Explore how to update and improve building sections in architectural drawings using the VDCI A302 file as an example. The article guides you through the process of adding new information to your section model file, erasing outdated elements, and integrating updated details from the elevation file for a more accurate depiction of your project.
Key Insights
- The article provides a step-by-step guide on how to update the section model file of an architectural drawing by erasing outdated elements and incorporating updated details from the elevation file.
- This process includes using the VDCI A302 drawing, creating a guide line for reference, and using the copy-paste function to replace outdated elements with updated ones from the elevation file.
- The article also delves into the concept of building sections - slices through buildings that depict interior volumes and elements beyond the primary cut, such as the roof ridge and the fireplace. This enables architects and designers to accurately portray and track what's beyond the immediate section view.
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It's time for us to begin working on our building sections. I would like for you to have three drawings open, one of which is the VDCI A302 drawing.
This is our status on the project, where we have a completed elevation, and we have our holding spots for our next two building elevations. We have our elevation model files, and within the elevation model files, we have live geometry for the elevations, and we have the floor plan XREFed in. Now, we also have our A302 section model file, and if you remember, what we did to create the section model file was we took our elevation model file as it was at the time, saved it as our section model file, and then we added a little bit more information to it.
And by adding the information, what we did is we showed where the sections were going to be cut, and we also wrote in the words “In Progress, ” “Longitudinal, ” and “Transverse Section.” Since we have spent time updating our elevation model file, the information that we have down here is now outdated. So, I'd like for us all to go to the Home tab, to be on Layer 0, and let's draw a line from the end—the top left corner of the No Plot view on the left.
The purpose of this line will be to serve as a guide point, because what we're going to end up doing is eliminating the information that is down here, and replacing it with the updated information in the elevation file. So, let's go to Erase, and let's go on and select these images, and then I'm going to zoom in, and I want to deselect “Progress Longitudinal Section.” I will hold down Shift, pick on the S in “Progress, ” the N in “Section, ” pan over, do the same thing—hold down Shift, select “In Progress, ” Shift, select “Transverse Section, ” Enter, and back off. CTRL+S to save.
I'm now going to go into my elevation model file, and remember that the line we drew in the section file was from this top left corner. So I'm going to go Edit, Copy with Base Point, the base point will be the end up here—top left corner up here—and I will put a window around this geometry, and hit ENTER. Go back to my section model, CTRL+V, and paste the symbols in right there. Now we have things properly lining up, and I can erase my guideline. Now, what we're going to start focusing on are the building sections themselves.
And again, building sections are slices through buildings. We have a longitudinal section, and a transverse section. Here's the longitudinal section, and the transverse section goes up and down.
This image is showing the normal orientation with the front of the building at the front, or the bottom of the image. Over here on the right, we have taken the XREF, and we have rotated it so that the appropriate side is down here at the bottom. When I look at the longitudinal section, again, you can see that I have my section symbols over here, and also over here.
The reference information is telling us where the section information will be displayed. These reference lines are displayed in the floor plan sheet file, and they are saying that this section is shown on Sheet A3.2 in Image 2. The slice goes across the building, and it's looking toward the back of the building. What we've done is we've put an area here, which is right around 6 feet wide, that's a representative area showing us where the section cut is going to be.
On the other image, where it's been rotated, this is my transverse section. These images will be displayed—this building section will be displayed—as Image 3 on Sheet A3.2. The slice starts here, jogs, comes up, and goes over, and again, it's looking toward the back of the building. The reason that we begin our building sections with the building elevations—let's just look at the floor plan here—
Is because when I slice through the building, there's still the ridge of the roof that is beyond. With building sections, we are frequently showing the information that is beyond in the distance. We need to keep the roof plan information in mind, because we'll be slicing through the building, so we'll see the interior volume space, but we need to be tracking what's beyond.
Also, when I think about looking at going beyond, there's the fireplace. So the chimney in the fireplace is not cut in the section, but it will be seen in the distance beyond in the section itself. When we start working on our section, we're going to be pulling lines down.
You can see that I'm going to be showing the left and the right side face of this outside wall here. I will be showing the door jamb that's right here, the door that's in the distance here. I'm going to be showing through the wall right there.
I will be showing the corner over here beyond. Rather than having to deal with a whole lot of visual clutter, what I'm going to do is I'm going to take the XREF, and I am going to clip the XREF. XREF clipping simply controls a visual slice through the XREF.
