Clicking on this button will save your Buildings and City Blocks as WGS84(EPSG:4326) GeoJSON which you can use in GIS software of your choice (eg. QGis, ArcGis, etc.). Files are stored next to your SKP file. They have the same base name as your SKP file and appended buildings##, complex_buildings## and city_blocks## suffixes. Each time you export the data, number identifier is raised by 1.

Export Urban Design Control Values…¶

This is used to export urban control values (such as Gross Floor Area, FAR, Required number of parking lots, etc.) of currently opened model into CSV file. Before exporting the data, you have an option to choose which values you want to export (Whole Plot, Land Uses, Buildings, Complex Buildings). By default all options are selected for export (Figure 4.02).

For Complex Buildings, details about Land Use and/or each Simple Building from which it is constructed can be exported. Just select Export also Land Use data of Complex Buildings and/or Export also Buildings that form Complex Buildings.

Urban indicators export

Figure 4.02 - You can select which data you want to export to CSV file.

Sort Buildings by parameter value in CSV export

In case you have sorted the Buildings by some value in Urban Control Data Table, the order will be preserved when exporting the values to CSV file.

Exported CSV file can then be opened by any major spreadsheet software (eg. Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc, Figure 4.03).

Tip: When importing the data, make sure you have semicolon marked as separator sign in the spreadsheet software you are using.

Exported urban control values

Figure 4.03 - Example of urban control values exported to raw CSV file (left window) and imported to the spreadsheet software (right window).

Download OSM 3D Buildings¶

In order to generate Open Street Map (OSM) 3D Building's volumes (Figure 4.04), you first need to geolocate your model using SketchUp's geolocation feature (File -> Geo-location -> Add Location…). Once you have geolocated your model, hitting Download OSM 3D Buildings button will create you building volumes for selected area. The new volumes will be placed into a separate group and placed on separate layer. If you wish to place building's volumes onto the terrain, make sure to select it before triggering download.

In case you would like to create buildings on your own terrain (not one generated by SketchUp), just select it and Modelur will filter the imported building volumes and place it onto it.

Urban indicators export

Figure 4.04 - Since Modelur 2020.0.03 you can add context to your model via OSM data import.

Default Building Heights

Note that not all buildings provided by OSM have their height parameter defined. When this is the case, Modelur will take default building parameter from Whole Plot or City Block at the time of creation.

Download OSM 2D Urban Morphology¶

In order to generate OSM 2D Urban Morphology, you first need to geolocate your model using SketchUp's geolocation feature (File -> Geo-location -> Add Location…). Once you have geolocated your model, hitting Download OSM 2D Urban Morphology button will create you floor plans of buildings for selected area. The new floor plans will be placed into a separate group and placed on separate layer.

Tools¶

Here is a set of tools that help you work faster and more efficiently.

Randomize Building Heights¶

Using this functionality you can randomize selected Buildings number of storeys. Once Buildings are selected, click on this button and you will be presented with two options. If you select Absolute Number of Storeys all buildings will be randomized to number of storeys between min and max value. If you choose Relative Number of Storeys, selected Building's storeys will be randomized based on their current Number of Storeys in the range between min and max values specified.

This option helps create dynamic urban solutions, avoiding too uniform look of the urban area.

Place Buildings on Selected Terrain¶

Using this will "drop" all Modelur Buildings to the terrain of your choice. This is particularly useful when working on sloped terrains and you need the buildings to sit nicely on it. In order to use this functonality, just select the
terrain in question and click this button.

Calculate Form Factor¶

Form Factor calculation is used to estimate the potential of Building's energy efficiency. The lower the Form Factor, the more compact a Building is. And the more compact a Building is, the lower are the energy losses for a given floor space.

Modelur calculates the Form Factor in two ways that are most commonly used nowadays:

Heat Loss Form Factor (FF) is the ratio between the Building's envelope area (EA) and it's Net Floor Area (NFA). Form Factor is calculated as FF = EA / NFA.

