In this session, we looked at the function of stories and levels compared with design layers, as well as how to easily create elevations.

Topics Covered:

• 00:11    We started the session by opening a project file. The challenge was to change our practice of setting floor elevations in the design layer settings to using the full power of the Vectorworks story system. Opening the Stories tab in the Organization dialog box, we created several stories. It’s important to create the stories at the beginning of your project. Looking at the Default Story Levels, we tried to see which ones made sense for our project and which ones might need to be created, changed, or deleted. Some of the terms that Vectorworks uses might sound confusing to you—if they do, change the terms to something that makes more sense. A story is a collection of design layers. The beauty of this is that the collection can be moved together within the project. There is quite a bit of power that can come from using stories and levels. While the ceiling parts might be on a ceiling design layer, the elevation can be controlled through the story. The design layers contain the objects, but the levels determine the objects’ elevations. Because the story system groups and integrates the design layers and levels, changing the level of a certain type of object—for example, power outlets—will automatically change the height of those objects throughout your project.
• 24:08    Next, we wanted to build some walls. But first, we checked the wall style settings to make sure that the wall was set up to work with stories. We chose to fix the bottom of the wall to the Layer Elevation and the top of the wall to the Finish Floor (Story Above). After constructing the walls of our story, we added a slab. We discussed how different settings can change how the walls and slab interact. We finished our multi-story building by simply duplicating the slab and walls up to create the additional upper stories.
• 34:45    We finished the session by creating elevations. A simple way to create elevations is to use the Create Multiple Viewports command. Simply click on the views that you need, and Vectorworks creates the elevations on the sheet layer—very easy! We added some doors and windows so that we could see how our elevations were working. The important thing is to make project changes in the model on the design layers. That way, because Vectorworks connects everything, the changes will automatically appear wherever those objects are displayed in your elevations.

Architect December 2017 pm
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