People starting out in MEP modelling often spend an afternoon hunting for a "Revit sample file" online. What they find is a shared-drive link from an unknown author, saved in an unknown version, missing half its linked files. It either refuses to open or turns out to contain architecture and no ductwork at all.
A complete revit mep sample project is already on your computer. Revit 2027 installs Autodesk's Snowdon Towers project: architecture, structure, HVAC, plumbing, electrical and site, six files sharing one coordinate system. This article shows where to find them, what each file teaches, and the 14 steps to build the practice file that every MEP tutorial from the Institute starts from. To learn the full workflow on one building with a tutor, see the Institute's Revit MEP course.
Revit MEP sample files already on your PC: the Samples folder
The Revit 2027 installer copies a folder called Samples into the program folder, next to Revit.exe. On a default installation that is C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit 2027\Samples. If Revit was installed on another drive, find the folder that holds Revit.exe; Samples sits inside it.
The quickest way in is from Revit itself: File › Open (Ctrl + O), then browse to that folder.
Besides the six Snowdon Towers files, the folder holds the Pacific Continental Residence house, two German sample projects, three Japanese sample files and six sample families. rme_basic_sample_family and rme_advanced_sample_family are MEP equipment families, useful when you move on to building your own.
If the folder is missing, Autodesk's Revit Sample Project Files page lets you download each Snowdon file for 2027. It also lists the older MEP projects rme_basic_sample_project and rme_advanced_sample_project as separate downloads.
Before opening anything, copy the files to a working folder. Files in the program folder are the originals; a careless save overwrites them. Autodesk keeps the six files in one folder, so keep them together when you copy.
Snowdon Towers: the revit sample project with every discipline
Snowdon Towers is the revit sample project Autodesk uses across the refreshed Revit 2027 help videos. The How to Use the Sample Project page describes a mixed-use scheme of shops, offices and homes in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. It has 21 apartments, a restaurant, retail units and a 20-space parking level.
Autodesk says the architectural, structural and MEP models are built "at a level of detail appropriate to the early construction documents phase". Plenty to learn from, but not a finished drawing set.
One thing to know up front: Snowdon is in imperial units. Levels read in feet and inches and view scales look like 1/8" = 1'-0". Engineers used to metric will find the numbers awkward. That is why the practice file below uses a metric MEP file as the host and links only the Snowdon architecture into it.
Snowdon is not a tower block either: five storeys, a mezzanine and a parking level below. It does, however, have what a typical high-rise floor needs: repeated apartments, stacked bathrooms, a central corridor and service shafts.
What each file teaches: the revit hvac sample project, plumbing and electrical
Open a file and look at the System Browser (F9) to see what it contains. The table sums it up so you know which file to open.
| File | What is inside | What an MEP engineer learns |
|---|---|---|
| Sample Architectural | Walls, floors, ceilings, rooms, stairs, 18 levels | The base to link; ceilings for diffusers and lights; rooms for spaces |
| Sample Structural | Steel and concrete frames, beams, columns | Beams to clash-check against ductwork and cable tray |
| Sample HVAC | Equipment, ductwork, pipework, spaces; 148 mechanical systems | How supply, return and exhaust are split; colour by system |
| Sample Plumbing | Fixtures, supply, drainage, roof drains; 41 piping systems | Cold water, hot water, sanitary and roof drainage |
| Sample Electrical | Electrical equipment, lighting, conduit | Power layout, the 3D Conduit view |
| Sample Site | Terrain, the ramp down to parking | The overall context, little for MEP |
The revit hvac sample project is the file to open first if ductwork is your job. For the revit plumbing and electrical sample, open the Plumbing and Electrical files. The Plumbing file already splits its pipework into Domestic Cold Water, Domestic Hot Water, Sanitary and Roof Drainage.
Studying how a finished revit mep sample project splits and names its systems is the cheapest lesson you will get. The idea of systems in Revit is covered in what Revit MEP is.
Before you build the practice file
The practice file is a metric MEP file with the Snowdon architectural model linked in, plus the levels and floor plans you need to draw on. You need three things:
- Revit 2027, any licence, education included.
- An MEP template file: a copy of one of the Institute's template files (HVAC, plumbing, electrical or fire protection), or one of Revit's own templates, as in the next section but one.
- A copy of
Snowdon Towers Sample Architectural.rvtin your working folder.
Linking between disciplines in general is covered in linking Revit models. Here we only do what the exercises need.
Build the practice file, steps 1–7: open the template file and link the architecture
- Open your copy of the template file with File › Open. The Institute's file was saved in Revit 2021, so Revit shows the Model Upgrade box: From Autodesk Revit 2021, To Autodesk Revit 2027. Wait for it to close; a 40 MB file takes a few minutes.
- Save straight after the upgrade with Ctrl + S. The Model Upgrade box itself says so, and it spares you the wait next time.
- Open the ground floor plan of the template file and click Insert › Link Revit.
- In the Import/Link RVT dialog pick
Snowdon Towers Sample Architectural.rvt. Leave Positioning at its default, Auto - Internal Origin to Internal Origin, and click Open.
