When most of us are trudging up or down a flight of stairs, we seldom stop to think about who designed the stairs, how they were built and why those particular stairs were chosen for that specific location. In the world of building information modeling (BIM) and 3D CAD, however, engineers often face the challenging task of designing, implementing and creating just about every component of a building, including the structure’s all-important staircase. After all, stairs fulfill many vital roles, from simply granting access to additional floors to providing escape routes in case of an emergency.
With that in mind, two new stair creation programs have recently surfaced, each with their share of useful and intriguing features. The first is Autodesk’s Revit 2018. The latest version of Revit includes improvements to the user interface in the form of streamlined toolbars and a better file management system.
One of the most significant architectural advancements in Revit 2018 is the addition of a Multistory Stair feature. Stairs spanning multiple floors can now be easily snapped into place and altered to conform to specific angles and building parameters. Furthermore, railings can be hosted to topography, providing better control over the start and end point of railings.
Depiction of the new Multistory Stair tool. (Image courtesy of Autodesk.)
Revit 2018 allows users to utilize the coordinates from a linked DWG file. CAD files are georeferenced and linked, with…