sverchok-impl-topologic

sverchok-impl-topologic

Quick Reference

What Is TopologicSverchok

TopologicSverchok integrates the topologicpy non-manifold topology (NMT) library with Sverchok's parametric node system. It enables hierarchical and topological representations of architectural spaces, buildings, and artefacts through 326 nodes organized by topology class.

• 326 nodes in the nodes/Topologic/ directory
• Non-manifold topology: lines, surfaces, and volumes coexist simultaneously
• AEC workflows: envelope analysis, space adjacency, dual graphs, energy simulation
• Integrations: IFC (ifcopenshell), OpenStudio/EnergyPlus, Speckle, Neo4j, DGL
• License: AGPL-3.0
• Repository: https://github.com/wassimj/TopologicSverchok
• Python API: https://topologicpy.readthedocs.io

Topology Class Hierarchy

Class	Dimension	AEC Example	Key Nodes
Vertex	0D	Column insertion point	VertexByCoordinates, VertexEnclosingCell
Edge	1D	Structural beam axis	EdgeByVertices, EdgeLength, EdgeDirection
Wire	1D composite	Room boundary outline	WireByEdges, WireRectangle, WireIsClosed
Face	2D	Wall surface, floor slab	FaceByEdges, FaceArea, FaceTrimByWire
Shell	2D composite	Building envelope	ShellByFaces, ShellByLoft, ShellIsClosed
Cell	3D	Room volume	CellByFaces, CellVolume, CellInternalVertex
CellComplex	3D non-manifold	Multi-room building	CellComplexByFaces, CellComplexDecompose
Cluster	Mixed	Building group	ClusterByTopologies, ClusterType

Critical Warnings

NEVER confuse Topologic topology objects with Blender mesh data — they are completely different representations. Convert with TopologyByGeometry (Blender to Topologic) or TopologyBlenderGeometry (Topologic to Blender).

NEVER pass raw Blender vertex coordinates directly to Topologic nodes — always use VertexByCoordinates to create Topologic Vertex objects first.

NEVER assume all faces in a CellComplex are planar — TopologicSverchok requires planar geometry; use TopologyIsPlanar to verify before building CellComplex structures.

ALWAYS check optional dependency availability before using IFC, Energy, Speckle, or Neo4j nodes — these require separate installations of ifcopenshell, OpenStudio, specklepy, or py2neo.

ALWAYS use CellComplexDecompose to categorize faces as external/internal/non-manifold before querying building envelope — non-manifold faces are shared between cells and should not be treated as exterior surfaces.

Decision Tree

Need to analyze building spaces topologically?
├── From Blender geometry → TopologyByGeometry -> CellComplexByFaces
├── From IFC file → IFCReadFile -> TopologyByImportedIFC
├── Room adjacency → CellComplexByFaces -> CellAdjacentCells
├── Dual graph (rooms=nodes, walls=edges) → GraphByTopology
└── Envelope faces → CellComplexDecompose -> filter external faces

Need to run energy simulation?
├── From topology → EnergyModelByTopology -> EnergyModelRunSimulation
├── From IFC → EnergyModelByImportedIFC -> EnergyModelExportToOSM
├── Export for EnergyPlus → EnergyModelExportToIDF
└── Query results → EnergyModelQuery (reports, tables, rows, columns)

Need to analyze space connectivity?
├── Space graph → GraphByTopology (CellComplex input)
├── Shortest path between rooms → GraphShortestPath
├── Centrality analysis → GraphBetweennessCentrality / GraphDegreeCentrality
└── Export graph → GraphExportToCSV

Need to work with IFC?
├── Read IFC → IFCReadFile
├── Extract elements → IFCBuildingElements
├── Create spaces → IFCCreateSpaces
├── Clash detection → IFCClashDetection
└── Connect elements → IFCConnectBuildingElements

