Landscape Special Interest Group November 2017 am

In this session, we briefly looked at counting impermeable surfaces, showed how to work with stepped site modifiers on a site model, and created a fence with columns instead of posts.

Topics Covered:

• 00:15    We started off this session by discussing how best to calculate impermeable surfaces on a project. The challenge is that there is a huge range of impermeable structures—such as roofs, decks, and patios—that can be represented by various Vectorworks objects—such as slabs, hardscapes, meshes, and polygons. Your worksheet somehow has to gather all of these objects together. Sometimes the easiest method is to simply trace the various objects with a polygon and to have your report add up the areas of the polygons.
• 04:45    Next, we opened a file with a house set on a site model to look at how to work with site modifiers. We wanted pads that could create a stepped site model. When you create your site model, set it up with various classes. This will enable you to turn the classes on and off later, allowing you see different parts of the site without updating it. We also decided to use different types of lines—dashed and solid—for our existing and proposed site contours. We drew a 2D polygon over each part of the site that needed a different elevation and offset the polygons. Using the Create Objects from Shapes command, we changed the polygons into pads. You should assign your new site modifiers to the proposed site model so that Vectorworks will use them for the cut and fill calculations. Using J-click is a trick for selecting site modifiers on a busy site model. Having changed the elevations of the pads, we created the grade limits. The Offset tool followed by the Add Surface command is one convenient method for making a grade limits that goes around all the pads—or there is a Create Grade Limits from Pads command.
• 25:14    After updating the site model, we switched to a 3D view to check on the results—the levels worked really well! The Edit Proposed Site Model Contours command is new in Vectorworks 2018. It can seem like a very tedious way to edit your site model, but changing the distance between the contours—we used 1m intervals—can make it more manageable. If your site model is a yellow color instead of green, you can adjust the number of light sources in the Visualization palette. Instead of moving your contours around, you can also just create another pad! The Snap to Contour Elevation Mode of the Site Modifier tool is just as quick as editing contours. Double-clicking on the site model brings up a dialog box with the Recreate from Source Data command, which lets you gets rid of whatever changes you’ve made to the contours and start from scratch. You can also set your property line as a grade limit to prevent your changes from going outside the property.
• 36:50    To finish the session, we considered the challenge of creating a fence with columns instead of posts, because we wanted the columns to show up on a materials schedule. The standard Railing/Fence tool in Vectorworks allowed us to turn off the start and end posts but not the ones in the middle. The Australian version of Vectorworks has a Draw Handrails tool. Not only does it have the indispensable Send to Site Model Surface command, it also has many options for modifying the rails, balusters, panels, and posts—including a “none” option! We added the columns to complete our fence. Creating an object style for our column allowed us to quickly create variations, such as columns with or without a concrete base.

Landscape November 2017 pm
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