> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://luw-ai.gitbook.io/luw.ai-studio/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://luw-ai.gitbook.io/luw.ai-studio/building/terrain-and-outdoors.md).

# Terrain, terraces and fences

Sculpt the ground around your building, lay out open-air terraces, and run fences with gates that open, all from the Outdoor group of the Build tab.

The **Outdoor** group in the **Build** tab has three tools for the space around your building: **Fence**, **Terrain** and **Terrace**. Set up the lot first (see [Site and parcel](/luw.ai-studio/building/site-and-parcel.md)). Trees, grass, ponds and sky come from the [Nature and Environment plugins](/luw.ai-studio/plugins/plugins.md).

## Sculpt the ground

Click **Terrain** or press `G`. Luw\.ai Studio switches to the site, opens the 3D view if it's hidden, and shows the sculpt controls at the bottom of the **Build** tab.

Pick a brush. Each one draws its ring on the ground in its own colour:

| Brush       | Ring   | A drag…                                                        |
| ----------- | ------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Raise**   | green  | builds the ground up, at most 1 m per pass                     |
| **Lower**   | red    | digs it down, at most 1 m per pass                             |
| **Flatten** | blue   | levels it toward the **Target** height (the brush armed first) |
| **Smooth**  | violet | rounds off slopes and ridges                                   |

A pass is one press-and-drag; to go further, let go and drag again.

<figure><img src="https://1629954275-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F3c2lKXqxOtmrzgrQQpGP%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-174d40986e7aeda10e06f5833161a192a17be5c4%2Fterrain-and-outdoors-sculpt-brush.webp?alt=media" alt="The Build tab with Terrain lit under Outdoor and its modes Raise, Lower, Flatten and Smooth, Raise chosen, the note Drag to raise the ground. One pass moves it up to 1 m and the Size field; in the 3D view two raised mounds on the lot beside the flat, the brush circle with H 0m, and the Raise terrain hint panel"><figcaption><p>Raise the ground with the Terrain brush. Each pass lifts it by up to 1 m.</p></figcaption></figure>

### Set the brush

| Setting               | Range                                                   | Starts at |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | --------- |
| **Size** (the radius) | 0.75 m to 20 m; the minimum is larger on a very big lot | 2 m       |
| **Strength**          | 0.05 to 1                                               | 0.6       |
| **Softness**          | 0 (a hard edge) to 1                                    | 0.6       |
| Tip                   | **Round** or **Square**                                 | **Round** |

`]` makes the brush bigger and `[` smaller. Hold the key to keep resizing.

### Level a building pad

With **Flatten**, every stroke works toward the **Target** height (−50 m to 50 m). Set it with the slider, or click the eyedropper (**Pick target height from the ground**) and then the ground. With no target set, your first click samples the ground under it.

**Level lot** flattens the whole lot to the **Target** height (0 m if none is set). **Clear terrain** removes the sculpted ground altogether.

### Keys while sculpting

The hint panel names the brush you're holding, such as **Raise terrain**.

| Key                 | What it does                                                              |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Drag                | **Raise ground**, **Lower ground**, **Level ground** or **Smooth ground** |
| `[` / `]`           | **Brush size**                                                            |
| `Esc` during a drag | **Cancel stroke**: the ground goes back and the brush stays armed         |
| `Esc` between drags | Leaves terrain mode                                                       |
| `Ctrl/Cmd + Z`      | Undoes the last stroke; each drag is one step                             |

The brush only shapes the ground inside the property line.

## What follows the ground

On the ground floor, the model sits on the ground you shaped:

* **Walls** are lifted onto it. Where the slope drops away, set a wall's **Bottom** to **Fill to terrain** to carry it down to the ground ([Walls](/luw.ai-studio/building/walls.md)).
* **Rooms** keep a flat floor, just above the highest ground under their walls.
* **Items** in the garden stand on the ground, upright.
* **Slabs** you draw reach down to the slope with **Foundation** set to **Follows terrain** ([Floors and levels](/luw.ai-studio/building/floors-and-levels.md#adjust-a-slab)).
* **Fences** follow it too; see [Follow the slope](#follow-the-slope).
* **Walkthrough** puts you on the sculpted ground, so you walk up the hill and down into the hollow ([Walkthrough and VR](/luw.ai-studio/plugins/walkthrough-and-vr.md)).

Upper storeys keep their own floors.