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Installation

Requirements

Dependency	Version	Required
Blender	>= 4.0	Yes
Sverchok	>= 1.2.0	Yes
topologicpy	latest	Yes (auto-installed)
NumPy	>= 1.22.4	Yes
ifcopenshell	latest	For IFC nodes
OpenStudio	>= 3.4.0	For Energy nodes
honeybee-energy	>= 1.91.49	For HB nodes
specklepy	>= 2.7.6	For Speckle nodes
py2neo	>= 2021.2.3	For Neo4j nodes
DGL	latest	For DGL/ML nodes

Installation Steps

1. Download TopologicSverchok ZIP from https://github.com/wassimj/TopologicSverchok
2. In Blender: Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Install
3. Select the ZIP file — do NOT extract first
4. Enable the add-on in the list
5. Use the InstallDependencies node on first use to install topologicpy and optional packages

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Essential Patterns

Pattern 1: Build a CellComplex from Blender Geometry

Sverchok node tree setup:
Object In (Blender object) -> [vertices, edges, faces]
   -> TopologyByGeometry (Topology object)
   -> CellComplexByFaces (CellComplex)
   -> CellComplexDecompose (external faces, internal faces, non-manifold faces)

The TopologyByGeometry node converts Blender mesh data (vertex coordinates + face indices) into a Topologic Topology. Planar geometry only — non-planar faces will cause errors. CellComplexByFaces merges all faces into a non-manifold structure where shared faces become internal boundaries between cells.

Pattern 2: Room Adjacency Graph

CellComplex
   -> GraphByTopology (direct=True, viaSharedTopologies=True, toExteriorTopologies=False)
   -> Graph object
      -> GraphVertices -> list of room vertices
      -> GraphEdges -> list of shared-wall edges
      -> GraphShortestPath (vertexA, vertexB) -> Wire path
      -> GraphDepthMap (startVertex) -> distance map

GraphByTopology creates a dual graph where each Cell becomes a vertex and shared Faces (internal walls/slabs) become edges. Set direct=True for cell-to-cell edges via shared faces. The output Graph supports all standard graph operations (shortest path, centrality, community detection).

Pattern 3: Building Envelope Analysis

CellComplex
   -> CellComplexDecompose
      -> externalFaces -> FaceArea (total envelope area)
      -> internalFaces -> FaceArea (total internal surface area)
      -> nonManifoldFaces -> (shared between cells — zero-thickness boundaries)
   -> filter externalFaces by FaceFacingToward (direction=[0,0,1]) -> roof faces
   -> filter externalFaces by FaceFacingToward (direction=[0,0,-1]) -> floor faces
   -> remaining externalFaces -> wall faces

Pattern 4: Energy Simulation from Topology

CellComplex (building geometry)
   -> EnergyModelByTopology (
        building=cellcomplex,
        weatherFilePath="path/to/weather.epw",
        floorLevels=[0, 3, 6, 9],
        glazingRatio=0.4,
        coolingTemp=25.0,
        heatingTemp=20.0
      )
   -> EnergyModel
      -> EnergyModelRunSimulation (osBinaryPath, outputFolder)
      -> EnergyModelQuery (reportName, tableName, columnName)
      -> simulation results (heating/cooling loads)

Pattern 5: IFC to Topologic Workflow

IFCReadFile (path) -> IFC file object
   -> IFCBuildingElements (ifc, elementType="IfcWall") -> wall topologies
   -> TopologyByImportedIFC -> Topology objects
   -> CellComplexByFaces -> building topology
   -> GraphByTopology -> adjacency graph

Alternatively use EnergyModelByImportedIFC for direct IFC-to-energy-model conversion without intermediate topology steps.

