Standard v1.0 Last reviewed 22 October 2026 Changelog
The Hadaa Standard for Landscape DWGs
Draw a landscape DWG this way and it builds itself into a 3D model.
Draw it this way and your garden builds itself in 3D: plants named, stairs and walls standing, levels shaping the ground. Fourteen rules, two minutes to read, the exact words to write beside each.
Read the 14 rules first, then open a chapter for the full detail. It works with any CAD program that saves a .dwg: AutoCAD, DynaSCAPE, BricsCAD and Vectorworks exports.
- 156 plants, named
- 38 trees
- 3 flights of stairs
- 23 lights
- a pool, a patio, a fire pit and a pergola
- a house modelled from photographs
- 156 plants named
- 41 corrections by its own review
- 25 objects modelled
- 3 stairs modelled
The photo guide garden: drawn by us, built by the engine.
You draw. We build.
Draw to the Standard. Hadaa CAD Engine does the rest.
The only landscape tool that turns the DWG you already drew into a modelled, planted, reviewed 3D garden and house, automatically.
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1
It reads your drawing
Every layer, label, level and legend, straight from the file. Not a screenshot. Not a guess.
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2
It names every plant
Your legend becomes real species at real mature size. You never retype a plant list.
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3
It builds what you drew
The stairs, the pergola, the fire pit, the kitchen: modelled from your outlines, not rebuilt by hand.
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4
It models your house
Send photos of it. It stands on your plan, at your scale, wearing the brick and roof you photographed.
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5
It checks its own work
It holds the finished garden up against your drawing and fixes what is off, before you ever see it.
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6
It photographs the result
Any angle, every view checked against your plan. Client-ready, from the file you already had.
The cheat sheet
The 14 rules of the Standard
Two minutes to read. Open a rule for the exact words to write.
1
Send the file as you drew it
Your grades, tread levels and roof plan are already the model. Send the file untouched.
No tidying needed: stray content on a scratch layer changes nothing. One export command does cost you the model. DynaSCAPE's Clean Up Drawing for Export deletes grades, tread levels and the roof plan, and with them the relief, the steps and the roof you drew. Skip it and send the file as it is.
Not this
Run Clean Up Drawing for Export, then send.
Write this
Send the .dwg as it sits in your project folder.
The engine builds: The roof you drew, the levels you wrote and the treads you set, built exactly as drawn.
Read the chapter: Phases, units, hidden layers, what we ignore, file hygiene
2
Draw the garden once, in real units
One plan in model space with the unit set, and the model comes out at true size.
Set the drawing unit and know which unit your level labels use: feet, inches, metres or millimetres. Keep one copy of the plan. The engine reads model space, so the plan belongs there and not on a sheet tab. If the file states no unit and no dimension settles it, the Studio asks you and shows the plan's size under each choice.
Not this
Three copies of the plan in model space, unit left unset.
Write this
One plan in model space, unit set to feet.
The engine builds: A 3D model at true size.
3
One kind of thing per layer, named in plain words
Name the layer and the engine knows the thing: PAVING, PLANTING BED, STONE WALL, DECK RAIL, FENCE, LAWN, PAVILION.
A layer name is split into words and matched as whole words, so WALK_PATIO, Walk-Patio and walk patio are the same. Any naming scheme works: plain words, DynaSCAPE-style names, the National CAD Standard (L-PLNT-TREE-EXST) or your firm's own prefixes. Keep one kind per layer: a bed ring and a paving ring on one layer look the same to the engine.
Not this
A layer called STUFF that holds beds, paving and fence.
Write this
PAVING, PLANTING BED and FENCE, each on its own layer.
The engine builds: Each layer built as the kind of thing its name says.
4
Close every area
Close the ring and your bed, patio, deck or pool keeps exactly the edge you drew.
Gaps up to about a foot close on their own. For anything wider, close the ring with your CAD program's Close option, so the bed stays a bed and never runs into the lawn around it. Put each area on its own layer.
Not this
A bed ring with a 3 ft gap on the paving side.
Write this
A closed polyline on the PLANTING BED layer.
The engine builds: A bed, patio, deck or pool with the edge you drew.
5
Say what it is made of, with a leader
Write Mulch, Paver Patio or Bluestone treads with a leader, and the model wears it.
