Parking lots were always a bit tricky to design in InfraWorks (prior to the 2021.1 release), as the standard approach to creating parking lots was to create customized materials for parking stalls and customized coverage areas for parking lots. The results were considered at best schematic, since a standard parking stall pattern was draped across a surface.
However, with the 2021.1 release of InfraWorks, three dedicated tools for parking were introduced:
-
Parking Areas
-
Parking Layouts
-
Parking Rows
These tools produce a more realistic result suitable for planning and decision making.
The workflow is quite simple and elegant:
-
Create a parking area.
-
Apply parking layouts to the parking area.
-
Make adjustments and apply styles.
-
If needed, add parking rows.
Parking Areas
Parking areas identify areas for parking layouts. It is only in parking areas that the parking layouts can be applied. (Parking rows can be applied on any surface.) Sketching the parking area and modifying it is straightforward, with picking points on the surface and using the right-click menu and grips to alter the geometry. Parking areas can either drape over a surface or be flattened through the right-click menu.
The first point defined in a parking area becomes the start point of the perimeter parking stalls when the parking layout is applied to the parking area.
Parking Layouts
Parking layouts can be created once a parking area has been defined. If the defined parking area encloses buildings, the parking is added around the perimeter of the building as well.