Managing Assumptions with Usages

The data panel (including Urban Calculations and Analytics) shows the numbers your design produces. Those numbers are dictated by size of the buildings you've drawn, and the assumptions on how those buildings work (dwelling sizes, efficiencies etc.)

Usages drive those calculations.

<aside> 💡 The data model behind Giraffe is explained in more detail here.

</aside>

Usages Guide

Usages enable you to compile a database of standards and assumptions, composed of Properties. This allows your team to apply the same data to multiple geometries within a project - from giving all the residential buildings the same buildCost to making all annotations blue.

Giraffe comes with some default usages such as Residential , Road, Basement Carpark and Annotation , and you can create your own and copy them between projects.

Usage Editor

Usages can be edited and created from the Usage Editor.

To edit assumptions click on the Edit Usages button on the right hand side.

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The Usage Editor UI has the following sections:

usages ui.png

  1. Select a Usage
  2. Table View (more in following section)
  3. Add a property (see List of Included Feature Properties) to the Usage
  4. Clone the Usage
  5. Select the usage Type
  6. Usage Type properties (Building Type shown)
  7. Up/Dn arrows adjust property values by a pre-determined step
  8. Type in an exact value to any Number property
  9. Data Properties
  10. Geometry Properties.
  11. Other properties: This is where custom properties go
  12. Remove any property from the Usage by clicking the Trashcan. This only removes the property from the Usage, not the entire project
  13. Save your changes (or use ctrl + S)
  14. Close the Usage Edirot, or click on the map
  15. Delete the entire usage from the project.

Select Usage to Edit

To change which Usage you're working on, click on the dropdown.

Edit the existing properties to match your company’s or project’s assumptions and graphics preferences.

Add more Properties by clicking “Add Property”

<aside> 💡 Note the efficiency and sell efficiency drive the GFA and the FSR, as well as the NSA in the data panel.

</aside>

usages 2.png

Create a New Usage