Step through a complete Revit project setup — defining levels, grids, shared coordinates, worksets, and project information — with a generated setup guide you can follow directly in Revit.
Step 1: Project Type & Template — select building type and Revit template. Step 2: Units & Project Information — set units, project name, address, client, architect. Step 3: Levels — define floor levels with elevations (interactive SVG preview updates live). Step 4: Grids — define column grid with alpha/numeric naming and spacing (SVG diagram). Step 5: Shared Coordinates — choose Project Base Point vs Survey Point workflow. Step 6: Worksets — auto-populated by discipline based on your selections. Step 7: Review — complete setup checklist with a copy-ready Setup Guide.
The first hours of a Revit project define its entire structure. Incorrect level datums, missing worksets, or wrong shared coordinate setup causes problems that compound throughout the project — missed floors in schedules, misaligned linked models, or broken worksharing. A properly set up Revit file with correct levels, grids, and worksets takes 2–3 hours; fixing a poorly set up file mid-project can take days.
Revit uses two coordinate systems: Internal Origin (fixed, used for all model geometry), and Shared Coordinates (tied to a real-world survey point). Shared coordinates are required when linking models from different disciplines — they ensure structural, architectural, and MEP models overlay correctly. The workflow: Civil/Survey provides a CAD or RVT file with survey point; architect acquires shared coordinates from it; all other disciplines link the architectural file and inherit shared coordinates.
Auto-populated worksets follow the discipline-based naming pattern: Architecture — Arch Model, Arch Interior, Arch Exterior; Structure — Struct Model, Struct Foundations; MEP — Mech HVAC, Elec Power, Elec Lighting, Plumbing; Shared — Site, Levels & Grids, Linked Models. User-created elements go to the discipline workset. Linked files each get their own Linked Model workset for visibility control.
Autodesk ships discipline-specific templates: Architectural, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing. Use the discipline-matched template for your role. For multi-discipline projects, architects use the Architectural template as the host; consultants use their discipline templates and link into the architectural file. Office templates (custom company templates) are preferred over default Autodesk templates on projects where your firm has established standards — they pre-load families, view templates, and browser organization.
Revit levels are horizontal reference planes that represent building floors (and sometimes intermediate elevations like equipment pads or ceilings). Levels drive: floor plan views (one level = one floor plan), ceiling plan views, room bounding, MEP system height references, and schedule filtering by level. MEP engineers should never add levels independently — always coordinate with the architect's level structure. If MEP needs an intermediate level (e.g., a mezzanine), it must be added to the shared architectural model or linked file to keep schedules and views consistent.
Grids in Revit are annotation elements that appear in all plan views and can be used as snap targets for placing structural elements. In a multi-discipline BIM workflow, grids are owned by the Structural model — structural engineers define the grid, and architects and MEP engineers reference it through linked models. Revit's "Copy/Monitor" tool allows monitoring of linked model grids so that when the structural engineer moves a grid, the architect receives a coordination alert. Grid naming follows a standard convention: alpha columns (A, B, C) on one axis, numeric rows (1, 2, 3) on the other.
Worksets are a worksharing (multi-user collaboration) tool — they divide the model into ownership groups so multiple team members can work simultaneously without conflicts. Worksets control editing rights and visibility (you can close a workset to improve performance). Phases are a design/documentation tool — they represent time-based construction stages (Existing, Demolition, New Construction). All elements belong to a phase. These are completely separate systems: worksets are about who owns which elements; phases are about when elements exist in the building lifecycle. Both can be active simultaneously on the same project.
Revit's Project Browser organizes views in a hierarchy you control via View Properties → Browser Organization. Best practice: organize by Discipline (Architecture/Structure/MEP) → then by Phase → then by view type (Floor Plans, Ceiling Plans, Sections, Elevations, 3D Views, Sheets). Working views (used for modeling, not documentation) should be prefixed with "WIP-" or placed in a separate "Working Views" folder to keep sheet-ready views clean. Sheet-ready views should use view templates to enforce consistent graphic standards across all drawings.