## Lay out a terrace

A terrace is an outdoor room named **Terrace**: it has a floor but no walls and no ceiling. Click **Terrace** under **Outdoor**, then click the shape chip in the hint panel or press `T` to switch between **Shape: Rectangle** and **Shape: Polygon**.

| Shape         | How to draw it                                                                                               |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Rectangle** | Click one corner, then the opposite one, or drag across.                                                     |
| **Polygon**   | Click each corner. Click the first one again or press `Enter` to finish. `Backspace` removes the last point. |

The outline snaps to rooms and the grid. The tool stays armed for the next terrace; press `Esc` when you're done.

A terrace needs at least 1 m², its edges can't cross, and it can't overlap a room (the message names the room). The exception is a walled space you haven't named, such as a courtyard: trace exactly round it and it becomes the terrace.

Select a finished terrace like any room to paint its floor, change its height, use **Divide room**, move it or delete it. See [Zones](/luw.ai-studio/building/zones.md).

## Build a fence

Click **Fence** under **Outdoor**. A new fence is a white picket fence, 1.8 m tall. The hint panel has two chips:

* **Type: Straight**, **Type: Curved** or **Type: Freehand**: press `T` to step through them.
* **Straight: Continuous** or **Straight: Single**: press `C` to switch. **Continuous**, the default, starts each section where the last one ended.

Then draw:

* **Straight**: click the start, then the end. Keep clicking to extend the run; `Esc` stops.
* **Curved**: click points along the line, then press `Enter` or double-click.
* **Freehand**: press, drag the line out and let go.

The fence snaps to walls, other fences and the grid.

### Pick a style

Select a fence to open its panel. Under **Style**, choose **Slat**, **Rail**, **Privacy**, **Horizontal**, **Guard** or **Picket**. **Guard** is a deck barrier filled with **Balusters**, **Cable** or **Boards**. **Base style** sets how it meets the ground:

* **Grounded**: a kickboard along the ground.
* **Floating**: the panel held clear of the ground on its posts, as new fences start.
* **Raised**: a bottom rail above the ground, with the posts going down to it.

**Dimensions** has **Length**, **Curve**, **Height** and **Thickness**; **Pattern distribution** and **Structure** fine-tune posts, pickets, rails and caps.

### Follow the slope

Curved and freehand fences follow the ground all along. Their **Surface** section says how:

* **Surface behavior**: **Follow highest surface** (the default), **Follow selected surface** (pick it under **Surface**), or **Hold starting height**.
* **Height transitions**: where the surface jumps, say from the lawn up onto a deck, **Slope** ramps the rails over the **Transition length**, **Step** puts a taller post at the change, and **Break** splits the fence with a post either side.

A straight section stands level at the ground height where it starts, so on a slope draw a continuous run of short sections, or a curved fence. **Vertical offset** raises or lowers any fence.

## Add a gate or an opening

Select a fence, or keep the Fence tool armed, and the **Build** tab shows **Fence features** with a **Gate** tile and an **Opening** tile (an open passage). Pick one and set it up:

* **Match fence style**, ticked to begin with. Untick it to choose a **Gate style**: **Picket**, **Vertical slats**, **Horizontal boards**, **Solid privacy** or **Open rails**.
* **Opening width (m)**: 0.35 to 12, starting at 1.1.
* **Leaves**: **Single gate** or **Double gate**.

Hover a fence to preview, then click to place. It needs a clear stretch, away from other gates and the fence's ends. The **Scene** tab lists it under its fence.

To open a gate, select it and press `E`, or click **Open** in its action menu, and it swings to 90°. **Close** shuts it again. Its panel adds **Hinge side**, **Swing direction**, **Bracing**, **Opening angle** (0 to 170°), **Gate height**, **Ground clearance** and **Remove gate**.

## Ask Archiagent.ai

In **Edit with AI**, [Archiagent.ai](/luw.ai-studio/luw.ai-ai-tools/archiagent.md) can take on the outdoor work:

* **Fences** through any points you describe: one per side, a whole run, or right round the lot, in any of the six styles, with a height, base style and material. Try "a slat fence round the lot, open on the street side".
* **Terraces**, as outdoor rooms: "add a 4 × 3 m terrace outside the living room".
* **Changes and finishes**: new settings for an existing fence, paint, or an [AI texture](/luw.ai-studio/luw.ai-ai-tools/ai-textures.md).

Archiagent doesn't sculpt the ground or add gates; use the **Terrain** brush and the **Gate** tile for those.

## Related pages

* [Site and parcel](/luw.ai-studio/building/site-and-parcel.md)
* [Floors and levels](/luw.ai-studio/building/floors-and-levels.md)
* [Walls](/luw.ai-studio/building/walls.md)
* [Zones](/luw.ai-studio/building/zones.md)
* [Plugins](/luw.ai-studio/plugins/plugins.md)
* [Keyboard shortcuts](/luw.ai-studio/getting-started/keyboard-shortcuts.md)