- After about half a minute Revit reports Nested Links Invisible. The Structural, Plumbing, HVAC, Site and Electrical files are nested Overlay links inside the architectural file, so they do not come through. That is exactly what we want: architecture only. Click Close.
- Click Insert › Manage Links to check. The Snowdon row shows a tick under Status, Reference Type Overlay and Path Type Relative.
- Check the position. Level ±0 of the template file coincides with Snowdon's L1 - Block 43 (0'-0"). Because both files were placed internal origin to internal origin, nothing needs moving.
Steps 8–14: copy the levels and create the working plans
Your ducts and equipment must follow the architect's levels. Copy/Monitor copies the levels into your file and keeps watching them, so Revit warns you when the architecture changes.
- Open the South - Mech elevation. Click Collaborate › Copy/Monitor › Select Link, then click the linked model.
- The Copy/Monitor tab appears. Click Copy.
- The Modify | Copy tab shows a Multiple panel. Click Select Multiple, then drag a window around the whole elevation.
- Click Filter. In the Filter dialog click Check None, tick only Levels (18 of them), and click OK.
- Click Finish on the Multiple panel, then Finish on the Copy/Monitor tab. Eighteen levels now sit in your file, each head carrying the monitor symbol.
- Click View › Plan Views › Floor Plan. In New Floor Plan pick L3, keep Do not duplicate existing views ticked and click OK. The new view picks up the template file's Mechanical Plan view template on its own.
- Do the same with Plan Views › Reflected Ceiling Plan for L3. The new ceiling plan has no view template yet: in Properties click the View Template box, choose Mechanical Ceiling and click OK.
After step 14 the Project Browser shows Mechanical › HVAC › Floor Plans › L3 and Ceiling Plans › L3. L3 is a typical apartment floor with a central corridor and bathrooms along the grid lines, which is where the later tutorials draw.
No template file from the Institute? Use Revit's own
Revit 2027 installs five metric templates suited to MEP: Mechanical-Default_Metric, Electrical-Default_Metric, Plumbing-Default_Metric, Systems-Default_Metric and Default-Multi-Discipline_Metric. The four discipline templates also come in a GBRENU version for UK practice.
Click File › New › Project (Ctrl + N). The New Project dialog opens on the default template. Click Browse…: Revit opens the template folder of the installation, and the metric files sit in the English folder next to it. Pick one, leave Create new on Project and click OK. The new file has no model in it yet; carry on from step 3.
The Institute's file adds duct types for the flange joints common on Vietnamese sites (C, V, TDC) and Daikin fan coil families, which saves time. Building your own template is covered in Revit templates.
When the link is missing or out of place
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The architecture is very faint on plan | The view belongs to the Mechanical discipline, so non-MEP elements are halftoned | Normal for MEP drawings; for darker lines adjust Visibility/Graphics › Revit Links |
| Only architecture shows, no Snowdon structure or pipework | Nested Overlay links do not come through | Link the discipline file you want with Link Revit |
| The linked model sits off the grid | The wrong Positioning option was picked | Remove the link and link again with Auto - Internal Origin to Internal Origin |
| Copy brought walls and floors into the file | The selection was not filtered before Finish | Undo, repeat steps 10–12 and keep only Levels |
| Your file already has a level at the same height | The template carries its own levels | Use Monitor instead of Copy to tie the existing level to the linked one |
| Opening takes minutes and shows Model Upgrade | The file was saved in an older Revit | Let it finish, then save once |
| Spaces will not follow the linked walls | Room Bounding is off in the link type | Turn on Room Bounding in the link's Type Properties; see spaces in Revit |
What people often get wrong about sample files
| Often heard | What Revit 2027 actually does |
|---|---|
| You have to beg for a shared-drive link to get a Revit MEP sample | The full Snowdon Towers set sits in the Samples folder; if missing, download it from Autodesk |
| Snowdon is metric | Snowdon uses feet and inches |
| Linking the architectural file shows every discipline | The other files are nested Overlay links and stay hidden in your file |
| Copy/Monitor options live on the Options Bar | Revit 2027 removed the Options Bar; Select Multiple, Finish and Filter are on the ribbon |
You build the practice file once and use it for every tutorial after. Drawing ducts in Revit starts right on the L3 plan you have just created.
Frequently asked questions
Can Revit 2026 open a practice file saved in Revit 2027?
No. Revit opens files from older releases and upgrades them, but it cannot open a file saved in a newer release. A class should all use the same version.
Do I need to open all six Snowdon files?
No. The practice file only needs the architectural one. Open the HVAC, Plumbing or Electrical file separately when you want to see a complete system.
Why not draw straight into the Snowdon HVAC file?
It is imperial and already full of ductwork. Drawing in your own metric file with the architecture linked in is how a real project works.
Which tutorials use the practice file?
Every MEP tutorial from the Institute: ductwork, pipework, cable tray, electrical and fire protection. Each one has a short "prepare the file" section that points back here.