Creating topography

[davidbockman]

I'm curious how forum members deal with the following situation: I am using SketchUp to create a residential master plan for a fairly aggressively-sloped lot. I spent the day yesterday taking spot elevations, and I'm wondering what the best process is in order to get those into a model as efficiently as possible. I've read Daniel Tal's book and I understand the process for 'creating' sloped or complex gradients using Make Faces, but this doesn't seem to be the best way to model existing real world topography (unless I'm missing something).

Once the topography is accurately modeled the next steps are the designs for stairs and walkways (and a ton of other elements).

[davidbockman]

I realized I could have included more info which may assist in an answer. 1 acre residential lot, existing older home to which significant outdoor improvements and site amenities will be done. I have a platte, which I blew up and recorded a ton of spot elevations.

[sdmitch]

David, One solution would be to enter your spot elevation data into a comma seperated values(.CSV) file and use plugin Cloud http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=29126
to import and triangulate them.

[davidbockman]

@sdmitch said:

David, One solution would be to enter your spot elevation data into a comma seperated values(.CSV) file and use plugin Cloud http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=29126
to import and triangulate them.

Thank you, checking now

[Gaieus]

I have used that plugin to successfully import a point cloud of around 30,000 points and then (in a separate pass though) triangulate them into a mesh. Not an easily navigable model though.

[mitcorb]

I was tempted to respond thinking that a plugin called surveytool was available. But I ran out of time to search and respond, and I don't think it's the one, so I am glad you were answered by some very able(an extreme understatement)folks.

[davidbockman]

It's looking more and more like I will have to simply draw a grid, write out all my known spot elevations, interpolate between known elevations for intermediate points, draw a contour map, and then I can have something I can use in skethup.

[pbacot]

So, the suggestions above don't give you a good way to do it? I can see if the points are not enough for a good mesh, it is probably no use to place each on in SU 3d. For that matter a CAD app might be easier to layout the contours with. Good luck. We would like to see how this process develops--although I usually start with contours from a Civil myself (new stuff has to be made up on top of that).