i

DECLARATION

We, UWIBAMBE Clarisse and UMUGWANEZA Laetitia, declare that the

content of this project is our original work intended to serve as part of the fulfillment

of the requirements for the award of a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering

and Information Technology.

We hereby confirm that to the best of our knowledge, this work is original and has

never been presented or submitted for any academic award in any university or

institution as a whole or in part.

Submitted by Signature

UWIBAMBE Clarisse GS20031686

UMUGWANEZA Laetitia PS20031678

ii

KIGALI INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUT DES SCIENCES ET DE TECHNOLOGIE DE KIGALI

Avenue de l'Armée, B.P. 3900 Kigali, Rwanda.

FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING AND

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

C E R T I F I C A T E This is to certify that the Project Work entitled “3D Animation

Walkthrough for Construction Application” is a record of the original

bonafide work done by UMUGWANEZA Laetitia (REG. NO

PS20031678) and UWIBAMBE Clarisse (REG.No:20031686) in

partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Bachelor of

Science Degree in Computer Engineering and Information Technology

of Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, during the Academic Year

2007.

SUPERVISOR Head Dept. Of CE & IT ………………………… .…………………………… Mr.K.VIJAYAKUMAR Mrs. SANTHI KUMARAN Submitted for the Project Examination held at KIST on ………………/……/…………...

iii

DEDICATION

We dedicate this work to the Almighty God for his divine guidance, mercy and

love for us.

We also dedicate it to our parents, family and friends who took care of us since

we started our academic pursuit to the present day.

Finally, we dedicate it to all our classmates for the part they have played in our lives

during these four long and exciting years.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to acknowledge and give thanks in a special way to the Lord our God,

from whom all knowledge, wisdom and understanding rightly comes, for all that He

has so graciously allowed us to achieve.

We would also like to thank our supervisor, Mr. K.VijayaKumar for his guidance

and support during the entire course of this project.

To everyone who contributed to this project in terms of ideas, technical knowledge

and support, especially Mr. Sylvain , Rwigema’s family, Ms Kangabe Maggy and

Mukagakwaya Agnes, we would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt

gratitude.

Finally, to all our family and friends, there are no profound words to express our

gratitude for the love and support that you have given us since what seems like

forever. It is therefore for lack of a better word that we only say thank you.

v

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research is to prove the necessity of 3D animation

walkthroughs for construction application. It is in this context that the

basic concepts of designing and the process of walkthrough are

discussed. Furthermore, this research involves the implementation of

designing a building. The interview was used for recording of the

result. It is from these results that conclusions are drawn and the

appropriate recommendations made.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION ...................................................................................................... i

C E R T I F I C A T E ................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENT ......................................................................................... vi THE ABBREVIATION ........................................................................................ viii

CHAPTER1. Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Purpose of the study ........................................................................................... 1

1.2.1 General purpose .......................................................................................... 1 1.2.2 Specific purposes ........................................................................................ 1

1.3. Problem statement ............................................................................................. 2 1.4 Significance of the project ................................................................................. 2 1.5 The scope of the project ..................................................................................... 2 1.6 METHODS ........................................................................................................ 2 1.7 Organization of the study. .................................................................................. 3

CHAPTER 2.LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 3 2.1 Animation .......................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Overview of 3D animation .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.1 History of 3d animation. ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.2.2 Computer Animation .................................................................................. 6 2.2.3 3D Architectural Animation....................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.2.4 2D Miscommunication, 3D Remedy and Virtual architecture ................... 8 2.2.5 3D Walkthrough ......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.2.6 The Virtual Building ................................................................................. 10 2.2.7 3D Software Technology .......................................................................... 12

CHAPTER 3: RESEACH METHODOLOGY ..................................................... 15 3.1 Methodology used ............................................................................................ 15 3.2 Installation of ArchiCAD ................................................................................. 15

3.2.1 System requirement .................................................................................. 15 3.2.2 INSTALLING Archicad 9 .................................................................... 16 3.2.3. Art*lantis System Requirements .............................................................. 18

