Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Overhead Fixtures in Spaces with No Ceiling
Not every building area for which you need to provide lighting will have a
ceiling. Having a space with no ceiling does not mean that you cannot use a
face-hosted fixture family. Pendant fixtures can be face-hosted to the floor
or structure above, as shown in
Figure 12.13
.
Figure 12.13
Pendant fixtures hosted by structural framing members
Another option for using hosted fixtures in a space with no ceiling is to use a
reference plane that defines the elevation of the fixtures. This is an effective
method for lighting large spaces in which one or two reference planes can
handle all the lighting fixtures. It is not recommended that you use this
method for multiple spaces, because having many reference planes hosting
items in your model can negatively affect your file performance.
You can also use lighting fixture families that do not require a host object.
You have to set and manage their elevations manually. These types of
fixtures should have a parameter that lets you define the mounting height,
or you can use the Offset parameter.
Wall-mounted Lights
Lighting fixtures can be mounted to walls as well as ceilings. In fact, you can
place a face-hosted lighting fixture family on any vertical surface. However,
you should note that any model element categorized as a lighting fixture
does not have the ability to maintain its annotation orientation. This means
that you cannot use an annotation symbol nested directly in the family to
represent the lighting fixture in a plan view when the fixture is mounted to a
vertical face. See Chapter 20 for information on nesting an annotation into
lighting fixture families that are mounted on vertical surfaces.
