SM02 Evolution is a technical floor with a dry laying system. This takes place by means of support and mechanical coupling between tile and tile. The coupling screw remains visible on the surface and therefore the combination of this installation system with the steel finish is relevant as the detail of the screw gives the steel a very industrial and hight-tech appearance. The fixing plate allows a simple, clean and free of joints laying of the tiles, reducing labor costs, ideal for designers looking for a floor with a modern and uniform style, able to recreate an elegant contrast with the finish of the cieling. The tiles have a minimal thickness, they can be laid quickly, reducing labor costs, and they can be walked on immediately. They can be placed on screed or on old floors that you wish to cover and preserve, avoiding the inconveniences and costs of demolition and disposal.

 

Il colore è un elemento essenziale per esprimere se stessi e il proprio stile, anche in casa o in ufficio. Oltre a rendere gli spazi più confortevoli e stimolanti, l’uso sapiente delle scelte cromatiche all’interno degli ambienti è fondamentale per modificare la percezione di luminosità e dimensione degli spazi, assumendo quindi un carattere non solo estetico, ma anche funzionale. 
Specializzata in vernici e soluzioni per la decorazione d’interni, Cap Arreghini lancia Archipalette, un nuovo progetto a supporto dei professionisti del colore, architetti e interior designer.

INFINITE COMBINAZIONI

Archipalette si presenta in una selezione di 110 tinte, classificate con cura in una scala composta da tinte neutre e classiche e da toni profondi e desaturati, in perfetta sintonia con gli stili dell’interior design più attuali. L’uso di toni diversi si basa su tre principali schemi di colore: monocromatico, coordinato e di contrasto. 

INFINITE COMBINAZIONI

L’azienda, specializzata in vernici e soluzioni per la decorazione, lancia un nuovo progetto a supporto dei professionisti del colore, architetti e interior designer. Comprende oltre un centinaio di tinte, classificate in una scala studiata ad hoc per gli ambienti interni questo modo è possibile creare infinite combinazioni gradevoli e versatili, in grado di generare emozioni. Con Archipalette, Cap Arreghini rafforza la sua posizione a fianco dei professionisti del design e della decorazione, garantendo uno sviluppo costante della propria gamma prodotti per soddisfare le esigenze contemporanee dell’interior design.

 

DUE DIVERSE LETTURE

Ma come si legge Archipalette? Ogni colonna della palette rappresenta un piano tinta sino ad arrivare a 110 colorazioni derivate. Per creare gli abbinamenti è possibile scegliere due colori della stessa colonna, ottenendo un abbinamento tono su tono (lettura verticale), oppure scegliere colori nella stessa riga ottenendo armonici contrasti cromatici (lettura orizzontale).

                             

Le 110 tinte contenute in Archipalette sono riproducibili con gli smalti murali della linea K81 e con le idropitture da interno della linea Ecolora di Cap Arreghini.

 

Sfoglia il catalogo per scoprire la gamma

 

Guide to inserting a furniture family within an architectural project

 

 Revit family 

In this tutorial, we will continue to study the relationship between the parameters of the Revit family used as an example, the "Solo S62" chair and their operation within an architectural project.

Remember that the creation of the BIM object, commonly called families in Revit is essential for the completion of 3D BIM models and for their proper operation.

BIM objects are commonly searched on the Internet for inclusion in a design environment such as Revit Families without being in any way modified and often ignore the fundamental characteristics, how they were made, with which parameters, what purposes they must meet and what is the potential for interaction with 3D model under construction.

Differently from what happens with an Autocad “.dwg” File or a".ifc" File, a ".rfa" file (Revit BIM Families are ".rfa" files, Revit BIM Projects are ".rvt" files), when a "BIM Family" object is added to a project 3D Parametric Model, the latter is enriched with all the information contained within the inserted object that can, therefore, be interrogated, edited, accounted for, etc.

They are interior design objects such as chairs, tables, armchairs, and sofas, or real architectural models such as doors, windows, textures, and coatings etc. and, therefore, we need to know its characteristics to better exploit its potential and integration with the main BIM model that hosts them.

In the previous tutorial we focused on the operation of the Material and finishes types of parameters, we will now see how other parameters present in our furniture object have been created and how to use them in our project BIM environment.

In particular, we will focus on the "Identity Data" Parameter Type.