CHAPTER 4: Research Findings .......................................................................... 20 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 20 4.2 Designing using ArchiCAD ............................................................................. 20

4.2.1 Getting started with ArchiCAD Software. ................................................ 20 4.2.1.1 Setting unites ...................................................................................... 20 4.2.1.2 Floor plan view. ................................................................................. 22

4.3 Importing from ArchiCAD to art*lantis software. .......................................... 23 4.3.1 Lights and Cameras ................................................................................... 23 4.3.2 Animating the scene .................................................................................. 24 4.3.3 Rendering the scene .................................................................................. 25 4.3.4. 3D walkthroughs ....................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 4.3.5 Interactive walkthroughs ........................................................................... 26

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ............................ 28 5.1 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 28 5.2 Recommendation ............................................................................................. 29

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 30

vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Setting unites……………

Floor plan view………….

3D window………………

Setting camera…………...

3D Animation……………

3D Walkthrough…………

Interactive walkthrough…

Page 21

Page 22

Page 23

Page 25

Page 26

Page 28

Page 29

viii

THE ABBREVIATION

3D

2D

VRML

CAD

AVU

CGI

AIA

NAHB

OS

KIST

ZOOM

DXF

DWG

IGES

RIB

CPU

RAM

3Dimension

2 Dimension

Virtual Reality Modeling Language

Computer Aided Design

African Virtual University

Computer –generated imagery or computer –generated imaging.

American Institute of Architects.

National Association of Home Builders.

Operating System

Kigali Institute of Science and Technology

Zobject Oriented Model

Drawing exchange Format

Drawing database

Initial Graphics Exchange Specification format

Renderman Interface Bytestream Graphics

Central Processing Unit

Random Access Memory

1

CHAPTER1. Introduction

1.1 Background

In recent years, the use of computers in design has become extremely important.

Although computer aided design software helps engineers greatly in designing and

viewing individual components, to verify the correctness of design, engineers need to

view combined shots of their design. Even a walkthrough of the entire model may be

required in some cases. Architects today use computers to design and view buildings.

The size of such architectural models can be huge. Customers may want to view the

building on computer.

Showing rendered pictures or a film prepared by moving a virtual camera inside the

building model on a predetermined path alone may not always satisfy a customers.

Customer may want to walk inside the model interactively.

1.2 Purpose of the study

1.2.1 General purpose

The main purpose of this project is to design a building, making a walkthroughs

inside that building and make an interaction.

1.2.2 Specific purposes

The specific purposes are the following:

To find the best software that can be used to make walkthroughs inside the

building.

To allow customer to walk inside the model interactively.

2

To ‘pre-visualize’ what a building or environment will ‘look like’ before it is

built.

To identify critical strategies and issues which must be considered when either

teaching students or directing employees in the creation of a ‘professionally’

produced 3D computer graphic architectural walkthrough.

1.3. Problem statement

Nowadays the building construction has developed the complex building are being

constructed every where but there is a problem in the filed of construction, where

customers are not able to understand what is designed on the paper. This problem

create misunderstanding between civil engineers and customers after the building is

constructed ,where the customer would not appreciate what has been constructed

because he had not understood the design before execution of the work.

1.4 Significance of the project

This project will help to eliminate the contradiction/misunderstanding between the

contractors (civil engineers) and their customers on building designs, since the

customers will be able to pre-view how the building will look like and do any

modification before the building is built.

1.5 The scope of the project

The project will show how we can make an animation of a building and make an

interactive. Using appropriate software we can view inside the building. This project

was conducted in kist specifically to AVU building.

1.6 METHODS

As one would require the achievement of the earlier given objectives, the researcher

utilized different reliable sources, which are stipulated as below:

3

• Search from the library and different kinds of internet books were used. The

purpose was to Cleary understand the 3d animation walkthroughs for

construction application. And understand how to implement this knowledge

in RWANDA.

• Different people who are well equipped in the utilization of the ArchiCAD,

art*lantis and VRML software even some more knowledgeable sources of

which the guidance of our supervisors inclusive.

1.7 Organization of the study.

This project report consists of five chapters as follows:

• Chapter 1 is the General Introduction and it provides the problem statement

of the project, the project objectives, methodologies that will be employed as

well as the project scope.

