| |
Architectural CADD - A Resource Guide |
| to Design and Production Software Appropriate for Architects |
by Geoffrey Moore Langdon, AIA -- Professor, Architect, CADD Consultant --- Architectural CADD Consultants
pub. by Architectural CADD Press, April 2003
current version = 2002-12 b beta
at present the book is only available on CD - which includes all 3,800 pages of information, references, advice, review articles, and specific recommendations in addition to software
The CD version includes software :
1. Utilities (web page
creation, animation creation, archiving, etc.)
2. Examples
3. Actual CADD software --
demo versions of VectorWorks, and ArchiCAD, evaluation versions
of SketchUp, Revit, and DataCAD, and fully working
"light" versions of DesignWorkshop, SoftCAD 3D, and IntelliCAD
(the free legal AutoCAD clone).
to order the in-progress "beta"
version ** click here for info
Major Book Sections :
A. Implementation - Concepts for Getting Started with CADD
B. Recommendations - Ratings, Reviews, and Advice on Architectural Software
C. Operations - CADD System Hardware and Maintenance
D. Productivity - Concepts for Using What You Have In A Better Way
E. What Next ? - Advanced Concepts - Beyond Electronic Drafting
F. Architectural CADD Resources - Information Sources and Services for the CADD Design Office
Features :
CADD Office Scenarios - Inside information you can never get from salespeople. This section features 15 different scenarios such as The DataCAD Office and The AutoCAD AutoArchitect Office, that tell you what you really need.
Recommended Architectural CADD Software - Seperate ranking lists of what is appropriate for Small, Large, and Sole Practitioner Architectural Firms, and Interior Design Firms.
New Reviews of AllPlan, ArchT, AutoArchitect, AutoCAD r13c4a, and DataCAD on Windows95
The AutoCAD Standard - DWG and DXF File Transfer Issues
Operating Systems for Architectural CADD
DOS / Macintosh / OS/2 / Windows / NT
CADD Hardware : How to Avoid Buying Too Much
Laptop Computers : Why You Probably Don't Want One
Complete Listing of Architectural CADD Software Developer Companies
CADD Systems Advice
DOS/Windows 486 and Pentium Cards for the Macintosh
Buying New Pentium Systems
Advanced Productivity Techniques
Rules of CADD
Networks for Design Offices
Layer Systems
3D Rendering, Animation, and Video : Techniques for Low Cost Architectural Visualization
Designing with Computers
Artificial Intelligence in Architectural Design
CADD User Groups, Training Centers, Consultants
Rendering Services, Scanning Services, Plotting Services
CADD Symbol Libraries
AutoCAD AutoLisp and DataCAD Macros
Online Resources - Internet Newsgroups and Maillists World Wide Web Resources
In Architectural CADD : A Resource Guide
Professor Langdon shares with us his vast experience with computers in the design office, written in the friendly colloquial style that helped make CADD and the Small Firm a bestseller for 8 years straight.
Several strong points are made throughout the numerous articles in this book.
Architectural CADD, refers to a sub-category of CAD, which specifically addresses the needs of people in the construction industry (architects, interior designers, builders, building engineers, etc.) who need to easily place walls, windows, doors, roofs, stairs, and other architectural elements as components into an architecturally intelligent 3D model (as opposed to drawing line by line representations). There are two primary implementations of architectural CADD - one where a second program adds architectural features to and modifies a core generic drawing program (such as ArchT or AutoArchitect on top of AutoCAD) - and another where the program is comprehensively designed only for doing architectural buildings from the start (such as ArchiCAD, AllPlan) - and both implementations are covered extensively in the book.
3D modeling, as important for architecture, not just for client visualization, but for design information, and for generating automatically coordinated production drawing elevations, sections, and plans.
Appropriate CADD, which takes off from appropriate technology, and stresses using the right tool for any particular job. This includes knowing when to use more than one software program and when you are better off doing something by hand.
Frugal cost effectiveness - a point that co-author and colleague Evan Shu has expanded into the immensely successful CheapTricks newsletter, and the Cheapware software library.
The ratings, rankings, and reviews of the various architectural programs mentioned in the book come from Professor Langdon's vast and varied experience with teaching those programs, as well as going from office to office troubleshooting CADD installations and solving design problems. Each of the reviews will tell you exactly what is wrong with any given CADD package and where the drawbacks are, in addition to letting you know for whom the software is appropriate.