                                                                                                            Revit -  family parameters – identity data

This information, generally provided by the manufacturer of the furniture item, can be very useful to, for example, compile furniture abacuses or view the features within the project layout. 

First, let's see how to create a new parameter:

-    Click on the “new parameter” icon; enter the name of the new parameter to be assigned to the family (for example, “Finish”);
-    From the "Discipline" drop-down menu select “Common”;
-    From the "Parameter Type" drop-down menu, select “Text”;
-    From the "Group parameter in" drop-down menu, select "Identity Data”.

                                                                                                                 Revit -  family parameters – identity data 2

We have now created a new BIM Family parameter within the "Data Identity" type to which we will associate a corresponding value, for example, "Leather and brushed aluminium" taken from the manufacturer's specific Interior Design catalogue.

All "Identity Data" parameters of the downloaded Revit Family were created in a similar way.

Now we will see how this information can be exploited in a BIM project environment.

Suppose you need to set up a furniture solution within an already prepared 3D BIM model by uploading our 3D Object and positioning it in a plan view inside a room already labelled as such, for example, a "living room".

From the “Create” menu, select “Load into project” and use the mouse to place the chair inside the room chosen.

                                                                                                                Revit – furniture family – adding to your project

Key note

Now we have the furniture BIM object inside a Revit project environment and we can verify the characteristics by simply selecting it as has been done before, and the information contained inside it, its parameters, can be interrogated and retrieved to properly itemize a furniture project through notes or creating specific abacuses.

Let's now see how to display an indication of findings. 

The easiest way is to assign a label to the piece of furniture through the use of the key note.

In a design environment, in “Note” found in the "Key note" drop-down menu, select the "Element key note" and then select our chair.

                                                                                                                           Revit – furniture family – keynote

Graphically you will see a note, which exactly refers to the "Key note" parameter text contained inside the selected Furniture family. 

To verify this, select the Interior Design object, from the properties bar select "Edit type" and the menu of the properties of the imported 3D family type will open.

                                                                                                                           Revit – furniture family – Keynote 2

This is an example of how, in addition to performing a graph completion function, in this case of furniture, a Revit family contains a series of information and functions that allow to interact with the project 3D model that is intended to host it.

These parameters, which we have previously defined as the performance output of the Revit family, they can be retrieved at any time and in a different manner depending on the design requirements and within a BIM 3D Project.

Now we complete a furniture solution by downloading and inserting further Design objects such as:
-    A table;
-    One or more sofa elements; 
-    A chaise longue; 
Etc.

We place families, elements of interior design inside the furniture project and, like before, we assign a label to the BIM object by using the key note.

                                                                                                                               Revit – furniture family – Keynote 3

Similarly to what was seen previously for the "chair" furniture item, we now have a note for the "sofa", "table" and "chaise longue" that exactly retrieves the text of the "Key note" parameter contained in the Furniture family.  

Furniture abacus

Nel caso volessimo arricchire il nostro layout architettonico con ulteriori informazioni sugli elementi d’arredo, senza troppo appesantire la veste grafica è consigliato usare un abaco.

An abacus should be used if we want to enrich our architectural layout with additional information about the furniture items, but without weighing down the graphics.

Revit abacuses work like masks that contain and retrieve the parameters of the entire BM 3D model and, therefore, it is possible and in a very effective way to build one or more abacuses of furnishings that contain much more information on the furniture elements that can be added to an Architectural project.

In the project Browser, right-click on “Abacuses/Quantities” and select “New abacus/quantity
 

                                                                                                                                                  Furniture abacus - creation

Select "Furniture" from the next drop-down-menu

                                                                                                                                                Furniture abacus - creation 2

The new mask that appears is the interface for creating the furniture abacus that we are setting.

On the left column we see the selectable fields, on the right we see the fields that we want to add to our table. These fields are the relationship between the parameters that exist within revit families and their reference (field) inside of the architectural project.

Proceed by entering only the “fields” needed to describe the individual Interior Design objects that make up our furnishing project. To help us correctly fill in the abacus, repeat what was done before, select one of the objects and with "Edit type" check which parameters are contained within the Revit families that we want to of Revit, and that we want to retrieve in our abacus. 

                                                                                                                                              Furniture abacus - creation 3

Select the following fields in the left column and with the green arrow add to the abacus (the red arrow removes the field from the abacus):
-    Key note;
-    Description;
-    Manufacturer;
-    Cost;
-    URL;
-    Model;
-    Image.