• Chapter 2 describes what others have done related to the current project. It

also justifies the use of solution techniques and problem solving procedures

in this project work.

• Chapter 3 is the Research methodology which will discuss the methodologies

used to carry out the research in order to achieve the project objectives.

• Chapter 4 is the Results and Discussion chapter. It will present and discuss

the findings of the research in light of the project objectives.

4

• Chapter 5 is the Conclusion and Recommendations chapter which will draw

conclusions based on the findings of the research and make the necessary

recommendations

5

CHAPTER 2.LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Animation

Animation is the rapid display of image of 2-D artwork or model positions in order to

create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the

phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a

number of ways. the most common method of presenting animation is as a motion

picture or video program1.

2.2 Overview of 3D animation.

2.2.1 History of 3d animation.

According to Emile Cohl there is no single person who can be considered the

“creator” of the art of animation, as there were several people doing several projects

which could be considered various types of animation all around the same time.(short

,hand-drawn animation scenes could be presented with the Phenakistoscope the

Zoetrope, and other optical ”toys” already in the early 1800s).

The following is a brief listing on those who are often acknowledged as significant to

the development of animation. Note that this list is by no means a comprehensive list

of contributors.

• Georges Méliès was a creator of special effect films, such as A Trip to

the Moon. He used many techniques-one of which was to stop the camera

rolling, change something in the scene, and then continue rolling the film.

This is a very similar idea to that of stop-motion animation. Méliès

accidentally happened upon the technique when his camera broke down

while shooting a bus driving by. When the camera was fixed, a horse

happened to be passing by just as Méliès continued to film.The result was

that the bus appeared to change into a horse.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/animation, 4 September 2007

6

• J.Stuart Blackton was possibly the first filmmaker in America to use the

techniques of stop-motion and hand-drawn animation. Introduced to

filmmaking by Edison, he pioneered these concepts at the turn of the 20th

century, with his first copyrighted work dated 1900.

• Emile Cohl began drawing cartoon strips and created a film in 1908 called

Fantasmagorie. The film largely consisted of a stick figure moving about

and encountering all manner of morphing objects, such as a wine bottle

that transforms into a flower. There were also sections of live action

where the animator’s hands would enter the scene. The film was created

by drawing each frame on paper and then shooting each frame onto

negative film, which gave the picture a blackboard look.

• Winsor McCay created detailed animations that required a team of artists

and painstaking attention for detail. Each frame was drawn on paper,

requiring backgrounds to be redrawn, as well characters to be animated.

His films such as Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) and The Sinking of the

Lusitanian (1918) were of an impressive scale, although The Sinking of

the Lusitanian used cells.

• Otto Messmer, in 1919, created the character of Felix the cat for pat

Sullivan’s animation studios. The importance of Felix lies in the

character's strong personality, created largely through gesture and action2.

2.2.2 Computer Animation.

Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computer. It

is a subfield of computer graphics and animation .Increasingly it is created by means

of 3D computer graphics, though 2d computer graphics are still widely used for low

bandwidth and faster real-time rendering needs. Sometimes the target of the

animation is the computer itself, but it sometimes the target is another medium, such

as film. It is also referred to as CGI (Computer Generated Imagery or Computer-

Generated Imaging), especially when used in films. To create the illusion of

2 Salomon, Charles (1989).Enchanted Drawings: the History of

animation. New York; Random House, inc. ISBN 0-394-54684-9

7

movement, an image is displayed on the computer screen then quickly replaced by a

new image that is similar to the previous image, but shifted slightly. This technique

is identical to how the illusion of movement is achieved with television and pictures3.

2.2.3 3D Architectural Animation

3D architectural animation has become a powerful application in conveying design

concepts of various buildings, spaces and industrial complexes in dynamic realism.

With 3D Walkthroughs and Flythrough, perspectives can be viewed from any angle

or height bringing a photo-realistic dimension to constructed spaces. Incorporation of

product specific and service oriented information into 3D walkthroughs of

commercial establishments such as companies, shopping centers, educational

institutions etc. can be to provide an impressive multimedia presentation.

