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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, December 2004
current version = 2004-11 b
 |
At present the book is only available on CD - which includes all 4,300 pages of information, references, advice, review articles, and specific recommendations in addition to software The CD version includes software : |
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
It is also appreciated if you assist in sleuthing out portions of this book that need updating and revision. There are several sections definitely not finished and others not yet included
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.
Architectural CADD Resourcebook
Ver. 2004-11 b beta
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What is included on this CD :
1) The primary book pages in file - resourcebook.pdf
2) CADD software - demos and light versions
3) Utility software - to create web pages, do animations, etc.
4) The entire www.architecturalcadd.com web site viewable offline
5) Numerous Appendix files - with the latest recommendations
6) Examples, projects, and other resources
7) A November 2004 folder, with all the latest additions not yet integrated into other areas of the book
A few of the examples are the property of Prof.Langdon for his use while teaching classes and are protected by password.
Note there is a Macintosh version of this book as well.
The software section for the Mac version differs - there are Mac demo versions of CADD and more utilities specifically for the Macintosh. Available on Request.
Note about the CADD software demo versions.
- Several of the current versions - for instance AutoCAD2005, ArchiCAD9, DataCAD11, IntelliCAD5, VectorWorks11 take an entire CD (or two) just for each. To give "a comparitive taste" of these programs, the older versions (that fit) are included here. We strongly encourage you, after getting merely an insite to the programs with these demos, to seek out the vendors and web sites to obtain complete demonstrations of their current offerings.
Copyright 2004 - Geoffrey Moore Langdon