2D/3D interior design projects from DXF, DWG, IFC files

How to easily develop your project from raster images, PDFs, 2D or 3D CAD drawings, IFC BIM files, etc. thanks to an interior design software

If you are looking for an interior design software to produce drawings in both 2D and 3D or do you have to convert a 2D drawing into a 3D BIM model or even you are dealing with having to design directly in 3D and automatically obtain drawing models and 2D drawings, then you’ve landed on the right page.

In this blog post we’ll be taking a closer look at how to deal with 2D and 3D interior design,thanks to a 2D and 3D interior design software.

Photorealistic rendering of a living room

Edificius, the architectural and interior design software

If you are dealing with interior design, you will most likely need a software capable of smoothly managing both 2D and 3D modelling.

Imagine having to design a kitchen starting from a DWG floor plan of the current situation. You need a software which, by means of simple automatic features, transforms the initial 2D into a three-dimensional model, generating walls, doors, windows, etc., on which you can work more efficiently. It is also become essential to be able to make changes in both plan or section view and obtain the 3D model, automatically updated and vice versa.

More generally, you can get your model from:

survey of the current situation, together with sketches and measurements, or
2D DWG/DXF floor plans, or
raster images of cadastral maps/plans, or
IFC file from 3D model.

Site surveying types to generate a BIM model

Let’s examine these four cases in detail with the aid of Edificius, the architectural design software by ACCA. Download the free trial version of Edificius and follow my step by step instructions below.

3D interior design from cartography

When working on the interior design project of an existing space using traditional methods, the first thing you will need to do is a site inspection and a paper sketch reporting the geometries with measurements of walls, windows, diagonals, etc. in order to build a floor plan . This is still a common practise for many professionals and the most frequent method for surveying interior spaces.

Here’s how you can get the 3D model from your survey:

Launch Edificius and follow these few simple steps to build the 3D model:

create a new file;
define the depth/thickness of the vertical envelope and outline the perimeter wall by inserting/typing the surveyed measurement;
draw the other walls with the help of 2D graphical objects (parallel guidelines, circumferences, etc.);
insert the floor decks with the horizontal envelope;
define the structural mesh if necessary (by using a magnetic grid);
add doors and windows;
copy the floor plan on the other levels (in case of a building with multiple levels).

Interior design plan | Creating a 3D model from cartography

3D Interiors project from a raster image

If you are working on the raster image of a building plan (or cadastral plan), it can represent the starting point for your 3D modelling. All you need to do is to:

open a new Edificius file
from 2D Graphics, import the image choosing the raster option
select the image and scale it
set the levels according to the number of building’s floors and the inter-floor heights
use the image as a guide and “trace” the walls with the vertical envelope
insert the floor slabs with the horizontal envelope
define the structural mesh
add doors and windows
copy the floor plan on the other levels (in case of a multi-storey building)
model the roof
add facade details, such as stringcourses, flashings, downpipes, etc., with the solid extrusion object.

After creating your starting model, you can continue modelling in plan view or directly in 3D and dynamically obtain all the available views (floor plans, cross-sections, perspective views, isometric cutaways, RTBIM, etc.) updated in real time.

Interior design plan | Creating a 3D model from raster image

How to obtain a BIM model from a DWG/DXF file

If you are working on a DWG or DXF floor plan, you can actually reproduce the 3D model in a few steps:

create a new Edificius file
from 2D graphics, import your DWG or DXF file
automatically recognise walls, doors, windows, etc. with the magic wand object
add any architectural details as required by the project.

This is certainly the most rapid way of operating as Edificius automatically recognizes the different model objects (doors, windows, walls, etc.)