Hello there, welcome to this video! Let's see how to design basic 3D
projects with Autodesk ArchiCAD 21!
Please leave us comments in the video description below to improve our next
video guides on this software!
In the previous video of this guide, we have seen the very basic features
inside ArchiCAD, in particular how to make 2D projects by using the
Document section of the Toolbox. The other section, called Design, is used
to make 3D projects and objects that spread over the ground plane, such as
Walls, Doors, Windows and everything you need to create a building or
a house.
We will see in this video how to build a very simple house with these tools.
Consider that you may need more experience to make more complex projects.
You will find in the video description a very simple house template made
with ArchiCAD.
Usually a house project is made starting from the ground to the top roof.
To drop the basic floor, just enable the Slab Tool, and fix points on your
workspace. Through the Info Box above, you can change the settings inside
Geometry Method to change the way to draw the slab, or set the Structure
section, and use the Settings Dialog button
to set and customize its appearance.
After this, you can start dropping walls by using the Wall Tool. A Wall is
dropped when you fix two points on your workspace, as you do with a line.
Drop as many walls as the number of sides you have. All these walls will
automatically merge on each corner.
By using the Ground Floor view, you will check your project just from top
to bottom, so slabs and walls do not show any extrusion. Inside ArchiCAD
you have three main ways to check a 3D project: the Elevations, the Stories
and the full 3D view.
Elevation views are used to check your 3D project from different points of
view, such as the East, the North, the South and the West side. These
appear as Elevation objects inside the Ground Floor view. If you right-click
on an Elevation, and go to Open Elevation in New Tab, you can check your
project from its point of view.
You can also create customized Elevation views. From the Ground Floor view,
select one Elevation with the Arrow Tool, and use CTRL+C to copy, and then
CTRL+V to paste. Then, just click on the new Elevation to place it where
you like. Such Elevation will show your project from the direction
indicated by its central arrow, so you can use Drag and Rotate to set
distance and directions.
Moreover, the extension of the Elevation object sets its range. For example,
if the project spreads over its length, part of it will be cut from the
preview.
There are also the Story views, used to check your project from top to
bottom, on different height levels from the ground. By default, you have
three Stories: the Ground Floor, which lays on the ground plane, and other
two stories at different height levels, as you can see from any Elevation
view.
Story views are indeed used to fix the height of each floor, and can be
very useful when you draw your objects. For example, if you draw walls by
using the Ground Floor view, these will lay on the ground, and will spread
until they meet the first Story on top.
To edit and manage a Story, open any Elevation preview, right-click on it,
and go to Edit Story Levels. At this point, you can set the Story height
by clicking and dragging it. Consider that the new height level will also
affect all the objects linked to it, such as the walls.
All Stories and Elevations are listed inside the Navigator Palette, that
you can open through the small icon in the top right corner. Here you can
double-click on each view to open it, and right-click to create, delete or
rename views. If you right-click on a Story, and go to Story Settings...
you can manage and edit each Story height directly.
Besides Stories and Elevations, you can also use complete 3D views on your
project, that you can open through the 3D view tab on top, or by opening
Generic Perspective or Generic Axonometry from the Navigator Palette. These
3D views are customizable through your mouse wheel and the several tools
you have at the bottom. Use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out around your
pointer, and use Orbit to 3D rotate your point of view by clicking and
dragging. Use the Escape key to exit.
If you enable the Explore tool, you can explore your project as explained
in the dialog box. Use the Escape key to finish.
You can also draw your objects directly on a 3D preview. Here you will also
have a blue grid, which represents the plane to be used as reference. For
example, if you draw any wall with the blue grid set on Story 1, this will
lay on that story.
You can change the reference plane by clicking on the blue grid button.
Go to Snap to Story... to pick the Story level you like. Or else, go to
Offset to set the reference plane to a customized height from the ground.
Once floors and walls are drawn, you can complete the basic structure of
your house by adding all the internal walls and also columns with the
Column Tool. For both walls and columns, you can use the Info Box to set
the object properties, such as the structure and shape under the Main
section, and the template and colors under Floor Plan and Section.
