How to make this rectangle a node (TikZ)?

Question

I have drawn a rectangle with a fixed position:

\[\begin{tikzpicture}
\draw[thick] (3,1) rectangle (5,3);  
\end{tikzpicture}\]

I would like to make it a node with a name (for instance rec), so that other elements later could be positioned with regards to it, for instance:

\node (elli) [ellipse, below=1cm of rec] {...};

Does anyone know how to make the rectangle above a node?

Answer 1

You can specify the minimum height and minimum width for a node. In conjunction with draw, you'll end up with a rectangle with the specified dimensions:

\node (rect) at (4,2) [draw,thick,minimum width=2cm,minimum height=2cm] {};