Massing and Site Questions (was Here goes Nuthin)

[jkd3]

Hi... Short time user, first time post-er... To Wit:
I have imported an ACAD2007 Topo 2d Drawing Plate of an area in North Carolina to be used as the basis for a design competition for PCI <http://www.pci.org/education/arch_design/> . I have used the "Workbook" to go through the steps of getting an actual topo site to show up, and am comfortable with what I have done so far. I feel like I have conquered the world... but like any tyrant, I want to do more.

The design competition site is at the center of a suburban community, so naturally, my "plate" drawing that I imported has the footprints of the residences (some 180 of them). I have played with the massing tools to create extrusions of the footprints. (side bar: they only show up in certain views and I am unsure how to change that). But what I would really like to do is have each home follow the topo. Aside from doing them one by one (which I dont have enough time to do) is there a shortcut version where I can get the bottom face of the buildings to match the topo at any given point? Conversly, if I can do that, is there a way to lock the heights of each so that their height is constrined... for example to 26' high. Right now, they were massed all at the same time, and therefore their "top" is uniform, so no matter what height I change one to, they all change together.

I am not sure if I am asking this the right way with the right language yet, as I am virtually a new user. But any feedback I am sure would be of a benefit.
Thanks

[luigi]

Sorry I didn't notice the question earlier...and didn't notice that nobody gave you a hint...
But if you create a Site Family, then the family can be attached to the topography....so create a site family, give it a height parameter to the top of the building, then give an additional parameter from the main ref. plane to the bottom of the solid (this will allow you to have the solid penetrate the whole topography, since only one point of your plane will touch the topography) you can make that parameter something really deep.

Now just insert the family on your topography, tell each building how high it needs to be based on the topography, and you're done....let's just hope you can use boxes, or have a limited of building perimeter types...

Hope this helps,
Luigi

Hi... Short time user, first time post-er... To Wit:
I have imported an ACAD2007 Topo 2d Drawing Plate of an area in North Carolina to be used as the basis for a design competition for PCI <http://www.pci.org/education/arch_design/> . I have used the "Workbook" to go through the steps of getting an actual topo site to show up, and am comfortable with what I have done so far. I feel like I have conquered the world... but like any tyrant, I want to do more.

The design competition site is at the center of a suburban community, so naturally, my "plate" drawing that I imported has the footprints of the residences (some 180 of them). I have played with the massing tools to create extrusions of the footprints. (side bar: they only show up in certain views and I am unsure how to change that). But what I would really like to do is have each home follow the topo. Aside from doing them one by one (which I dont have enough time to do) is there a shortcut version where I can get the bottom face of the buildings to match the topo at any given point? Conversly, if I can do that, is there a way to lock the heights of each so that their height is constrined... for example to 26' high. Right now, they were massed all at the same time, and therefore their "top" is uniform, so no matter what height I change one to, they all change together.

I am not sure if I am asking this the right way with the right language yet, as I am virtually a new user. But any feedback I am sure would be of a benefit.
Thanks

[Andre Carvalho]

Sorry I didn't notice the question earlier...and didn't notice that nobody gave you a hint...
But if you create a Site Family, then the family can be attached to the topography....so create a site family, give it a height parameter to the top of the building, then give an additional parameter from the main ref. plane to the bottom of the solid (this will allow you to have the solid penetrate the whole topography, since only one point of your plane will touch the topography) you can make that parameter something really deep.

Now just insert the family on your topography, tell each building how high it needs to be based on the topography, and you're done....let's just hope you can use boxes, or have a limited of building perimeter types...

Hope this helps,
Luigi

Also, when creating this site family, don't forget to check the option "Always Vertical" under Family Category and Parameters (if it isn't already done). Otherwise if your topo is sloped, your buildings will be perpendicular to that slope. And you probably want them vertical.

Andre Carvalho

[luigi]

Also, when creating this site family, don't forget to check the option "Always Vertical" under Family Category and Parameters (if it isn't already done). Otherwise if your topo is sloped, your buildings will be perpendicular to that slope. And you probably want them vertical.

Andre Carvalho

YES...great that you posted...it would have ticked him off if he didn't know of that check...

[DO-PRE]

Im new as well and this stuff is really interesting to me.

When you create your site family is it basiclly your mass house form with parameters?

So you would insert the house family, attach it to the site and adjust the height parameter of each house? It sounds like jkd3 still has his site in 2d, does that matter?

Thanks

[luigi]

Im new as well and this stuff is really interesting to me.

When you create your site family is it basiclly your mass house form with parameters?

So you would insert the house family, attach it to the site and adjust the height parameter of each house? It sounds like jkd3 still has his site in 2d, does that matter?

Thanks
I think jkd3's house is in 3D, but that it is a single mass in the project (so the whole height changes together, rather than individually)

But yes, that would be the process, but because the whole bottom face of the solid won't attach to the site, but only one point, you'll need an additional parameter to control the bottom as well...