Better control required for Massing Model roof configuration & height, and total building height

[JeremyLondonRMLA]

#1 - The current workflow for editing the Roof Edge Shape of a massing model roof (switching between eave/gable/dutch hip) involves ticking Use Custom Roof from Profile in the OIP, and then selecting Edit Massing Model from the Modify menu, and entering an isolated editing view where the building itself isn't visible. This workflow would be greatly improved if the Roof Edge Shape could be directly edited on the massing model, with the context (ie. building walls) remaining visible, and without having to navigate a separate menu.

 

#2 - A custom roof on a massing model currently remains floating at the height specified when the massing model was first created, and needs to be manually raised / lowered to match any changes in the massing model height. This occurs even if the massing model height is adjusted prior to ticking the Use Custom Roof from Profile box for the first time in the OIP. To improve workflow efficiency the height of a custom roof should be automatically controlled by the height parameter of the massing model it is attached to. If suggestion #1 above was implemented, this problem would also be resolved.     

 

#3 - The height parameter in the massing model object currently relates to the height of the walls only. The total height of the building (including the roof) cannot be directly specified, nor is it displayed in the OIP as an automatically generated field. Total building height is unknown, and for any given Height value, it varies depending on Roof Thickness, Roof Slope, & custom roof configuration (see #1 above).

 

In urban design situations, both Architects and Landscape Architects frequently need to work to maximum building heights determined by councils, consent rulings etc. At present, to confirm the total height of a massing model (including the roof) one must switch to front view, manually measure the height of the massing model, and make incremental adjustments to Height, Roof Thickness and Roof Slope to achieve the target building height.

 

My suggestions to remedy the above, and make the Massing Model Object useful for Urban Design applications, would be as follows:

 

1) At the very least, OIP to display the following information: ‘Floor Height’, ‘Roof Height’ and ‘Total Building Height’, so that manual adjustments to building height can be made far more efficiently than at present, by referring to the OIP.

 

2) Ideally, add the ability to control the Massing Model geometry with the following parameter combinations:

 

     a. Floor Height & Roof Pitch (total height determined automatically) – available at present, but total height not displayed in IOP

     b. Total Height & Roof Pitch (floor height determined automatically)

     c. Total Height & Floor Height (roof pitch determined automatically)

 

     *Roof thickness remains independent and influences the automatically generated fields, as it presently does in scenario a.

   

 

 

Edited September 27, 2017 by JeremyLondonRMLA