Write the material as you would say it. A leader tip lands inside the area or on the object. On a symbol, within about 3 ft of its centre. On a line, within about 2 ft of it. Where things sit close together, use a leader so the label names the right one.
Not this
A ring with no label.
Write this
Mulch (leader into the bed)
The engine builds: The material you named, worn by the 3D model and every render made from it.
6
State sizes, heights, counts and fate in the label
A label that states height, size, count and fate is built exactly that way.
A label states facts about one thing. Heights read as 3' ht. or HT 3'. Sizes read as 16x16' or 2x2x3'. A count is a number you wrote, such as (2) or QTY 5. Fate reads as Ex., New, to be removed, Relocate, by others or future. Say one fate per label.
Not this
Wall
Write this
Stone wall 3' ht.
The engine builds: The wall at 3 ft, in stone.
7
Write levels with a unit mark, a decimal and a code
Levels shape the ground. Write them as +30.8, 30.8', TW 30.8 or BW 28.0.
Levels carry more of the 3D model than anything else. A decimal, a sign or a code (TW, BW, FFE) tells the engine the number is a level. A unit mark settles the unit: 30.8' is feet, 322" is inches, 99.27 m is metres. Use one unit on a layer. A layer that holds two systems, survey feet and design inches, gets the marks ' and ".
Not this
28, on a notes layer.
Write this
+28.0 on the GRADES layer.
The engine builds: A ground that rises and falls where you wrote the levels.
8
Keep existing and proposed levels apart
Two layers, EX-GRADES and PR-GRADES, and the proposed ground is shaped from the existing.
Put proposed levels on a layer with a design word (PROPOSED_GRADES, FINISHED_GRADES) and existing levels on another (EX_GRADES). One layer works too, with P on every proposed level (+30.0P). Say which datum the levels are written in. Existing levels on a layer you switch off still count as the ground as it is.
Not this
Both sets of levels as bare numbers on one layer.
Write this
EX-GRADES and PR-GRADES as two layers.
The engine builds: The proposed ground, shaped from the existing ground.
9
Give walls, ramps and drops a level at both ends
A level on each tread and three or four on a drop: ramps follow your path and steps stand at their levels.
A ramp wall written TW 30.8 at the high end and TW 29.5 at the low end follows the path between them. Write a level on each step tread, at one end or both. Give a drop three or four levels: the top edge, the foot and one at each end. Three levels or more make a ground.
Not this
TW 30.8 at the high end of a ramp wall only.
Write this
TW 30.8 at the high end and TW 29.5 at the low end.
The engine builds: A wall that follows the path, and steps that stand at their written levels.
10
Draw walls as two closed faces, 0.3 to 2 ft thick
Close both faces and the wall stands at the thickness you drew. Railings get their own layer.
Draw both faces and close the ends with short caps, on a WALL layer. Make the band at least 3 ft long and at least three times as long as it is thick. Label it with a leader: Stone retaining wall (TW 31.0, BW 28.0). Put railings on a layer with RAIL, RAILING, HANDRAIL, GUARDRAIL or BALUSTRADE in the name, and call them railings in the label.
Not this
Two parallel faces with the ends open.
Write this
A closed band on the STONE WALL layer, labelled Stone wall (TW 31.0, BW 28.0).
The engine builds: A wall of the thickness you drew, retaining where the ground differs by 0.75 ft or more.
11
Draw contours as labelled polylines
Label each contour and the ground follows every one.
Draw each contour as one polyline or spline on a contour or grade layer and write its level on or beside it. Each label binds to the nearest contour of that layer, the whole line takes that level, and it shapes the ground every 2 ft. On a long run, label every fifth contour and state the interval. Existing contours may sit on a layer you switch off.
Not this
Contours drawn with no levels written.
Write this
A level written on each contour, on the CONTOUR layer.
The engine builds: A ground shaped by each labelled contour.
12
Keep swatches and details apart from the plan
Swatches and details on a layout tab, 30 ft clear or a LEGEND layer, and the engine picks the right garden.
This applies to hatch swatches and detail drawings, such as a wall section or a fence detail. Best first: move them to a layout tab; or leave them in model space at least 30 ft clear of the plan; or put them on a layer named LEGEND, which the engine skips. Leave your plant and lighting legends where they are: the engine finds those anywhere in model space.
