Program Mode in Snaptrude is a powerful feature designed to streamline the early stages of architectural design by integrating spatial programming directly into the 3D modeling environment. This mode allows architects and designers to define, organize, and manage space requirements efficiently, ensuring that design decisions are data-driven and aligned with project goals.
What is Program Mode?
Program Mode offers a spreadsheet-like interface within Snaptrude, enabling users to:
Define Spaces: Input space names, target areas, and quantities.
Organize by Departments: Categorize spaces under different departments or functions.
Set Custom Calculations: Incorporate formulas for advanced area calculations.
Leverage the meta-data associated with these spaces including dimensions, target vs achieved data comparison, and much more.
This structured approach ensures that every space requirement is accounted for and directly linked to the 3D model, facilitating real-time updates and validations.
Understanding Program Mode Columns
The columns in the program mode are divided into segments of Input Fields, Design Fields, Space wise Area Summary, Department wise Area Summary, and Custom Calculations. These are specifically designed for users to easily understand and work with the meta-data of the spaces.
1. Input Fields:
The primary columns which need to be filled in to create the spaces can be found under here. Space Labels, Net Area per Room and Room Count being the mandatory columns to fill whereas Department Name and Color are optional.
Column Heading | Purpose |
Space Label *Required | Name of the space (e.g., Classroom, Bedroom, Lobby). |
Net Area per Room (Achieved) *Required | Net area for a single instance of that space (e.g., 300 sq ft) defined when the program is first created and then shows the data after changes are made on the spaces in the design mode. (Note that if the Achieved area is directly changed in the program mode, the Width of the space is retained and the Length updated as the new area.) |
Room Count (Achieved) *Required | Number of identical spaces needed (e.g., 4 classrooms) |
Department Name *Optional | Logical grouping or categorization of spaces (e.g., Admin, Residential, Academic). If no input provide, space is assigned to ‘default’ department. |
Department Color *Optional | Visual color assigned to departments for easy identification on the model. |
2. Design Fields:
After expanding the program by either using the toggle option in the 'Snaptrude' Ribbon or using the '+', the 'Design Fields' columns can be found. All the columns under this can be edited, for instance, if you wish to change the target are or count that can changed or the storey or any other dimensions of the space can be changed from here.
Column Heading | Purpose |
Net Area per Room (Target) | The areas assigned to spaces while first creating them (or while importing the CSV) will be directly registered in this column. This data can also be edited if required. (Changes to target area do not impact achieved area and do not impact geometry in any way) |
Room Count (Target) | The count assigned to spaces while first creating them (or while importing the CSV) will be directly registered in this column. This data can also be edited if required. |
Storey | The storey at which the spaces belong to can be viewed and edited in this column. Moreover, as the concept model is created in the design mode, the data of the storeys for these spaces is automatically captured in here. |
Height | The default storey height is taken into account when a space is created. This can overwritten if a particular space requires a different height or if the height is changed in the design canvas using push/pull tool. |
Width | The width of the space can be viewed and edited here. Note that if Width is updated this will change 'Length' based on 'Achieved area'. In other words, the area remains unchanged when changing the width. |
Length | The length of the space can be viewed and edited here. Note that if the Length is updated the Achieved Area will be changed and not the width. (User is setting building depth, without impacting grid size. Now they need to see how it’ll impact areas) |
Ratio | This field calculates the ratio of width over length of the space specified from object properties. User input would be used to edit width & length of associated space on canvas based on ratio |
3. Space wise Area Calculations:
This section compares the Target and Achieved area differences for the respective spaces.
Column Heading | Purpose |
Net Area (Target) |
|
Net Area (Achieved) |
|
Area Difference |
|
Difference % |
|
4. Department wise Area Calculations:
Automatically calculates the difference in Target and Achieved areas for the entire department. In other words, know the overall difference of all the spaces within a department and assign an efficiency factor for these calculations.
Column Heading | Purpose |
Total Net Area (Target) |
|
Efficiency |
|
Total Gross Area (Target) |
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Current Gross Area (Achieved) |
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5. Custom Calculations:
Use the default columns to calculate Occupancy factor, Occupancy Load, Cost per sqft and overall cost by customizing formulae for these calculations. Moreover, add additional columns for note taking or adding other standard formulae required in the program. (Use case: Using reginal building norms to work on a formulae and using the same to create the program)
Creating a New Program
There are several ways of creating a new program:
AI Program Creation: Use the AI Program Creator to give prompts and let AI automatically generate a program for the project from scratch which you can then edit by continuing prompting these changes or manually editing them.
Direct Program Entry: Start by directly entering space labels, areas and count in the respective columns in the program mode. Use the custom calculations columns to add program related formulas.
Import Program CSV/Excel: Use the template CSV/Excel to create a program at your own pace and import that into the project to further edit or begin creating space layouts from it.
Copy/Paste Program from CSV/Excel: If you have created a program that is not in the template CSV, use the usual copy & paste to bring that data into the program mode. Be sure to paste it into the correct columns to ensure spaces are created properly.