Horizontal Cross Sections for plan views. Would it be possible? It would be great !

[Raoul]

Hi Graphisoft,

The visibility problem in AC is well known. The cross section tool is already there. What if we would use a similar tool for defining the horizontal views of the plans ? A global tool, would be great.

" How many horizontal cross section we need for this house ? 3, 4... 15 ? Let's do them to create a clear plan !"

As all architects know, a plan is a horizontal  cross section  through the building at a certain height.

We have the actual cross section tool to create vertical cross sections which is great.

In order to avoid the visibility problems we currently have on all plans, it would be of extraordinary use to have the possibility to insert global horizontal cross sections through a 3D model. Like for the existing cross sections shifting, a shifting in height would be much helpful than try to do lots of detailed tinkers on the floor plan to have the correct visibility of it.

I wish this could become a reality in ArchiCAD !

[Marc H]

Hi Raoul,

The Floor Plan cut lines do allow flexibility in each story plan view.  For global 3D cross-cuts, have you tried utilizing Cutting Planes? 

In the attached sample, I cut horizontally through the upper story of a split level structure. Note the upper terrain was also cut.  The Cutting Planes can also be customized and the resulting views saved.

 

[Raoul]

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your kind reply.

I know Cutting Planes for a long time but it's not what I was reffering to. Ideally what I am suggesting would be a tool that allows to edit the plan views directly as in Sections/ Elevations /Interior elevations and use it for creating the plan views at the levels you need not only on the 3D view. For example, today to work with the visiblity of shifted floors is absolutely a mess in AC. A difference of 1,50m between two floors is so complicated to deal with on a same level.  One can't see the elements he needs as wished on the plan. Of course, there's always a way to fiddle the plans but I feel that today the way we do it is clunky, it takes too much time and I don't see it as the right way to do it. Dubling 3D elements with 2D lines and fills where the 3D elements can't be seen correctly is just not the way this should work.

What I am refering to is to have a similar tool as the Sections/ Elevations /Interior elevations connected to the floor views that allows to see on the floor plan directly the elements one need the way needed to be seen through cutting the plan at the heights you want. The tool would allow two ways visibility, one for the down view as a typical floor and a second one for the top elements that should be seen in dashed lines with depths applied both ways. It would allow as well to shift the heights of the cuts of the cutting plane as needed, exactly the way the section tool allows it for depths today. In my view it would allow to extract as many plans as needed directly as editable drawings from the BIM model.

In GDL there is a command for object's visibility that turn the visibility of an object as needed : cut, cut with projection, top view, all of them at the height ones need. It would be usefull to be applied in the main application as a global tool connected to the floor views and acting on the entire plan. It could be connected to the Cutting Planes as well. Essentially, I see it like a Section but rotated horizontally and visible in all the other views, Sections/ Elevations /Interior elevations as an editable line. What I say is not at all revolutionary. But the way the tool would work, it would allow us to gain much more time.

Just for context, I use ArchiCAD for about 25years on a daily basis and I would like to see it evolve and simplify the way we deal with the visibility of the elements on the floor plan. Fiddling each ellement of the plan in detail takes too long and is prone to so many errors.

[mthd]

“Horizontal Split Cutting Planes” A good idea to help with split level home plans visibility.

[RWARCHPC]

I could not agree with you more. I cut 3D plan views of my models all the time and change the view to top down in the settings. It would be great to able to save that live view and dimension it, note it, etc. For now I just save it as a 3D document and work with the settings as best I can. 

[Karel Landa]

Have you tried creating 3D document from the floorplan window?
True, it is not editable liken in sections/eleavtions but the view can look almost the same (without textures unfortunately) and you can add dimension to it and labels as well.

I like to use this to combine strength of both views. Floorplan view to edit elements and annotate the view, 3D document to show horizontal section of elements such as mesh, furniture....