Multi-bulding project - light commercial

So I have a light commercial project I am working on. I am curious how you guys think the best route to go is - make all the buildings in 1 file - or create smaller (1-building) files and then merge them later into a single file to create some rendered scenes. Ultimately, I am going to bring this into Lumion3D - but I did want to visualize inside Chief and make some still images first. Each building footprint is approx. 4000 SF.

Any suggestions would be welcome. Is this model going to get too large and dangerous? Will Chief be able to handle this size? Am I barking up the wrong tree trying to have (8) 4000 SF building in 1 file?

JP

Multiple files for this reason. I did a vid recently where I determined if a wall was more than 167' from absolute zero, cross blocks would not show in a section thru the 2x4 sill plates and top plates. No telling what other stuff starts messing up.

Good point - I saw that video, but for some reason I was thinking about a single-building being that size. What you are saying is that just getting that large in general could cause issues. Thanks.

Do the buildings use the same layout? One way of working with multiple buildings in a single file is to have one with full detail and the others as exterior shells. If they are all different I would use a separate file for each and create a block for each building to use in another separate file for overall exterior views. The downside to that approach is you have to re-create the block every time there is a design change.

For exteriors if you keep the same first floor elevation you should be fine.. I recently did a 20 building (1000 sqft ea or so) compound on a 5 acre site and had no real issues other than in perspective overviews that gave bad "z fighting" ie the sheathing was showing thru roof and siding. That and general slowness. I also only had 8mb ram and so so video card.
I am curious for other responses as I am embarking on a two building 74 unit apartment project. So far the site plan and exterior renderings are working well. I have yet to add the unit kitchens/baths etc. I am holding my breath.....undos do take some time.

Would definitely use a separate plan file for each building. A separate master site plan for non-building stuff and x-ref. Then add them all to your Lumion scene. I recently worked on a project in this manner. It would have been bad news to have it all in one file. When you go to do your CD's you can simply point each plan file to the same layout. This will make your project manageable. HTH.