Q: What are all the plug-ins that need to be installed for Topo Kit to run properly?Â
A:Topo Kit examples sometimes use the Elefront and Human plugins, open-source downloads, which are included in your Topo Kit installation files.Â
Q: What is a Geometry Set and how do I create one?Â
A:A Geometry Set(GT or Geo Set) is a collection of one or more pieces of geometry. A Geo Set is made by either using the Create Geo Set component or the Add to Geo Set component. The Create Geo Set takes in a Rhino layer name under which sub-layers with specific names will contain your geometry. Those sub layers, in Rhino, are created for you the first time you run the component if you do not already have them under the parent layer. For this componenet you must refresh every time you want to include newly drawn geometry into your Geo Set(GT). The Add to Geo Set component takes in specifically defined geometry in Grasshopper and/or an already defined Geo Set(GT). The output for both components is a Geo Set(GT).
Q: How do I use a Geo Set to create topography?Â
A:Once you have your Geo Set(GT) defined, you can then pipe the Geo Set(GT) into a Create Topo component. This component takes in a Geo Set(GT) and Features(F) and converts them to a Topo Instance(T). A Topo Instance(T) can then be piped into a Draw Topo component which convert the Topo Instance(T) into mesh points and a mesh, which is your topography.
Q: What is the Modify Topo component and how does it work?Â
A:The Modify Topo component is used to make modifications to your already defined topography. Whether you want to modify a topographic mesh or incorporate small changes to your Topo Instance(T), the Modify Topo component allows you to either modify the whole topography or a specific part of your topography by using inputs of your existing topography(Topo Instance), a new Geo Set(GT) containing the modifications, and a new set of Features(F). Modify Topo works best when you are trying to show a newly designed site within a larger context or if you are trying to make adjustments to your design in a specific boundary without having to process the changes for the entire topography.
Q: What are Features?Â
A:Features(F) are walls, curbs, stairs and paths. These are created independently and drawn independently of the topo mesh. They are defined by their own input parameters using spots, curves, and surfaces depending on the feature. Once they are created, their outputs can be piped into the Feature(F) input of either the Create Topo or Modify Topo components to adjust your topography relative to the feature. Multiple features can be piped into a single Feature(F) input allow the topo instance to be modified to accommodate these features. The actual features themselves are drawn using their respective Draw components to generate the feature in Rhino.Â
Q: What are Areas and how do they work?Â
A:Areas(A) are 2D surfaces or BREPs which in plan view define the various zones of your topography(lawn, asphalt, concrete, etc.). Once the surfaces or BREPs are drawn in 2D they are fed into the Create Area component which creates an Area Instance(A). The Area Instance can be piped into the Draw Areas component alongside a topo mesh input to project your 2D areas to the mesh creating defined 3D topographic areas as meshes. Check out the Create and Draw Areas module in the TOPO 101 course to learn more about the workflow which can output your 3D mesh areas with specific materials and into specific layers.
Q: What are the analysis tools?Â
A:The analysis tools are ways to visualize useful topographic information to draw conclusions about your topography, make design decisions or determine areas of intervention. Whether analyzing the steepness of the slopes across your entire site or visualizing the elevation differences across your site, these tools can be helpful in showing how you made your decisions about intervening or not intervening in specific areas on your site. Additionally, more analysis tools are in development, such as the Cut and Fill component which will allow you to see and quickly calculate the total landmass removed and inserted on site for informing cost analysis and implementation complexity.
🚧 Under Construction…
InstallationÂ