creating a driveway in a terrain

[maytsai]

What is the best tool to use for making a sloped paved driveway in a 3D terrain in VW Architect, or do you need to do this through VW Landmark? I tried to make a pad with the site modifier tool, but I can't seem to get the terrain to modify. I also tried to draw a straight road in the terrain, but the project driveway cuts off at an angle, and I don't know how to modify the road to make an angle through the object info palette (the terrain also doesn't modify along with the road).

[CipesDesign]

This can be a tricky problem, but it is usually doable. It may take a bit of trial and error, so make sure you've got a saved copy. That said, I would start by using a "nurbs roadway", created from a polyline using the Objects from Poly command. With a nurbs roadway you can set the fence offset or you can turn it off and draw your fence manually. You have the ability to distribute the road stations at any interval, and also to send the stations to the surface of the site model. This usually gets me close, but for fine tuning (or other desired grading, etc) it is especially nice to be able to change the "z" value of each station via the Object Info Palette. Dont forget to set the site model to "show proposed", and dont forget to "update" it with each change.

In cases where the nurbs road wont work I have used the straight and curved road tools combined section by section, or a combination of this along with various cut pads, floors and roof faces...

Have fun ;-)

[maytsai]

Thanks Peter! I'll try out using the NURBS roadway. I spent last night reading about how to do this in the VW manuals and hopefully I can get it to work!

In your opinion, can you do this easier with VW Landmark? Is it something I should consider upgrading to? I'm still auditioning the software, and I'm trying to make sure I have all the tools that I will need. (I primarily do residential design renovations/additions, often on sloped lots)

[CipesDesign]

As long as you've got those tools in the Architect module (I can never remember which ones come with which) then there is no reason to buy Landmark (unless of course you're doing landscape plans).

Let us know how it goes ;-)

[islandmon]

Integrate this method with Peter's.

The old fashioned way...

Set 2d/3d res>low> layout the road-easements with lines & arcs > compose >group>edit>selectall>dup> convert to NURBS

>rotate XY as require for slopes> adjust individual vertices via OIP to match site elevations> select original 2dPoly

>scale or offset to make 2dPoly fence> assign Site-DTM-Modifier Class to 2d&3d objects.

[maytsai]

Peter, I wanted to thank you for your help on how to make a driveway in a terrain. I played with it for a while, and then I eventually made an extruded, rotated plane for the driveway and moved my terrain 3D loci over to the edge of the driveway plane. I was running up against a deadline for a presentation, and so I tried to make it a floor first, but realized that only the top renders with texture. I will experiment further with the terrain tools when I have more time. (I may still call Nemetschek and see if I can audition VectorWorks Designer to see if any of the other design products may be useful to me). Does Landmark give you more options for including trees and vegetation in 3D model renderings?

Thanks again!

-May

[CipesDesign]

May, you're quite welcome. Make sure to check your private messages for more info.