Updated October 2026: Drawing a curved wall in Revit takes one arc tool. Shaping it is the harder part, because Edit Profile does not work on a wall that is an arc in plan. This guide covers both: the Wall tool for the plan curve, and the ways around the profile limit. The steps are checked against Autodesk’s Revit 2027 help, with a note wherever an older release looks different.
If you only need the short version: start the Wall tool, pick Start-End-Radius Arc in the Draw panel, and click three points.
Quick answer
To create a curved wall in Revit, go to Architecture tab > Build panel > Wall, choose an arc tool such as Start-End-Radius Arc in the Draw panel, click the start point, click the end point, then move the cursor and click to set the radius.
Edit Profile is not available for curved walls. To slope the top, attach the wall to a shape-edited floor with Attach Top/Base (named Attach since Revit 2026). For a free-form profile, build the wall with Model In-Place from a solid extrusion and a void extrusion.
Practice file · .RVT
Work on the curved wall model from this tutorial
The Revit project (.rvt) from this tutorial is on the Mashyo Patreon. Open it beside this page and work through the curved wall steps on a real model instead of an empty project.
Get the curved wall practice file
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Which Curved Wall Method to Use
Curved walls in Revit fall into two groups. A wall that is only curved in plan is a normal wall drawn with an arc. A wall whose top, base or outline also changes needs a workaround, because the usual profile tool is switched off for arcs. Pick the row that matches your wall.
| What you want | Use this | Steps |
|---|---|---|
| A wall curved in plan with a level top | Wall tool with an arc draw tool | Method 1 |
| A curved glass wall | A curtain wall type, an arc and vertical grids | Curtain walls |
| A sloped or uneven top on a curved wall | A shape-edited floor and Attach Top/Base | Edit profile |
| A rectangular opening in a curved wall | Wall Opening | Openings |
| A free-form outline in elevation | Model In-Place: solid extrusion and void extrusion | Method 2 |
| A wall that follows a mass or keeps its wall type while being cut | Wall by Face or an in-place void | Other ways |
The short version: use Method 1 whenever you can. It gives you a real wall with a wall type, and it stays easy to change. Method 2 is for shapes a wall cannot make.
Method 1: Draw a Curved Wall With the Wall Tool
This is a normal system wall, basic or curtain, placed with an arc instead of a line. Use it whenever the wall is curved in plan and its top and base are level.
Steps
- In the Project Browser, open Level 1, or the plan where the wall goes.
- Go to Architecture tab > Build panel > Wall, then pick a wall type in the Type Selector.
- In the Draw panel, select Start-End-Radius Arc, or one of the other arc tools listed below.
- Click once to start the arc, then click again to set the other end.
- Move the cursor to change the radius. You can also type a radius value and press Enter.
- Click to place the wall in the project.
Before you click, check the wall settings: Height (or Depth), Location Line, Chain, Offset and Radius. While you draw, press the Spacebar to flip the interior and exterior sides of the wall.
Revit 2027: the Options Bar is gone
Revit 2027 removed the Options Bar and moved its controls to the ribbon and the Properties palette. For the Wall tool, Autodesk’s 2027 help lists Height or Depth, Chain, Offset, Radius and Join Status on the contextual ribbon tab. Location Line is in the Properties palette.
On Revit 2026 or older, look for the same settings on the Options Bar directly below the ribbon. See what else changed in Revit 2027.
Arc tools in the Draw panel
- Start-End-Radius Arc: click the two ends first, then set the radius with the third click. This is the one I use most.
- Center-ends Arc: click the center, then the start and the end of the arc. It cannot draw more than 180 degrees in one go.
- Tangent End Arc: starts tangent from the end of an existing wall or line, which gives a smooth transition from a straight wall.
- Fillet Arc: rounds the corner between two walls.
The Draw panel also has circle, ellipse and partial ellipse layouts. Ellipse walls come with limits: Offset does not apply to them, and you cannot flip them with the Spacebar while drawing.
Change the curve afterwards
Select the wall. Drag an end control to change the length of the arc, or drag the middle control to change the radius. If the arc must stay concentric while you drag, turn on Keep Concentric first. In Revit 2027 it is in the Properties palette; in older releases it is on the Options Bar. Leave it off when the ends must stay where they are, for example at a tangent join with a straight wall.
How to Create a Curved Curtain Wall
The steps are the same. Start the Wall tool, pick a curtain wall type in the Type Selector, and draw it with an arc tool.
One thing surprises people: curtain panels are flat. A curved curtain wall with no vertical grids shows as a straight panel between its two ends. Add vertical grids, either through the Vertical Grid layout in the wall type or by placing curtain grids by hand, and the wall follows the arc in straight segments. More grids give a smoother curve.
For grids, mullions and panels, see how to create curtain walls in Revit.
How to Edit the Profile of a Curved Wall
On a straight wall you select the wall and click Edit Profile. On a curved wall that button is greyed out. Autodesk’s help confirms that Edit Profile does not apply to a wall that is an arc or an ellipse in plan, so this is a limit of the tool and not a setting you can switch on.
