Will really appreciate any advises from archinet members here :) thank you in advance!

"particularly in regards to making 3d site model in sketchup."

Three ways:

1) Use the grid feature under the "Sandbox menu."

It'll ask you how far apart you want your grid lines. I usually use about 3' for smaller projects or 7' for larger ones.

Draw it to the size of the site in question. If the sit is irregularly shaped, you can edit the grid within reason and delete non-needed parts. It will still work.

Color the grid with a semi opaque color. The use the smoove tool to push pull the points on the grid to match the elevations. If you want more accuracy, you can always place the image of the site lines as a separate textured surface inside sketchup.

2) If you got the topographical data from arcgis and have a .dxf of the contour lines...

Simply import the contour lines, draw the site perimeter, delete all of the faces and hit the "create grid from contour lines" under sandbox.

Then use the smoove tool to adjust the elevation.

3) Sketchup (at least sketchup pro) does in fact import 3d topographical data (if you've gotten it from ArcGIS or another program, you can even supposely lift it out of Google Earth but I'm assuming it isn't very accurate).

Import it. Done.



Once you have a deformed pane representing the topographical data... you can explode the plane... draw lines down from the corners and connect them all... and it should form a rectangular solid with your topo data on top.


Now if you do white or clay renders... Section and elevation drawings are easy but hard!

You manually have to cut your 3d models in half using a vertical (or whatever way you want to go) plane and selecting every group or object and "intersect with model."

If you're doing a render with all sorts of textures and what not, it's best to just color the "sectioned" parts grey, black or white unless there's some detail to show.

Sketchup's automatic section plans work for exporting line drawings but do NOT work for any render program.

Also, if you're doing this for an actual real life job...

I HATE you.

First of all, thank you for your reply! Been waiting for someone to reply and finally there is one :) anyway, in regard to the methods that you posted, I will assume it to be more suitable for free-standing building in some open area? correct me if I am wrong because I am still pretty new to all these. However, what I am looking for is to design is a 3d city as my site locates in a busy urban area, full of building blocks and roads.

haha, I am doing it for one of my summer project, still a student :)

Well, this works for individual sites small and large but if you're looking for lots of city blocks (with buildings) you need to find a massing model.

You can make one (kind of hard) or find one to download.

In either event, your local planning office should have the map data (with the building outlines) available for free or a small fee.

You can trace it all but frankly it really isn't worth it.

If it has to be accurate (and not in the slightest abstracted), bill your professor and hand him an invoice.

Haha, I like the humour that you have added to your post particularly the last sentence. Again, thank you for the replies so far :)

It doesn't need to be very accurate, but an approximate height of the surrounding buildings will be really helpful. The 3d city model is a small scale mapping, probably about 50m by 50m, roughly. The model is used to study the shadows of nearby buildings and how they are falling on the site.

As in regards to your first paragraph, how do you establish the massing model used to make a 3d city model? surely you would still need the measurements to come out with it? sorry, am a bit confuse but looking forward to your reply! :)