Raja Ampat Club: How to design roof with Archicad

Thursday, April 30, 2009

How to design roof with Archicad

Archicad is an easy to use CAD software which many architects use to design houses and buildings. Whether you want to design a complex building like malls or a simple house, Archicad provides many tools and feature which you can deploy to accelerate the design process. The latest release made by Graphisoft is Archicad 13.

Archicad is now getting more and more popular in Indonesia. On the following explanation, I am going to describe how to design house roof using Archicad. Roof that I want to design here is of a simple form that follows the form and size of the slab floor which I have created.

To design the roof, double click the Roof Tool on the tool box of the Archicad. Roof default settings window will appear on the screen. Locate the roof slant angle and change the default figure from 45 degrees to 30 degrees. I chose that figure so that the roof will not look too steep. After that, click the Geometry Method: PolyRoof. The icon is located next to Geometry Method: Dome or Barrel Vaulted.

After clicking the PolyRoof icon, you can begin drawing the roof following the boundary lines of the slab floor which are outside the walls of the house. Your drawing on the floor plan view should look like the following picture.

On this view, you cannot see how your roof looks like. To better visualize the roof, you need to see it in 3D view. Right click your mouse and choose Show all in 3D or Press Ctrl + F5. Now the roof which you have just designed with Archicad should look like the following picture.

Roof protects the people living in the house and the house construction from extreme weather condition. After following this step-by-step tutorial, you might feel that it is too simple and you want to explore more about this BIM software. Actually, I have written a number of articles related to Archicad tutorials but I honestly have to say that they are not enough for you if you are serious in learning this BIM software. You need to have some books which can help you explore the tools and features of this architectural software. If you are still a beginner then I should recommend you Introduction to ArchiCAD: A BIM Application. Another reference that I can suggest is the book entitled Discover Smart BIM: An Interactive Guide to ArchiCAD. You can also try the book to study ArchiCAD. This book is a little more expensive than the previous one but it is a very good reference for architects who want to master the software.

The best way to master this BIM software is trying to design a simple house directly inside the ArchiCAD platform. The more you practice, the better you'll become. by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua - Indonesia.

Also read:

ArchiCAD and Autocad