topic Re: Walls on a complex Curve in Modeling

Walls on a complex Curve

Anonymous — Wed, 24 May 2023 06:26:43 GMT

Hi there,

I am working in Archicad 17 and trying to create curved walls and curved curtain walls.

The curves I am using are complex and derived from a form in Rhino. Whenever I try to use the complex curve and create a wall or curtain wall it breaks it into tiny unworkable portions. Because there are so many portions in some cases I get jagged parts protruding out where wall portions are trying to intersect but are failing. It is the same issue with curtain walls.

Is there a way to create curved walls or perhaps simplify complex curves in a standardized way?

Re: Walls on a complex Curve

runxel — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 08:55:57 GMT

Marisa wrote:
Is there a way to create curved walls or perhaps simplify complex curves in a standardized way?

How do you expect the contractor working out that shape?
I guess you used the magic wand. It will 'break' the wall where ever the curvature changes.
Doesn't matter that these are curves derived from Rhino, you will get the same result if you would have used Archicad splines in the first place.

But then again: who is gonna build you such freeformed things...

Re: Walls on a complex Curve

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 13:51:43 GMT

I'm wondering if there is a way to SIMPLIFY. This curved wall will be made up of straight portions but I want the straight portions to be workable lengths. In other programs you can simplify a complex curve into portions equally spaced. I'm wondering if ARCHICAD has something similar so you don't have to do it manually.

Also to your point about building complex curves. There are many MANY examples of complex freeform curves being built.....In this case I am looking for ways to achieve this with more standardized components.

Re: Walls on a complex Curve

runxel — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 14:36:16 GMT

Marisa wrote:
I'm wondering if there is a way to SIMPLIFY. This curved wall will be made up of straight portions but I want the straight portions to be workable lengths.

Try to fiddle with the magic wand settings. There are quite some options you wanna try.

Marisa wrote:
Also to your point about building complex curves. There are many MANY examples of complex freeform curves being built...

Well, actually this is only halfway true, because they just look freeformed! Instead the complexity went into the rationalizing of the model.
See this example of some Gehry freeform:

Re: Walls on a complex Curve

Erwin Edel — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 14:59:39 GMT

Curtain walls will not do curves, the reference line of the curtain wall will have curves, but the segments will be straight.

If your shape is curved in more than one direction, your best bet is the Morph tool.

Depending on the complexity of the shape, you might be able to create it extruding a cross section of your shape along a path.

Draw your path as a morph surface, draw your cross section perpindicular to the surface (as it would look if you make a section along the end result), open both in 3D, select your section surface, pick extrude and hold down space to magic wand to the other shape.

You will not be able to put windows and such in a morph, but the exterior of this form is most likely a shell around a more standard sub structure that will need some modelling at some point.

You could also try complex profile walls and curve those, if the shape is not too complex, but if there are a lot of circle segments to make up the curve, you will have a lot of wall segments too.

You could also try to import your shape in to archicad, cut horizontal and vertical sections through it and start deciding how to reduce the shape to basic circle segments to get started drawing it with more conventional tools / shapes.