Structural drawings depicting functionality of various large-scale engineering

projects can be incorporated into the final 3D visual presentation, thus enabling the

detection of design flaws in the pre-visualization stage itself.

Commercial demand and computer-generated rendering are on the rise, but three-

dimensional models are often seen to be more attractive, more accurate, and more

popular. Typically members of the AIA (American Institute of Architects) and

NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) prefer to use 3D animation and

rendering models for their customers before starting on a construction project. Those

who provide animation and rendering are usually small animation studios and

companies4.

3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_animation, 9 October 2007 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/architectural-animation, 10 November

2007

8

2.2.4 2D Miscommunication, 3D Remedy and Virtual architecture

Architect-to-client communication is important and oftentimes being the overlooked

aspect of design.

According to Chen (2004), an unbalanced number of defects and flaws in

architectural design can be traced to the inefficiency of communication between the

architect and the client. Poor communication has been the main hindrance to the

quality of design and at the same time affected clients’ satisfaction. The root of this

miscommunication stems from the fact that majority of the clients have difficulties

understanding the aspects of 2D architectural drawings. Human beings see objects

three-dimensionally and do not think in a two-dimensional perspective. Chen (2004)

further states that” The first problem the information receiver experiences when

communicating with the architect by architectural

Drawings are the difficulty to visualize the three-dimensional space by combining

various information from the plans and the facades.” In fact, architects and designers

go to school and study the method 2D interpretation for several years until it is fully

mastered (Sweller, 1988; Dobert, 1999).

However, when clients are presented with three-dimensional images, their mind does

not have to generate the mental imagery from the abstracted 2D architectural

drawings. This leaves more space to the actual spatial reasoning process (Chen,

2004). Furthermore, the series of 3d images or 3d animation decomposes the

information of the architectural concept into small chunks hence avoiding the chance

of information overloading during communication. Chen’s research shows that a 3D

image can greatly simplify the communication process by offering the client a

chance to see the architectural concept with the presence of depth, and thus taking

away the need to piece together two or more static images in order to get the desired

mental image of the architectural design.

Referring to another research by Sweller (1988) and Dobert (1999), it can also be

concluded that a person without formal architectural training is unable to digest the

information presented on typical 2D technical drawings. The information required to

visualize a specific design concept is scattered across several different illustrations.

This will greatly reduce both the fidelity and speed of communication between the

architect and the client.

9

In order to tackle this communication problem, architects are beginning to utilize 3D

computer generated models. 3D modeling opens up the avenues for architects to

create photorealistic renderings and walkthrough animated movies that are easier for

clients to understand and comprehend. A complete model 3D constitutes of the

following elements (Cory and Bozell, 2001): Form - Shape and Size, Attributes -

Materials and Physical Properties,

Relationship/Assembly - How parts are related, and what moves with what and

Behavior - Doors opening and closing. The use of 3Dmodeling gives the architect the

upper hand when it comes to showing the client aspects of design. However, there

are still flaws in this approach. According to a research conducted by Kheir Al-

Kodmany

(2002), when a client views a 3D animation walkthrough of ones future home, one

may see something that needs to be changed e.g. the material used. Since the

animation was not rendered in real time (or pre-rendered) it is not possible for the

architect to make instant design changes5.

2.2.5 3D Walkthrough

Real Tour Vision offers 3D walkthrough animation service. The 3D walkthrough is

a moving representation of a building. This building can be an actual building, a

building under construction, or a planned building in development. The Real Estate

3D walkthrough plays like a movie and is not interactive. The viewer watches the 3D

walkthrough but cannot control it. One of the most popular uses of a 3D

walkthrough is for real estate development projects. A 3D walkthrough allows a

realtor to showcase a building while it is under development or in the planning

stages. This is also useful for city planners, construction companies, architects, and

home buyers. The 3D walkthrough is created using the building blueprints. A 3D

walkthrough specialist uses your information to create the 3D walkthrough using

special software.

5 Kevin Kitchens (2006).Interactive Home Design in a Virtual Environment. The University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS39406 (USA).

