topic Re: Python Feasibility to automate shadow studies? in Archicad Python API

Python Feasibility to automate shadow studies?

Aaron Bourgoin — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 07:52:41 GMT

I'm not asking anyone to help me script this, but as a total noob to Python, I'd like to know if it could be used to do the following:

Shadow Study Automation. 3D presets are a chore and Publisher doesn't support the creation of 2D Lines files which is what we use. Any project in the office has to prepare between 20 and 40 rendered shadow diagrams which consist of three 2D lines files (one common to them all and then one for shadows cast by the surrounding buildings and one for the shadow our proposed building casts on nearby parks and greenspace and other buildings). The resulting files are composited on sheets in the Layout Book and routinely updated.

Can Python be used to automate all or a significant amount of this work?

Re: Python Feasibility to automate shadow studies?

Laszlo Nagy — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 21:26:37 GMT

I don't know Python well enough to answer this, but Using the Archicad-Grasshopper Connection to generate those shadow polygons may also be a possibility to consider.

Re: Python Feasibility to automate shadow studies?

runxel — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 21:31:00 GMT

Sadly I don't think that Python is helpful for this at all at the moment.
Simply because you can't generate or modify any geometry with it rn.

As Laszlo suggested the Grasshopper connection would be ideal for this.