{"id":2795962,"date":"2025-05-19T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=2795962"},"modified":"2025-05-18T17:45:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T00:45:22","slug":"understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin","title":{"rendered":"Understand and improve the exterior shell of the building layer to support your digital twin"},"author":166382,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23771,615021,23851],"tags":[30371,761202,778552,760762,176662],"industry":[],"product":[36561],"class_list":["post-2795962","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3d-gis","category-aec","category-data-management","tag-bim","tag-building-layer","tag-digital-models","tag-ifc","tag-revit","product-arcgis-pro"],"acf":{"short_description":"City planning departments are increasingly adding digital deliveries to their workflow requirements\u2014especially for 3D digital models (BIM).","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\n<p>City planning departments are increasingly adding digital deliveries to their workflow requirements\u2014especially for 3D digital models (BIM). City planners, architects, engineers, and stakeholders can simulate, analyze, and visualize a city&#8217;s infrastructure by integrating these plans with real-world data before physical construction starts. This allows better decision-making, improves collaboration among multidisciplinary teams, and enhances the overall efficiency and sustainability of urban development. This shift toward data-driven, integrated urban planning is reshaping how cities grow, ensuring they are more sustainable, livable, and future-proof. As urban populations continue to rise, the use of BIM in city planning will be pivotal in creating cities that can effectively address new challenges.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Before you begin<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ensure that all models are already\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/aec\/geolocating-a-digital-model-revit-or-ifc-in-arcgis-pro\/\">georeferenced<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Create a single dataset with all the relevant models, using the workflow in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/aec\/combine-multiple-digital-models-into-a-single-building-scene-layer\">Combine multiple digital models into a single building scene layer<\/a> blog article.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What you need<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ArcGIS notebook included with this post<\/li>\n<li>ArcGIS Pro 3.2 or later<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now that multiple digital models have been combined as a single feature dataset, you can now explore the result of the exterior shell to see if it meets the requirements. The image below shows the exterior shell layer is missing the roof and lower floor for both buildings and has many unnecessary interior elements like seats and pipes that will negatively impact performance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2796012,"id":2796012,"title":"Overview_Exteriorshell_Default","filename":"Overview_Exteriorshell_Default.png","filesize":1613072,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/overview_exteriorshell_default","alt":"Exterior shell representation","author":"166382","description":"","caption":"Exterior shell representation","name":"overview_exteriorshell_default","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 15:15:58","modified":"2025-05-16 15:16:47","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1477,"height":839,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default.png","medium-width":459,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":436,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default.png","large-width":1477,"large-height":839,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default.png","1536x1536-width":1477,"1536x1536-height":839,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default.png","2048x2048-width":1477,"2048x2048-height":839,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default-819x465.png","card_image-width":819,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Overview_Exteriorshell_Default.png","wide_image-width":1477,"wide_image-height":839}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>Before you can fix the ExteriorShell feature class, you must understand how the exterior shell is created.<\/p>\n<p>The exterior shell creation depends on the data type (building, bridge, road, and so on) and the data format. In this example, you will review the exterior shell from a building with source data from Revit. For a standard building shell, the ExteriorShell feature class is created by looking at the windows, doors, walls, and floors (where the attribute <strong>Function<\/strong> is set to <strong>Exterior<\/strong>). After those elements have been grouped, the next features to check are in the generic model: columns (only the architectural), stairs, and stair railings. Once all the categories have been identified, the ExteriorShell feature class is created.<\/p>\n<p>The exterior shell shown above was created from a digital model that is the result of combining 46 different Revit files. Each constituent digital model has its own exterior shell feature class, and these have all been appended to a single feature class by running the <a href=\"https:\/\/pro.arcgis.com\/en\/pro-app\/latest\/tool-reference\/conversion\/bimfile-to-geodatabase.htm\">BIM File To Geodatabase<\/a> geoprocessing tool. Due to the varied nature of the Revit files used, not all followed the Building Shell behavior and instead brought in attributes from the Fallback Shell behavior instead.<\/p>\n<p>To better understand the creation of the exterior shell for different types of structures and formats, see the graphics below.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2795972,"id":2795972,"title":"Revit_whitebackground","filename":"Revit_whitebackground.png","filesize":44622,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/revit_whitebackground","alt":"Revit exterior shell rules for the building layer","author":"166382","description":"","caption":"Revit exterior shell rules for the building layer","name":"revit_whitebackground","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 15:13:35","modified":"2025-05-16 15:14:07","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1840,"height":440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":111,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":184,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground.png","large-width":1840,"large-height":440,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground-1536x367.