Represent the built environment with ease.
The Horizontal Construction tool shortcuts to all of the Landscape, Roads, and Parking Usages in your project template.
What is Horizontal Construction?
Horizontal construction refers to the development of ground-level infrastructure such as roads, parking lots, and landscaping, while vertical construction focuses on taller structures like office buildings, towers, and apartments.
Landscape/Paving Type Properties:
Height
For cost analytics:
hard cost
soft cost
maintenance cost
etc.
Road Type Properties:
Road Width
Footpath Width
For cost analytics:
hard cost
soft cost
maintenance cost
etc.
Parking Type properties:
Parking Provided
For cost analytics:
hard cost
soft cost
sale price
net rent
etc.
Tree Type Properties
Canopy radius
For cost analytics:
hard cost
soft cost
maintenance cost
etc.
Drawing Methods
Giraffe offers 3 methods of generating geometry:
- Rectangle: Start with a 90° rectangular shape.
- Spine: Start with a single line.
- Irregular Shapes: Draw a polygon with any number of points.
For Roads:
Select road or path In the Properties palette.
Draw the road by drawing a line.
Scroll to the Roads section (toward the bottom of the properties form)
Select the Road Width and Foot Path width
For Landscape
In the draw palette, select a landscape type.
Draw the landscape by drawing a rectangle or polygon.
All landscape types behave as landscape area and open space in site calculations and coverage.
Landscape can be placed on the roof of a building by turning on Stack: Always.
For Parking:
In the draw palette, select a parking type:
Draw the parking are by drawing a rectangle or polygon.
You can also ad parking space lines by clicking the "Add parking Spaces" button in the properties palette.
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On-Grade
Use this for simple on-grade paved parking areas.
On-grade parking is calculated as Paved Area in site calculations, and is treated as impervious surface in site coverage metrics.
It has the Paved Area usage type.
Multi-Deck
Use this for podium or structured parking.
Multi-deck is calculated as a Building in site calculations, and is included in GBA and GFA calculations. Adjust the Efficiency factors on the usage to control it's GFA.
Set Levels and Floor-to-Floor to control its overall height.
It has the Building usage type.
Below Grade
Use this for basement or underground parking.
Below Grade is calculated as Basement area in site calculations, and is not included in site coverage.
Set the levels count to increase the parking count.
It has the Basement usage type.
Giraffe does not visualize elements that are below grade. The below-grade/basement geometry will appear as a flat rectangle on the ground, but the math engine will properly calculate its GBA, GFA, and net rentable area based on the property values saved in the usage.
For Trees:
In the draw palette, select a tree type.
Place the tree on the map as a point.
Change the scale and rotation of the tree in the properties palette.
To change the appearance of the tree, upload a new GLTF to the 3D property.
