Slabs for columns are often better than columns for columns

I wrote today’s post (working title: The 2 essential BIM gizmos) and. re-read it.

 Sounded airy-fairy – despite of the arguments being reasonable and true.

It needs an ‘entree’ before I can publish:

It is about basic modelling: I create a column.*

It is easy – I select the parameters and place the column.

I am specifically keen to have 2 parts of it identified, origin and ID.

Both  look OK in plan-view, however turn out to be much less useful in 3D.

This is a bit of a bother since I like working in 3D.

Then the next challenge comes.

I need to place numerous columns (say 50) over a 2D plan; All are rectangular but their sides and heights vary and each has a unique ID.

The task is of course doable and not that hard, still I keep on thinking, I could do this with the slab tool in half time.

Point? The column, beam, wall, roof tools evolved into very specific creatures that I am not sure that they needed to be – I’m starting to think that one universal tool would be better.

 Of course that would not quite work for the drawing outputs (as beams have to look differently on plans than say walls...)

I am not too concerned about the drawings.

Bring on the BIM gizmos! Come back in a day-or-two.

*I used Archicad for this particular exercise; 

I believe that most other ‘main stream’ AEC modelling packages work in a very similar way;