Are Reflected Ceilings Views Truly Reflected Views

Have you ever wondered this?  Or wonder if Revit is just really looking UP in a ceiling view?  When looking at a typical reflected ceiling plan, you may really not be able to tell if it’s looking up, or if its looking down at the “mirror”.  But, when placing say Model Text on a ceiling (and looking at it in a Ceiling View) it actually shows a little clearer picture…

Now, if you look from a 3D View (specifically from the bottom) the text looks “correct”…

I had this come into play when doing a small little project for a customer.  I built a sign tower and the customer wanted some text on the bottom of the base as it was being 3D Printed.  So when I placed the text in the Ceiling Plan View, it was backwards.  I had to open up a 3D view and look at the model from the bottom direction if I wanted to work with the text in the “correct” orientation.

If you think about how Revit is viewing the ceiling plans, it’s using a Top View, but cut at 7’-6” (default).  If you look at the images, notice that the east/west directions are not the same…they are flipped.  So you are still looking down onto the objects when in a Ceiling View.  Here’s a Top view in Wireframe, looks just like the Ceiling Plan View…

So yes, the Ceiling Views in Revit are Reflected!  That Cut Plane that is used in a Ceiling View is really the location of the imaginary mirror to view a Reflected Ceiling Plan.