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Curtain Wall Design

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#1 Josh Friesen

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Posted 13 May 2021 - 05:12 PM

Hi All,

I'm working on designing a really ultra modern home, and I'm not sure how to get the window wall to work the way I want. Has anyone encountered this? Is my best course of action actually just making an entire window wall unit that i put together painstakingly window by window? Was hoping for a better answer :P

I can make the flat top wall work by making a single opening and then dividing it into horizontal and vertical sections, but the trapezoid window won't extract the separating mullions. Wondering if anyone has beaten this one or not. Thanks! 

 



#2 Keith Almond

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Posted 14 May 2021 - 05:54 AM

Josh, for the trapezoid, you have to make a custom opening ... have a look at this - although it's arched, the principle is exactly the same. http://softplan.com/...indows-tutorial


Keith

There are 10 types of people in this world ....... Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

Softplan user since version 5.5.2.5

www.homehardwarekingston.ca

#3 Mark Petri

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Posted 14 May 2021 - 11:38 AM

It all depends on what you need for the final drawings and if you use SoftList or not. You can divide a trapezoid with 3D solids or posts and beams set where you want them. Another option is to make a wall that is just glass (maybe with a plate top and bottom). But, then use posts and beams or solids offset for the all individual window frame parts. Either way it may take a bit of work. If you create custom windows with the frame and glazing the way you want editing the sizes and setting offsets can go pretty fast. Especially if you know you are going to have a window frame with an offset at a certain height and set up a custom window with that offset (even on a working wall to copy and paste from).


Mark Petri

Petri Building and Design

 


#4 Thomas Roman

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Posted 14 May 2021 - 01:44 PM

Since SoftPlan is geared primarily for residential design, "curtain walls" is not a tool that SoftPlan has very high on their priority list...

 

I likely push SoftPlan's capabilities towards commercial work as much as any user out there...Since that is the case, I do wish there was a "curtain wall" tool, but I'm not holding my breath..

 

meantime, I have used a few methods to get the desired result.. For the attached curtain walls, I drew all the mullions as 2D line work, turned it all into 3D polygons (laying flat), saved as a 3D symbol, then created a new custom symbol and re-oriented the 3D geometry using the symbol wizard.. the results can be very good...

 

you will also see on this image that I show "stucco joints".. that is another tool that I wish could be added (somehow) as it's a bit tricky to do with current tools...

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#5 Mark Petri

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Posted 14 May 2021 - 09:51 PM

Tom - you are the master at 3D polygon modeling. Lots of great stuff you come up with!


Mark Petri

Petri Building and Design

 


#6 Thomas Roman

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Posted 17 May 2021 - 11:27 AM

I remember the old days when someone found some weird third party software that would "flip" or reorient 3D DXF geometry.. outside of SoftPlan.. brilliant work-around at the time..

 

the symbol wizard now does that...

 

I do wish there was a way to more easily model 3D geometry in the "elevation" plane.. I always pictured it working exactly like the 3D Polygon, Cube, and other tools work now, except they would be available while working on an elevation plane or section plane (vertical plane) rather than the floor plan plane (horizontal plane)...  so the ZERO plane would be vertical and I suppose would need to be defined somehow..  that's a dream..

 

I also dream of drawing lines on an elevation that adds joints to the stucco in the 3D model.. define a thickness of the "lines" / joints...

 

and I'm pretty sure that if I were in charge of resources, that SoftPlan would be out of business in a year.. LOL..


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#7 Keith Almond

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Posted 17 May 2021 - 11:33 AM

I've always suggested that even a simple "FLIP 90° ON THE "Z" AXIS" should be very simple to implement. It's just a very small piece of what the Symbol Wizard does, and it would be almost invaluable.


Keith

There are 10 types of people in this world ....... Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

Softplan user since version 5.5.2.5

www.homehardwarekingston.ca

#8 Edward Shannon

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Posted 26 January 2022 - 02:12 PM

Tom - Please share the steps for creating the stucco joints.  I sue hardi-panel a lot and would like to model that 


Edward J Shannon, ArCH/NCARB/LEED GA


#9 Lane De Muro

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Posted 02 February 2022 - 06:37 PM

Holy Mudhead Mackeral! Nice work.


Lane De Muro

 

Windows 10 on a Dell something or other which works  but should be replaced.


#10 Harlon Suttle

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Posted 04 February 2022 - 11:08 PM

Tom:

Just outa curiosity, has any of the custom curtainwall suppliers done any work on this project yet and is the owner going to have a third party consultant review the Design, glass etc?   I always used Heitman and Associates outa St Louis.   Saved my backside from huge lawsuits in the past....too long of a story for here, but a 3rd party review is worth every penny when you get into custom curtain walls like what you have developed...as the saying goes...Pay me now or Pay me later and we all know how much the Pay Me Later can be.  A fun place to visit is Construction Research Laboratory Inc. (CRL), Medley, Fla.   Ever want to see stuff taken to failure....this is the place...went there twice....here is the link:

 

https://construction...h_Lab/Home.html

 

Good luck with your project.   


Harlon G. " Buddy " Suttle
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CELL: 913-339-6242






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