topic Re: Modelling a semi-sphere glass and steel canopy in Archicad in Modeling

Modelling a semi-sphere glass and steel canopy in Archicad

kaltra — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 12:49:04 GMT

Hello! I need to model this glass-steel canopy in Archicad and am unsure how to go about it. Which elements should I use to model it in 3D so it is as accurate as possible, and also what method should I use to create this semi-spherical shape? It does not need to be too detailed, just steel beams and glass panels, I don't have to show the connections between them, but I do want the shape to be accurate and I don't know how to achieve these curvatures in Archicad. I attached a screenshot of how it looks like in real life from maps, as well as a plan and section view.

Operating system used: Windows

Re: Modelling a semi-sphere glass and steel canopy in Archicad

cuba — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 18:48:52 GMT

This might be an option to quickly draw & test the shape

1/ Draw two elliptical objects with a small offset (= steel profile thickness).
2/ Use Solid Element Operations to subtract the smaller one from the larger one.
3/ Draw a slab to subtract the bottom of the remaining shape.
4/ Draw the steel beams using walls or beams, making sure their height is higher than the elliptical shape.
5/ Use Solid Element Operations so that the beams intersect with the elliptical shape.
6/ You can also move or modify the beams (if you want the beams to kink/bend at the end, you will probably need to redo the SEO).

Once you are satisfied with the shape and position of the beams, you can redraw them more accurately, for example with complex profile beams in the section.

The glaspanels can be made with a making the shape the mesh tool (convert the mesh to roofs with the plugin for even more detail)

Re: Modelling a semi-sphere glass and steel canopy in Archicad

Laszlo Nagy — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 10:21:05 GMT

Another way is to use the Archicad-Grasshopper connection. Create the geometry in Grasshopper, the use Archicad Beam or Archicad Morph components in grasshopper to generate the geometries in Archicad. The advantage is this approach would be that you can make it paraametric so it would be very easy to change the pattern, the distance between parallel beams, the size/profile of beams, etc. The disadvantage is that you will need Rhino/Grasshopper to do it (which is a one-time investment (perpetual license: €995 in Europe).

Re: Modelling a semi-sphere glass and steel canopy in Archicad

kaltra — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 21:40:02 GMT

Thank you for your help! I was just wondering how you got the beams to bend like this exactly?

Re: Modelling a semi-sphere glass and steel canopy in Archicad

cuba — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 07:58:38 GMT

a quick tutorial about the process:

Re: Modelling a semi-sphere glass and steel canopy in Archicad

kaltra — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:54:46 GMT

Thank you!! This was really helpful.

*For anyone else who tries this but might have problems with solid elements operations: The only thing that I had to do differently was to convert the structure to a morph at one point due to SEO not working properly otherwise. I would advise to first try to do it like in the video and then this might be an alternative solution in case something goes wrong. And make sure to place the slab in a hidden layer so it doesn't interfere with your model in the end. 🙂