Refresh VisualARQ walls without baking

Hi @keithscadservices,

We have been discussing in this thread about adding this feature to Grasshopper Styles but, just so you know, there is already available a VisualARQ Grasshopper component to make solid operations:

We already have this request in our wishlist; I will keep you updated about it.

We already have an entry for this in our wishlist. The main idea is to solve intersections between walls and slabs automatically but we are still discussing how to do it. I will post your ideas in this entry so that they are taken into account during the discussion.

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Did some fast gh to work around the problem, creating a bigger opening then filling the gap with breps that matched the wall width and layers. Not an ideal solution but solving a modelling and drafting problem in a snap. Attached so you can use it or modify it (The GH script is very messy, did it last moment to work, be gentle :).

@alfmelbev is there a way to create walls within a VA Window/Door Style? That would be a great addition, as cutting with solids is not optimal, it is better to follow construction logic (bricks, wall layers end so on). In the case of pocket windows, GH (and VA Style) should be able to read Hosts Thickness, Wall layers, Height and build the new walls accordingly, then send these walls to the wall joining algorithm. I understand that this would require the window/door to be recognised also as a “wall” so that corner treatment can be applied.
Pocket_Door_new.gh (47.3 KB)
pocket_door.val (67.2 KB)

All the above brings me to the next question. I know that we can use %<this.host.thickness>% in a slider to read Hosting Wall Thickness. Can we do the same with Height like %<this.host.height>% ? Or better not in a slider but in a Text or Data Box (to be able to output any data).

In general, can we request and use any property of the Host, within any VA Style element, or is there a specific list of specific Host Properties that can be used per VA Style? Ie. only Thickness in windows, and so on.

As we further test VisulaARQ, we are amazed by the work you have done. The level of Rhino and Grasshopper integration, the ease of use, lightness, simplicity is a great accomplishment.

Attachments follow, regards.

Hello @flatform,

I’m glad to see VisualARQ is being helpful to you!

I don’t understand very well what you mean about creating walls “within” a VA Window/Door style. Window and door styles define properties for the window and door objects; walls are separate objects which can host windows and doors (not the other way around).

Yes, you can use any property of the host using the same string.

In the above .val, .gh solution for a pocket window, we cut the wall, double the width of the opening, then add 3 breps to act as bricks and insulation, all within a VA Window Style.

It would be nice to have the option to construct VAWalls instead of Breps, and these walls to retrieve information from the Host Wall.

Is that possible now? So, to repeat, is it possible to construct VA Walls from within a VA Window Grasshopper Style?

Attached a sample screenshot, selected is the VA Window Style with faux brep walls.

Regards

Hi @flatform

On one hand the syntax to retrieve the door/window host information can’t give you the total amount of layers and the thickness of each one, so it is not possible to automate this. On the other hand, the GH styles can’t generate VisualARQ objects, so you would end up having Breps as well.

For that situation with the pocket door, I’d just replace the wall segment where the door leaf goes through with a different wall style, whose interior layer can be hidden. Of course, the length of that wall segment would depend on the door dimensions, so you may need to adjust that if you change the door width. But I think it is the best solution for that case.

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Thank you for the reply,

We know from experimenting that is not possible currently. It is more like a future feature suggestion.

In case of pocket windows, creating breps as described above is a solution but produces lines in all drawing views, since they do not merge with walls, visually and BIM wise.

There should be a real VAwall solution for pocket windows ie. in VA 3.X, since they are very common in architecture.

They would act as “double identity” objects, Windows and Walls altogether. Maybe they could show two VA tabs when selected, Wall and Window/Door?

Creating extra walls as you suggested is an option, but not a viable one, especially in the early design phases of a building where lots of window type and placement changes are performed and each added wall should be finetuned every time a window changes in XYZ plus height.

Hi @flatform

I’m not sure if this would be the best option to deal with this situation, since it would behave very differently than other objects.
What we could do (that is already planned) is to provide a solid of subtraction rather than an opening profile for doors and windows. That way, pocket doors would have a solid of subtraction linked to their dimensions that would generate the hollow into the host wall automatically. Would that be a valid opinion for you?

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Yes, Solid Subtraction will work as discussed above, thank you for considering.

The VAWall within windows/doors/openings would provide that extra functionality that would be more BIM oriented.

Edit:

We would suggest adding solid subtraction capabilities to all VAObjects (Railings, Furniture, All).

This would create great modelling/architectural capabilities (flush wall railings carved in walls, flush furniture ie. bookcases integrated in walls and many more).

It would also open BIM procedures such as demolition phases and volumes, to be implemented and calculated as the intersection of the host with the cutting brep.

Revisited your previous replies and came up with some other ideas:

Ability to hide wall layers per object.

Windows and doors could modify this property too, for their Host. So if we place the window on a wall, it could tell the wall to hide ie. it’s middle layer.

Which brings us to another possible ability, to create Wall Styles that have layers that can be merged and appear as one.

Combined with the above it could work nicely.

These are less specific suggestions, part of a brainstorming.

These are very interesting features we can work on in future versions. I add them to our wishlist.

I see this as a bit more challenging to accomplish. Because you may not always want a specific wall layer hide entirely when you insert a window in it, but just a part of it, isn’t it?

Well, this is how it currently works. When two wall layers have the same attributes, they merge and clean their intersection.

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Hiding Wall layers could be combined with an automatic point splitting of VAWall by VAWindow/Door? Instead of using a brep to cut, window tells the wall where to split and hide it’s layer.

This split point will not be available to user for modification, it would be internal, like wall intersection solving.

For the above to work and look properly in Plan and Section Views, selected Wall Layers of the same wall should be able to merge (nothing to do with wall intersections).

So when no window is placed, wall will appear as 1 layer (if it was 3 layers), with unified hatch. If a window is placed, wall appear as 3 layers, with the middle one, missing.

This functionality could be useful in other cases as well i think.

Thanks for the replies, keep up the good work :))

Hi @flatform

We need to study if this is the best approach to solve this issue.

I think this is more related to showing objects with a different level of detail.

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