Neighboring towers, domes, water tanks, and site furniture give a massing study its context. Draw them as 3D primitives to place reference shapes at exact sizes, and keep them out of your yield numbers.
3D primitives are for visual reference. They don't count toward mass, volume, or floor calculations, and properties like floor-to-floor, levels, and stacking don't apply to them.
Choose a 3D primitive
Pick a 3D primitive from the shapes menu in the drawing toolbar: Box, Sphere, Cylinder, Cone, Pyramid, or Wedge. The button shows the icon of the last shape you used.
OR
Open the Command Line and search "primitive" or "3d" to list all six, then choose Draw box, Draw sphere, Draw cylinder, Draw cone, Draw pyramid, or Draw wedge.
Each tool draws one shape, then ends.
Draw a box, pyramid, or wedge
Draw a box, pyramid, or wedge the same way you draw a rectangle.
Click to place the first corner.
Click again to set the width. Hold
Shiftto snap this edge to the grid, or type a number to set an exact edge length.Click a third time to set the depth and finish. Type a number to set the depth exactly.
The primitive turns to match the angle of your first edge. A wedge slopes toward your second edge.
A box, pyramid, or wedge sets its height automatically to the shorter of the two edges you drew. Change Width, Height, or Depth afterward in the properties palette.
Draw a sphere, cylinder, or cone
Draw a sphere, cylinder, or cone the same way you draw a circle.
Click to place the center.
Click again to set the radius, or type a number to set an exact radius.
A cylinder or cone sits on the ground and sets its height automatically to twice the radius you drew. A sphere is centered on the point you clicked. Change the size afterward in the properties palette.
Edit a 3D primitive
Select a 3D primitive to edit it in the Primitive section of the properties palette.
Type: switch between Box, Sphere, Cylinder, Cone, Pyramid, and Wedge without redrawing.
Size: each type has its own fields.
Box, Pyramid, Wedge: Width, Height, Depth
Sphere: Radius, Segments
Cylinder: Top Radius, Bottom Radius, Height, Segments
Cone: Radius, Height, Segments
Segments: sets how smooth a round shape looks. It starts at 32, and the minimum is 3.
Anchor: sets which part of the shape sits on its point: Center, Bottom, Bottom Front, or Bottom Side.
Rotation: tilt or turn the shape with Pitch / Bearing, or switch to XYZ Rotation.
Tip: Give a cylinder a different top and bottom radius to taper it, like a cooling tower or a tapered column.