Drawing complicates as-existing elevations

[KeesW]

I attach an existing elevation (2D) prepared by a surveyor. It shows a complicated wall profile. Many as-existing walls are much worse.
What is the easiest way to draw this as a 3D wall? Produce it in vertical srips? Draw it as a slab and tilt it up? Prepare a roof shape to the profile of the top of this wall and use SEO to cut the top of the wall to the required shape?

With many an architect's propensity to create spectacular, photogenic, profiles, it would make it much easier to create these if Architect had a 'cookie cutter' tool, such as we have for creating shapely floor plans, that could also be used for walls.

[Barry Kelly]

I would just create a large rectangular wall and view that in elevation.
Then draw a Morph polygon with the bottom off the polygon representing the shape of the top of the wall.
The morph surface will be on the section line in plan so move it so it is just in front of the wall and then extrude the surface out to create a prism over the wall.
Now you can do a Solid Element Operation and hide the morph.

There is a similar post here with a nice image by Eduardo showing how it works.

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=46705

Barry.

[KeesW]

Thanks Barry - and Eduardo.

Looks a good way to go. I thought that morphs might find a way in somehow but hadn't listed it!

But what about the 'cookie cutter' idea for walls? could it be useful?

[Barry Kelly]

KeesW wrote:
But what about the 'cookie cutter' idea for walls? could it be useful?

Imagine if every wall had the option to turn on an invisible prism that sat on top of the wall that could do an automatic SEO.
Then simply select the wall, turn on the option, add nodes along the top and adjust to suit.
The same could be done for the base.
How easy would that be to make any wall a custom shape?

Barry.