Not this
A hatch swatch drawn 5 ft from the plan.
Write this
The swatch on a layout tab, or on the LEGEND layer.
The engine builds: The garden, chosen from the right group of drawing.
Read the chapter: Phases, units, hidden layers, what we ignore, file hygiene
13
Give plants a legend with full names
One symbol block per species with its full name beside it, and every plant is named at mature size.
A legend is a column of sample symbols with a name beside each. Use one symbol block per species and the full name: genus and species, or the full common name. The name goes to every placement of that block. Draw each symbol at the plant's mature spread.
Not this
A legend row that says Perennial.
Write this
Hakonechloa macra beside one symbol block.
The engine builds: Each plant named, at its mature size, in the colour its name states.
14
Draw by-others and later work outside the house
Draw by-others and later work outside the house outline and it stays a structure you can build with one switch.
Draw the structure outside the house outline on its own layer, or as its own closed ring with the house outline stopping at the wall it attaches to. Label it by others, later phase or future. It is drawn in the plan and listed in the Studio, where you can build it now with one switch. When you change your drawing, upload it with File > Import Revised Drawing so your answers, edits and renders stay.
Not this
Glass Enclosure (By Others) drawn inside the house outline.
Write this
Its own closed ring outside the house outline, labelled Glass Enclosure (By Others).
The engine builds: The house as drawn, and the structure ready to build when you choose.
Read the chapter: Phases, units, hidden layers, what we ignore, file hygiene
The full guide
Every rule, with the exact words
The engine reads your file's own lines, layers, labels and levels, so a clear drawing becomes a clear 3D model. Every height and roof it chooses is listed in the Studio's Reading report before you spend a credit.
- Closed outline
- A polyline whose last point meets its first, with no gap. Use your CAD program's Close option.
- Leader
- The line from a text label to the thing it describes. The engine finds the thing at the leader's tip.
- Model space
- The big open drawing area where your plan lives.
- Layout tab (paper space)
- The sheet tabs next to Model. The engine reads model space.
- TW and BW
- Top of wall and bottom of wall, written as levels: TW 31.0, BW 28.0.
- Level
- An elevation number written on the plan.
Layers
Name layers in plain words and the engine knows what each one is. Any scheme works.
- Names split at hyphens, underscores, spaces, digits and capitals. WALK_PATIO, Walk-Patio and walk patio are the same, and plurals are fine (TREES is TREE).
- What a layer holds beats its prefix. A layer called DIM-Grades that holds level texts is read as levels. A layer of long lines beside numbers is read as contours.
- A layer the engine does not recognise is interpreted from its name and what is on it, and the Reading report lists that reading for you to confirm or change in Edit > Name Unidentified Objects. Naming it in the file settles it at once.
- Put railings on a layer with RAIL in the name (L-DECK-RAIL) and walls on a wall layer. Name pool pumps, filters and heaters as equipment, since a layer named POOL is water.
- Layer 0 holds art only. A layer named for a phase or state (LATER_PHASE, EXIST_REMOVE, DEMO) is drawn as drawn, and its symbols are told by their blocks, so put the fate in the label too.
Exact wording
Layer names for each kind of thing
Write this
TREES, PLANTING BED, STONE WALL, FENCE, LAWN, PAVILION
Existing and proposed prefixes
Write this
EX-Trees, PR-Shrubs, DEMO-Fence
Labels and leaders
A label states the facts, a leader points at the thing, and the engine builds exactly that.
- A leader tip lands on the object or inside the area. On a symbol, within about 3 ft of its centre. On a line, within about 2 ft of it.
- A label with no leader names what is within about 10 ft of the words. Use a leader whenever things are close.
- One leader per thing. For a row, such as a hedge or a run of fence, point at one member or at the line itself.
- Write the words as a designer would. Plain, standard wording is read for what it says.
- Say one fate per label. Work done to a thing is not its fate: Remove dead branches keeps the tree existing.
- Keep levels out of heights. TW 31.0 is a level. Name the columns when you state column sizes: Stone Columns (2x2x3' ht.).
