Arch workbench: what dependency to use to have a correct model ?

[viralata]

Hello all, I'm quite desperate in the understanding of what is possible and usable in term of workflow in the arch workbench:
I'm used to other softwares (mainly archicad and revit) for arch, and I've been using freecad for a long time for mechanical parts, but I have real difficulties to find informations about how to use it corrctly in arch. Most of the tutorials and manuals show you how to model from plans or a building that won't change, but what if you have to change the building, add some windows or remove it ?
Lets take an example of a basic building with one two floors:
a sketch for the walls
the same sketch can be used for the floor,
but I made the mistake to create a new sketch for the second floor (with the stair case removed), with some constraints to the existing geometry of the walls: it's fine except if you add a new window or door to the walls, it changes the geometry of the wall, so the sketch is completly screwed.

So I'm trying to figure out how to work to have some links between parts (if I move a wall, the floors change accordingly), some freedom (adding or removing some openings) and I don't know if somebody has hints. I tried several ways (mainly trying to constraint everything to very few sketches) but I always finish to be blocked somehow.
Thanks

[vocx]

...
So I'm trying to figure out how to work to have some links between parts ...

I don't recommend using sketches for drawing walls and floors in architecture. Sketches make sense to build 3D models of solid objects because you need the constraints to finely control the shape of the solid. For architecture, I prefer Draft objects, wires in particular. Wires don't have constraints but you can attach them to the Draft grid, which is a more traditional way of working. I'm not sure that linking a sketch to another sketch, and heavily modifying a building is a normal workflow in Arch. This is why I prefer using Draft wires, they are more static, and won't move by themselves.

Maybe you already saw the Video tutorials but I provide the link again.

[viralata]

Thank you for your answer, In a "big and expensive and proprietary" architecture software, you don't really care about what to attach to what, you can attach the wall to the floor or the floor too the walls, when you move one the other follows. It gives you a lot of freedom in design phase, you can easily modify anything and the other parts (to a certain extents, it's not perfect) will adapt. Or you have a selection method that allow you to move all the points of several objects all together.
I understand that you can't use this way in freecad, but it's a bad habit I have. I would like to have the hole of my stair case extending if I change the size of the stairs, be able to make the house one meter longer in a few clicks... So I'm trying to find the better way to get close to this, and have my building as parametric as possible.

[vocx]

...be able to make the house one meter longer in a few clicks...

This is already possible, but doing something fast and efficient very often comes with experience. Once you are experienced enough, then it doesn't matter that the tools are different to other programs because you can adapt to the tools you have.

See [ Architecture Masterpiece ] Villa Savoye FC Model.

Paullee is a proponent of using more sketches in Arch. He has submitted some code to improve how the walls are created by sketches. Maybe by looking at his examples, you get a better idea.

[chrisb]

Moved to Arch forum, you may get more answers here.

[paullee]

[bug][/bug]

Hello all, I'm quite desperate in the understanding of what is possible and usable in term of workflow in the arch workbench:
I'm used to other softwares (mainly archicad and revit) for arch, and I've been using freecad for a long time for mechanical parts, but I have real difficulties to find informations about how to use it corrctly in arch. Most of the tutorials and manuals show you how to model from plans or a building that won't change, but what if you have to change the building, add some windows or remove it ?

Lets take an example of a basic building with one two floors:
a sketch for the walls
the same sketch can be used for the floor,
but I made the mistake to create a new sketch for the second floor (with the stair case removed), with some constraints to the existing geometry of the walls: it's fine except if you add a new window or door to the walls, it changes the geometry of the wall, so the sketch is completly screwed.

So I'm trying to figure out how to work to have some links between parts (if I move a wall, the floors change accordingly), some freedom (adding or removing some openings) and I don't know if somebody has hints. I tried several ways (mainly trying to constraint everything to very few sketches) but I always finish to be blocked somehow.
Thanks

Thanks @Vocx explaining different approach which includes Dwire and Sketches as base of ArchWall. (I have no knowledge about Archicad or revit)

Post your file to let other understand exactly your problem.

In general, like you, I find design development using Dwire not intuitive and slow. So I attempt to do it with Sketch, which on the hand, require some understanding of constraints but provide a finer and rational control over the layout.

There are discussion about screwing up ArchWall based on Sketch... In the meantime, please see some links:-

- Villa Savoye - FC Model
- [ Architecture Masterpiece ] Villa Savoye FC Model
- ArchSketch + ArchWall ( Multiple Width / Individual Align ) = Building Layout Object
- [PR - Merged] (Sketch / ArchSketch / DWire) + ArchWall - - - Support Align for Individual Wall Segment

[yorik]

One thing that is on my todo list for a long time we should definitely do: Be able to pick only some edges from a sketch/dwire to build walls.
This would allow for ex. to use a sketch to define a floor contour, and tie everything to it.

[paullee]

One thing that is on my todo list for a long time we should definitely do: Be able to pick only some edges from a sketch/dwire to build walls.
This would allow for ex. to use a sketch to define a floor contour, and tie everything to it.

Maybe better still there is some kind of 'layer' / 'label' in a sketch to distinguish e.g. which edges are 'internal wall', 'external wall' etc., then an ArchWall could built on the selected 'layer' / 'label' of the sketch to the external wall, internal wall ?

One master sketch to compose whole floor plan ? Almost did it in Villa Savoye.