Introduction to Rhino 3D for Landscape Architecture

Draw a single line segment.

Draw a multi-segment polyline with options for line and arc segments, tracking line helpers, and close.

Move objects from one location to another.

Duplicate objects.

Draw a circle from center and radius, diameter, points on the circumference, and circumference length.

The rectangle command draws a closed rectangular polyline.

Draw a closed elliptical curve from focus points, center and edges, bounding rectangle, and around a curve.

Fit a curve through picked locations.

Copy a curve parallel to the original.

Add an arc between two curves and trims or extends the curves to the arc.

Connect curves, surface edges, or surfaces to form a single object.

Break objects down into components.

Cut and delete selected portions of an object at the intersection with another object.

Lengthen a curve.

Create a mirror-image copy of objects.

Rotate objects around an axis perpendicular to the construction plane.

Create point objects along a curve by the number of equal length segments or segments of a specified length.

Copy and space objects along a curve.

Create curves between two open or closed input curves.

Change the size of objects uniformly in the x-, y-, and z-directions.

Drive closed planar curves in a straight line.

Fills openings in surfaces or polysurfaces with a planar surface joined to the hole edge.

Create a surface, polysurface, or extrusion object with a circular profile around a curve.

Create a planar surface from planar curves.

Draw a rectangular planar surface.

Drive surface edges in a straight line to create a solid.

Draws a solid box.

Draw a solid sphere.

Draw a cylinder.

Fit a surface through curves and point objects.

Drive surface edges along a path curve to create a solid.

Creates a surface through points defined at the intersection of objects and points projected toward the construction plane.

Whether you are familiar with Plat of Surveys, or need a refresher – these are great documents to start a landscape plan.

Typically, these documents are developed by surveyors and contain precise and accurate information as landscape designers need to start a landscape plan.

Below are some key elements to include in your landscape plan from a Plat of Survey:

• Property Lines

• Client’s Building

• Utilities (water, overhead wires, underground services, etc.)

• Contours

• Existing Trees

• Neighboring Buildings

TIP: verifying the Plat of Survey to onsite field measurements and field notes is always key to a successful project. On many occasions, the Plat of Survey may not be up-to-date and it’s very important to field verify components in the landscape.

On-site measurements are still used to this day because it is still one of the most accurate methods to verify dimensions within the field and you can include as much detail as you want. Below is some detail you can include on the landscape which is not always included on plat of surveys:

• Locations of Windows

• Locations of Utilities (hose bibs, electrical panels, A/C units, etc.)

• Existing Trees (tree lines for woodlands, individual specimens, etc.)

TIP: if the image appears “black” within Rhino, simply navigate to the main navigation bar located at the top and click “Panels” and open the “Textures” panel. Locate the image within the textures panel, click the image and drag onto the surface. Once this image is re-assigned, type REFRESHALLTEXTURES.

To determine if the PDF is a “raster” image, simply open the Plat of Survey in Adobe Acrobat/Reader and use the “Marquee Zoom” to zoom very closely on a line.

Upon inspection, if the line appears “jagged” or “pixelated”, it is most likely a raster image scanned into a PDF.

Once the Plat of Survey is imported into Rhino, SCALE the image to “true-scale” and begin tracing the document with correct layers.

TIP: The benefit to all lines on separate layers is that you can turn on/off or lock/unlock layers making it easier on the designer to design within Rhino without moving/deleting/disturbing linework.

To determine if the PDF is a “vector” image, simply open the Plat of Survey in Adobe Acrobat/Reader and use the “Marquee Zoom” to zoom very closely on a line.

Upon inspection, if the line appears very smooth with no pixelation, the PDF is a vector and was developed by CAD software which can be imported directly into Rhino to use raw linework.

Once the Plat of Survey is imported into Rhino, SCALE the image to “true-scale” and begin switching linework to the landscape layers.

TIP: Oftentimes, contour lines come in as separate segments due to the nature of “Dashed” linework. Sometimes, re-drawing the contours with INTERPCRV can save time in the future by being able to adjust the LINETYPESCALE.

Why are basemaps necessary?

Developing a basemap with the existing site conditions is a key part of the landscape design process as this document is the foundation of your landscape.

By drawing more detail in your basemap (existing trees, grade change, gutter locations, hose bibs, etc.) this allows your landscape to react to the built environment and create connections within the landscape.

Welcome to the “Functional Diagramming” video!

In this video, I demonstrate how to draw functional diagrams on trace paper with a printed basemap. Click here to download a Guide to Export Drawings in Rhino to a PDF.

Functional diagramming is a great way to organize and interweave outdoor programs between spaces (indoor or outdoor).

Sketching while performing this step of the process allows you to freely draw multiple iterations – if you are just getting used to a software, this step of the process can be the most frustrating.

TIP: Drawing with pen/paper and importing your sketch into Rhino and tracing the image with 2D commands is an efficient way to reduce the learning curve of a new software. You can look at the linework you sketched and pinpoint which 2D commands are used to develop the line.

Welcome to the “Developing Landscape Concept” video!

Embedding your landscape design within the functional diagram allows your client to simply understand the relationships of a complex design.

This part of the design process is when you develop and apply standard measurements (ie: 4′ +/- walkways, 18″ +/- seating widths, etc.) to ensure proportion of the space is configured.

In this video, learn how to create 2 different kinds of topography from contours provided on a Plat of Survey. This module is useful for creating physical models by laser cutting, CNC machine or 3D printing.

NOTE: to create contours in Rhino 3D, you must have contour lines provided by a survey, civil engineer or site plan.

In this video, learn how to create planar surfaces based on your 2D landscape plan. This step is critical to remaining efficient while modeling landscapes in 3D.

By creating surfaces based on your 2D landscape, you are ensuring the 3D model will be accurate, functional and to scale.

TIP: The SPLIT command works well by dividing surfaces.

In this video, learn how to start modeling your projects projects biggest components and work your way towards detail throughout the process.

Why? Larger components of the landscape like swimming pools, outdoor kitchen, walkways, firepits, etc. help form how the space is felt and perceived while detail embellishes and builds upon the character of the space.

In this video, learn how to quickly add 3D plants to create planting plans.

In this video, learn how to save camera views within Rhino 3D.

The benefit to saving camera views in Rhino is that you can continuously go back to the same rendering view and add detail to specific rendering shots and save time by not modeling unnecessary details.