Last weeks CityEngine training at Lancaster University went really well. It was my first time doing a session at this site and I really liked it. Good facilities and a beautiful campus, stayed tuned for more CityEngine training sessions there in the future, but if you want a session now just ask as we do training on demand. Also did I mention Lancaster is set to launch Architecture courses and are looking for a new ‘Chair of Architecture’??
Right, on with the main purpose of this blog post!
Above is an animated GIF of a quick proof of concept for some 4D modelling in Esri CityEngine. 4D refers to the time component used in the construction industry to see the various phases of development (see “What is 4D BIM?”) think Gantt chart in 3D! Whilst CityEngine is not truly a 4D modelling software package it can provide some elements of it after-all time is just an attribute. I like to think of this as a nice way of 3D modelling urban planning and city master planning phasing scenarios over time. With the introduction of Esri CityEngine’s handles feature this can make for a nicer interaction method with your model.
after-all time is just an attribute
In this example I have a days and a maximum number of days attribute (think deadline). The slider controls the day in that timeline between 0 and 365 days for example. Each of the 2D footprints has a field with a start day and an end day, as the slider is moved a test is performed to see whether the day is between those two numbers for each footprint. If the condition is true the footprint is extruded based on a calculation that gradually and proportionally extrudes up to it’s maximum building height. When it reaches and/or exceeds the finish day, the model changes to a more realistic looking building.
All of this is relatively simple in CityEngine (case statements, attributes, and handles), the nice bit is being able to report on progress in the Dashboard. We can use this in a variety of different scenarios in CityEngine, as usual because it’s code we can copy and paste in to other projects!
