Kubla Cubed User Manual


Absolute Elements

Platform, Slope, Path, Feature Surface & Triangle Surface, are all Absolute element types.

Absolute elements are those that are specified to a fixed datum. For instance elevations that are specified from Mean Seal Level (MSL) would be described as absolute elevations in Kubla Cubed. On a typical site plan most hard landscape elevations will be marked with absolute elevation. Operations like topsoil strip and re-spread will often be described with relative elevations but they are frequently marked in the notes rather than on the plan itself. With the absolute elevation elements there are many different ways of specifying elevations. The platform element is specified with a single value as it is a horizontal plane. The slope element which is also a plane but inclined can be defined with 3 points or an incline arrow. The Feature Surface elevations are defined with a number of elevation features (contours, break lines and points) and finally the Triangle Surface elevations are taken from the imported triangles.

Unlike relative elements, absolute elements do not have a ‘Depth From’ or ‘Heights From’ field, however they do have ‘Define’ field which allows you to define by Level and an Offset. Offsets allow you to move all the points in an element by a set amount, this is utilised to adjust to sub grade in certain work-flows.

Elements defined with absolute elevations cannot adjust elevations from previous elements in the calculation order like relative elements can. Absolute elements explicitly define what the proposed level should be so they totally override all previous elements in the calculation order when they intersect. This capability can be very advantages allowing projects to be build up in different layers. For instance one element may be used specify general elevations and then more elements can be added with more detail in certain critical areas without having to snap the boundaries together.