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Common Operations

Node Categories Overview

Category	Node Count	Purpose
Vertex	10	Point creation, distance, containment
Edge	12	Linear elements, direction, length
Wire	16	Connected edge paths, primitives
Face	26	Surface elements, area, normals
Shell	10	Connected face collections
Cell	20	Volumetric elements, primitives
CellComplex	10	Non-manifold building models
Cluster	2	Mixed topology collections
Topology	50	Base operations (boolean, transform, I/O)
Graph	36	Adjacency, pathfinding, analysis
EnergyModel	20	OpenStudio/EnergyPlus simulation
IFC	10	IFC file operations
HB (Honeybee)	8	Honeybee energy model
DGL	18	Deep graph learning
Speckle	17	Speckle interoperability
Dictionary	8	Metadata key-value storage
Color	5	Visualization coloring
Neo4j	5	Graph database export
Matrix	4	Transformation matrices

Key Node Reference

CellComplex Nodes

Node	Inputs	Outputs	Description
CellComplexByFaces	faces, tolerance	cellcomplex	Merge faces into non-manifold CellComplex
CellComplexByCells	cells	cellcomplex	Merge cells by shared faces
CellComplexDecompose	cellcomplex	externalFaces, internalFaces, nonManifoldFaces, externalVertices, internalVertices	Decompose by location/type
CellComplexExternalBoundary	cellcomplex	shell	Get outer envelope shell
CellComplexInternalBoundaries	cellcomplex	faces	Get internal boundary faces
CellComplexNonManifoldFaces	cellcomplex	faces	Get non-manifold (shared) faces
CellComplexPrism	origin, width, length, height, uSides, vSides, wSides	cellcomplex	Subdivided box

Graph Nodes

Node	Inputs	Outputs	Description
GraphByTopology	topology, direct, viaSharedTopologies, toExteriorTopologies	graph	Build dual graph from topology
GraphShortestPath	graph, vertexA, vertexB	path (Wire)	Dijkstra shortest path
GraphAllPaths	graph, vertexA, vertexB	paths	All paths between vertices
GraphDepthMap	graph, startVertex	depthMap	Distance from start vertex
GraphAdjacentVertices	graph, vertex	vertices	Direct neighbors
GraphVertices	graph	vertices	All graph vertices
GraphEdges	graph	edges	All graph edges
GraphDensity	graph	density	Edge density ratio
GraphDiameter	graph	diameter	Maximum shortest path
GraphMST	graph	mst	Minimum spanning tree

Topology Base Nodes

Node	Inputs	Outputs	Description
TopologyByGeometry	vertices, edges, faces	topology	Blender mesh to Topologic
TopologyBlenderGeometry	topology	vertices, edges, faces	Topologic to Blender mesh
TopologyBoolean	topologyA, topologyB, operation	topology	Union/Difference/Intersection
TopologyAdjacentTopologies	topology, topologyType	topologies	Find adjacent entities
TopologySubTopologies	topology, subTopologyType	topologies	Extract sub-entities
TopologySuperTopologies	topology, superTopologyType	topologies	Find containing entities
TopologySharedTopologies	topologyA, topologyB, topologyType	topologies	Find shared entities
TopologyDictionary	topology	dictionary	Get attached metadata
TopologySetDictionary	topology, dictionary	topology	Attach metadata
TopologyAnalyze	topology	string	Describe topology structure
TopologyExportToJSONMK2	topology, path	success	Export to JSON file
TopologyByImportedJSONMK2	path	topology	Import from JSON file

Dictionary Nodes for Metadata

Topologic entities carry attached dictionaries for BIM data:

Node	Purpose
DictionaryByKeysValues	Create dictionary from key-value lists
DictionaryValueAtKey	Read value for a specific key
DictionarySetValueAtKey	Write/update a value
DictionaryKeys	Get all keys
DictionaryValues	Get all values
DictionaryByObjectProperties	Extract Blender object custom properties

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Reference Links

• references/methods.md — Complete API signatures for all topology classes (topologicpy)
• references/examples.md — Working node tree patterns for AEC workflows
• references/anti-patterns.md — What NOT to do with TopologicSverchok

Cross-References

• ifcos-impl-geometry — IFC geometry input for TopologicSverchok workflows
• sverchok-impl-custom-nodes — Custom node development for TopologicSverchok extension

Official Sources

• https://github.com/wassimj/TopologicSverchok
• https://topologic.app/software/
• https://topologicpy.readthedocs.io
• https://github.com/wassimj/topologicpy