- Say where in words and what in a separate word. Basement, front, rear and upper say where. Write the material as Paver Walkway.
Exact wording
Height
Not this
6' on its own
Write this
6' FENCE
Size on plan
Write this
16x16'
Existing, new, removed
Write this
(2) Ex. Spiraea
By others or later
Write this
Glass Enclosure (By Others)
A wall stated by levels
Write this
Stone wall TW 31.0 BW 28.0
Mulch and planting beds
A closed ring on the planting bed layer is a bed with exactly the edge you drew.
- A closed ring on a PLANTING_BED layer is a bed, with or without a label. A Planting Bed label written inside a closed ring on an unnamed layer makes it a bed.
- A Mulch leader into a ring on the bed layer makes the bed mulch. The layer is the sure way.
- A bed and a patio sharing an edge stay two areas when each has its own closed ring.
- A bed stands flush with the ground and the paving round it. To raise it, label it Raised planting bed (18" ht.) or write a TW level on its edging. A stated height wins.
- Close the bed on the paving side too. Beside pool coping, draw the coping as its own ring and the bed as its own ring.
- For a bed in a lawn, close the bed ring and leave the lawn open. Give each small island its own closed ring and a Planting bed leader.
Exact wording
Bed label
Write this
Planting bed
Raised bed
Write this
Raised planting bed (18" ht.)
Lawn
Three ways to get a lawn, and every one works. Choose one per drawing.
- Draw a closed property line and leave the lawn open: ground inside the property that nothing names is lawn.
- Write LAWN, TURF, SOD or GRASS on the lawn with no outline: the area around the word, bounded by the other lines, is lawn.
- Outline the lawn as a closed ring on a LAWN layer: lawn exactly as drawn.
- A lawn hatch (GRASS, TURF, LAWN, SOD) is lawn. Any other hatch the engine does not name is a hard surface.
- To make a narrow strip lawn, write LAWN on it. With no property line and no label, unnamed ground reads as open ground.
Exact wording
Name the lawn
Write this
LAWN
Levels (elevations)
Levels carry more of the 3D model than anything else, so give them room.
- Write a decimal (+30.8), a sign (+31) or a code (TW 31, FFE 100.0). A whole number reads as a level on a grade, spot or contour layer. A level with a code reads on any layer.
- Put a unit mark on the number where you can: 30.8' feet, 322" inches, 99.27 m metres. On a metric drawing, write metres with a decimal point.
- Codes the engine knows: TW, BW, FFE, FG, EG, BF, GF, TOF and more. P after a number is proposed (30.0P) and e is existing (29.77e).
- Best for existing and proposed: two layers named for what they hold. Also fine: one layer with P on every proposed level.
- Three or more levels make a ground. Add a level wherever the ground changes: every wall end, every step, every edge of paving, the top and foot of a drop.
- Write TW at each end of a wall. A wall whose two sides differ by 0.75 ft or more is retaining, and the ground steps under it.
- Write a level on each tread, within 0.1 ft counting once. Draw a flight as one box per tread, in a column, on a step or paving layer.
- For a sheer drop, write three or four levels, or draw it as a wall with TW on the top and BW at the foot. Pool coping is a band between two rings on the pool layer.
- Say a raised or sunk area in a label with a leader: Raised paver patio (18" ht.).
- Draw each contour as a polyline on a contour layer and write its level beside it. Label as many as you can.
- Two systems on one drawing, survey feet and design inches, are read layer by layer. Put a unit mark on at least one level per system, keep a system on its own layer and note which datum each uses.
- Set the drawing's unit so the engine reads feet, inches, millimetres, centimetres or metres.
Exact wording
A level
Not this
28
Write this
+28.0
A unit mark
Write this
30.8'
A wall top and foot
Write this
TW 30.8, BW 28.0
A proposed level on a shared layer
Write this
+30.0P
A raised area
Write this
Raised paver patio (18" ht.)
Walls
Draw both faces, close the ends, and the wall stands at the thickness you drew.
- Make the band 0.3 to 2 ft thick, at least 3 ft long and at least three times as long as it is thick.
- Label it with a leader: Stone retaining wall (TW 31.0, BW 28.0) or Stone wall 3' ht.
