How to make shadows appear in the plan window

[Anonymous]

I would like to know how to have a plan view of my project in which projected shadows would appear (just like on section window).
Thank you very much

[Eduardo Rolon]

Read in the Manual about

1. 3D Document
2. 3D Cutaway
3. 3D Projection Settings

You will use 3D-C to cut the model at the needed height.

Use 3D-P to see the model in floor plan.

Save the view as a 3D-D and turn shadows on in the settings.

[Srinivas]

A quick search about your topic on the forum before posting can save you a lot of time. I hope this helps.

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=129879&highlight=shadows+plan#129879

[Link]

Has anyone figured out how to show the shadows ~inside~ a room to show?

Trouble is trying to see in - if we remove the upper story/ ceiling/ roof, we end up with a gaping hole and sunshine pouring in!

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

I found out a way to do this a while back; see thread here: http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=149028&highlight=shadow#149028

it's a bit of a workaround, and its not live, so if you change windows/orientation etc. have to go through the process again, however it's not that time consuming and does the job.

Also, as seen in linked thread, its the only method i've found for doing shadow analysis on adjacent elevations (i.e. neighbouring buildings) where something is obscuring the elevation (usually the building being proposed).

[Link]

Hey Kombibob

I couldn't follow your instructions, would you mind shedding more light on the process? Your image shows a roof outline which has also thrown me.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

Here's a link to step-by-step diagrams for both floor plan and elevation shadow methods:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3606800/shadow%20method%20steps.pdf

[Link]

Hi Kombibob

Thanks for taking the time to create those instructions. I got most of it. In fact I got what I needed by simply selecting the Overlapping polygons option as shown below. Then I just removed my outside shadow, as I was only interested in the interior shadows.

It's interesting that there's no mention of the overlapping polygons anywhere in the Help menu, ArchiCAD Wiki or here, except this post by you. That makes you an expert on the subject!

Were you told about this by someone or just nut it out on your own?

Either way, thanks for enlightening me.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

Hi Link,

i'm glad images helped.

i found out about the use of overlapping polygons and this way of using them at a local user's group meeting; the presenter mentioned the technique as a side comment related to generating accurate sun studies.

I had been considering how to get accurate natural light access projections for a while but hadn't found a good way to do it. I had noticed the over-lapping polygon option but did not understand how it worked (as you mentioned, i didn't find any help in the 'help' section).

using the method for elevations was a natural extension of the method. I had seen questions on the forum previously on how to do this, without any satisfactory answers.

with regards the extra steps involving element colours and deleting unwanted shadows, you would have found it fairly straight forward (as i did) for single story construction. with multiple storys, the overlapping shadows generated include those thrown on each slab (and any other horizontal element, such as ceilings) which can become confusing. By making a specific story slab a distinctive colour (and hence the resulting shadows projected on that slab) temporarily, it makes it much easier to pick the shadow fills for that specific story and delete the others.