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":367,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground.png","2048x2048-width":1840,"2048x2048-height":440,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground-826x198.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":198,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Revit_whitebackground.png","wide_image-width":1840,"wide_image-height":440}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2795982,"id":2795982,"title":"ifc_whitebackground","filename":"ifc_whitebackground.png","filesize":50823,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/ifc_whitebackground","alt":"IFC exterior shell rules for building layer","author":"166382","description":"","caption":"IFC exterior shell rules for building layer","name":"ifc_whitebackground","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 15:14:29","modified":"2025-05-16 15:14:49","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1840,"height":440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":111,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":184,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground.png","large-width":1840,"large-height":440,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground-1536x367.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":367,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground.png","2048x2048-width":1840,"2048x2048-height":440,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground-826x198.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":198,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ifc_whitebackground.png","wide_image-width":1840,"wide_image-height":440}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p><strong>The rules documented above were based on ArcGIS Pro 3.3.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now that you understand how the exterior shell is created, you could ask the modeler or designer to fix some of the issues you discovered. In this case, the project final deliverable was already submitted, so you will instead need to fix the exterior shell directly from the geodatabase.<\/p>\n<p>Complete the following workflows to improve the exterior shell of the building layer, including both the manual workflow and automation with ArcPy.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h2>Edit the ExteriorShell feature class manually<\/h2>\n<p>First, you will improve the <em>ExteriorShell<\/em> feature class so the depiction of the building is more realistic.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Optionally, make a copy of the ExteriorShell feature class.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is recommended so you have better control over the elements that are going to be deleted and added to the feature class and in case you need to revert to the original ExteriorShell feature class.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Open a local scene.<\/li>\n<li>Add the ExteriorShell feature class to the scene.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3>Delete elements<\/h3>\n<p>Next, you will delete elements.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Select the element.<\/li>\n<li>Delete the sound baffles.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2796112,"id":2796112,"title":"Sounds_baffles","filename":"Sounds_baffles.png","filesize":402247,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/sounds_baffles","alt":"Sound baffles elements","author":"166382","description":"Sound baffles elements to be deleted","caption":"Sound baffles elements","name":"sounds_baffles","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 16:13:16","modified":"2025-05-16 16:13:54","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1486,"height":809,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":253,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":418,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles.png","large-width":1486,"large-height":809,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles.png","1536x1536-width":1486,"1536x1536-height":809,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles.png","2048x2048-width":1486,"2048x2048-height":809,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles-826x450.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":450,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Sounds_baffles.png","wide_image-width":1486,"wide_image-height":809}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>3. Delete the furniture.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2796142,"id":2796142,"title":"Furniture_elements","filename":"Furniture.png","filesize":283169,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/furniture","alt":"Furniture elements","author":"166382","description":"Furniture elements to be deleted","caption":"Furniture elements","name":"furniture","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 16:22:43","modified":"2025-05-16 16:23:35","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":957,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":192,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":317,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture.png","large-width":957,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture.png","1536x1536-width":957,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture.png","2048x2048-width":957,"2048x2048-height":395,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture-826x341.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":341,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Furniture.png","wide_image-width":957,"wide_image-height":395}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>4. Delete the heating pipes.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2797212,"id":2797212,"title":"Heating Pipes elements","filename":"Heating-Pipes-1-e1747615498801.png","filesize":337246,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-e1747615498801.