3D Design

[Robert Anderson]

What are Landscape Architects doing for 3D design. Are you creating a base map from your surveyors data, typically autocad. Then performing your traditional site analysis and schematic design by hand. Then taking that into sketchup to create a 3D design to present to your clients only having to take that back to Autocad for construction documentation?

I’m conducting this informal survey to see if what, from my experience was the typical work flow still stands. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

[nca]

Yup, pretty much. We have been trying to convert our workflow to vectorworks, but it is not an easy transition when you are extremely busy. Personaly, I think Nemetschek would convert many, many more users if they made training free and easy to access. Whether that means adding some people to their team/payroll, whatever I dont know, but it is exceedingly difficult to change workflow.

We work almost 100% digitally, meaning we draw freehand on Wacom hardware, then go between autocad and sketchup/rhino for 3d. We started to scratch the surface with VW, but then of course our trials ran out. Between finding time to do training, and actually set up office standards, and the expense of buying the software (looks like VW is the only major cad supplier with no financing/leasing options) it is just more trouble than its worth at the moment. Nemetschek needs to make the process WAY easier.

[brian matthew walker]

I typically create the base in autocad (flatten if needed), then import the drawing into Sketchup.  I use a lot of plugins to further cleanup the drawing in SU, also to join line, purge any unnecessary layers.  Then run “make faces” (another SU plugin) to generate faces of closed segments, then begin extruding.  

After I am happy with the model, I render in SU Podium, which is a great seamless rendering software for sketchup!

[Stuart Mayhew]

I use DraftSight [an excellent, free AutoCad alternative] for my CAD work.
After laying out property lines, building footprints and preliminary design work I generally import that into SketchUp and start modeling the fixed elements like buildings etc.
I do find that I begin to develop design ideas in SketchUp quite early, and then often import back and forth as the design progresses.

Generally my presentation output would comprise SketchUp images rendered in Twilight, a SketchUp extention and the CAD documentation which would often include 3D line elevations
imported from SketchUp

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