10

Some of the advantages of virtual walkthroughs are:

• Actual materials can be shown.

• Interior lighting can be previewed.

• Landscaping in the entire premises can be shown.

• Natural lighting, based upon window direction, time of year, time of day, and

even global latitude can be previewed.

• Lifts, escalators, and moving objects can be incorporated and can be shown in

operational condition.

• View can be previewed.

• Multiple design options can be explored and resolved before building begins6.

2.2.6 The Virtual Building The participants of a building project are not interested in Information Technology

sequence. Clients need visuals, possibly animated and in photo-realistic quality. They

also want fast modifications and estimates. Architects would like to create and assess

the design through 3D means rather than drawings, and reduce the time needed to

translate design into documentation.

Consultants need to interact with the building design to add special engineering value

to the project. What they all need is accurate, adequate and up-to-date information at

all times. What makes the information available for them is the building database

integration of Virtual Building technology.

According to JOHN MITCHELL, GROUP IT MANAGER WOODS BAGOT

“Conventional CAD is drafting and not much else. The next generation of

technology, Virtual Building systems such as ArchiCAD, have a natural language of

working with construction elements. In ArchiCAD, an integrated building model is

composed of objects with properties, relationships, 2D documentation and advanced

3D visualization.”

By using the power of intelligent, architecturally meaningful objects, the architect

can begin developing the design in 3D while the system continuously translates that

6 http://www.ardigitech.com/architectural-walk-throughs-animation.htm, 30 December 2007

11

into 2D documentation and quantities. All members of the design team, as well as

clients, get instant visual feedback of the design development, without the logistical

complications of supplying ideas and documents to an operator or third party to

create a 3D image. Consultants can interact with a more finished model to

collaborate with the architect in finalizing the project; while a set of integrated

construction documents are generated to take the project through construction. The

integrated database continues living alongside the building even after completing

documentation. Project managers use the information to coordinate suppliers and

contractors, and building

Marketing specialists generate photo-realistic visuals to assemble advertising

materials so that building spaces could be sold or rented before the construction is

finished. Facility managers hugely benefit from being able to take control of the

integrated building database. A living set of information, the Virtual Building is a

faithful representation of the real building even through remodeling and

refurbishment, to the end of its life-cycle: demolition7.

7 www.graphisoft.com(15/05/2007)

12

2.2.7 3D Software Technology

3ds Max

3ds Max is a fascinating 3D movie making software. With 3ds Max, one can create

3D environments and characters, objects and subjects of any type. One can arrange

them in settings and environments to build scenes as desired. One can animate the

characters, set them in motion as required. One can then shoot movies of the whole

virtual setting. Some of the important features and functions that can be controlled

using 3ds Max to create a realistic 3D animation model include assigning materials

to objects, providing lights, positioning cameras, animation and rendering8.

ArchiCAD

ArchiCAD gives users the ability to create great architecture and increase

productivity. From day one, ArchiCAD has been designed by architects for

architects, and over the years it has gradually become more and more refined to

allow its users to better:

• Focus on design,

• Manage change,

• Evaluate design alternatives,

• Collaborate,

• Coordinate

ArchiCAD offers a different approach to your workflow process, which gives you

more control over your design, while maintaining accuracy and efficiency in

documentation. While you raise walls, lay floors, add doors and windows, build

stairs and construct roofs this Building Information Authoring Tool creates a central

database of 3D model data.

From this you can extract all the information needed to completely describe your

design - complete plans, sections and elevations, architectural and construction

8 http://www.graphisoft.com/community/success-storied luminetek.html, 12 January 2008

13

details, Bills of Quantities window/door/finish schedules, renderings, animations and

virtual reality scenes.

That means while you're designing, ArchiCAD is creating all the project

documentation so there's little repetitive and tedious drafting work. And unlike

designing in 2D software, the virtual building approach also means that you can

make changes at any time maintaining the integrity of your documents, without

risking costly errors or costing you productivity.

