Plan.City London how-to series 13: The VSC Tool

In this episode, we"ll explore one of the most advanced analytical tools currently available inside Plan City London, the Vertical Sky Component Tool, also known as VSC. This functionality allows us to evaluate the amount of visible sky available from specific points on a building facade. In practical terms, this helps us understand how nearby buildings and urban obstructions affect daylight access. To begin, open the tools panel and select the vertical sky component option. As with other analysis tools, the landing panel gives us two choices. To start a new analysis or to load a previous study, we"ll begin with the first option. To do so, click on the start a new analysis button. At this stage, we can select the building that we want to analyze in two different ways. If the direct building selection option is enabled, we can simply click directly on a building, provided it"s not too big or that the app doesn"t consider it to be too big. Alternatively, we can disable that option and manually draw a selection shape around the desired structure. Once the building has been selected, click on the continue button. The app will now begin processing the vertical sky component analysis. After a few moments, the results appear directly on the building facade. Different colors represent varying levels of sky visibility across the analyzed surfaces. This makes it easy to quickly identify areas with reduced daylight exposure. An important detail worth mentioning is that the tool can also analyze roof surfaces by expanding the roof options area before calculation. We can configure additional parameters that include roof values as part of the study. Once the analysis completes, the interface moves onto the results panel. Here we can save the study for later review, export the results to a JSON file or take screenshots directly from the current viewport. Saving studies is particularly useful because it allows us to revisit analysis long after they"ve been completed. Likewise, exporting the data makes it possible to process or visualize the information using an external software. Just like other analysis tools in Plan City, VSC studies can also be loaded later. Selecting load a previous study reveals all previously saved analysis and we can additionally search for external JSON files stored elsewhere on the computer. Once loaded, the app restores both the analysis and the familiar results panel. This allows us to continue reviewing, exporting, or documenting the study. As you can see, the vertical sky component tool transforms Plan City into much more than a city viewer. It allows us to carry out real daylight accessibility studies directly inside the urban model. Thanks for watching as always and see you in the next video.