[Equest-users] round or curved buildings

[Nick Caton]

An image for reference:
[http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZYN52BkR6EQhDVqih0wfSBKf5bEDUc-InaclxEkvyg2zRGGiv]
On a first pass, I would use the wizards to approximate the shape simply using a series of concentric segmented circles of increasing/decreasing diameter for each floor.  The end result would look something like a stack of pancakes in 3D view.  If you set the exterior surfaces as not self-shading, and are mindful to not create unintended exterior roof/floor surfaces for each layer, you would end up with a pretty fair approximation for the envelope loads, by my estimation.

With (much) time allowing, I might take the same result post-wizards and go further by determining appropriate tilt angle and height properties for each floor's exterior walls to better match the curvature of the envelope.  This end result is still made up of a series of rectangular facets, so there would be some "gaps" in the 3D view along the tilted edges.  This exercise, and particularly the following application of those inputs to all exterior wall surfaces post wizards, can reasonably be expected to take a lot of time.  For an otherwise large/complex building I'd carefully weigh the anticipated accuracy gains before investing all that time that could be spent on more pertinent things in the model.  Keep in mind post-wizard envelope edits like this can generally be done after everything else is completed in the model.  Preferably before you make a copy for a LEED baseline, of course.

To take this to the sidewalk's end:  I anticipate the compounded difficulty of creating custom quadrilaterals (one per level) to close the gaps mentioned above would be more work that it would be worth.  Even so, it would be an iterative effort as you'd still need to figure out and apply the tilt inputs to each facet prior to defining/assigning the custom polygons.  Also consider that while you can do all kinds of fun stuff with exterior wall surfaces, there are limits to what you can do with their child windows - I don't believe there's any way to assign a custom polygon shape to a window.

I think that about covers it!  If you don't mind sharing, I'm sure it would be instructive to others for you to share what approximations you determined appropriate, and a screenshot of the model - that envelope sounds like an interesting challenge to say the least!

~Nick
[cid:489575314 at 22072009-0ABB]

NICK CATON, P.E.
SENIOR ENGINEER

Smith & Boucher Engineers
25501 west valley parkway, suite 200
olathe, ks 66061
direct 913.344.0036
fax 913.345.0617
www.smithboucher.com

From: equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org [mailto:equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of m zahid
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 7:12 AM
To: e quest
Subject: [Equest-users] round or curved buildings

hi

can anybody tell me how can i model the vertical curved building in e quest like "The Gherkin " building in London

thanks


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