Wishes
Post your wishes about Graphisoft products: Archicad, BIMx, BIMcloud, and DDScad.

Add ability to create true reflected ceiling plans

Professor Pickle
Advocate
We have a 3D model. We cut it in plan and look down on it to get the floor plan. I should be able to just look up from the cutting plane to get a true RCP. It's the same thing! Just let us look up. Please.
Pushing the boundaries of local time/space continuum since 1972.
Archicad 26 | iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017) | 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 | 24 GB | Radeon Pro 580 8 GB | macOS 12.6


23 REPLIES 23
Jeff Galbraith
Advocate
...for the moderators: It would be super helpful if the next version added the ability for more elements to have visibility controlled / limited to the view range, especially slabs. Without that option it makes it way harder to show and hide items above and below the cut line. There are workarounds...but they are workarounds and leave something to be desired.
Jeff G

Archicad 27 USA (full), Macbook Pro (16-inch 2023, M3 MAX, 128 GB RAM)
Barry Kelly
Moderator
holmarch wrote:
I wanted help… not insults or be shamed!

Sorry, I was not trying to insult or shame you.
Just correct what you had written.

holmarch wrote:
If you use the 3d cutaway tool and cut from the bottom and look up, that is what you would see. See the attached that I generated this way. Of course, it needs to be flipped/mirrored, so it is the same orientation of the plan. But you get the idea. Archicad should be able to do this.

No don't use the 3D cutaway tool and then look up.
It will be mirrored as you say.
Use the floor plan and save as a 3D Document as explained in the video.
Actually I don't even do that but I rarely need detailed ceiling plans.
I just activate the layers I need to create an electrical and/or ceiling plans.
Then add objects, elements and linework for the lights, ceiling grids, etc., to produce the plans I need.

holmarch wrote:
The video link provided does not show an RCP since they turn off the balcony. You need to see the balconies, soffits, roof line, etc. so you can detail, place finishes, lights etc.

That is your choice.
You can adjust the cutting plane and offsets to show what you want if you use the 3D Document method.
I am still not convinced that a 3D Document is needed, but as I say I rarely do a real RCP.

holmarch wrote:
You should not see beams as dotted lines

That is your choice with the Model Veiw Option settings saved with the view of your RCP.

holmarch wrote:
and you should not see the valleys and ridges on the roof.

Unfortunately you either see the entire roof (perimeter, hips, ridges, etc.) or nothing.
You can't just show the perimeter of a roof unless you draw it yourself as linework.
Unless I have been missing something all these years (which could be possible).

holmarch wrote:
Also, a simple 2x2 or 2x4 gird is very restrictive

You can use any fill that you want or use an actual ceiling grid object.
Or construct it yourself with beams and slabs (that is the hard way I think), or I have heard of some using the curtain wall for ceiling grids.

holmarch wrote:
I see no mention of how to place, fire protection, systems, HVAC, etc.

The same as you do any other objects and elements.
Create new layers if you need to so you see them only in the RCP.

holmarch wrote:
and a complex profile of a beam does not show the detail, just the outline.

Again MVO settings allow you to show the edges and/or axis of a beam.
Beams can now have cover fills as well.



Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
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Barry Kelly
Moderator
Jeff wrote:
...for the moderators: It would be super helpful if the next version added the ability for more elements to have visibility controlled / limited to the view range, especially slabs. Without that option it makes it way harder to show and hide items above and below the cut line. There are workarounds...but they are workarounds and leave something to be desired.
Unfortunately this is not in the control of the moderators.
We just look after this forum and are humble Archicad users just the same as you.
There is a wish section that is looked at by GS.
I am not guaranteeing they will be considered but many get flagged by GS and become official requests.


Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
Dell XPS- i7-6700 @ 3.4Ghz, 16GB ram, GeForce GTX 960 (2GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
Anonymous
Not applicable
All the arguing aside, the intent of the original wish I think is essential to create a true 'Reflected Ceiling Plan' it shouldnt be hard to generate automatically without having to use 2d overlay or graphic override workarounds.

