CANDOVER MENTALITY

Just in case it's too obscure, the title is a play on "can do" a typically American mindset. Used to be British in Blomfield's day but we seem to have lost it during my lifetime, or maybe it started in the aftermath of the Great War (1914-18)  For me it represents an attitude towards Revit and BIM generally. During my 22 years with GAJ in Dubai I have insisted on using these tools and processes for my own purposes, exemplified by the slogans "BIM pencil" and "the Way We Build"

Preston Candover is a small village a little to the south of Basingstoke, on the west side. Don't seem to be any buses going that way so I'll have to look for another way of getting there.

There is a small redundant church at the south end of the village, replaced by Blomfield's design close to a three-way junction. I already did a basic massing model so it's time for some upgrades. First I added tracery to a couple of windows. Then I went inside.

 

The nave trusses have an unusual design. The chancel ceiling is different. Pews and an altar plus aisle arches gave me enough for a compelling image. Good enough for now anyway. Note the face-brick interior, in contrast to the flint of the exterior. (with brick dressings)

Next came the assembly views which will feature on the sheet.

 

Time to capture site context data using Forma. I did a bit better with my process this time, but still forgot to do my initial Revit save outside Onedrive. Once again, I deleted the subdivisions to reduce the processor load, but I restored the roads as a separate subdivision, not in overlapping lengths as they come out from Forma, but as one continuous boundary.  Also adjusted the material shading colour. Didn’t affect the realistic view thankfully.  I always used to be jealous of Sketchup’s texture mapping although it doesn’t fit well with the BIM paradigm. Just a paint on effect rather than a rigorous “database” of materials with other properties.  This changed with the arrival of the realistic view and now I enjoy the simplicity with which Revit can keep the shaded, realistic and hidden line modes available in parallel. Two clicks to choose which you prefer for any given view.

 

So I linked yet another Revit file into my main map, put it on a unique workset for memory management, and created a camera view looking down the slope, across the valley to the churchyard starting to rise up the opposite side. Trees to follow.

All these views are being added to a sheet for the church as I did before for West Woodhay, and Fratton. The interior view on the sheet is different from the earlier one of course, which was captured from Family Editor while I worked on the modelling of the church itself. To place a view on a sheet, I have to have a camera placed directly in the project environment. Probably I should also have a view looking towards the church from the street. Maybe on the next pass. I’m inclined to move on to one more of Blomfield’s churches now add the site context and place views on a sheet.