Unlike flat walls, curved walls need a “hidden attachment” workaround to change the slope of their top or base: draw a floor over the wall, shape the floor, attach the wall to it, then hide the floor.
Steps
- Go to the 3D view (the house icon on the upper left toolbar).
- Go to Architecture tab > Build panel > Floor.
- In the Draw panel, select Pick Lines.
- Set Offset to 500 mm (1.64 ft). It is on the Options Bar in Revit 2026 and older, and on the ribbon in Revit 2027.
- Pick all boundary lines of the wall. Make sure the dashed offset preview lies outside the wall each time.
- Click Finish Edit Mode.
The offset matters. Only the part of a wall that the floor overlaps will attach, so the floor has to cover the whole wall.
- Select the floor and go to Modify | Floors tab > Shape Editing panel > Modify Sub Elements.
- Drag the points of the floor to the heights you want. Dragging a blue arrow moves a point vertically. For an exact height, select the point and type a value in the Elevation box.
- Select all walls under the floor. On the Modify | Walls tab > Modify Wall panel, click Attach and choose Attach Top. In Revit 2025 and older the button is named Attach Top/Base, and you choose Top or Base on the Options Bar.
- Click the shaped floor. The top of the wall now follows it.
- Right-click the floor and choose Hide in View > Elements.
Tip: To select a chain of walls, hover over one of the connected walls and press Tab until all of them highlight, then click. Learn more Revit keyboard shortcuts.
Hiding only affects the current view. The floor is still in the model, so hide it in every view where it shows, and expect it in floor schedules. If you need it back, see how to unhide elements in Revit.
The same Attach tool also accepts roofs, ceilings and reference planes, including reference planes that are not vertical. If a roof already sits above the curved wall, attach the wall to the roof and skip the helper floor.
Watch this tutorial where I create a building complex using the steps above:
How to Cut an Opening in a Curved Wall
Edit Profile is also how most people cut openings in straight walls. On a curved wall, use Wall Opening instead. It cuts rectangular openings in straight or curved walls.
- Open an elevation or section view where you can see the wall.
- Go to Architecture tab > Opening panel > Wall Opening.
- Select the curved wall.
- Sketch a rectangle. The opening appears after you click the second corner.
- To adjust it, click Modify, select the opening, and use the drag controls to change its size and position.
For an opening that is not rectangular, cut the wall with an in-place void, as described under other ways to shape a curved wall.
Method 2: Model a Curved Wall In-Place
To edit the vertical profile of a curved wall freely, you must use generic models. The idea is simple: a solid extrusion gives the wall its outline in elevation, then a void extrusion in plan cuts away everything except a curved strip.
Know the trade-off before you start. An in-place Generic Model is not a wall. Its category decides how it schedules and how its visibility is controlled, so it will not appear in a wall schedule, it has no wall type, and wall-hosted doors and windows cannot be placed in it. That is why I keep this method for presentation models.
Start the in-place model
- Go to Architecture tab > Build panel > Component drop-down > Model In-Place.
- In the Family Category and Parameters dialog, select Generic Models and click OK.
- Type a name for the new model and click OK. The Family Editor opens.
Tip: Too many complex profiles will slow down model navigation and increase file size. Autodesk gives the same warning for in-place elements in general. New to this tool? Start with how to model in place in Revit.
Sketch the wall outline in elevation
- In the Level 1 plan, go to Create tab > Datum panel > Reference Plane.
- Draw a reference plane that runs vertically on screen, so it is parallel to the East elevation. Click its name label, type “A”, and press Enter.
- In the Project Browser, open the East elevation.
- Go to Create tab > Forms panel > Extrusion.
- In the Work Plane dialog, select reference plane “A” by name and click OK.
- Pick the Line tool in the Draw panel.
- Sketch a vertical profile for the curved wall. This is the outline you want to see in elevation, drawn as one closed loop.
- Click Finish Edit Mode.
- Go back to the Level 1 plan and drag the shape handles of the extrusion outwards, until the solid is deep enough to contain the whole curve in plan.
Cut the curve in plan
Cutting shapes with voids is an advantage of generic models and in-place masses.
- Go to Create tab > Forms panel > Void Forms > Void Extrusion.
- In the Draw panel, select Pick Lines and pick all boundaries of the solid.
- In the Draw panel, pick Start-End-Radius Arc.
- Sketch a horizontal profile for the curved wall. This is the curve you want to see in plan.
- In the Modify panel, click Offset (shortcut: OF) to give the curve its thickness, and enclose the wall profile within the void boundaries. Every loop in the sketch must be closed, and loops must not cross each other.
- Click Finish Edit Mode.
- Go to the 3D view, hover over the void, and click to select it.
- Double-click to edit the wall profile again, and use the Draw panel tools to refine the sketch.
- Click Finish Model.
Tip: If the void is not cutting the solid form, go to Modify tab > Geometry panel > Cut, then select the solid and the void. Also check that the void passes through the full height of the solid: select it and adjust Extrusion Start and Extrusion End in the Properties palette.
Watch this video to learn how to import perspective images and CAD profiles directly into Revit’s edit mode:
For more advanced curved shapes, see our articles on Sweeps and Complex Roofs.