With ArchiCAD you can quickly and easily access just the right representation of

the building for each design phase, and for all of the different partners involved in

the project. All your documents are just a click or two away. Your client can see not

only the functional arrangement and the site plan, but also how it feels to walk

through the space, or how sunlight affects a particular room at different times of the

day. Consultants can receive the building data in electronic format, regardless of

which CAD platform they are on, make changes and return the file to you for further

work without any loss of the virtual building data in the process. Comprehensive

schedules and bills of materials are available for builders and sub-contractors, as well

as drawings of scale-sensitive details. Builders can plan tasks, create time-based

animations and document any phase of a building's construction or demolition. And

developers can use the photo-realistic renderings for a sales brochure9.

9 Hebert Peter (2004). Archicad Best Practice the Virtual Building TM Revealed. Second edition, Wigen Springer, Canada S7K-5X2.

14

Art*lantis

Art*lantis Render is one of the easiest and most intuitive rendering programs on the

market today. Perfectly compatible with the leading CAD software (ArchiCAD,

Vector Works, AutoCAD, form•Z, Cad Soft, Chief Architect, ARC+, Amapi,

ZOOM…), Art*lantis imports most industry-standard file formats (DXF, DWG, 3D

Studio,IGES,VRML,Electri,Image,RIB…).

According to Starkey Art*lantis as a rendering tool, because of its user-friendly

interface and short time to mastery.

She liked the ability to see changes in textures and lights in real time, as well as the

control it offered her over the textures she had created.

Starkey finds Art*lantis fast, powerful, and accessible, yet simple and flexible. The

renderer's lighting model features global illumination, integrating the multiple effects

of light re-bounced by the surrounding objects. Thus, each element of a 3D scene

affects the color and brightness of other elements, resulting in the photorealistic

result. She finds Design Workshop and Art*lantis to be a good combination for

several reasons. Both are straightforward and easy to use, and although functions can

be performed mathematically, they can just as easily be adjusted visually. That frees

the artist to concentrate on product rather than process.10.

10 http://www.caduser.com/review/review.asp?a-id-107

15

CHAPTER 3: RESEACH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Methodology used

In order to carry out a successfully study, we first collected data

trough interviews in construction companies, civil engineers and other

people from computer Engineering and Information Technology

department. During this period of data collection we also consulted

different books, news papers and internet.

Data collected have been analyzed in order to choose the best software

that can be used for drawing. The ArchiCAD mostly used by civil

engineers was found to be the best. This software helped us to draw

one of the building constructed in KIST known as AVU, after taking

all the measurements needed.

After drawing, an animation and walkthrough have been introduced

through another software working together with ArchiCAD, known as

art*lantis. With this software we also introduced an interaction for the

building drawn. ArchiCAD and Art*lantis have been installed in the

following ways:

3.2 Installation of ArchiCAD 9.

3.2.1 System requirement

Operating System:

Windows XP Professional.

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition*.

Macintosh® OS X 10.3.

Macintosh® OS X 10.4.

16

CPU:

Intel® Pentium 4, Intel® Centrino, or compatible

RAM:

1 GB of RAM is require more than 1GB is recommended for

complex models

Hard Drive:

Minimum of 500 MB free hard disk space is required for a full

installation.

Additional 2 GB is required for work with complex projects and 3D

visualization.

Display:

Minimum resolution: 1024x768,

Recommended resolution: 1280x1024 Standard Open GL

graphic cards with on-board video memory of 64 MB are required.

On-board video memory of 128 MB or more is recommended11.

3.2.2 INSTALLING ArchiCAD 9

Windows:

After inserting the CD into your CD-Rom drive, the installer will

automatically start. Choose the "ArchiCAD 9" option to install

ArchiCAD.

In case the installer does not start automatically, double-click on the

"Setup" application in the CD root directory.

11 http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/system_requirements/archicad9.html.12 December 2007

17

Macintosh:

Insert the ArchiCAD 9 CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and

double-click on the "ArchiCAD Installer" application in the CD root

directory.

Important: When installing ArchiCAD, you must be logged on as a

member of the Administrator Group. Make sure that NO WIBU

protection key is connected to your computer during the installation.