Like he said its all there in CAD/BIM 3D it should just be able to project/mirror/flip as required automatically to display correctly, with simple on off layer control, another great time saving feature for ArchiCAD to have on its tool belt.
Tonic Arch
Beginner
Our office employs the 3D Document method endorsed by Richard.

Overrides are not required, the method affords the ability to apply auto-adjusting height labels, and hotlinked 3D consultant data appears as appropriate.
Dimensions and annotations can be applied as they would in any other 2D drawing.

There's nothing difficult about this, and it is the easiest, quickest and most accurate way to prepare RCP drawings in archicad.

I would only like to add the ability to be able to save the 3D Document settings for the floor plan projection and model display options [ as a favourite, for example ], thus ensuring consistency across users.
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Tonic Architecture + Design | 7 Prospect St | Fortitude Valley
tonic.cc
Barry Kelly
Moderator
Tonic wrote:
I would only like to add the ability to be able to save the 3D Document settings for the floor plan projection and model display options [ as a favourite, for example ], thus ensuring consistency across users.

It is unfortunately not something where you can save the settings and transfer them from one file to another.
But you can certainly set it up 3D Documents in your template so they will be there for every new job you start.


Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
Dell XPS- i7-6700 @ 3.4Ghz, 16GB ram, GeForce GTX 960 (2GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
Anonymous
Not applicable
You think it would be easy to present a 2D view looking up and it is a standard drawing. So in conclusion there is no way Archicad can produce an RCP as it can something like a floor plan, elevation or section etc. by changing view settings (i.e. cutting plane and direction) and the work around is a 3D view or 2D drafting?

 

Hello Barry,

 

I have to agree a bit with "anonymous". It would be very helpful to have a way to see, the same way we see the floor plan, a reflected ceiling plan (mirrored, etc. etc.). But I get that you don't have the need for it so you may not see the reason why. 

 

But I might have a good example where the actual 2D solution to RCP isn't so great and/or does not reflect "the BIM way". : Imagine creating a slab composite of a suspended ceiling with multiple layers, saying a 1/2"(13mm) gypsum panel and a 3/4"(19mm) metal furring. Now you want a gypsum feel, so you adjust the cover fill to look like it. Then you adjust the height of your ceiling making sure you have enough space in between you floor and your furring for the ductwork. You obviously want your ceiling to be at the real height so in 3D and section cuts you see the right thing, and so does the other consultants. Now back on the floor plan view (2D) that plays the role of your RCP. You then want to "tag" the height of the ceiling (108' if your floor is at the 100' level) using the Level Dimension Tool and you want it "Associative" so if ever you change the height of the ceiling, the level shown adjust itself automatically . But because you RCP is still a view looking down on your model, you will be associating the level to the top of your furring so not 108' but 108'+1/2"+3/4", which does not make any sense for any contractor.

 

The only workaround we found (because 3D RCP needs so much GO to feel and look the right way, and would change from a project to another) is to bypass the Level Dimension Tool text and correct it back to 108'. But now, if I decide to move the ceiling height, I would have to review every level dimension, and if I miss one it might cause an on-site problem that would be our fault.

 

I don't know if you get what I mean. Be mindful that English is only my second language.

 

Thank you!

Unfortunately the level dimension tool will only ever give you the top surface of an element.

Even if you could create a 3D cutting plane looking up and create a 3D document from that so you can dimension it, the level dimension may still report the top surface level.

 

What you might want to try is the Elevation label.

It can show both the top and bottom level (or just one or the other) for your element.

Also it works with more elements than the level dimension tool (i.e. beams and wall too).

 

Barry.

One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
Dell XPS- i7-6700 @ 3.4Ghz, 16GB ram, GeForce GTX 960 (2GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11

Oh right. I did not know the existence of the elevation label.. But doesn't it render the level dimension useless?