Other Ways to Shape a Curved Wall
Cut a real wall with an in-place void
If the wall must stay a real wall, you can keep the curved wall from Method 1 and cut it. Start Model In-Place, create a void form that overlaps the part of the wall you want removed, then use Cut Geometry on the wall. A void sweep along the wall is a common choice for a sloped top. Autodesk lists walls among the elements that family voids can cut, and its help suggests openings and in-place cuts for walls on cylindrical faces that are not rectangular.
I do not walk through this one step by step here. The tools are the same ones as in Method 2, and they are covered in Model In-Place and Cut Geometry.
Wall by Face
When the wall has to follow a mass, model the mass first, then go to Massing & Site tab > Model by Face panel > Wall by Face and click the faces. The Pick Faces tool in the Wall tool’s Draw panel does the same job on a massing face or a generic model face.
These walls do not update on their own when the mass changes. Select the wall and use Update to Face.
Lean the wall
A curved wall can also lean in or out. In the Properties palette, set Cross-Section to Slanted and enter an Angle from Vertical. This needs Revit 2021 or newer. See how to create sloped walls in Revit.
Curved Wall Troubleshooting
Why is Edit Profile greyed out on my curved wall?
Revit cannot edit the elevation profile of a wall that is an arc or an ellipse in plan. Attach the wall to a shaped floor or a roof to change its top, use Wall Opening for rectangular openings, or model the shape in place.
Why does the wall only attach to part of the floor?
Only the part of the wall that the floor overlaps will attach. Edit the floor boundary so it covers the whole wall, which is what the 500 mm offset is for, then attach the wall again.
Why can’t I find Modify Sub Elements?
Select the floor first. The tool is on the Modify | Floors tab, in the Shape Editing panel. The shape editing tools only work on a floor that is flat and horizontal, so a floor that already slopes does not qualify.
Where are Offset, Chain and Radius in Revit 2027?
On the contextual tab of the ribbon. Revit 2027 removed the Options Bar and moved its controls to the ribbon and the Properties palette. In Revit 2026 and older they are on the Options Bar below the ribbon.
Why is my curved curtain wall straight?
Curtain panels are flat. Without vertical grids the wall shows one straight panel between its ends. Add vertical grids in the wall type or place curtain grids by hand, and the wall follows the arc in segments.
Why is the void not cutting my in-place wall?
Go to Modify tab > Geometry panel > Cut and select the solid and the void. If it still does not cut, check that every loop in the void sketch is closed and that the void passes through the full height of the solid.
Why does the hidden floor show in another view?
Hide in View works one view at a time. Open each view where the floor appears and hide it there too.
Follow the first method to create Revit curved walls as real wall families, and shape their tops by attaching them to a floor. Remember to hide the added floor in all views. The second method gives you full control of the outline and is great for presentation graphics.
Practice file · .RVT
Click through a finished curved wall
Curved walls are easier to understand when you can select a finished one and see what it is made of. The practice file for this lesson gives you the Revit project from this tutorial, so you can inspect the model, repeat each step yourself and keep the file for reference.
Download the curved wall practice file
$5.5/month on Patreon. One membership unlocks all 40 Mashyo practice files. Cancel anytime. See the full file library.
FAQs
How do I make a curved wall in Revit?
Go to Architecture tab > Build panel > Wall, pick an arc tool such as Start-End-Radius Arc in the Draw panel, click the two ends of the wall, then move the cursor and click to set the radius.
Can you edit the profile of a curved wall in Revit?
Not with Edit Profile. Revit does not allow profile editing on a wall that is an arc or an ellipse in plan. Attach the wall to a shape-edited floor or a roof, use Wall Opening for rectangular openings, or model the wall in place.
How do I slope the top of a curved wall in Revit?
Draw a floor that covers the wall, raise its points with Modify Sub Elements, then select the wall and use Attach Top/Base (named Attach since Revit 2026) to attach its top to the floor. Hide the floor afterwards.
How do I cut an opening in a curved wall?
Open an elevation or section view, go to Architecture tab > Opening panel > Wall Opening, select the curved wall and sketch a rectangle. For other shapes, cut the wall with an in-place void.
Why does my curved curtain wall look straight?
Curtain panels are flat, so a curved curtain wall without vertical grids shows as one straight panel. Add vertical grids and it follows the arc in segments. More grids give a smoother curve.
Where are the wall options in Revit 2027?
Revit 2027 has no Options Bar. Height or Depth, Chain, Offset, Radius and Join Status are on the contextual tab of the ribbon while you place a wall, and Location Line is in the Properties palette.
Is there a Revit practice file for this tutorial?
Yes. The Revit project file for this lesson is available to Mashyo members on Patreon for $5.5/month, together with the practice files for the other Mashyo tutorials. You can cancel at any time. Open the curved wall practice file on Patreon.
Mohamed Fakhry has helped thousands of architects and designers find their next project with step-by-step guidance on his blog, mashyo.com. About Mohamed
His journey began during his university years when he recognized the need for information-rich 3D models to accelerate learning and improve production processes. Now, Mohamed shares his expertise through Revit tutorials that are accessible to all.