- For a thick mass, draw a closed ring on the paving or deck layer instead of a wall band.
- A single line on a wall layer is a thin wall at 2 ft. Give it a height in its label.
- A real opening 2.5 ft or wider between two wall pieces stays open, so a stepped walk reads as two walls. Breaks under about 2 ft close.
- A freestanding wall is the default. It retains when the ground on its two sides differs by 0.75 ft or more, so write levels on each side.
- A pillar is a block named PILLAR or COLUMN, or a closed ring 0.75 to 3.5 ft across. State its size and height: Stone Columns (2x2x3' ht.).
Exact wording
A retaining wall
Write this
Stone retaining wall (TW 31.0, BW 28.0)
Columns
Write this
Stone Columns (2x2x3' ht.)
Steps and stairs
Three ways to draw steps, best first. Each is built tread by tread.
- One closed outline per tread on the step layer (PORCH_STEP, STAIR) with a level written on each tread. Each tread is built at its level.
- Nosing lines: three or more parallel lines, 0.6 to 2 ft apart, each 2 to 20 ft long, across the walk, with levels on the treads or at the top and foot.
- A label with a leader: Steps, Stair or Landing names a face as steps.
- Write the level on every tread. Draw landings as closed outlines on the step layer.
- For curved steps, draw each tread as a closed arc-shaped outline and write a level on each.
- For step lights, put a block on the step layer or write Step lights with a leader, and the light is set into the riser.
- Keep the stair on its own layer. A riser runs about 4 to 8 inches.
Exact wording
Step lights
Write this
Step lights
Railings and fences
Give railings and fences their own layers and each stands where it belongs.
- Put railings on a layer with RAIL, RAILING, HANDRAIL, GUARDRAIL or BALUSTRADE in the name (L-DECK-RAIL). Put fences on a FENCE layer.
- Label with height and style. A fence with no stated height is 6 ft, so state the railing's height too.
- The engine reads your label's words first, then the layer name.
- A railing along a platform 2.5 ft or higher stands on the top of the deck, stoop or patio.
- A callout that says TYP. gives its height and material to every line of that layer and kind that no other callout points at.
- For a post and rail fence, write FENCE in the label and keep it on a FENCE layer. A gate is a line on a GATE or FENCE layer.
Exact wording
A railing
Write this
Balustrade railing 3' ht.
A fence
Write this
6' black aluminum fence
Paving
A closed ring on the paving layer and a label, and the patio is laid in the material you named.
- Label it: Paver Patio, Bluestone walk, Flagstone terrace. A stated material is kept.
- A hatch inside the ring says the pattern. AR-HBONE, AR-B816, BRICK, STONE, FLAGSTONE and ASHLAR are paving. BOARDS and DECKING are a deck. GRASS and LAWN are lawn. WATER is water. EARTH, MULCH and BARK are a bed. DOTS and GRAVEL are gravel.
- Draw a paver border or soldier course as its own closed ring on the paving layer, with its own hatch or label (Bluestone border). It stays what you drew.
- Draw each paving material in one patio as its own closed ring with its own label.
- Write the level on paving at a different level. A step, threshold or landing in the paving follows the steps chapter.
Exact wording
A border
Write this
Bluestone border
A patio
Write this
Paver Patio
Planting
A symbol, a label and a legend give every plant its name and its mature size.
- Use a block per plant type. Draw each symbol at the plant's mature spread: a tree stands about 1.2 times its canopy width and a shrub about 0.8.
- Put the species in the label with a leader: (2) Ex. Spiraea, Crimson Queen Japanese Maple. A colour word such as Crimson, Golden, Blue or Burgundy sets the look. A common name is enough and a botanical name is better.
- Write a count as (5) or QTY 5.
- A plant schedule, one row per line on a steady pitch under a heading, tells the engine what each plant is and how many.
- A legend needs several samples, each with a text beside it, and one symbol block per species. The engine finds it anywhere in model space.
- Write the genus and species or the full common name. Nursery sizes such as 2.5" CAL or 5 GAL are notes, and are not read as heights or levels.
- A closed ring of 20 sq ft or more on a planting layer with a plant callout inside is a planted bed. Put the count in the label.
- To remove or relocate a plant, say so in that plant's own label with the leader's tip on the symbol.
