Create a complex 3D building model

Summary

This article was contributed by Esri Canada.The instructions provided describe how to create a 3D building divided by floors with those floors further divided into individual rooms. The result is a realistic complex building model that allows for a level of analysis not possible with simple building models.The instructions are provided in two parts: creating floors and creating a 3D building. The instructions are based on sample data for a large residential building available for download as a .zip file: Sample Data - Complex 3D Building Model

Procedure

CREATING FLOORS
To create a complex 3D building model, floor plans are needed for each floor of the building. A building's floor plans can come in a variety of formats: paper/hardcopy, CAD or vector data, distances and bearings, and so forth.

Note:
In the sample data provided, the floor plans were only available in paper format. They were scanned, and raster images of the floor plans were created. These images must be georeferenced and digitized to create floor plan vector data.

The following steps describe how to georeference and digitize the floor plan for the first floor.

Step 1: Georeference Floor Plan

A. In ArcMap, navigate to and open CreateFloors.mxd.

B. Add the Georeferencing toolbar and the Effects toolbar.

C. Ensure level1.png is selected in both toolbars.



D. Zoom in to the building with Building ID 1001.

E. In the Georeferencing drop-down menu, select Fit To Display. (For help on georeferencing, go to ArcGIS Help 10.1 - Georeferencing.)

F. In the Effects toolbar, set the transparency of level1.png to 30%.

G. Georeference the raster (level1.png) to the vector layer (Building Footprints) by collecting 3-4 control points between the image and the building footprint.

H. Use the Georeference toolbar to update the georeferencing.

Step 2: Create Floor Plan Vector Data

A. In ArcCatalog, navigate to CreateFloors.gdb and add the FP_Level_1 feature class to the map.
<div id='indent' style='padding: 0em,0em,0em,1em;'>
<pre class='ckeditor_codeblock' style='width: 800px; background-color: #c7eaff; border: 1px solid #77bde7;white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Arial'><b>Note:</b>
FP_Level_1 is an empty polygon feature class that must be edited to create a vectorized floor plan for the first floor of the building.

B. In ArcMap, change the symbology of the FP_Level_1 layer to match the following:
<div id='indent' style='padding: 0em,0em,0em,1em;'>
<pre class='ckeditor_codeblock' style='background-color: whitesmoke;white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Arial'><b>Fill Color:</b> No Color
<b>Outline Width:</b> 2
<b>Outline Color:</b> Mars Red

C. Create new floor plan polygons.
<div id='indent' style='padding: 0em,0em,0em,1em;'>i. Add the Editor toolbar and begin an editing session.
ii. In the Create Features window, select FP_Level_1 and the polygon construction tool.
iii. In the Editor toolbar, select the Right Angle tool and digitize the large room.
iv. Select the Auto Complete Polygon construction tool and use the Right Angle tool to construct the remainder of the rooms on the first floor.
v. Save the edits and stop the editing session.

Step 3: Combining Floors

CREATE A 3D BUILDING
The following steps describe how to convert a 2D building into a 3D model.

Step 1: Raise Floors to Floor Height

A. Start ArcScene and open Create3DBuilding.sxd. This scene contains the 2D building that was created earlier. All of the floors are at a height of 0 meters.

B. Raise the floors to their respective heights using the calculated floor height values.
<div id='indent' style='padding: 0em,0em,0em,1em;'>i. Use the Search window to find and open the Feature to 3D by Attribute tool.
ii. Set the Input Features to Building.
iii. Set the Output Feature Class to Building3D in the Create3DBuilding.gdb.
iv. Set the Height Field to FloorHeight.
v. Click OK to run the tool.

C. Remove the Building layer and zoom to the full extent. The floors have been raised to their proper height and should look like the figure below.

Step 2: Extrude Floors

After the floors have been extruded, the 3D building model is finished. This 3D building model can be used for both visualizations and analysis. For more information about exploring this 3D building, see the Support blog Exploring a 3D model In ArcGIS.