Location: A very messy trailer on the set of John & Ted’s Excellent BIM-venture.

The Scene: John Offield is staring blankly at a laptop screen, surrounded by empty soda cans and crumpled plot sheets. Ted is sitting on the back of the sofa, clutching a lukewarm beer and pointing a fuzzy paw at the screen with dangerous precision.

Ted: “Johnny, look at me. You’re overthinking it. The ACME Plant warehouse isn’t going to build itself if you can’t even tell the contractor where the ground is. You’re making S.D.S. look like a lemonade stand out here.”

John: “I’m trying, Ted! But the civil drawings say the ground is at 1,250 feet, and the site guys want the first floor to be 0′-0″. And now the civil CAD file is floating ten miles away from my building model. I’m blowing it!”

Ted: “Hold my beer. Seriously, hold it, I don’t have thumbs. I’m about to school you in Revit site coordination.”

1. The Magic of Dual-Identity Levels

In the ACME Plant Project, you need to be a bit of a shapeshifter. You want the Actual Coordinates (Survey Point/Sea Level) for the civil engineers, but Relative Elevation (Project Base Point) for the guys swinging hammers who just want to know how high the second floor is from the first.

Ted’s “Have Your Cake and Eat It Too” Method:

  1. Select a Level Line in an elevation view.

  2. Go to Edit Type in the Properties palette.

  3. Duplicate the type. Name one “ACME – Survey (Sea Level)” and the other “ACME – Relative (Project Zero).”

  4. Under the Elevation Base parameter:

    • Set the “Survey” type to Survey Point. This will show your 1,250′ (or whatever real elevation it is).

    • Set the “Relative” type to Project Base Point. This resets your main floor to 0′-0″.

Ted’s Pro-Tip: “It’s like me at a party, Johnny. To the cops, I’m a ‘stuffed novelty item’ (0′-0″). To my fans worldwide, I’m a global icon living the high life (1,250′). Context is everything. Use different types for different drawing sets.”

2. The “Handshake”: Setting Up Shared Coordinates

“Alright,” Ted grunts, hopping down onto the keyboard. “Now for the part that makes grown BIM Managers cry. Getting your building to sit on the Civil engineer’s map precisely. You can’t just eyeball it, Johnny.”

Ted’s No-Nonsense Shared Coordinate Checklist:

  • Step A: Demand the Right Stuff. Make sure the Civil engineer sent you a DWG exported in WCS (World Coordinate System).

  • Step B: The Initial Drop. In Revit, go to Insert > Link CAD. Select the Civil file. For positioning, start with Auto – Center to Center.

  • Step C: The Physical Alignment. Move and rotate the linked DWG file until its property lines align with your Revit building grids. Ted yells: “Don’t move the building, Johnny! Move the map to the building!”

  • Step D: The Vertical Sync. Move the linked DWG up or down so the finished grade line sits exactly at your “Level 1” relative to your project zero.

  • Step E: The Handshake. Go to Manage > Coordinates > Acquire Coordinates.

  • Step F: Click the Link. Click on the linked Civil DWG. Your Revit project now officially knows its place on Planet Earth.

3. The Pro Move: Linking Topography (Site Reference)

“Now, if you want to be a real S.D.S. rockstar,” Ted says, “you don’t just use a flat CAD file. You use the Link Topography tool. It’s the high-speed connection between Civil3D and Revit.”

How to use the Site Reference Tool:

  1. Civil3D Side: The engineer publishes the surface to the Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) using the “Publish Surfaces” command.

  2. Revit Side: Go to the Insert tab and click Link Topography.

  3. Select the Surface: Navigate to the published file in the cloud.

  4. Reference it: Choose the “Link” option. Revit will place the 3D surface into your model using the Shared Coordinates you just set up.

Ted’s Note: “This is better than a standard import because if the Civil guy changes the hill, you just hit ‘Reload’ and the dirt moves for you. It’s like magic, but with more math.”

4. Turning CAD into a Toposolid

“If you’re still working with that old-school DWG and need a 3D ground,” Ted says, “let’s wrap this up.”

  1. Go to the Massing & Site tab.

  2. Select Toposolid > Create from Import.

  3. Select that Civil3D DWG you aligned.

  4. Filter the Layers: Only check the layers with actual contour data (like ‘C-TOPO-MAJR’).

The S.D.S. Bottom Line

John: “Wow. So, the levels show two different things, the ‘Acquire Coordinates’ locks the location, and ‘Link Topography’ keeps me synced with the Civil team?”

Ted: “You’re getting it, Johnny. Now save & sync the model, and let’s go get some snacks. I think I saw Sam J. Jones near the Seiler GeoDrones services table.”