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We will be modeling a simple 2-room building with internal and external windows, as well as a skylight. This exercise is similar in nature to the Simple_House_Tutorial found on the Ecotect website.
The model will have sufficient complexity (multiple zones, sloped roof, windows, and furniture) to demostrate (in the later exercises) the lighting analyses we are interested for the course project.
However, Ecotect is not a CAD/drafting/rendering tool. It is meant for:
1. early conceptual design
2. building analysis
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| Units, Grid & Snap Settings |
The default project location is Australia. Set to New York (weather conditions are similar to Pittsburgh).
The default units is SI Decimal. To view or change units preferences, select File->User Preferences.
Upon opening a new model (project), the default 100mm x 1000mm grid is displayed in the 3D Editor page. To view or change grid settings, select the Display Settings  tab on the right of the UI, or the Display Settings button in the main toolbar at the top of the UI.
The cursor snaps settings can be set by selecting the Snaps  button, or in the File->User Preferences dialog. Individual settings can also be toggle by double clicking on the corresponding letters in the status bar.
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The material library can be inspected/edited via the Material Properties  button in the main toolbar. Each element have 2 materials assigned by default; the primary material is assigned when the element is created, the secondary material is assigned when the element overlaps another element (WALLS, ROOFS, FLOORS, and CEILINGS), or when the element is activated (WINDOWS, DOORS, PANELS, VOIDS, APPLIANCES, LIGHTS and SPEAKERS). For more details, refer to the help file. The default primary and secondary materials can be edited by selecting the Material Properties tab on the right of the UI.
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Instead of using layers, Ecotect uses Zones to group and manage elements. More importantly, a zone in Ecotect describes enclosed, individual spaces/rooms. More more details, see help file.
To draw a zone, click on the zone  button. Draw the zone using the grid, the height of the zone is 2400mm by default can be modified later. Click on the grid to add vertices, the dimensions are shown in the tool bar at the top of the UI, and can be entered manually here. Once all vertices are specified, press ESC to finish. You will be prompted to enter the Zone name. In this case, the 3m by 5m room is the secondary office called Office2.
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Proceed to add a L-Shaped zone Office1 next to Office 2.
We want the zone heights to be 3m. This can be done by changing the extrusion vector of each zone floor, or setting the Default Zone Height in Modeling Preferences. In this case the zones have already been drawn so we will modify the extrusion vectors. Notice that selected objects are outlined in bold. Clear current selections by clicking on an empty part of the UI, then clicking on the floor. If another nearly object (such as the adjacent wall) is highlighted instead, press the spacebar to cycle between selections.
| As mentioned, the Default Zone Height can be modified in File->User Preferences->Modeling Preferences. |
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We want to add a vertical skylight to Office1. Select the original ceiling and delete it. Add a flat ceiling to the northern part of office 1, a sloped ceiling to the southern end, and a vertical wall with the skylight.
Make sure that the correct zone is selected, all elements drawn will be added to this zone. Use the Plane  button to draw planes. For drawing Pitched Roofs  (which we are NOT using here), see help file.
To draw construction lines to assist in drawing the sloped ceiling, press the Line button, click on the vertex to start, and enter the dimensions manually in the menu bar. Remeber to delete these lines after use, or draw them on a seperate "temporary" layer.
| To fill the gap between the wall and the sloped ceiling, the wall has to be modified by adding 2 nodes. Press Add Node button, and select the top edge of the wall, then click on point (bottom of vertical skylight) to add node. Repeat this process to add a node at the top of the sloped ceiling. |
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| For the opposite wall, only the top right node needs to be moved. To do this, double click on the node, select it and drag it to the desired location. |
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| Drawing - Doors and Windows |
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Windows can be added either by specifying child object parameters or drawing it manually. We will be doing the latter. First, draw a series of construction lines, then select the surface on which the window is to be added before selecting the Window  button, and draw the window by snapping to the construction lines. |
The completed model looks as follows
Switch to the Visualize page to inspect the model.
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| Thermal Zones & Furniture |
Thermal zones serves 2 purposes: 1st, thermal zones are enclosed spaces |
Updated 19 August 2008, YC Huang.
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