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/heating-pipes-2","alt":"Heating Pipes elements","author":"166382","description":"Heating Pipes elements","caption":"Heating Pipes elements","name":"heating-pipes-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-19 00:25:44","modified":"2025-05-19 00:26:01","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":800,"height":504,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-e1747615498801-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-e1747615498801-414x261.png","medium-width":414,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-e1747615498801-768x484.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":484,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-e1747615498801.png","large-width":800,"large-height":504,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-1536x1087.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1087,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-e1747615498801.png","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":504,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-e1747615498801-738x465.png","card_image-width":738,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Heating-Pipes-1-1526x1080.png","wide_image-width":1526,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>5. Delete the HVAC system.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2797232,"id":2797232,"title":"HVAC elements","filename":"HVAC-e1747615476320.png","filesize":273803,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-e1747615476320.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/hvac","alt":"HVAC elements","author":"166382","description":"HVAC elements","caption":"HVAC elements","name":"hvac","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-19 00:34:52","modified":"2025-05-19 00:35:08","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":800,"height":476,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-e1747615476320-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-e1747615476320-439x261.png","medium-width":439,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-e1747615476320-768x457.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":457,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-e1747615476320.png","large-width":800,"large-height":476,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-1536x1086.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-e1747615476320.png","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":476,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-e1747615476320-782x465.png","card_image-width":782,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/HVAC-1528x1080.png","wide_image-width":1528,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3>Add elements<\/h3>\n<p>The current ExteriorShell feature class does not illustrate the roof, the first floor, or the ground floor elements.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the Floors feature class.<\/li>\n<li>Navigate around the scene to get a better perspective.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2796272,"id":2796272,"title":"Floors elements","filename":"Floors-elements.png","filesize":657024,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/floors-elements","alt":"Floors feature class","author":"166382","description":"Floors feature class ","caption":"Floors feature class ","name":"floors-elements","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 16:56:36","modified":"2025-05-16 17:24:41","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1287,"height":822,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements.png","medium-width":409,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":491,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements.png","large-width":1287,"large-height":822,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements.png","1536x1536-width":1287,"1536x1536-height":822,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements.png","2048x2048-width":1287,"2048x2048-height":822,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-728x465.png","card_image-width":728,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements.png","wide_image-width":1287,"wide_image-height":822}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>3. Create a definition query based on the building level attribute by selecting <strong>BldgLevel<\/strong> and <strong>includes the value(s)<\/strong>, and check the <strong>2<\/strong>, <strong>10<\/strong>, and <strong>8 <\/strong>boxes.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2796342,"id":2796342,"title":"Query for needed floors","filename":"Query-for-needed-floors.png","filesize":40241,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/query-for-needed-floors","alt":"Definition Query","author":"166382","description":"Definition query for the floor layer","caption":"Definition query for the floor layer","name":"query-for-needed-floors","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 17:22:55","modified":"2025-05-16 17:23:34","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":578,"height":306,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":113,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":246,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","medium_large-width":578,"medium_large-height":306,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","large-width":578,"large-height":306,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","1536x1536-width":578,"1536x1536-height":306,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","2048x2048-width":578,"2048x2048-height":306,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","card_image-width":578,"card_image-height":306,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Query-for-needed-floors.png","wide_image-width":578,"wide_image-height":306}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>4. Ensure that the elements fit your needs for the exterior shell depiction.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2796362,"id":2796362,"title":"Floors elements selected","filename":"Floors-elements-selected.png","filesize":239884,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/floors-elements-selected","alt":"Floor elements selected","author":"166382","description":"Floor elements selected","caption":"Floor elements selected","name":"floors-elements-selected","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 17:26:29","modified":"2025-05-16 17:26:51","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":624,"height":451,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected.png","medium-width":361,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected.png","medium_large-width":624,"medium_large-height":451,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected.png","large-width":624,"large-height":451,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected.png","1536x1536-width":624,"1536x1536-height":451,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected.png","2048x2048-width":624,"2048x2048-height":451,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected.png","card_image-width":624,"card_image-height":451,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Floors-elements-selected.png","wide_image-width":624,"wide_image-height":451}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>You can now append these elements to the exterior shell feature class.