If you like your classical architecture and proportions, you will be familiar with the concept of the golden mean. Also known as the golden ratio or golden section, it has fascinated architects and artists for centuries. The golden rectangle is thought to have the most pleasing proportions of any rectangle.
When spatial planning, it may be useful to first start with a room’s ‘ideal’ proportions, before adjusting it to suit the various project’s requirements. One example of how this could be used is in healthcare where the schedule of accommodation is critical.
In this workflow, an architectural column family is created, which represents a ‘real’ Revit room. It contains various instance parameters, including the width and length. This allows users to easily flex the family without the fear of the room ‘breaking’ due to a missing wall. Hence, it is a quick and dirty spatial planning tool before substituting these families for real Revit rooms and walls. The family also contains the briefed area and actual area for instant visual feedback.
Since we know what the area should be and the equation for the golden rectangle, we can calculate with simple algebra the width and length. To automate this process, I have created the ‘GoldenMean‘ node as part of the Parametric Monkey Dynamo package.
Note that the area input, and the width/length output, will be of the same unit. Therefore, if you are modelling in millimetres but your area schedule is in metres, you’ll need to use the ‘Convert Between Units’ node.
1 Comment
Greg McDowell
Using a Column family for this is an interesting approach. I’ve been using a Generic Model but the Column does have the advantage of being a two-level hosted family. Hmm….