Vectorworks 2025 Site Model Guide: Contours, Textures, and Plant Layout

This practical guide brings together the site modeling and landscape tools described in the official Vectorworks 2025 help documentation. The workflow covers validating topographic data, creating a site surface, setting contour and display options, defining paving areas, and editing plant layouts. Since command paths can vary by workspace, the relevant options are listed separately below.

1. Check your source data and create a site model

You can create a site model from elevation data or a boundary object. The documentation lists 3D loci, 3D polygons, stake objects, and point clouds as examples of source data. Running the Validate 3D Data command to check your sources before creating the model helps identify problems early in the workflow.

1. Switch the drawing to Top/Plan view and select the source objects to use in the site model.

2. Run the Site Model from Source Data command. In the Design Suite and Architect workspaces, the command path is AEC > Terrain; in Landmark, it is Landmark > Create Site Model.

3. If the source is a point cloud, enter the number of 3D loci to extract in the Site Model Point Density dialog, or use the slider.

4. Set the model parameters in the Site Model Settings dialog. Keep Source Data preserves the original source data while the model is being prepared.

After a site model is created, the software caches it by default to speed up subsequent updates. This can increase the project file size, so review the cache settings in document preferences for projects where file size is a concern. You can also edit the source data after creating the model and then recreate the site model.

2. Adjust contour and surface display to suit your needs

The elevation options in Site Model Settings determine the contour range to display. Maximum Elevation sets the upper limit, while Minimum Elevation sets the lower limit and the model’s bottom geometric level. You may see a warning if an update would create contours outside the specified range. When Extend Min/Max when Needed is enabled, the lower and upper values are expanded automatically as needed.

Set the contour line interval, major contour multiplier, and starting offset in the relevant contour settings. Segmentation Length determines the length of the straight segments used to draw curved contours. A smaller value produces smoother curves; 0 uses the highest possible segmentation based on the 2D conversion resolution. Since the documentation does not recommend one ideal value for every project, choose a setting based on the look your drawing requires.

In 2D view, you can display the existing site, the proposed site, or both. Proposed + Existing lets you compare the two surfaces in the same plan. Display options also include contours, smoothed contours, color-coded elevation, and color-coded slope. The smoothed contours option affects only the appearance; it does not change the source data.

3D display options include mesh, grid, vertical grid, and 3D contours. 3D Mesh builds the surface as a triangulated TIN mesh; the source describes this as the most accurate display method because it does not interpolate between source data. Select Show Skirt to close the sides and bottom of the mesh and create a solid form. A Cut and Fill view is also available for volume analysis.

3. Define landscape areas with Texture Bed

Texture Bed lets you use a 2D shape as a specific surface area on the site. This allows areas such as lawns, brick-paved terraces, or sand to be visualized within the same topographic model. You can draw the object with the Texture Bed tool in the Site Modifiers tool set, or create a polyline and use the Create Objects from Shapes command.

With the object selected, use the Apply To setting in the Object Info palette to choose whether the modifier applies to the existing or proposed site model. Simplification Tolerance controls how much the boundary is simplified: positive values simplify nearby segments, while a value of 0 performs no simplification. Consider this setting if you need to preserve detailed boundaries; the documentation does not specify a fixed tolerance for a particular project.

To link the texture display to a class, choose the class using Texture from Class. A texture must be assigned in the selected class’s Textures tab, and Use at Creation must be enabled. You can also use the <Hardscape Class> option. To apply the modifier changes to the site, run Update Site Model in the Object Info palette; view the model in Renderworks render mode to see the result.

Placing an image, such as an aerial photograph, on the site surface is a different process from using Texture Bed. With the site model selected, assign an image texture in the Render tab of the Object Info palette. After checking the result in 3D view, use the Attribute Mapping tool to adjust the texture’s position, size, and rotation. Mapping is limited to a 2D texture plane; the image cannot be warped.

4. Edit plant styles and groups

To edit a plant style, right-click a plant instance and choose Edit and Style, use Edit Style in the Object Info palette, or right-click the style in the Resource Manager. Changes to a style are reflected in every plant in the drawing that uses it. Keep in mind the difference between changing an individual instance’s settings and editing the shared style.

To change the boundary of a multi-plant layout, select the group and use the Reshape tool in the Basic palette. The layout adjusts to the new shape. When the alignment control point in triangular and rectangular arrays is moved, the array is repositioned relative to the new representative plant center. The Reshape tool also offers operations for 2D objects, including moving vertices, moving edges in parallel, and adding or deleting vertices.

Common mistakes

• Creating a model without checking the source data: Run Validate 3D Data at the start.

• Forgetting to update the texture area: Use Update Site Model to apply changes to the site.

• Assuming Texture Bed and image texture mapping are the same process: Image textures are assigned in the Render tab and adjusted with Attribute Mapping.

• Overlooking the scope of plant style changes: Edits affect all plants using the same style.

This workflow may be useful to architecture, landscape, and visualization teams working with site data in plan and 3D views. Comparing existing and proposed surfaces, reviewing slope or elevation displays, and separating paving areas can all be done within the same model. This guide is based on Vectorworks 2025 documentation; do not assume the interface and options are unchanged in other versions. Point cloud density, file size, and cache settings are also considerations when preparing a project file.