Exact wording
A species
Write this
Crimson Queen Japanese Maple
A count
Write this
(2) Ex. Spiraea
Furniture, lights, water, utilities, buildings
Name the block for the thing, and the engine stands it at a known height.
- Furniture: use a block named for the thing (CHAIR, TABLE, FIREPIT, GRILL, UMBRELLA, BENCH, CHAISE). A label helps: Fire pit, Outdoor kitchen.
- Lights: put them on a LIGHT layer. Write the type in the label or legend: path, step, spot, uplight, wall, bollard, post, pool. Draw a wall or step light's insertion point on the face that carries it.
- Pool: closed rings on the water layer, the water innermost and the coping as the band round it. State the size: Soak Pool (7x13').
- Hot tub: spa, hot tub and jacuzzi are all known names. Label it with a leader whose tip lands on the block. Mark one supplied by someone else by others.
- Pumps, filters, heaters, condensers, meters, valves and drains are drawn flat as the symbol you drew. Name them in the block or label. An A/C condenser on its pad stands as one.
- House: draw the outline on the BUILDING layer as a closed polyline, the walls and not the eaves. Put roof lines on the building layer. Leave door gaps up to about 18 ft.
- Write Two storey in the label to set eaves height. A part under 40 sq ft against a wall is a chimney or bay.
Exact wording
A hot tub
Write this
7 ft hot tub
A pool
Write this
Soak Pool (7x13')
Lights
Write this
Step lights
Phases, units, hidden layers, what we ignore, file hygiene
Say the phase in the label and send one garden per file, and the engine builds the phase you meant.
- Later phase, Phase 2, Future, Not Included and Optional are drawn in the plan and not built. By others, N.I.C. and Not in contract are skipped the same way. In the Studio, a Later phase or by others list lets you switch one to build now.
- Layers you switch off or freeze are not drawn or built, and their words are still read. Delete a thing or label it to be removed instead of hiding its layer.
- The engine skips the sheet (border, title block, logo, north arrow, scale bar), paper space, dimension lines as geometry, notes that name no thing, and layers named TEMP, SHADOW, DEFPOINTS, DIM, LEGEND and CTRLINE.
- Keep one garden per file. The engine picks the garden by what each group is: a mix of kinds, a building, water and labels all count for it.
- Bind external references and explode proxy objects and 3D solids you want read. Keep text as text.
- The engine reads lines, polylines, arcs, circles, ellipses, splines, text, hatches, solids, blocks, leaders and dimensions.
Exact wording
Phase wording
Write this
Later Phase
Supplied by someone else
Write this
by others
A revised drawing
Change your drawing without losing your work in the Studio.
- Use File > Import Revised Drawing on the drawing's tab.
- Your answers, edits, materials, house model and renders stay.
- The revision's changes are shown by layer.
- A revision that keeps under half of the old file is read as another drawing, so upload that one as a new drawing.
Around the pavilion (and any outdoor room)
Draw each part of an outdoor room as its own thing and the whole room stands.
- Pavilion roof and floor: a closed ring on the PAVILION layer, 40 sq ft or more, labelled Pavilion Structure (16x16'). It stands 9 ft high on posts unless you state a height.
- Paver floor: a closed ring on the paving layer with a paver hatch, labelled Paver Patio.
- Mulch bed beside it: a closed ring on the planting bed layer, closed on every side including the pavilion side.
- Wall around or behind: two faces closed at the ends on a masonry layer, 0.3 to 2 ft thick, with a label such as Stone wall (TW 31.0, BW 28.0).
- Raised or sunk floor: a closed ring with levels on its edge and one on the ground beside it.
- Columns: a block named PILLAR or COLUMN, or a closed ring 0.75 to 3.5 ft across at the corners, labelled Stone Columns (2x2x3' ht.).
- Roof: roof lines on the building layer, or a label on the structure. The words gable, hip, flat, pyramid, shed, barrel and mansard are read.
- Structure by others or later: its own closed ring outside the house outline, labelled by others or later phase.
Exact wording
A pavilion
Write this
Pavilion Structure (16x16')
Its roof
Write this
Pavilion open gable
Quick answers
Draw it this way
Find your situation, copy what to draw, and see exactly what gets built.
