Two Morph Videos that aren’t flashy, but that’s the whole point
The Morph Tool Allows pleasant Surprises
There are a lot of great examples of what the Morph Tool in ArchiCAD 16 can do. If you want to see some crazy shapes and amazing forms, the videos in this post will disappoint you. If you want to start thinking about how to integrate the Morph Tool into your design process, then keep reading and watching. The first video shows a quick example of how to use the Morph Tool to test design options. Turning a slab into a Morph, I finally get to explore in the computer in real time. Just like a quick sketch or physical model, I can efficiently investigate all the possibly silly and potentially dead-end options that were just too cumbersome to model before the Morph Tool. And with luck, find that one stellar solution that would have been otherwise ignored if the act of making became to conscious. In fact the solution I end up with in this post was something I hadn’t thought about before. Listen closely and you can hear the pleasant surprise in my voice. If this project (which was done for LABhaus) wasn’t already out of my hands, I would be suggesting a refined version of what I stumbled upon while playing and sharing.
My Stairs are about to be more accurate in 3D
If you haven’t watched my video on how I handle stairs, you might want to read this blog post first. Of course, like every ArchiCAD user I look forward to the day when we have an improved stair tool. But… since that day is some unspecified time in the future, I continue to look for improvements to my process. The Morph tool provides a few solutions. This video talks about how to use the Morph tool to make the 3D geometry closer to perfection and the floor plan symbol usable.
Okay, so after I recorded the video realized I forgot to talk about the repercussions of this technique and why you don’t want to over-zealously use it. If you turn an object into a Morph, all the internal structures are lost. So if you have a very complex complex profile, all that internal beauty is lost when you Morph It!** There are of course solutions to this drawback. You could add 2D back to the section, but that seems like a poor trade-off. You could split your stair into multiple objects/morphs: one morph for the finish surface, one complex profile for the internal structure of each run. That should work well. And for very complicated stairs I’m already using multiple elements for similar reasons. With this solution the entire finish surface (top and bottom) could be one Morph. Less elements. I like that. Another solution would be to model more discrete elements: every stringer instead of a generic stringer mass… I think that’d show up better in section. Lots of trade-offs and solutions. And I’m sure there’s a better option out there. Just need to keep researching, working, evolving, and discovering. And that’s the whole point of this blog.
Here’s an image of the stair; I forgot to include this view in the video…
I haven’t Won Yet…
Fortunately that’s not the point. There’s always a better solution around the corner. And that’s okay. These videos are about giving you options, opening up new possibilities, letting you finish my thoughts, getting you excited to explore…
How are you using the Morph tool to make you a better architect and designer?
**I need to start using Morph It! as a catchphrase… want to fix that stair? Morph It! Need to test a design option? Create a funny shape? Model your cat? Morph It!
shine
Way to go~ more morph tutorials plz!
Jared Banks
Shine, thanks. I definitely plan on recording some more. There’s a lot of great uses for the Morph tool that are more utilitarian than flashy and I want to make sure we all know that. I’ve got some other non-morph tutorials in the works as well.
Paul Adams
Hi Jared,
Thanks for sharing the ideas on more ‘real world’ applications for the morph tool. Thanks too for pointing out the short-comings of over-morphing the project-I knew there had to be a trade off.
Note: On your soffit example, I have been using roof planes to create that sort of geometry to date. Not always easy to design that way, but the parts get created and it helps me understand what I am asking the framer to build.
Jared Banks
Paul, you’re welcome! I think as long as we know about the shortcomings we can work them to our advantage or at least know how to get around them. It’s the shortcomings that come as a surprise that are the killers! And I agree, I’ve used the roof tool to create similar geometry. Sometimes it’s smooth and fast, other times it drives me a little nutty. What I so appreciate about the Morph tool is that it’s fast, I can be messy with it, and still get good results in all views. AND, I imagine if you modeled it with a morph then wanted it to be roofs for whatever reason, it’d be very easy to use the Morph in 3D as a guide to draw the roof planes. Actually that’d be super easy. Whatever tool, a process that forces/allows you to really understand what you’re asking the contractor to do is the gold-standard. I love those moments!
Brian Thorn
Jared,
Thanks for all the free content. I have been using Archicad 19 for two weeks or so now. Our firm is transitioning in to full BIM from AutoCAD lt so it hs been fun so far. Is the morph tool the best way to go about creating a dropped or haunch or monolithic foundation? It seems that there are many ways to go about accomplishing this. All your help is appreciated greatly thank you from all of us CAD guys making the change,,
Brian Thorn
Jared Banks
Brian, you’re welcome!
I avoid the Morph Tool whenever possible, only because it is harder to reshape than many other tools. I especially avoid the Morph Tool when working with elements that can be envisioned as an extrusion. For the type of foundation you describe, I’d try to do it with a similar technique as I describe here in the foundation and footing video. Place the slab and then run a Complex Profile Beam below it with the shape of the thickened edge that you need. Download my template and check out the section of the sample building in it. That shows the exact solution I’m suggesting.