<\/p>\n<p>5. Open the Append geoprocessing tool and set the following parameters:<\/p>\n<p>a. For <strong>Input Dataset<\/strong>, select <strong>Floors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>b. For <strong>Target Dataset<\/strong>, select <strong>ExteriorShell<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>c. For <strong>Field Matching Type<\/strong>, select <strong>Use the field map to reconcile field differences<\/strong>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2796392,"id":2796392,"title":"Append Tool exteriorshell","filename":"AppendTool-e1747615175873.png","filesize":63944,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-e1747615175873.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/appendtool","alt":"","author":"166382","description":"Geoprocessing Tool Append floor elements","caption":"Append Geoprocessing Tool append floor elements to Exteriorshell feature class","name":"appendtool","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 17:43:31","modified":"2025-05-16 17:45:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":409,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-e1747615175873.png","medium-width":178,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-e1747615175873.png","medium_large-width":409,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-e1747615175873.png","large-width":409,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-e1747615175873.png","1536x1536-width":409,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-e1747615175873.png","2048x2048-width":409,"2048x2048-height":600,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-317x465.png","card_image-width":317,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AppendTool-e1747615175873.png","wide_image-width":409,"wide_image-height":600}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>6. Click <strong>Run<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The ExteriorShell feature class now includes the floors that were added by the Append geoprocessing tool.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2796412,"id":2796412,"title":"End result","filename":"End-result.png","filesize":299117,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/understand-and-improve-the-exterior-shell-of-the-building-layer-to-support-your-digital-twin\/end-result","alt":"New Exteriorshell feature class","author":"166382","description":"New Exteriorshell layer ","caption":"New Exteriorshell layer","name":"end-result","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2795962,"date":"2025-05-16 17:46:45","modified":"2025-05-16 17:47:19","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":624,"height":440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result.png","medium-width":370,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result.png","medium_large-width":624,"medium_large-height":440,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result.png","large-width":624,"large-height":440,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result.png","1536x1536-width":624,"1536x1536-height":440,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result.png","2048x2048-width":624,"2048x2048-height":440,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result.png","card_image-width":624,"card_image-height":440,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/End-result.png","wide_image-width":624,"wide_image-height":440}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h2>Automate editing the ExteriorShell feature class<\/h2>\n<p>The following code shows the workflow to improve the ExteriorShell feature class so the depiction of the building is more realistic.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<pre><code style=\"color: #24292e;background: #ffffff;padding: 1em\">\r\n<span style=\"color: #d73a49\">import<\/span> arcpy\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Set the input geodatabase and workspace<\/span>\r\ninput_gdb = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">r'C:\\Projects\\Jihlava_MultipurposeAreana_2025.gdb\\Multi_Areana'<\/span>\r\narcpy.env.workspace = input_gdb\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Define feature class and layer names<\/span>\r\nexteriorshell_fc = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'ExteriorShell_Multi_Areana'<\/span>\r\nfloors_fc = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'Floors_Multi_Areana'<\/span>\r\nworking_layer = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">\"memory\\\\ExteriorShell_lyr\"<\/span>\r\nworking_floors_layer = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">\"memory\\\\Floor_lyr\"<\/span>\r\ntemp_fc = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">\"ExteriorShell_Temp\"<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Delete existing temporary layer if it exists<\/span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #d73a49\">if<\/span> arcpy.Exists(working_layer):\r\n    arcpy.Delete_management(working_layer)\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Create a feature layer for processing<\/span>\r\narcpy.management.MakeFeatureLayer(exteriorshell_fc, working_layer)\r\n\r\nfilter_field = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'DocName'<\/span>\r\nfilter_values = [\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_I_ESI'<\/span>,\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_I_INT'<\/span>,\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_I_PODHLED_AKU'<\/span>,\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_I_TRB'<\/span>,\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_I_VZT'<\/span>,\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_III_ESI'<\/span>,\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_III_INT'<\/span>,\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_III_UTCH'<\/span>,\r\n    <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'19_024_JIHL_III_VZT'<\/span>\r\n]\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Build