Garden and Landscaping design with a BIM software
Garden and Landscaping design with a BIM software: from defining outdoor spaces to terrain modeling and creating gardens, parks and outdoor spaces in 3D
Garden and landscaping design can be a great investment, not only because the exterior areas around a building can be better organised but because they can help increase the resale value when it’s time to sell. A small investment in a landscape design software can now help you design the garden of your dreams and add great value to your home.
Every garden arises from different needs in a context that evolves continuously over time. Modern style gardens also turn out to be a fun place to attract and entertain visitors.
A good starting point is to define spaces and shapes first, so a preliminary Area Plan turns out to be very useful to be able to evaluate:
- the garden’s shape: for example, narrow and long settings can offer different solutions for different plants and accessories.
- the available space: in a rather large environment it’s also possible to create different zones with predefined numbers of plants and shrubs.
At this point, it’s just a matter of choosing the different types of garden decorations and the vegetation
A interesting aspect in garden design is the way they evolve. They begin with typical landscaping structures – pathways, walls, etc. – and gradually, with the growth of plants and their number, the general configuration starts to change.
In terms of botanical reqiuirements, it is also important to choose each plant in relation to the site’s climate characteristics and the solar exposure and maybe even provide an irrigation system.
Garden and landscaping design: a practical example
In this focus article, we’ll also analyze how landscape design can be realized with the Edificius-LAND software.
Terrain modeling is essentially an “on the job” activity. Starting from the area map contour lines, the designer can even evaluate the earthworks parameters, therefore maintaining full control over all design, site organisation and technical provisions forming the project.
3D digital terrain modeling is ideal for construction projects, urban planning, and landscape design work.
The correct steps for modeling are as follows:
- Realization of a digital terrain model with quick data acquisition from a DWG and DXF land survet CAD file, a contour plan, raster images or directly from Google Maps satellite imagery.
- simulation of cut & fill works and a comparison with the various solutions (organised in project levels) and an automatic construction estimate of all relevant works.
- Adding of landscape detail elements to the model: trees, bushes, plants, roads, pathways, squares, furnishings, etc.
- An accurate and professional three-dimensional representation of the terrain with a real-time walk-around inside the model, with a real time photorealistic rendering simulation environment.
Inserting objects in a project
In the design of a garden we can obviously include a whole range of 3D objects too with realistic dynamic effects, including:
- swimming pools and spa
- landscapes with water expanses
- sea, rivers and lakes
- trees, bushes and plants
- roads, squares, pedestrian paths, cycle paths, and trails
- curbs, railings, balustrades
- supporting walls and fences
- canopies and gazebos
- playground games, benches, lanterns, fountains
- Male and female characters interacting with scenes (walking, swimming, answering the phone, etc.)
The following image shows an example of the terrain morphology.
You can include the necessary elements in the project, such as:
- roads
- squares
- ramps
- stairs
- etc.
Enrich your project with landscaping walls, swimming pools, playground games, fences, flowerbeds, courtyards and many other items.
The software also includes water effects, rivers and lakes of any shape and size with realistic dynamic effects with waves, ripples,
reflections and light refractions on the water surface.
From the Online BIM Library, you can also download tens of thousands of free resources already optimized to enrich your projects details.
Lastly, but not with lesser importance, the program even generates all relevant construction documents automatically, such as: floor plans, elevation views, cross-sections, etc.
Here’s a video showing how to work with the software and create woderful visually appealing Landscaping Designs