The ArchiCAD 9 installation wizard will start helping you through the

various install options. Select "ArchiCAD 9 Commercial" option if

you have purchased a commercial version of ArchiCAD that comes

with a hardware protection key. Also choose this option, if you

received a demo copy for evaluation purposes only. Choose

"ArchiCAD 9" option.

After accepting the license agreement, you will define a location on

your computer's hard drive for installing ArchiCAD 9. You can either

point to an existing folder or create a new folder. The next step is to

choose one of the following three install options:

• typical

• custom

• advanced

The "typical" option installs all components of ArchiCAD. We

recommend you to use this option when first installing ArchiCAD.

The "custom" option lets you install only selected parts of the full

package. Choose this option only if you are experienced in installing

and using ArchiCAD. The "advanced" option installs ArchiCAD

with

18

Pre-set defaults. This option allows CAD managers to set up an

office with standardized ArchiCAD 9 installations. When you first

install ArchiCAD 9, this option will not be available.

Then follow the steps, and choose your own options, and provide the

information in any way you want. And When ArchiCAD finishes

installing; it will require a restart of the computer.

3.2.3. Art*lantis System Requirements.

PC with Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows 2000, XP

Home or Professional Editions with .NET 1.1 frameworks

(Note that Sketch up Pro is Vista compatible but due to the poor

support for OpenGL in vista, it is not ideal. Windows NT is not

supported at all anymore. Install and run Sketch Up Pro in Windows

2000 compatibility mode.

Minimum Requirements

1 GHZ Pentium 4 Processor.

512 MB RAM.

>200 MB of available hard-disk space.

Video card that is 100% OpenGL compliant.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.

Windows Media Player or QuickTime 5.0.

19

Apple Macintosh with OS X

Minimum Requirements

1 GHz G5

512 MB RAM

>200 MB of available hard-disk space quick Time 5.0.

Within the above softwares all the objectives have been achieved12.

12 http://www.design8.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=50,12 December 2007

20

CHAPTER 4: Research Findings

4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents results of this project in relation to the project goal.

The goal of the project was to design AVU building and walk inside it interactively.

From the interview method we found out the software that we have used and from

documentation we learnt how to use those softwares.

For designing we used ArchiCAD software and art*lantis was applied to achieve the

remaining part of our project.

4.2 Designing using ArchiCAD

4.2.1 Getting started with ArchiCAD Software.

4.2.1.1 Setting unites

Before setting the unit we have to open ArchiCAD from start menu > program then

ArchiCAD or double click on ArchiCAD icon if it is on the desktop.

You can set the unit of a building by clicking an object category, and type on object

you wish to draw. For example the following figure shows how to set a wall for the

building.

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For example the following figure show how to set a wall for the building

.

The designers have to click on a wall icon from tool box and then the

wall settings window appear. In that case he/she can set the height,

width and the length of the wall.

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4.2.1.2 Floor plan view.

The figure bellow shows application window with a floor plan after designing all parts of the building. You can view this building in 3D Window by right clicking on the floor plan and

then select 3D Window.

The following figure will appear

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4.3 Importing from ArchiCAD to art*lantis software.

4.3.1 Lights and Cameras

A programmer creates lights with various properties to illuminate the scene.

Lights in art* lantis includes the following standard light types; omni, spot ,and

directional lights .the programmer can set a light to any color and even animate the

color to simulate dimming or volumetric effects.

Camera in art* lantis can be created and placed as desired using art* lantis software,

camera define viewpoints for rendering, and can be animated to produce

cinematic effects. A programmer can create a camera just by choose window then

select edit panorama and the camera appear. After that we can move the camera

where you want to view.

The figure bellow will show how to create a camera using art*lantis

and how to rotate it.

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4.3.2 Animating the scene

A programmer begins animating the scene at any time by clicking on window then

select Edit animation. In this case a programmer can set the sequence number for the

animation and he can set the time required for animating the scene. When the play

button is on, art*lantis automatically record the movement, rotation and scale

changes a programmer makes, not as change to a static scene ,but as keys on certain

frames that represent time.

The following figure show how the animation can be done automatically according

to the time setting.

