The 3DCityDB-Tools plug-in for QGIS enables users to connect to the open-source 3D City Database (3DCityDB) 4.x, load CityGML 1.0 and 2.0 data, and structure it as GIS layers within QGIS. The plug-in simplifies interaction with the complex structure of the 3DCityDB 4.x by providing a GUI-based tool and a server-side package for seamless data retrieval and management from QGIS. With the release of the CityGML 3.0 conceptual data model in 2021, the 3D City Database has been updated to version 5.0, introducing several changes to support the new characteristics of CityGML 3.0 and a significant redesign and restructuring of the database schema. However, the current 3DCityDB-Tools plug-in for QGIS does not support the latest CityGML and 3DCityDB versions. This paper presents the findings and experiences gathered to modify the plug-in’s server-side architecture to cope with the new 3DCityDB 5.0. Similar to what already happens with the current plug-in version, the proposed new approach enables the generation of GIS layers following the Simple-Feature-for-SQL model, optimising query performance and improving attribute management. The resulting vector-based layers can be seamlessly imported into QGIS, allowing for interaction between QGIS and the underlying CityGML data stored in the latest version of the 3DCityDB. ... Read more

This paper describes the proposed methodology, the implementation, and the experience resulting from the further development of a tool, embedded in Rhinoceros/Grasshopper, that allows to perform preliminary environmental analyses at district scale in the case of a new planned building. The CAD-based parametric 3D model of a “new” building, generated in Grasshopper, is enriched with and embedded into a 3D urban scene of the block/district where it is planned to be built. The resulting 3D scene is then used to perform shadowing, solar and wind analyses that are used by architects and engineers in their preliminary development phases of the project. The work stems from a preliminary analysis in terms of data and software requirements carried out between practitioners from both the GIS and AEC domain.

More in detail, a series of modules in Grasshopper have been developed that allow to import GIS “surrounding” data at district scale (e.g. buildings, terrain) and to blend them with the “new” building model, in order to perform environmental analyses in (near) real time while the designer interactively changes the design parameters of the building and its position. The paper presents the results and discusses the inherent limitations. ... Read more

With the current high speed and scale of urbanisation, there is a growing demand for affordable housing – together with all other aspects that are tightly related to it: infrastructure for transportation, utility networks, etc. For this reason, integrated planning is playing more and more a crucial role as the impacts of a new construction project should be investigated, evaluated and minimised from the very early stages of the design process (Josuf et al., 2017; Agugiaro et al., 2020). [...] ... Read more