In this session, we covered how to prevent plants from rising to the surface of a site model, options for creating flat surfaces in landscapes, and options for vehicle turning circles.

Topics Covered:

• 00:15    We started the session by experimenting with how to prevent plants from going to the surface of a site model. Under Site Model Settings, there are the Use Site Modifiers On options: All Layers, Visible Layers Only, Same Layer as Site Model, or Select Layers. We chose Select Layers and then put our plants on a layer that had not been selected in order to have the plants not lift to the height of the site model. We noticed that this change definitely made a difference.
• 04:20    Next, we looked at what options exist for creating flat surfaces in landscapes. Using a Hardscape object is the obvious choice. I don’t recommend using Floor or Slab objects for landscape surfaces—why use them when the Hardscape object works just as well? Subdivisions are great for curved surfaces, but not for flat ones. A Texture Bed modifier is purely for graphic presentation—it goes along the site, but doesn’t modify the site. You could use a Texture Bed Modifier if you were, for example, creating a limestone path that followed the site surface, and you simply needed to color the surface to show where the path was. However, it would not create a flat path, or create cut and fill. We can’t use a Generic Solid as a site modifier. We could use a Roadway object, although it isn’t possible in Vectorworks to get a path that slopes top to bottom and side to side. The closest to this might be a NURBS or Poly Roadway object—both of which have a Send Stations to Surface command and can do cut and fill. The challenge is how to handle intersections. I like to divide and conquer, cutting up the surface into segments that I can deal with separately. Typically, objects will require a combination of surfaces—the path might end up being made up of NURBS Roadway, Poly Roadway, and Custom Curb objects. Don’t forget that you can use a Stake object for figuring out the rise of a Roadway object. You can find my manual on using Roadway objects (SST 1508 – Roading in Vectorworks) on my website.
• 39:08    We ended the session by discussing options for creating vehicle turning circles. Someone thought there was a plug-in on the Vectorworks partners page—but it is no longer there. If you have a turning circle from AutoCAD, one option is to bring the turning circle in as a symbol and to keep it in your favorites library. There seemed to be some possibilities in related threads on the Vectorworks Community Board.

Landscape February 2018 am
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