Architectural CAD

Interested in civil engineering, design or architecture? This architectural computer aided drafting course introduces students to the architectural design process. Students will learn how to create and critique full three-dimensional architectural models of a building using the industry standard Building Information Modeling software Autodesk Revit. This is an introductory course for students interested in civil engineering, interior design, and architecture. As a standard-level course, students are expected to invest 6-8 hours per week on their course work.

In this course students generate a set of working drawings and create full 3D architectural project models. This course guides students to develop the content knowledge and skills to use Autodesk Revit’s functionality, features, and capabilities; from CAD basics through to complex modeling topics and activities.

Students begin this course by exploring the user interface and basic CAD drawing, editing, and viewing tools. Students then use Revit’s design development tools to model walls, doors, windows, floors, ceilings, stairs to create a luxury vacation cabin. Finally, students explore the processes to take their model to the construction documentation phase.

Throughout the course, students will create rendered movies of their building designs and share them with other classmates via portfolio projects. They also engage in discussions about material choice, floor plan design, advancements in 3D printing, and exciting careers in architecture.

Acknowledgements

Intermediate level knowledge of Windows operating system navigation, including downloading files, creating folders, renaming files, and uploading files. Students may need to compress files and folders using zip compression.

Please Note: This course contains an end-of-course proctored exam. Instructions for students to identify an appropriate adult proctor are included in the course lessons.

Course Objectives

Course Essential Questions:

How can the architectural design process be used to create blueprints for models?
How does 3D architectural software improve the efficiency of the design process?
How do engineers use multiview drawings to guide building construction?
What are the common elements in good design of a building?

Course Objectives:

Design a vacation home cabin utilizing standard Revit tools and programs.
Draw construction document sheets for a building.
Develop a 3-D digital model which includes foundation, floors, walls, ceilings, stairs, doors, windows, and roof.
Present the final design through a virtual walk-through.

Additional Requirements

In addition to VHS Learning system requirements, student will need the following:

Autodesk Revit 2022

Due to the Autodesk Revit software required, this course requires regular access to a computer running Microsoft Windows. This course cannot be completed on an Apple Mac, Chromebook, iPad or mobile device. Autodesk Revit requires a computer running 64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 or newer, with 8GB of RAM and 30GB of free hard drive space.

Students must create an Autodesk account to complete this course and will be directed to do so during the first week of the course.