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Case Study: Description This Case Study refers to classes of second year Architecture students. Their studio tutor was keen that they should further their knowledge of CAD while applying it to their current design project. The project involves researching a site in the Old Town of Edinburgh. For this, photographs, maps and sketches are required. In some cases surveys were made. The students are assumed to have completed a class using AutoCAD and have used a self-teaching package, which takes them through one method of creating a 3D model of a small house. (fig. 1)
Students new to the school were given a short up-date, and given the hand-out. Students who felt unsure of their AutoCAD skills were directed to the same exercise in order to revise the material. All students were then given another AutoCAD exercise, whose objective is to introduce and reinforce their knowledge of layering information. (Fig. 2)
Maps The first time this class was run, the 42 students were using four sites in the Old Town. To save time, the maps were downloaded for them, and accessed via our network. However, the second year we ran the programme, the students were using a large number of sites, almost one each, so that the class were shown how to use Carto, and how to create and download the maps for themselves, and given a hand-out (downloading maps.pdf). The most important part of the instruction was to ensure that students could choose what to include in the maps, and how to get them to a recognisable scale. For the purposes of modelling a site, our students use data from Land-Line.Plus®. Almost every feature is included, but usually the Administrative Boundaries are switched off. Once they have located the area they want, they can then add contour lines from Panorama. For very small or very flat sites, this is not necessary, but with almost all sites in our hilly city, the contours are very helpful, even at only 10m intervals. Photographs and sketches The students visited their sites, taking their sketchbooks and a digital camera. They were then shown how to use scanners to good effect; to scan in printed photographs or sketches. Making the model There are at least two ways of getting
digital maps into AutoCAD. Students were shown both, and given a hand-out
(using maps.pdf). First method The .eps file obtained from Digimap, is
loaded into PhotoShop, then saved as a .jpg file. AutoCAD is able to import
.eps files, but in practice we have found this unreliable. In addition,
the .eps files can be very large, so that converting them to .jpg or .png
files saves space. Second method Illustrator can export AutoCAD files, and can be used to convert .eps files to .dwg files. We currently have Illustrator 10 and AutoCAD 2002, which seem to be slightly incompatible. The drawing file must be recovered, rather than opened directly. It only takes a few minutes, and works perfectly, apart from font mismatches. With the second method, lines etc. appear as vectors, which can then be used directly to create the model. At this point they are reminded to check the scale. With the double process needed to get the map into AutoCAD, the map usually needs to be rescaled. Students show a tendency to assume that the printed scale is correct. However, the scale bar makes it very easy to rescale to 1:1 in metres (or kilometres for rural models). The students use their sketches and photographs of the buildings surrounding their site to make an estimate of the heights and roof lines of each. It is quite rough and ready at that stage, but provides the context for the student's own design. A tutor and teaching assistant are on hand to help them. |
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prev | next | back to top Last updated: June 9, 2003
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