Source: NHBC: Foundation Shape and Form

The Heat Loss Form Factor is a number generally between 0.5 and 5, with a lower number indicating a more compact building. Passivhaus buildings aim to achieve 3 or less (source).
Surface to Volume Ratio (SVR) is the ratio between the Building's envelope area (EA) and it's volume (V). Surface to Volume Ratio is calculated as SVR = EA / V. Note: The numeric value of Surface to Volume Ratio is dependent on the units (metric or imperial) that are chosen.

Source: Researchgate: The Impact of the Shape Factor on Final Energy Demand in Residential Buildings in Nordic Climates.

The Surface to Volume Ratio for a typical single family house is 0.8 - 1.0 1/m. According to some sources, the recommended Surface to Volume Ratio for a passive house is ≤ 0.8 1/m; according to another source 0.5 1/m (source).
Building's envelope area is the sum of areas of external faces of the Building (e.g. walls, roofs, terraces).

Form Factor Calculation is also available through Context menu

You can call Form Factor Calculation also via Context menu. To do so, just right-click on the Building and select Modelur → Calculate Form Factor.

Optimize Buildings for Google Earth¶

Once your urban design proposal is finished, you might want to export it to geolocated KMZ file, which can be opened by many programs, including Google Earth. Using this feature Modelur will automatically optimize all Modelur Buildings by removing all unnecessary faces. If you want, you can also tell it to export floor Edges, so that the Building's storeys are visible inside Google Earth.

Massing Generator¶

This entry will open Massing Generator window that enables you to quickly populate existing City blocks.

Data¶

Here are tools to help display urban data.

Open Urban Control Data Table¶

This will open a new, interactive Window with the complete urban control data of your model inside SketchUp (Figure 4.04). By clicking on the appropriate checkboxes at the top of this new Window, you can choose which sets of data are displayed (Whole Plot, Land Uses, Buildings, Complex Buildings ...). All values are refreshed in real-time and you can also use this Window to select specific Buildings.

Urban control data table

Figure 4.04 - Urban Control Data Window displays all selected sets of data directly inside SketchUp.

By clicking on a (Complex) Building row in this Window, Modelur will select its counterpart inside the 3D Window. And vice versa - when you select the Building in 3D Window, it will get selected in the data table, too. Rows with selected Buildings are marked with a light blue color (Buildings 1000006 and 1000007 in the image above).

If needed, (Complex) Buildings can also be sorted by their values. Simply click on the name of the column you want to sort by.

For Complex Buildings, the details about Land Use and/or each Simple Building from which it is constructed can be shown. Select:

Complex Buildings Land Uses: additional lines will be shown for each Land Use that is present in the Complex Building
Complex Buildings Parts: additional lines will be shown for each simple building that is part of the complex building.

These options are available only if Complex Building option is selected.

For City Blocks, the details about the Land Uses present on that City Block can be shown. Select:

City Blocks Land Uses: additional lines will be shown for each Land Use that is present on the City Block.
City Blocks Land Use Summary(Excel Sync Only): additional fields with land use summary will be added to Excel Live Sync.

These options are available only if City Blocks option is selected.

By selecting the option Building Storey Gross Floor Areas (Excel Sync Only) the gross floor area for each storey (floor level) will be displayed for each (Complex) Building in Excel Live Sync.

Send Modelur Data to Excel (Windows only)¶

Once you select this entry, Modelur will open up Excel (it should already be installed on your Windows OS) and populate it with the data from Urban Control Data Table. This entry is available through extensions menu where you can read more about it.

Dashboards¶

Dashboards display relevant data and visual representations for different Modelur objects like Building, City Block and Whole Plot.

