Blue Whale

Urban-scale design tools — OpenStreetMap data import, terrain operations, road generation, 3D building extrusion, and land-use colour management.

OSM Import & Coordinates

`knOSMImport`

The primary tool for bringing OpenStreetMap data into Rhino. It reads .osm files and automatically sorts geometry into organized layers based on their tags (buildings, roads, waterways, etc.).

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Browse and select an `.osm` file
	Output	2D curve geometry categorized onto structured layers with metadata attached

`knOSMTransform`

Transforms OpenStreetMap geometry between origin coordinates and world coordinates. Moves coordinates to (0,0,0) to prevent precision issues, or restores real-world geographic coordinates.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Options: `[Direction=ToOrigin/ToWorld]`, `[Target=All/Selection]`
	Output	Moves geometry and updates offset vector metadata

Terrain & Projection

`knProjectSrftoTerrain`

Drapes planar surfaces (like landscape zones or site plots) onto complex topography. Unlike standard projection, this preserves face continuity better for urban surfaces.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Select planar surfaces; select target mesh terrain
	Output	Projected geometry conforming to topographic heights

Roads & Site

`knDrawRoad`

Generates 3D road surfaces from centerline curves or interactive point picking. Projects road geometry onto the ground surface.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Select centerline curves or pick path points; enter road width
	Output	3D surface geometry representing the road lane

Buildings & Data

`knOSM3d`

Bulk extrusion of building footprints into 3D masses. It prioritizes building:levels and height tags from the OSM metadata to generate accurate city blocks.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Select building footprint curves (preselection supported)
	Output	Closed polysurface massing on 3D building layers

`knMassFloorArea`

Calculates the Gross Floor Area (GFA) for selected 3D masses. It multiplies footprint area by the number of levels found in the object’s metadata.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Select building masses
	Output	Prints total GFA to command line; copies result to clipboard

`knCreateColorsforUses`

Automates the aesthetic classification of the urban model. It assigns color palettes to layers based on standard land-use categories (Residential = Yellow, Commercial = Red, etc.).

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	None
	Output	Layer colors updated across the document

`knShowPrograms`

Launches a modeless dashboard for managing urban programmatic data. Allows for real-time visualization of land-use splits.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	None
	Output	Dashboard interface for urban statistics

Data Validation

`knCrossCheckAreas`

Compares the geometric area of Rhino objects against the stored “area” attribute from the source dataset. Highlights discrepancies where the model geometry might be corrupted or outdated.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Select objects to validate
	Output	Reports delta between geometric and attribute areas

`knCurveBooleanUnion`

A robust boolean union tool specifically for overlapping footprint curves. It is “tougher” than standard Rhino commands, handling the intersections and overlaps often found in raw OSM datasets.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Select multiple overlapping curves
	Output	Single merged boundary curve

Layer Reference

Layer	Contents
`URBAN2D::buildings`	2D building footprint curves from OSM import
`URBAN2D::roads`	2D road curves from OSM import
`URBAN3D::buildings`	3D extruded building masses
`URBAN3D::*`	Other 3D urban elements
`Default` / others	All other OSM categories

`knDisplayConduit`

Provides a dynamic, real-time screen-space overlay of object areas. Displays individual object area labels directly on the viewport, along with a running total area readout in the top-left corner.

Icon	Property	Detail
	Input	Select objects or run command.
	Output	Executes specified action.