Multi level buildings in one plot

[VivSta]

Hello all!

I would like to ask your advice on the strategy I should follow to set up a file that is a hotel resort with multiple units and buildings on a very steep site. We have set up a quick concept shown in the image below, however this all modeled with slabs so that the ground floor of each building belongs to the same home story. I guess some of the units are typical and can be set up in modules, however the immediate landscape and hardscape design around them, as well as the way each one is attached to the other is different, so I was wandering what is a good strategy to set up a project like that and how we would need to set up the story settings to be able to work on the masterplan.

Thanks in advance!

Operating system used: Windows

[Lingwisyer]

Model as many of your buildings as you can in Modules with all the walls set to Symbolic Cut. I did have one complication recently where I had basement carparks (-1 storey), a sunken service yard (-1 storey) and a pool (-2 storeys) that I needed to show on the site plan with site circulation (0 storey). This resulted in multiple overlayed Views containing specific empty fills on the layouts for each different variation.

Ling.

[VivSta]

My main question is that each building has different story settings, so I was wondering if the best practice is to set up each building complex in a separate file with its own story settings and then somehow put them all together in a masterplan file?

[Lingwisyer]

Yeah, your Hotlinks can have what ever storey settings they need. So your central facilities can be 3.8 F2F while your rooms are 2.8 F2F.  Whether you layout within your masterplan or on the individual building files is up to you. The downside of referencing Views in seperate files is that it is slow to update them as AC will open each containing file seperately. What is "Best Practice" I have no clue, but that has been the best way I have found so far.

Ling.

[Barry Kelly]

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@Lingwisyer wrote:

The downside of referencing Views in seperate files is that it is slow to update them as AC will open each containing file seperately.

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TIP. Have all of the files you are working on (referencing to) open at the same time (or as many open as you can).

That way Archicad does not have to open, load the file and close for each view.

Barry.

[Lingwisyer]

Yeah, I generally end up having a lot of models open at once...  It would be nice if AC stored the hotlink file meta data, then it could just read that to see whether the file has been modified, rather than opening, then asking...  One reason to use manually updated Views, if you can keep track of updates.

[Ahmed_K · Accepted solution]

Techniques may be different based on what modelling tools will you use, 

For exemple : having the option " Symbolic cut " in your tool like wall tool will make life easy , wherever you place your element, it will be shown as cut, some other tools don't have this option , like curtain wall , 

i suggest to model each building type in a seperate file , 

in your master file , create the terrain and environment, ,

Import views from your different files from the navigator command " load project " ( the command name be something like that, i have frensh version )

group all your buildings and terrain in the master's layout book. this can be usefull to combine storey plans and roof plans on the same " Plan ".

This technique works for me for small projects, when buildings are not connected,  i can't see disadvantages that affect my workflow, 

Buildings shown in the image are just for explication , in your exemple, they must be withour fence walls, and on the same terrain.

[Lingwisyer]

I use Symbolic Cut just for the site plan as we only show the external walls and the identifier zone, so the inconsistency in the display settings is not an issue. Though in regards to Curtain Walls, can you not just use your FPCP settings? It what I need to do to get public stairs around sites showing up.