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4.3.3 Rendering the scene

We have used the rendering features to define an environment and to produce the

final output from a scene. we have rendering a single image by setting the’ render’ to

render a single frame of an animation. Rendering an animation is the same as

rendering a single image except that that one can set the ‘render’ to render a

sequence of frames. We have chosen to render an animation to multiple single frame

files or to popular animation formats such as .flc or .avi.

4.3.4. 3D walkthroughs

Having created a classic floor plan, it is easy to create a three-dimensional

Walkthrough at the touch of a button. The 3D Walkthrough is an extremely powerful

way of 'feeding' the visitor's imagination. It is a magical experience. The 3D

Walkthrough video is like somebody moving through the property with a video

camera. But the visitor can jump from one room to another simply by setting the

camera in one room and walk inside. At the end of the 3D Walkthrough tour the

viewer can see photographs that show exactly how the home looks like before it is

built.

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The figure bellow show how the viewer can walk inside the building

In order to make the walkthrough of a given building, the user place the camera at

the place where he wish to see and then use the mouse for walking inside that

building.

4.3.5 Interactive walkthroughs

We have developed a system that supports interactive walkthroughs of a building

model. Interactive computer programs that simulate the experience of "walking"

through a building interior are useful for visualization and evaluation of building

models before they are constructed. In order to achieve interactive walkthroughs of

such large building models, a system must store in memory and render only a small

portion of the model; that is, the portion seen by the observer. As the observer

"walks" through the model, some parts of the model become visible and others

become invisible; some objects appear larger and others appear smaller. The client

may not be satisfied with the color setting by the contractor or the roof of the

building or the pavement of that building. In this case the client may be able to

change every thing in the walkthrough process.

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The figure bellow shows how the client can set any color as he want.

In summary, the current state of home design relies heavily on the communication

between the architect and the client. It is the responsibility of the architect to ensure

that clients completely understand the design aspect of ones future home. It is often

the case that a bad design is not bad but rather it was misinterpretation by either the

client or the architect. Architects have tried to remedy this by offering clients to view

photorealistic still renderings and walkthrough movies of their future home. These

rendered images may give clients more understanding of the design.

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Conclusion

This work was carried out with sufficient data obtained from different

sources.

The main aim of the project was to design the AVU building, allow

user to animate it, walk inside it, and set a color as he /she wish

interactively. Therefore using appropriate software we have achieved

all those objectives.

Those softwares will facilitate all contractors, civil engineers,

computer engineers and other people to learn how they can design,

and make an interactive walkthroughs in their design. With this

system, the customer will be able to walk inside the model

interactively and ‘pre-view’ how a building or environment will ‘look

like’ before it is built.

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5.2 Recommendation

We highly recommend civil engineers to learn more about those

softwares and show how to walkthrough inside their design so that it

will be a better way of advertisement.

We recommend implementing a system online in which the designer

will publish different model of design like hotels, buildings, etc… for

more information concerning those design.

We also recommend this project to all coming graduates to ameliorate

this system in order to achieve their objectives.

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REFERENCES

A. Literature

1. Kevin Kitchens (2006).Interactive Home Design in a Virtual

Environment. The University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg,

MS39406 (USA).

2. Hebert Peter (2004). ArchiCAD Best Practice the Virtual Building

TM Revealed. Second edition, Wigen Springer, Canada S7K-5X2.

3. Salomon, Charles (1989).Enchanted Drawings: the History of

animation. New York; Random House, inc. ISBN 0-394-54684-9

B. Websites

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/animation, 4 September 2007.

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_animation, 9 October 2007.

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/architectural-animation, 10 November

2007.

[4] http://www.ardigitech.com/architectural-walk-throughs-animation.

.html, 30 December 2007.

[5]http://www.graphisoft.com/community/success-storied, 12 January

2008.

[6] http://www.caduser.com/review/review.asp?a-id-107, 13 January

2008.

[7]www.graphisoft.com,15may2007.

[8]http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/system_requirements/

archicad9.html.12December2007.

[12]http://www.design8.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=vie

w&id=33&Itemid=50, 12 December 2007.

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