                                                                                                                                                Furniture abacus - creation 4

The abacus that is generated is a new view inside the project Browser and is presented as a table the columns and rows of which contain all the elements recognized as “Furniture” within the BIM Model.

The first field, “Key note” retrieves exactly what was viewed before within the plan view of the Architectural project, the other fields retrieves all the specific information (parameters) that have been retrieved.  However, note how there are two fields with no information whatsoever, which are the “Cost” and "Image" fields.

In relation to the first, which is useful to estimate, and give immediate visual feedback of the cost of each item, we simply need to change each Furnishing family by adding a cost for each; returning to the plan view, select each individual interior design object with "Edit type" enter in the Revit family type properties and add an estimate or cost from the catalogue (the values inserted are purely indicative). 
 

                                                                                                                                                  Furniture abacus - creation 5

The furniture abacus is now updated with the costs of the individual furniture items.

                                                                                                                                                 Furniture abacus – creation 6

In order to improve the graphics of the abacus, a preview of the furniture elements included in the Architectural project could be useful.

To do this you need to upload images (that can be downloaded at the same URLs) from the "Insert", "Manage images", "Add" menu from the manage tab that appears.

                                                                                                                                    Furniture abacus – managing images 1

By returning to the "Furniture abacus" screen, it is possible to connect each Interior Design Element to its preview image by selecting the corresponding cell. Again the "Manage images" selecting will be displayed, select the image of the corresponding Furnishing and repeat the operation for all other chairs, tables, sofas, chaise longues found in the Architectural project.

 

                                                                                                                                Furniture abacus - managing images 2

Now the furniture abacus has all preview images loaded.
To view them you need to, drag the “Furniture abacus" view inside a project table.

                                                                                                                  Furniture abacus - insertion into a project table

Guide for the creation of a "furniture abacus" view to be included within an architectural project 

 

Revit family

In this tutorial, we will continue to study the relationship between the parameters of the Revit family used as an example, the "Solo S62" chair and how they work within an architectural project.

Remember that the creation of BIM objects commonly called families in Revit is essential for the completion of 3D BIM models and their proper functioning.

The BIM Objects are commonly searched for on the Internet so that they can be included in a Revit design environment as Families without being modified in any way and will often ignore the fundamental characteristics, how they were made, with what parameters, what purposes they must fulfil, and what is the potential interaction with the 3D Model in construction.

Differently from what happens with a “.dwg” file in Autocad, or a “.ifc” file, a “.rfa” file (the Revit BIM Families are ".rfa" files, Revit BIM Projects  are ".rvt" files), when a "BIM Family" object is inserted in a Design Parametric 3D Model, the latter is enriched with all the information contained in the inserted object that can, therefore, be interrogated, edited, accounted for, etc.

They are interior design objects such as Chairs, tables, armchairs, and sofas, or real architectural models like doors, windows, textures, and coatings, etc. and, therefore, we need to know their characteristics to exploit better the potential and integration with the main BIM model that hosts them.

In the previous tutorial we saw how, in addition to performing a graphic completion function, a Revit family contains a series of information and functions that allow it to interact with the 3D model of the project that is intended to host it, these parameters, which we have previously defined as the output performance of the Revit family, may be retrieved at any time and in a different manner depending on the design requirements and within a BIM 3D project.

In particular, we have obtained a “Furniture abacus" that can be inserted into a project table containing a lot of information on the furniture items included in the BIM model.

                                                                                    Revit - furniture abacus – adding it to the project table

Furniture abacus

Now we will discuss the relationship between the parameters that exist within Revit families, and their retrieval (field) inside the architectural project graphically represented by the abacus.

We need to remember that Revit abacuses work like masks that contain and retrieve within them the parameters not only of some parametric families imported into the project but of the entire BIM 3D model, and therefore it is possible to combine and graphically retrieve fields that put into related parameters belonging to different objects.

The most immediate example that can be made in this regard is the compilation of an abacus, which in addition to providing a list of furnishings found throughout the model, provides more accurate and up-to-date information of the architectural design environment in which each specific furniture element is inserted.

A classical breakdown of furniture per room.
To do this, we need to complete the furniture by downloading and putting into distinct rooms further Design objects such as:
-    a bed; an armchair; 
-    a table; 
-    a chair; etc.

