Landscape Special Interest Group September 2017 am

In this session, we looked at roadways, covered how Vectorworks 2018 permits you to change site contour lines directly without using site modifiers, and briefly touched on creating framing members.

Topics Covered:

• 00:15    We started the session by working with roadways. Using VW 2018, we could see how working with site models has changed in the software. First, we quickly went over the various roadway tools in a blank file, reviewing the particular characteristics of each. Switching back to the file with our site model, we used the Roadway Polygon Tool to create a driveway. It had squared-off corners at first—but the advantage of using this roadway is that you can use the Reshape Tool with it, making it a very flexible roadway tool. We were successful at turning the squared-off corners into a nice curve; however, it didn’t allow us to have the curve and to add a nice parking area. So, we switched to the Roadway Custom Curb. Using our Stake Tool, it is possible to give this roadway a rise. Vectorworks will do the arithmetic for you! Because this is the only roadway that allows you to vary its width along a path and to add vertices, we could use any 2D shape the Rectangle Tool with the Add Surface command to create our parking area. The Reshape Tool gives you additional flexibility to get the shape that you want. To create a more complex road, you will probably have to split your roadway up—use the Split Tool!—and grade the individual parts. You can’t add the roadway parts all together, but you can make them touch. You can use the Paving and Curb classes in the Object Info palette to change the colors and textures of your roadway.
• 31:32    Vectorworks 2018 has changed how site modifiers work. We experimented with the Edit Proposed Site Model Contours command, which enables you to change vertices along an individual contour line in your site model. If there are too many vertex handles, just select them and hit the Delete key to get a more reasonable number of handles. With this new contours command, you can make dramatic changes to your site contours without bothering with site modifiers—it seems to be more intuitive!
• 40:14    Next, we applied principles from a tapered scroll object that we created in the 3D Special Interest Group September 2017 webinar to making a tapered landscape wall. Using the new multiple drawing views option in VW 2018, we could see the wall simultaneously in different views and draw from a point in one view to a point in another view. To further explore this feature, we looked at a file that contained architectural drawings and opened up views of the first floor design layer and the sheet layer at the same time. The changes that we made on the design layer would instantaneously update on the sheet layer—it was easy to keep track of how the design changes affected the drawing.
• 46:54    A question came up about using framing members in Vectorworks models. My manual “From 2D Drawing to BIM” (SST_1607) covers using framing members to create roofs. In the Landscape Special Interest Group August 2017 PM webinar, we built all the detailing for a shed, including all of the framing members. A little demonstration showed just how easy it is to create joists by using just a polygon and the Create Joists command—it’s amazingly quick! The joists are 3D objects so they can be used to create detailed sections, in addition to helping you create your framing plans.
• 51:18    We finished the session by discussing how, with the addition of multiple drawing views in VW 2018, it is even more useful now to have a bigger monitor or more than one monitor. Someone was having difficulty logging into my website to complete my new Foundations course, so we covered how to do that. Another person has had difficulty getting the 2D and 3D graphics of hardscapes to show up properly. I’m going to make sure that I include instructions on this in the next Foundations course on my website. It can be quite frustrating at first to work with the complex tools in Vectorworks, so a course on the fundamentals can really help!

 
Landscape September 2017 am
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