Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

Creating a Site Plan

Bill
Booster
I'm getting in to my first project with ArchiCAD, and would like to set up a site plan.

I have a mesh of the terrain set on the ground floor. I understand the concept of different layer combinations to toggle back and forth between the floor plan and site plan layer sets while on the ground floor in the Project Map; however, I do not understand how to set up a separate Site Plan in the View Map. It seems to me that each of the plans shown in the Drafting Plans, Presentation Plans and Floor Plans folders corresponds to a specific story - am I to set up a "copy" somehow of the ground floor plan that can be set to the site plan layer combination, or am I supposed to be doing something else?

Secondly, once I have the Site Plan set up, how do I have the mesh not show the triangulations, but simply the ridge lines of the specific contour elevations?

Thanks
Bill Szustak RA

Principal, Springboard Design

ArchiCAD 25, macOS Ventura 13.4.1
11 REPLIES 11
Anonymous
Not applicable
Bill wrote:
- am I to set up a "copy" somehow of the ground floor plan that can be set to the site plan layer combination?
Exactly.
Secondly, once I have the Site Plan set up, how do I have the mesh not show the triangulations, but simply the ridge lines of the specific contour elevations?
Mesh setting: Show user defined ridges only.
Bill
Booster
Thanks, Matthew -

How, then, do I make a copy of the ground floor plan, say in the Drafting Plans folder of the View Map?
Bill Szustak RA

Principal, Springboard Design

ArchiCAD 25, macOS Ventura 13.4.1
Anonymous
Not applicable
The easiest way is to set up the site plan view the way you want it and drag the main story (Viewpoint) from the Navigator into the View Map. All the current settings will be used to create the view. You will then need to rename it as the site plan.
Bill
Booster
I was in the Organizer, and successfully dragged the ground floor from the Project Map Side to the "Drafting and Presentation" folder in the View Map side, and then renamed it as the Site Plan. However, it won't let it be moved into any of the "Plans" folders - Drafting Plans, Presentation Plans or Floor Plans. Can there be only one plan per story in these folders?
Bill Szustak RA

Principal, Springboard Design

ArchiCAD 25, macOS Ventura 13.4.1
Anonymous
Not applicable
Bill wrote:
I do not understand how to set up a separate Site Plan in the View Map.
Call me weird (you wouldn't be the first) but I prefer to select the appropriate folder in my View Map (as opposed to Project Map) and right-click > Save current View... which then saves the view and settings there. It does mean that you need to re-jig the order sometimes, but that's just a matter of dragging it into the right order. I very rarely even use use the Project map, usually only to create independant details.

Each to his own...

Of course, once you have your template set up, Bill, with common saved views and settings, you won't have to "create" another Site Plan anyway.
Link
Graphisoft Partner
Graphisoft Partner
Bill wrote:
However, it won't let it be moved into any of the "Plans" folders - Drafting Plans, Presentation Plans or Floor Plans. Can there be only one plan per story in these folders?
It sounds like you may be trying to move it into a Cloned folder. Check the icon, does it look like a little plan (as opposed to a folder)? If so, that is a clone of one of the project map folders, an exact copy if you will. That being said, no additional views can be placed in it. Clones are all but useless in a practical sense if you ask me. I would stick to folders.
s2art wrote:
Call me weird (you wouldn't be the first) but I prefer to select the appropriate folder in my View Map (as opposed to Project Map) and right-click > Save current View... which then saves the view and settings there.
A convenient method, but it does require the existence of a folder right? Also not so good for creating multiple views simultaneously. Dragging views from the project map does mean we would be able to create the plans of a 50 story building in one go.

Indeed, each to his own - afterall, how many people are really doing 50 story buildings?!

Cheers,
Link.
Djordje
Virtuoso
Link wrote:
Indeed, each to his own - afterall, how many people are really doing 50 story buildings?!
Around here, a lot of them.
Djordje



ArchiCAD since 4.55 ... 1995
HP Omen
Anonymous
Not applicable
Here, not so many.
Link
Graphisoft Partner
Graphisoft Partner
Djordje wrote:
Around here, a lot of them.
Yeah, but you're spoilt mate!

Cheers,
Link.