Building Dashboard¶

This entry will open Building Dashboard that displays key information about the last selected building:

Identity: Shows Name and Land Use of the selected building.
Parameters: Shows key geometric parameters of the selected building.
Mass: Shows Volume and detailed information about Net Floor Area of the selected building.
City Block Contribution or Whole Plot Contribution: Selected building belongs to either a city block or the whole plot. Because of this the building contribute to the FAR, Site Coverage and GFA distribution of the city block or the whole plot. This section visualize the contribution of the selected building to Floor Area Ratio and Site Coverage relative to the maximal allowed values on the city block or whole plot.
Urban: Shows the number of primary and secondary units of the selected building.
Car Parking: Shows car parking requirements of the selected building.
Landscape: Shows landscape requirements of the selected building.

Building Dashboard

City Block Dashboard¶

This entry will open City Block Dashboard that displays key information about the last selected city block:

Identity & Limits: Shows parameters and permitted values of the city block.
Max Efficiency: Shows maximum achievable gross floor area and built area values according to the maximum permitted values and the city block area.
Current Model: Shows current values of achieved and available Gross floor area and Built Area according to the existing buildings on the whole plot. The available Gross Floor Area is determined by the Plot Area and maximal allowed Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The available Built Area is determined according to the Plot Area and maximal allowed Site Coverage.
Urban: Shows the number of primary and secondary units of the selected city block.
Car Parking: Shows car parking requirements of the selected city block.
Landscape: Shows landscape requirements of the selected city block.

City Block Dashboard

Whole Plot Dashboard¶

This entry will open Whole Plot Dashboard that displays key information about the whole plot:

Identity & Limits: Shows identical parameters and permitted values of the whole plot.
Current Model: Shows current values of achieved and available Gross floor area and Built Area according to the existing buildings on the whole plot. The available Gross Floor Area is determined by the Plot Area and maximal allowed Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The available Built Area is determined according to the Plot Area and maximal allowed Site Coverage.
Urban: Shows the number of primary and secondary units on the whole plot.
Car Parking: Shows car parking requirements on the whole plot.
Landscape: Shows landscape requirements on the whole plot.

Whole Plot Dashboard

Options¶

Language¶

Set Modelur to your preferred language. Note that Modelur is officially supported in English only for time being.

Units¶

Set chosen units, either metric (meters) or imperial (feet). Switching this option will also switch SketchUp's dimension units.

Default Building Shape¶

When nothing is selected in your model, Modelur can create a Building or Complex Building at model's origin. Here you can set what shape should such default building be (Square, Circle or L-Shape). If you selecte empty value in the dropdown, Modelur will not create new (Complex) Building if there are no proper objects (eg. Face or closed Edge loop) in the selection.

Buildings From Edges¶

Tell Modelur if and how it should create Buildings or City Blocks when edges are selected. There are three options: Don't Create, From One Edge and From Edge Loop.

Don't Create option means you Modelur will create a Building or City Block only from selected faces, ignoring edge loops. If no face is selected, Modelur will create a Building in the middle of the coordinate system and with Default Building Area (as defined in Default Building Parameters).

From One Edge option means you can select just one edge of a closed loop and a Building or City Block will be created based on that loop. In case you have a loop within a loop and you select an edge of the outer loop, Modelur will create a Building/City Blocks based on the outer loop and ignore the inner loop (since it's edges are not in the selection). If you select edges in both loops, Modelur will create two objects - one in the inner loop and one from outer loop and hole in the position of the inner loop.

From Edge Loop option means you have to select ALL the Edges of a closed loop in order to create Building or City Block. Of no complete edge loop is selected, Modelur will ignore selected edges and create a Building in the middle of the coordinate system and with Default Building Area (as defined in Default Building Parameters) or switch to Line tool so you can draw new City Block.

Calculate FAR Based On¶

Tell Modelur whether you want to calculate Whole Plot's and City Blocks Floor Area Ratio based on Gross or Net Floor Area of Buildings. By default this option is set to Gross Floor Area.

Relation to Sum of Selected Buildings

Calculate FAR Based On Gross or Net Floor Area preference determines also which value (Gross or Net) is shown when Heads-up Display is showing Sum of Selected Buildings.

