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AEC Newsletter archive:
Geoffrey Moore Langdon
CADENCE AEC Tech News # 26 (May 17, 2000)
AEC Tech May 17, 2000
This past week at The AIA Expo in Philadelphia we got a preview look at a number of new offerings in AEC which should be completely ready to release at A/E/C SYSTEMS in June.
AEC Direct will be a web portal for linking project management, leads, free email, news and job listings, which Bentley plans to offer in cooperation with the AIA and McGraw Hill. The AIA plans to offer many new services free to all AIA members (legal contract documents, specs, continuing education, and more), and AEC Direct will be part of the means of delivering those free services. We will let you know soon when these services are ready.
Autodesk Inc. and Bentley Inc. are in the process of completely redesigning their web sites to capture more of the total construction industry process and support as opposed to just offering CADD software. Discussion forums, links to extranets, project leads, and news, with links to their own CADD software hidden under a "productivity tools" type section, similar to what Bricsnet established a year ago, seems to be the order for the day for all the major "CADD" Companies. Until the Bentley web designers get their Java frames under control, you can at least still get information about MicroStation TriForma at the following link : http://www.bentley.com/products/triforma. Similarly, anyone who is connecting with a system older than 10 months or so should definitely upgrade if they wish to make use of the very nice resources of PointA on the Autodesk iDesign site.
Another amazing technology just about to hit the big time being shown off at the AIA was the EZ software which allows for online visualization and netmeeting discussions and collaboration. The EZ software, developed by the same company that brought us ARRIS, was demonstrated on tiny laptops and Windows CE palm devices with live wireless internet connections, that they handed to architects at the show. The idea is that we finally have a hardware/software technology appropriate for those busy grey-haired Principals and design oriented project managers, where they do not have to know anything at all about CADD or computers to do amazingly effective work and presentations.
Every single CADD software developer reported that it was their best show ever. Architects were anxious to see DataCAD Plus, AutoCAD ArchitecturalDesktop2, as well as VectorWorks Architect (all of which have newly intelligent objects, and automatic layers) actually in action before upgrading. Despite the great show, largest in history, and the good times, it was interesting to see that some of the ads (featuring dinosaurs) and offers (for competitive upgrades) seemed to take on a kind of nasty cutthroat tone more reminiscent of a shrinking market than the expanding market it is.
The Revit people gave away some 10,000 copies of their fully working software at the show. Another note for those on technology's "trailing edge" though, is that Revit not only refuses to install on systems earlier than Window98 (i.e. no Win95) but it will not install on systems with ArchiCAD's Sentinel software.
Graphisoft is following through with their expansion into many more markets related to construction with their ArchiFM software for facility management, Cymap for HVAC, Prisma for building security and automation, ArchiSite and ArchiTerra for landscape and site design, and structural engineering software. They have developed an incredible specialized log and timber framing version, and have incorporated all those Builders edition features we reported on a year ago into the core software. Many of those features, particularly the wainscotting/molding, battered walls, and the pre-made-but-modifiable modules of residences (fully done kitchens, dining rooms, dormers with windows, etc) really appeal to design/build firms and builders, opening up ArchiCAD to markets way beyond those needing design software. Another newly built-into-the-basic-core feature is a wood frame generator which not only does the 3D (and 2D) wood frame and cost analysis, but with the new also built in "LumberPack" will deliver complete spec cut lists for lumber yards.
Yet another nifty freebie to add to our list of great software to download and add to your CADD kit is Strata3D, which many people use primarily for its excellent and fast rendering capabilities. As is the case with the other free downloads, Strata3D is enticingly complete and useful, but, if you wish to go even further, such as into radiocity level rendering, you upgrade to Strata Professional for a nominal amount. Unlike LightScape or ArtLantis, though, Strata3D is also a complete modeling package, so you can add to or change your model extensively right in Strata3D without having to re-assign texture materials.
The new exhibition format of the Designers 3D CAD Shootout is attracting even more participation from software we haven't seen before such as VersaCAD, FastCAD, ChiefArchitect, and FormZ now join us as the excitement grows to fever pitch. We will also get to see MicroStation TriForma with TWO teams, as one will be an architectural design group and the other a building engineering (HVAC, structural) group.
Geoffrey Moore Langdon, AIA
Links :
AIA = http://www.aiaonline.com
A/E/C SYSTEMS = http://www.aecsystems.com
AEC Direct = http://www.aecdirect.com
Autodesk Inc. = http://www.autodesk.com
Bentley Inc. = http://www.bentley.com
MicroStation TriForma = http://www.bentley.com/products/triforma
DataCAD Plus = http://www.datacad.com
AutoCAD ArchitecturalDesktop2 = http://www.autodesk.com
VectorWorks Architect = http://www.vectorworksarchitect.com
Revit = http://www.revit.com
Graphisoft (ArchiCAD) = http://www.graphisoft.com
Strata3D = http://www.strata.com
Designers 3D CAD Shootout = http://www.architecturalcadd.com/shootout.html
VersaCAD = http://www.versacad.com
FastCAD = http://www.fastcad.com
ChiefArchitect = http://www.chiefarchitect.com
FormZ = http://www.formz.com
About Geoffrey Moore Langdon, AIA
Prof. Langdon is a registered architect and is the principal of Architectural CADD Consultants, a firm that specializes in helping architectural firms with computing and CADD. He has taught Design, Solar Energy, and Architectural CADD at a number of colleges in the Boston area. He is the author of Architectural CADD: A Resource Guide to Design and Production Software Appropriate for Architects, a guest speaker at many AIA events, and the founder and organizer of the Designers 3D CAD Shootout competition. contact him at aectechnews@architecturalcadd.com, or through his website: http://www.architecturalcadd.com
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