We place families, interior design elements, in the furniture project into distinct rooms such as the Living Room, Kitchen, and Bedroom, and give the BIM object a label by using the key note.

                                                                                                                         Furniture project – breakdown of rooms

As done previously, our furniture abacus is updated automatically.

We connect the new Interior Design Elements to their preview image by selecting the corresponding cell. The "Manage images" selector is displayed, select the image of the corresponding furniture and repeat the operation for any other new furnishing object present in the Architectural project.

                                                                                                       Furniture abacus - managing the preview image

Returning to our project table, we will have a view of the updated abacus.

                                                                                                     Furniture abacus - adding to project 1 table

Now, to group the furniture into rooms, different categories compared to those so far displayed need to be entered into the abacus using the same procedure.

Returning to the Abacus view of the furniture that can be selected in the project browsers, select "Fields" from the property bar of the screen and then select Room in the available fields of the property mask

                                                                                                          Furniture abacus - inserting Room fields

In this way, the fields are now selectable for the enrichment of our abacus furniture can be taken also from the Local category, this means that our new table will be composed by the fields that belong to the elements of the model different, but that interact between them.

Therefore, we can retrieve information from parameters of different elements into a single abacus.

Therefore, we add the following fields from the selector:
-    Room: Name
-    Room: Number
-    Room: Floor

                                                                                                               Furniture abacus - inserting Room 2 fields

We check the obtained result in the project table.

                                                                                                                Furniture abacus - inserting Room 3 fields

As we can see each object contains, in addition to the information that retrieves the parameters inherent in the imported family, even where the same is located inside the project and, more precisely, the name and number of the room hosting the object and the building floor (level) where it is inserted.

In a similar way to what has been done up to now, you can insert additional fields and cross-reference to other parameters.

You can also intervene to sort/group the abacus to make it more readable, and, in particular, to eliminate the repetition of items.

From the properties menu of the “Furniture abacus" menu, sort by "key note" and uncheck the “List all instances”.

                                                                                                                          Furniture abacus - sorting/grouping

In this way, we obtain a cleaner table view without repetitions of images.

                                                                                                                      Furniture abacus - sorting/grouping 2

Shifting, filtering, or formatting repetitive or unnecessary fields can further refine the abacus.

For example, you can hide the key note field (column) since the same information is repeated and grouped together in the footer of each row, by selecting “Format” from the Properties menu of the Abacus and then approve the “Hidden field” for the “Key note”.

                                                                                                                                  Furniture abacus - formatting

Now the furniture abacus has a clear and legible graphic look that is free of repetitive fields and with clear information. 

We note that every element of the furniture is grouped, counted and added to the “key note" field. 

                                                                                                                             Furniture abacus - sorting/grouping 3

In fact, the “Mirto Indoor – IM58” chair model is present for No. 6 units, all on the ground floor, and more precisely in the kitchen.

While the “Only – S62” chair is present for No. 4 units on the ground floor but inside the living room.

Now let's try and move some of these items on other floors or the rooms of the project to verify that the abacus works properly.

For example, we place two other Mirto chairs on the first floor and another Solo chair in the kitchen on the ground floor.

                                                                                                              Furniture project – the breakdown of rooms 2

We verify to see if our Furniture Abacus has changed again n the project table.

                                                                                                                     Furniture abacus - sorting/grouping 4

We now have a double row for the "Mirto indoor – M58" chair that is divided into the kitchen on the ground floor (No. 6 chairs) and hallway on the first floor (No. 2 chairs).

As for the “Only – S62” chair, we correctly have No. 1 unit in the kitchen and No. 4 units in the living room all on the ground floor. 
We can say that the abacus is set up correctly and working.

In order to always have the cost of our furniture project under control, it is useful to add the sum of the costs of the individual items.

In the formatting field the calculation of the totals for each field can be easily applied; by applying to that of the costs we can see the price for the single item and the total estimate of our furnishing project at the same time.
 

                                                                                                                                    Furniture abacus – formatting 2

The changes made so far are just an example of how a Furniture abacus can be made. The result is only an example; there are many possibilities to combine the properties of the abacus to display the information according to the project needs.

                                                                                                       Furniture abacus - adding to project 2 table

It is a good practice to generate an abacus that contains all fields needed to present your project, then to duplicate it into multiple views and to each of them apply the various display rules.