Then, you can add doors and windows by enabling the Door and the Window
Tool inside the Toolbox, and clicking on the walls to place them. Use the
Info Box above to choose the right template with the Settings Dialog button,
and to set the correct width and height to use under the Size section.
Moreover, under Sill or Header Height, you can type the Header Height
inside and set the reference level to which the door or window must lay on.
You can place the door on the wall base, the wall top, or on a Story level
by using Relink Anchor Story....
Once the window or door is placed, choose the side where to open the object.
Then, to open it, just select it with the Arrow Tool, and click and drag
from the pink rhombus node you see on it.
To finish the basic structure of your house, you need to add a roof with
the Roof Tool. When you enable it, just click on the external wall contours.
The roof will lay on the top Story, as you can see from the new blue grid
placement.
As seen for other objects, you can use the Info Box to set the appearance
and the colors for your roof. Moreover, under Geometry method, you can
choose either to draw a flat roof by using Single-plane, or a complex roof
by using Multi-plane.
Under Construction Method, choose to draw your roof by defining each of its
sides, or by drawing rectangles to match rectangular wall perimeters.
Once the roof is created, you can customize its shape by using the editing
tools that show up when clicking on vertices and sides.
Inside ArchiCAD you can also import ready-made object templates, such as
the Stair Tool to drop stairs, and the Object Tool to place wardrobes,
chairs, beds and much more.
Through the Info Box, choose the template to use from the Settings Dialog
button, and place the object by clicking on your workspace. In case you
use the Stair Tool, you can drop consecutive stairs as you like, starting
from the blue grid set, and stopping at each Story level.
In case you need to draw 2D objects on a 3D environment, you have to use
the Morph Tool. In fact, whenever you use any 2D drawing tool from the
Document section, this creates line and polygons that do not show up in a
3D preview.
Whereas, a 2D object created with the Morph Tool also appears on a 3D view.
The Morph Tool works just like the Polyline Tool, drawing consecutive lines
as you click on your workspace. In addition, when you close the path, a
2D polygon is created, and will get a fill with the settings chosen under
the Structure section above.
ArchiCAD has several drawing aids and guidelines to help you at designing
your objects. When using 2D views, such as Stories and Elevations,
you will get just the X and the Y axis, representing the width and length.
When using a full 3D view, you will also have the Z axis, used to represent
the height from the ground plane.
Now, let's see how to edit 3D objects.
As seen for 2D objects, you have several key points you can use to snap to
3D objects and ease your drawing, such as checkmarks for vertices, star
triangles for points on sides, and rhombuses for points on 3D faces. When
you click on those, a dialog box opens up, with several editing tools you
can use to edit and shape. You find again the Drag, the Rotate, the Mirror,
the Multiply and the Fillet/Chamfer Tools seen for 2D objects, but also
many others you can use just inside a 3D environment.
For example, when you click on a Morph polygon, you can use Push/Pull to
add extrusion, and transform it into a 3D object; or use the Tube tool to
create a 3D conductor, as long as you click on your workspace. To
finish drawing, just click on the last point, when your pencil icon becomes
black.
If you click on a 3D vertex, you can use Box Stretch to distort and shape
the object by editing its 3D contour; the 3D Fillet/Chamfer Corners to apply
fillet or chamfer to this vertex; and the Pencil button to go on drawing
with the Morph Tool.
When you click on a 3D edge, you can apply Fillet/Chamfer on these sides,
to make them smoother or add a new face.
When you click on a face, you can use Bulge to affect the object face by
defining a radius and a height.
When you click on a wall vertex, you can use Stretch height to regulate the
wall height as you like, or Modify angle to apply some inclination to the
wall.
You can also use the advanced tools inside the Standard bar on your 3D
objects, try them out!
You can also personalize ready-made objects by using these editing tools.
For example, if you right-click on a ready-made chair, and go to Convert
Selection to Morph, you will turn the chair into a Morph object, that you
can edit as you like by clicking on its points and using the editing tools.
It is different from the Mesh Tool, which is used to drop complex surfaces
and terrains to create the environment. Take a look!
Thanks for watching this video! Check out our channel for more amazing and
free video guides on CAD software!