SQL WHERE clause to exclude these DocNames<\/span>\r\nwhere_clause = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">f\"<span style=\"color: #24292e\">{filter_field}<\/span> NOT IN (<span style=\"color: #24292e\">{<span style=\"color: #032f62\">', '<\/span>.join([<span style=\"color: #e36209\">repr<\/span>(name) <span style=\"color: #d73a49\">for<\/span> name <span style=\"color: #d73a49\">in<\/span> filter_values])}<\/span>)\"<\/span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #e36209\">print<\/span>(where_clause)\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Select features not in the excluded DocNames<\/span>\r\narcpy.management.SelectLayerByAttribute(working_layer, <span style=\"color: #032f62\">\"NEW_SELECTION\"<\/span>, where_clause)\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Delete existing temp feature class if it exists<\/span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #d73a49\">if<\/span> arcpy.Exists(temp_fc):\r\n    arcpy.Delete_management(temp_fc)\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Copy the selected features to a new feature class<\/span>\r\narcpy.management.CopyFeatures(working_layer, temp_fc)\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Delete existing temporary floor layer if it exists<\/span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #d73a49\">if<\/span> arcpy.Exists(working_floors_layer):\r\n    arcpy.Delete_management(working_floors_layer)\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Create a feature layer from the floors feature class<\/span>\r\narcpy.management.MakeFeatureLayer(floors_fc, working_floors_layer)\r\n\r\nfilter_field = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'BldgLevel'<\/span>\r\nfilter_values = [<span style=\"color: #005cc5\">2<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #005cc5\">8<\/span>, <span style=\"color: #005cc5\">10<\/span>]\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Build SQL WHERE clause to select these BldgLevels<\/span>\r\nfloors_where_clause = <span style=\"color: #032f62\">f\"<span style=\"color: #24292e\">{filter_field}<\/span> IN (<span style=\"color: #24292e\">{<span style=\"color: #032f62\">', '<\/span>.join([<span style=\"color: #e36209\">repr<\/span>(name) <span style=\"color: #d73a49\">for<\/span> name <span style=\"color: #d73a49\">in<\/span> filter_values])}<\/span>)\"<\/span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #e36209\">print<\/span>(floors_where_clause)\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Select floor features based on the where clause and append to temp_fc<\/span>\r\narcpy.management.SelectLayerByAttribute(working_floors_layer, <span style=\"color: #032f62\">\"NEW_SELECTION\"<\/span>, floors_where_clause)\r\narcpy.management.Append(inputs=working_floors_layer, target=temp_fc, schema_type=<span style=\"color: #032f62\">\"NO_TEST\"<\/span>)\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Replace the original exterior shell feature class with the updated one<\/span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #d73a49\">if<\/span> arcpy.Exists(exteriorshell_fc):\r\n    arcpy.Delete_management(exteriorshell_fc)\r\n    arcpy.AddMessage(<span style=\"color: #032f62\">'Exterior Shell Layer Deleted'<\/span>)\r\n    arcpy.Rename_management(temp_fc, exteriorshell_fc)\r\n    arcpy.AddMessage(<span style=\"color: #032f62\">'Generalized Layer Renamed to Exterior Shell'<\/span>)\r\n    arcpy.AlterAliasName(exteriorshell_fc, <span style=\"color: #032f62\">'ExteriorShell'<\/span>)\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #6a737d\"># Optional cleanup of temporary layers<\/span>\r\n<span style=\"color: #d73a49\">for<\/span> lyr <span style=\"color: #d73a49\">in<\/span> [working_layer, working_floors_layer]:\r\n    <span style=\"color: #d73a49\">if<\/span> arcpy.Exists(lyr):\r\n        arcpy.Delete_management(lyr)\r\n\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>This automation code is specific to this project, but you can use it as an example to implement automation with your data.<\/p>\n<h2>Summary<\/h2>\n<p>After following these steps, you can now automate, improved and added more detail to an exterior shell, and it is ready to be used in ArcGIS Pro or on ArcGIS Online.<\/p>\n<h2>Acknowledgement<\/h2>\n<p>Thank you to\u00a0ARCDATA PRAHA, s.r.o.\u00a0and the\u00a0City of Jihlava\u00a0(Magistr\u00e1t m\u011bsta Jihlavy) for sharing the digital models.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Download the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/home\/item.html?id=e8140e14b9884be185ce7c117467680d\">ArcGIS Notebook<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":166382,"user_firstname":"David","user_lastname":"Alvarez","nickname":"David Alvarez","user_nicename":"dalvarez","display_name":"David Alvarez","user_email":"DAlvarez@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2021-01-27 18:11:11","user_description":"David is a product engineer on the BIM\/CAD team and has been with Esri since 2018.","user_avatar":"<img data-del=\"avatar\" src='https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/02\/DavidAlvarez-213x200.jpg' class='avatar pp-user-avatar avatar-96 photo ' height='96' width='96'\/>"},{"ID":369202,"user_firstname":"Jared","user_lastname":"Kohler","nickname":"Jared Kohler","user_nicename":"jkohler","display_name":"Jared Kohler","user_email":"jkohler@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2025-02-27 20:55:45","user_description":"Jared Kohler is a Sr. Technical Consultant on a Denver-based data science team in Esri Professional Services. He's been helping customers with solution design and problem solving since 2021.","user_avatar":"<img data-del=\"avatar\" src='https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jared-Head-Shot-213x200.jpg' class='avatar pp-user-avatar avatar-96 photo ' height='96' width='96'\/>"}],"related_articles":"","show_article_image":true,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CARD-2.png","wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wide-Banner.png"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Understand and improve the exterior shell of the building layer to support your digital twin building layer, BIM, ArcGIS Pro, Revit, IFC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As urban populations continue to rise, the use of BIM in city planning will be pivotal in creating cities that can effectively address 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