixed-use project. These building types will breakup your project into multiple input-sections where you can specify different geometry and engineering conditions throughout cove.tool. Click save and continue. The next stage will be the Geometry Page, this is where the Revit Plugin will come in handy.
Step 1: In Revit, generate cove.tool views as usual
The mixed-use aspect of a geometry export comes into play after you have created and prepped your cove.tool geometry views. The video tutorial above skips this step, so if you have yet learned to how to make and prep cove.tool views for normal export, check out the original Revit Plugin Tutorial here.
Step 2: Create a copy/copies of each the cove.tool views
Once you have generated and reviewed your cove.tool views, create duplicates of each view, one view for each building type in your mixed-use project. To do this, right-click the original cove.tool view layer and select the "duplicate" command. Rename the copy to include a use-type. See the example below.
Step 3: Update each view to reflect the individual use-type geometry
After creating all the new views, enter each view and hide all geometry components that do not belong to the thermal zone of the titled use-type. If you have geometry that spans multiple use-types, you will need to split/redraw that object and filter them into the correct cove.tool view. Geometry that is common between use-types should be classified as interior walls or shading devices in either one of the use type to emulate the effect of adiabatic spaces.
Once this step is complete for all the views, you are nearly ready to begin your geometry export.
Finally, delete all of the suffixes you added for the first use type that is ready for export from the view name. Leave the layer name as the original cove.tool name, as shown below.
Ensure that there are no spaces at the end of the layer name and hide the other cove.tool layers as shown here.
NOTE: To avoid overlapping geometry in the web app, you must place a 1sqft floor element at the ground plane for use types that are above other use-types. This will place the geometry with reference to the ground plane.
Step 4: Use the Switch Project command to connect to the correct cove.tool project for geometry export
After updating all the views, you will need to switch your project to connect to the correct project number. Only one use-type export can occur at a time, so make sure that as you start a new export you continue to switch between use-type project in the cove.tool add-in tab.
Repeat the process of removing the use type suffix before exporting
Step 5: Back in cove.tool, refresh your geometry page
After starting the export process per use-type, return to cove.tool to refresh the page. One input that may remain empty is the building height category. Either create a new 3D view will just the use type model to then use the "export building height" command, or as recommended in the video, find an elevation view in Revit and manually measure and write-in the value straight into cove.tool and save the information. Complete these steps for the rest of your use types, and you should be ready to go!
