Neighborhood Park & Garden Design

I volunteer with two neighborhood associations and an elementary school who are considering collaborating on a new park / garden on some abandoned land.

The area is a small valley with a creek, and I need to be able to lay out small bench pads or "patios" cut into the hillside. I also need to be able to show pathways with grade indication also cut into the hillsides. (If possible, I need grade indications to prove to ADA specifications since this will be a public access project.)

The worst case hillside angle is something around 45deg. by 40 vertical feet high max, bordering a gently sloping flat valley with a rocky creek running through it. At the bottom, the hillsides end in a gently sloping flat area.

I need for this to be walk-through 3D presentable. And as we clear the land and are able to take better measurements, I will need to be able to refine the terrain without starting from scratch.

Can a Chief Architect product do this job, without a building in the design?

Finally, since this is for IRS certified non-profits, is there a donation application procedure to get a version of Chief Architect for this project? We will be glad to list Chief Architect in the credits as the project progresses and completes.

Thank you.

Questions to Chief Architect Inc should be directed directly to them at their Coeur d' Alene, Idaho corporate offices.

In terms of your other questions, yes, this can be done and is being done by competent users who have learned to use Chief Premier's tools well enough to get a product. This is not done over night as there are lots of tools and much to learn.

DJP

Chief Architect Premier will offer all the terrain tools you need. We offer training videos and help articles to guide you through the landscaping tools. This software allows you to simply create the terrain without building a structure and you'll also have the Walk Through tool to create a video of the design. Since you are a non-profit organization you may apply for a discount through our Grants Department. Please reply with your email or send your information to sales@chiefarchitect.com Attn: Emily. I can then email you the grant application and additional information.

Frankly, Chief is great for structures, but pretty clunky for modeling terrain accurately. You should use Sketchup, which is free, can do animations (walkthrus) with shadowing, and is pretty easy to learn.

D

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Originally Posted by dhowardaia

............. but pretty clunky for modeling terrain accurately. You should use Sketchup, which is free, can do animations (walkthrus) with shadowing, and is pretty easy to learn.

D

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Ooooh boy, I love a challenge, and being the contrarian that I am, I may have to take exception to Dorothy's comment. Clunky is relative, so I can't argue with that. Knowing very little about sketchup, I can't comment on that. But I will say, I bet I can create any terrain in CA that anybody can dream up, and I would like to think I can do it in short order. That being said, if anybody has a tough terrain to deal with, post it, and I will try to show you how to develop the terrain.