The Global ARCHICAD Community

[mallehk]

I would really love if the hole landscape modelling tool in Archicad could have a new look and tool set.

We are modelling in AC and making visualizations in 3DS MAx and we can actually not use the landscape from Archicad for Anything after model is importet than delete it.

It would be nice if it was possible to be able to make smooth landscapes and can adjust the polycount number with a slider or something. So you can keep it at a low poly count when working in AC with the project but when you export it you can raise the number of polygons to make the landscape smooth and perfect for MAX as an example or other Softwares.

It should include some tools to easy create roads, curbs, paths, lakes and so on.

It could also be amazing to have the ability to select areas that are with a high number of polygons and then outer areas that could have a low poly count.

I have a lot of ideas...

I really hope this could be some thing Graphisoft does something with in the years to come because this has really always been a huge lack of the software.

[Barry Kelly]

Have you tried using Morphs instead of Meshes?
I am not saying it will be a perfect solution, but you can control the smoothness and adjust the polygon count of a morph.

Barry.

[lvrob]

yes...morph can solve the mesh can't do...but still a morph lack of gravity and composite... can add this to wish list?

[mendezarcediego]

couldn't agree more, coming from vectorworks it's the only drawback I really felt, ArchiCAD has very poor Landscaping features, Morphs are Ok for general modeling but landscaping requires very specific features such as automated road, sidewalk creation from stakes or NURBS, importing surveyors data has very poor import formats, automation of proposed vs existing terrain contours is urgent, automated cut and fill volume calculations (that do not require duplication of morphs), placement of existing trees and vegetation with precise canopy footprints, roots and trunk dimensions, it should allow to create automated height labels for contour lines, it should have automated pads (without that hedious slab trick), spoil piles, slopes, retention walls, slopes with precise gradient controls, I could go on for several paragraphs but to save you some time just take a look a VECTORWORKS landscaping features. Me and my partner have used the most common BIM, CAD packages for many years and when we moved to ARCHICAD we loved it inmediatley, but it definitely lacks proper Landscaping features.

[LaszloNagy]

Vectorworks has definitely vastly superior landscaping tools compared to ARCHICAD or Revit.
I think the reason is that they have specifically addressed landscape architects and created specific tools for them.
ARCHICAD has always been developed for architects, so I would not expect many core landscaping-related developments in the future.

There is an ARCHICAD Add-On called Land4, developed by a 3rd party. If you are doing much landscaping work, it may be worth its price for you:

https://www.land4cad.com/

[shrutiniwas]

Architects, for whom Archicad has been developed, are not just working to produce buildings without redefining and/or correlating the context. Therefore, landscape portion is also hugely relevant for the architects and it is unfortunate that such a flexible and versatile tool is missing on a basic requirement. Although, there are some good plugins available, but their approach is not always mature and polished.

As the parent company for Archicad is the same as that for Vectorworks, it is expected that some positive influence back and forth could be induced to target larger market.

[Mjules]

Architects, for whom Archicad has been developed, are not just working to produce buildings without redefining and/or correlating the context. Therefore, landscape portion is also hugely relevant for the architects and it is unfortunate that such a flexible and versatile tool is missing on a basic requirement. Although, there are some good plugins available, but their approach is not always mature and polished.

As the parent company for Archicad is the same as that for Vectorworks, it is expected that some positive influence back and forth could be induced to target larger market.

Hi Shrutiniwas,

I agree with you. I am an Architect and Urban Designer, and I am a user of ArchiCAD for more than twelve years. The main role of the Urban Designer is to make the synthesis between the Architect, the Landscape Architect, and the Urbanist by shaping the potential for change through creation of hand-rendered or computer-generated presentation drawings, etc.

These are to make cityscapes more equitable, resilient, delightful, attractive, beautiful, functional, and vibrant for communities.

As a result, Graphisoft SE should partner with Nemetschek Vectoworks, Inc. to create a Landscape Modeler (Add-on to ArchiCAD) like the GRAPHISOFT MEP Modeler™ or the EcoDesigner Star, which will allow ArchiCAD users to exploit the Landmark workspace of Vectoworks into the ArchiCAD interface. This will be a fair competitive advantage for the Nemetschek Group on the US, Canadian, and the Caribbean markets.

To be honest with you, I like the Landmark workspace of Vectoworks, but I am not ready to learn a new interface from a new software. If Graphisoft decides to develop this Landmark Modeler today, I will buy it immediately for the same Landmark price or more. I know such a lot of Landscape Architects, Urban Designers and Architects that could be ready to buy the same package, as well.

In a nutshell, the time has come for Graphisoft to be more aggressive, and continue to innovate more quickly.

[ricarc]

Isn't enough for you Architerra Plus - Cigraph ?