Lock City Blocks Upon Creation¶

Automatically locks City Blocks when they are created. This means a City Block can not be moved around the screen. This way you avoid accidentally moving a City Block and spoiling your project.

If you do need to move a City Block, you can unlock it by right-clicking on the City Block and then selecting Unlock.

Apply City Blocks LU Material¶

Each City Block will be colored according to it's Land use (if the Land use has a specified color). You can specify a color for each Land Use in Land Use tab.

Synchronize Land Use Panels¶

Keep Land Use Panels between Input data and Survey tab in sync. This means the Land Use you select in Land Use tab will also become selected (and displayed) in Urban Control - Land Use section of the Survey tab and the other way around.

Show Status Bar¶

Status Bar is located at the bottom of the User Interface. Status Bar shows short descriptions of Modelur options and functionalities when you hover over them.

Show Building's Built-up Area¶

Show built-up area face at the bottom of each Modelur Building.

Mark Terraces and Loggias¶

Apply green color to all Terraces and pink color to all Loggias. This way you can easily see how many Terraces and how many Loggias there are in your project.

Sync Building's Layer¶

If this option is turned on, Modelur will make sure that all Modelur Building's Entities (Edges and Faces) are placed on the same layer as the Building itself. The same is true for Complex Buildings and City Blocks. By default this option is turned on.

Show City Block Virtual Envelope¶

If this option is turned on, the City Block Virtual Envelope will be displayed for all of the city blocks. You can turn the City Block Envelope on and off for the selected city blocks with Envelope Button on the City Block Tab.

Change Currency Symbol¶

Opens up a dialog box for specifying new currency symbol. This currency symbol is shown in section Investment calculation of the Land use tab where you define estimated price per square meter for Buildings with the chosen Land Use assigned. This enables Modelur to calculate estimated cost of the whole Building.

Save Default Settings¶

You can save your preferred settings combination as default by clicking on Save Default Settings. This settings will then be used every time you initialize new Modelur model.

Restore Default Settings¶

Reset Modelur to default settings. When applied please restart SketchUp and Modelur.

Store Land Use changes¶

When this option is checked, Modelur will save each Land Use change to temporary Land Use specifications file. Turn this feature on if you want to copy/paste Buildings and City Blocks with non-default Land Uses between different SKP models. The file stored_land_uses.json, is saved into your Modelur Appdata folder.

Help¶

Help section contains links to this User guide, Video tutorials, Modelur website and Modelur forum.

If you want to report a bug or send us a feature request, click on Submit a Ticket.

You can easily check for updates by clicking on Check for Update ....

Enhancements and bugfixes included in your version of Modelur are displayed by clicking on Changelog.

Menu

File¶

Open¶

Import GIS Data…¶

Export to GeoJSON…¶

Export Urban Design Control Values…¶

Download OSM 3D Buildings¶

Download OSM 2D Urban Morphology¶

Tools¶

Randomize Building Heights¶

Place Buildings on Selected Terrain¶

Calculate Form Factor¶

Optimize Buildings for Google Earth¶

Massing Generator¶

Data¶

Open Urban Control Data Table¶

Send Modelur Data to Excel (Windows only)¶

Dashboards¶

Building Dashboard¶

City Block Dashboard¶

Whole Plot Dashboard¶

Options¶

Language¶

Units¶

Default Building Shape¶

Buildings From Edges¶

Calculate FAR Based On¶

Lock City Blocks Upon Creation¶

Apply City Blocks LU Material¶

Synchronize Land Use Panels¶

Show Status Bar¶

Show Building's Built-up Area¶

Mark Terraces and Loggias¶

Sync Building's Layer¶

Show City Block Virtual Envelope¶

Change Currency Symbol¶

Save Default Settings¶

Restore Default Settings¶

Store Land Use changes¶

Help¶