-
A hot tub
Write or draw
Name the block HOT TUB or SPA, put a leader from the label onto the block, and draw its footprint as a closed outline when its shape matters.
The engine builds
A hot tub at 3 ft, in the shape you drew.
-
A wide accent band
Write or draw
Draw it as its own closed ring on the paving layer, with a paving hatch or a label such as Bluestone border.
The engine builds
A band that stays the paving you drew.
-
A structure by others or later, beside the house
Write or draw
Draw it outside the house outline, or as its own closed ring, and label it by others or later phase.
The engine builds
The house as drawn, and the structure listed in the Studio so you can build it now.
-
Roof lines
Write or draw
Put roof lines on the building layer, with the house outline.
The engine builds
The ridges, hips and valleys you drew, read from your file.
-
Existing and proposed levels
Write or draw
Mark each proposed level with P (+30.0P), or use two layers, EX-GRADES and PR-GRADES.
The engine builds
The proposed ground, shaped from the existing ground.
-
A sheer drop
Write or draw
Write three or four levels: the top edge, the foot and one at each end. Or draw the drop as a wall with TW on the top and BW at the foot.
The engine builds
A sheer face where you drew one.
-
A curved stair
Write or draw
Outline each tread as a closed arc-shaped ring and write a level on each.
The engine builds
A curved flight, tread by tread.
-
Closing an area
Write or draw
Close the ring with your CAD program's Close option.
The engine builds
A bed or area with exactly the edge you drew.
-
A material such as brown shingle or porcelain
Write or draw
Write it as you normally would. Nothing in the drawing changes.
The engine builds
Your drawn shape and colour, with the material looked up, kept in the material library and listed in the Reading report.
-
Notes such as See detail 3
Write or draw
Write them as you normally would.
The engine builds
Notes kept as notes, beside the model.
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A level written as a whole number
Write or draw
Put levels on a grade layer, or write +28.0.
The engine builds
A level on the ground at that point.
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Levels in two unit systems
Write or draw
Mark one level per system with ' or ", and keep each system on its own layer.
The engine builds
Each system read in its own unit, with the fit shown in the Reading report.
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Contours
Write or draw
Label every contour.
The engine builds
A ground shaped by every contour you labelled.
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A perennial in the plant legend
Write or draw
Write the species: Hakonechloa macra.
The engine builds
A named plant at its mature size.
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Plant blocks
Write or draw
Add a legend row or a label for every block.
The engine builds
Each plant named from your own legend.
Changelog
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v1.0 ยท 24 October 2026
First public edition: 14 rules, 14 chapters and a Draw it this way list, from the Hadaa SOP last reviewed against the engine on 2026-10-22.
Last reviewed against the engine on 22 October 2026.
Questions designers ask
Which CAD programs does the Standard work with?
It holds for any CAD program that saves a .dwg: AutoCAD, DynaSCAPE, BricsCAD and Vectorworks exports. The engine reads the file's own lines, layers, labels and levels.
Do I need to outline the lawn?
No. Draw a closed property line and leave the lawn open, or write LAWN on it, or outline it as a closed ring on a LAWN layer. Choose one per drawing.
Which layer names should I use?
Plain words work: PAVING, PLANTING BED, STONE WALL, FENCE, LAWN. DynaSCAPE-style names, National CAD Standard names such as L-PLNT-TREE-EXST and your firm's own prefixes give the same result.
Do I clean up the file before I send it?
Send it as you drew it. DynaSCAPE's Clean Up Drawing for Export deletes grades, tread levels and the roof plan, so skip it. Stray content on a scratch layer changes nothing.
I changed my drawing after uploading it. What do I do?
Use File > Import Revised Drawing on the drawing's tab. Your answers, edits, materials, house model and renders stay.
What do I see before I spend a credit?
The Reading report: everything the engine found, every height and roof it chose and any layer it interpreted, each flagged so you can confirm or change it in Edit > Name Unidentified Objects.
Your drawing already holds the model.
Other tools make you rebuild a drawing by hand in a modelling tool. Send a file drawn to the Standard to Hadaa CAD Engine and the model is built for you.
The only tool that does all six, from the file you already drew. No 3D modelling by you. Ever.
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