A feasibility study mixes your own design with outside context: parcels, zoning, terrain, other projects in your portfolio. Giraffe keeps each of these on a layer, and every layer sits together in the Layer Palette. Under the hood, Giraffe treats them all as spatial data, so your drawings and outside datasets live side by side.

Each row in the Layer Palette has an icon that shows its type.

In Giraffe 6, layer groups show a folder icon, which opens when the group is expanded.

In Giraffe 6, the project boundary also has its own row, with a frame icon. Learn how to show, style, and edit the project boundary layer.

Drawing layers hold the geometries you draw in Giraffe: site boundaries, building footprints, massing, and landscape.

Data layers are outside geospatial datasets, like zoning, parcels, or aerial imagery. They give your project context. Add a data layer from the Layer Library.

The portfolio layer turns every project in your Workspace into a spatial dataset.

Temporary layers hold a copy of features for quick analysis. Apps built with the Giraffe SDK create them, and they disappear when you reload. Learn more about temporary layers.

The terrain row controls the 3D ground surface. Learn how to visualize site contours in 3D with terrain. Open its layer menu and choose Disable Terrain to flatten the map.