All models have 2 north orientations: Project North and True North.
- Project North is typically based on the predominant axis of the building geometry. It affects how you sketch in views and how views are placed on sheets.
Tip: When designing the model, align Project North with the top of the drawing area. This strategy simplifies the modeling process.
- True North is the real-world north direction
based on site conditions.
Tip: To avoid confusion, define True North only after you begin modeling with Project North aligned to the top of the drawing area and after you receive reliable survey coordinates.
In this site plan, a North Arrow annotation symbol indicates the direction of True North.
All models start with Project North and True North aligned with the top of the drawing area, as indicated by the survey point
Rotating True North
You may want to rotate True North for the following reasons:
- to represent site conditions
- for solar studies and rendering to ensure that natural light falls on the correct sides of the building model
- for energy analysis
- for heating and cooling loads analysis
You can use the Rotate True North tool in the site plan view.
The following image shows that the model has been rotated to True North, as indicated by the North Arrow annotation symbol and by the survey point. The project base point indicates its offset from True North.
Rotating Project North
You can rotate Project North for the entire model in plan views, changing the model's orientation to the top of the drawing area.
For example, if your office uses sheets with a portrait orientation, you can rotate Project North to align with the vertical axis of the model so views fit on sheets more easily. The following image shows the model with Project North set to the horizontal axis
The Rotate Project North tool does the following:
- It affects plan views whose Orientation property is defined as Project North. It does not affect drafting views, callouts of plan views, or other types of views.
- It affects model elements and view-specific detail elements, including text notes, detail lines, filled regions, revision clouds, and more.
- It preserves the relative position of links.
- It rotates decals applied to surfaces.
Changing the orientation of a view
After adjusting True North and Project North for the model, you can decide whether each plan view reflects Project North
If you need to rotate a 3D view to True North, use the ViewCube.
Swapnil Bhalekar
Swapnil Bhalekar
BIM Lead at nCircle Tech
Published Jun 26, 2021
In Revit, in every file or project; there is Project and a True North. The Project North is a virtual orientation used to model your project. so it is orthogonal to your screen. By default, in every file there is Project North.
The True North is a real-world north used to properly locate the orientation of your building. To set the True North, you have to select project base point and simply enter the angle.
Project North
True North
True North in Real World
Why we actually used true north in Revit?
- To represent site conditions
- For solar studies and rendering to ensure that natural light falls on the correct sides of the building model.
- For energy analysis.
- For heating and cooling loads analysis.
What is difference between Project Base Point and Survey Point?
- The project base point defines the origin (0,0,0) of the project coordinate system. We use the project base point as a reference point for measurements across the site.
- The survey point identifies a real-world location near the model, such as a corner of the project site or the intersection of 2 property lines.