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Add and customize niches, columns, and internal walls

Elena Damiani
  • Updated

In 3CAD Next, you can enrich the walls of a standard or custom room by inserting and customizing architectural elements. Each element can be repositioned, resized, and customized. This article explains how to add and edit architectural elements, how to navigate between their variants and customize them.

 

What architectural elements you can add to a wall

  • Interior wall
     
  • Niches:
    • Wall niche
    • Vaulted wall niche
    • Pass-through niche
       
  • Columns:
    • Wall column (adjacent to the wall)
    • Freestanding column

 

How to add and edit an interior wall

Interior walls are managed like perimeter walls. See the article Customize room walls to learn more.

 

How to add a niche or wall column

  1. Open the room in the 3CAD Next planner and switch to the 2D view.
     
  2. Select the wall to add the element to by clicking it (skip this step for freestanding columns).
     
  3. Click the Catalog button.

    3C_catalog_button.png
     
  4. Click the Select walls icon between Library and Variants.

    Select walls icon
     
  5. Select the Walls tab and click the architectural element you want to insert (Niche, Pass-through niche,  Wall column, etc.).

Note: Wall-related elements are positioned on the selected wall. For freestanding columns, close the wall catalog, then drag the freestanding column image from the left side of the workspace to the desired position in the room.  

  1. Drag the element to its exact position.
     
  2. Click Projects in the top bar, then Save Project.

Note: You can switch between 2D and 3D at any time. Architectural element placement is available in the 2D view only.

 

How to edit a niche or column

Reposition the element
  1. Click the niche or column in the workspace to select it. The item turns blue.
     
  2. Drag and drop it to the new position.
     
  3. Click Projects in the top bar, then click Save Project.
Change the element’s variants

All room-building items, including niches and columns, provide a variety of options that allow you to refine their appearance for a more realistic result.

Architectural element variants encompass the settings available for customizing each element type. These settings provide a broad range of customization options, including dimensions, colors, sill, and skirting.

While some variants are common to all elements, each type provides a specific set of variants determined by its characteristics.

 

Set an element’s variants

  1. In the 2D workspace, click the niche or column to select it. The item turns blue.
     
  2. Click the Catalog button.

    Catalog button
     
  3. Click Variants.
     
  4. Set the desired variant values.
     
  5. Click Projects in the top bar, then click Save Project.

Note: Variant selection for all architectural elements except freestanding columns is available in the 2D view only.

 

How to delete an architectural element

  1. Select the element.
     
  2. Press Delete on your keyboard.
     
  3. Click Projects in the top bar, then Save Project.

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