Let me just show you an example. If I go to the Insert tab, and if I say Reference Clip, it says “Select Object to Clip, ” and I will say this XREF. Now it says, “What do you want to do? Do you want to create a new boundary?” I will say Enter for a new boundary.
I'm going to create a rectangular boundary, and I'm going to say from here over to here. You can see that what it's done is it has clipped the XREF from that area. I'm going to undo.
What I'd like you to notice though—I'm going to redo the X clipping—and I'd like you to focus on this wall segment right here. Do you see how the wall segment goes from this point here down to that point here? I'm going to X Clip, so Reference Clip. I'm going to say clip this guy, a new boundary, rectangular, and I'm going to go from here, and I'm purposely going to have the bottom of my clip happening toward this lower portion of the XREF right there.
So I'm going to say clip it there. Now, when I look at the screen, it looks like this line is ending right there. But if I were to go, say, draw a line from the end of here, do you see how it started the line at this endpoint here? The computer is aware of all the line work and how long they go.
X Clipping is nothing more than a tool to facilitate the visuals for us. So I'm going to undo. One thing you'll also notice is that when I do a Reference Clip, if I have a narrow slice—I'll select this guy, a new boundary, and I'll say rectangular, and I'll go from this corner of the polyline to the corner over here—my clipping slice is so thin that I really don't have a reference in my head of where this slice is relative to other information in the drawing.
So I'm going to copy these XREFs up farther just so I can have them for a visual reminder. I'm going to go to Copy, and I'll select these guys, give them a base point, Ortho is on, I'm going to go up 100 feet. I've copied them up what to me is a logical distance.
It's one that I can remember—100 feet. But you can also see that I don't have my references, my slices here. I'm going to go back, do a Copy Window, make sure that I include those areas, and copy those items up 100 feet.
Again, I have my reference clipping happening here, but this is my base reference information. So I'm going to go to the Insert tab, Reference Clip. It says “Object to clip.” I'm going to show you something.
I'm going to say clip this guy, and it's going to say new boundary. I'll hit Right Button and Enter to say new. Now I'm going to choose—see where it says “Select Polyline?” I'd like to make this rectangle into a polyline. If I go to “Select Polyline, ” you can see that right now it is not a polyline.
So I'm going to hit Escape. I'm going to go to the Home tab, go to Modify, and I'm going to choose Edit a Polyline. I'm going to pick this first segment. It's saying it's not a polyline—do you want to make it one? I'm going to say yes, and I'm going to do a Right Button and say Join, and I'm going to join all four sides of that polyline.
Enter, Enter. If I now go back to the Insert tab, Reference Clip, select the reference to be clipped, I'm going to create a new border, so hit ENTER.
I'm going to do a Right Button, select Polyline, and if I now pick this border, my Reference Clip has happened at that polyline. Similarly, I'm going to do the same thing in this area. Go to the Home tab, Modify Polyline, pick on a segment, and I'm going to now join this segment to this segment, this segment, and this segment over here.
Enter, Enter, Enter, back off, Insert, Reference Clip, pick on the entity, new boundary, select polyline, pick on my polyline, and you can see that my X Clip has now clipped appropriately. But you can also see that I have some issues. The issues are that I'm slicing through the garage door, and I'm slicing through windows and doors here.
So what's happening is my X Clip is too tight to be beneficial. I'm going to undo, and I will specify my own rectangular clip that's going to make it easier for me to know what I'm doing. So Reference Clip, I will select this guy, Right Button, Enter for new boundary, hit ENTER for rectangular, and I'm going to pull my rectangle so that my area is large enough that I can see information beyond, and CTRL+S to save. If you would please get this far—and you know what, I think what I'd like to do is change the clipping plane on this image.
So I'm going to go to the XREF, to XREF Clip. It says “Select the object, ” I'm going to pick on the XREF, and I'm going to do a Right Button and choose Off. When I choose Off, it has turned the XREF clipping off. I'm going to go back and do Reference Clip, click on this guy, Right Button, new border, delete old boundary—yes, I'm typing Y for yes. And I'm going to go into rectangular, specify first corner, and again I'm going to pull it here and pull it over here so again I can see more information in the distance.
If you would please go on and get both of your XREFs to this level, then we'll continue working on the section.