# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > 3D modeling (map elements and height maps) >  Buildings and fascades done with City Engine

## Katto

This is the first building from a series I will create and it can be found in Hamburg Speicherstadt. It contains a lot of 3D elements created in Silo. Working with those elements, called assets in CE, is very tricky.
I've divided the building into columns, where the tower sections have relative distance values. This is the reason why they are stretched in the render pic. The door and window pictures are from goodtextures.com which is a great resource for all kind of textures.
Attached is a reference photo and the rendered picture.

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## Ascension

looks good, man.

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## ravells

Oh my word, that looks fantastic katto! Here I am struggling to make a box with windows and you're building like an architect! How customisable is the building? Presumably you can make it taller and wider? Rep if it will let me.

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## Steel General

Stunningly good...

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## Katto

Thanks a lot.

Ravs, after looking at many pictures of the area, I saw that the smallest unit of the buildings is a column. So I've started with a split(x) first (btw it is better to start with that split when you have complex buildings, the ones in the tutorials are simple and have the same features in each level, so they start with split(y)).

You can rearrange the sequence of columns, but the building layout in reality is always (ABCDCBA)* + corner buildings. The B and D columns have a flexible width to fit in different lot sizes. It is not possible to change the height because of different y splits in the columns.
If you have further questions feel free to ask.

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## Katto

Another building is finished.

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## arsheesh

This is just really cool Katto!

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## ravells

I must get back to City Engine....Katto thanks for the tips, but I don't think I'll ever get as good as you!

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## Katto

Thank you.
This building nearly has the same dimensions as the first one, but a lot of more complex objects in it.
Now I try what can be done with streets and sidewalks. Here are some quickies:

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## ravells

Holey moley, are you using Vue for the renders here?

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## Katto

Yes, textured and rendered in Vue.
I just color the buildings in CE and texture in Vue. It is much easier.

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## Katto

Something different now...
Dortmund downtown, based on the OSM data from openstreetmap.org. The data is quite messy, so I had to clean up and add a few buildings and streets. To get a bit of a "Sim City" feeling, I've used similar colours.

Green = Residentials
Blue = Commercial
Yellow = Office
Brown = Industry
Orange = POI

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## ravells

Very cool Katto! This is the sort of thing that I'm working on at the moment too!

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## Katto

Thanks Ravi!
It will be interesting to see how many details can be added until the PC slows down. Importing the final file to Vue will be the next adventure  :Smile: 

I'm quite curious about your current project...

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## ravells

Cheers, I found that vue slowed my quad core to a crawl (not on rendering but in repositioning the CE models).  I'm working on finding a way of using CE to do maps for a rambling (like a country walking) association (hence the map you helped me with on the CE boards), but I have been side tracked by other stuff! I'll post something up here when I get back to it!

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## Katto

Here are some pictures of buildings I've done recently with City Engine. The first two pictures are buildings you can find in middle to southern Germany. The third one is a kind of Steampunk building. For a render I will add some pipe systems, which I'll have to model first. A project for the near future, lol. The last one is an early WIP of mid-level residentials you will find in the Ruhr Area in the outskirts. The focus is on creating lot variations with gardens, garages etc. I really get a nostalgic Sim City feeling with this project  :Smile: 

Enjoy,
Katto

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## Lyandra

Wow, those look really good! I'm curious how the "Steampunk" building will turn out.  :Smile:

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## arsheesh

Looking good katto!

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

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## Blaidd Drwg

Awesome!
I feel like going on vacation in the Black Forest again  :Very Happy:

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## HeadClot88

Hey, Quick Question - Where do I get City Engine for Vue?

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## Troedel

Quick answer...

http://www.cornucopia3d.com/purchase.php?item_id=10649

 :Wink:

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