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Geoffrey Moore Langdon
CADENCE AEC Tech News # 40 (December 15, 2000)
AEC Tech News 12/15/2000
A Week in the Life of a CADD Consultant
Since it's Christmas time I would like to share with you some more personal insights about what I have been up to over the past two weeks, from which you may glean yet another perspective on where all of this technology is standing today. Since coming back from the Key ArchiCAD Users Conference in Budapest two weeks ago I've worked with about 35 or so different design firms consulting in person or via conference calls (more or less a typical fortnight). About 70% of those offices use more than one CADD software, though each usually has only one they regard as their primary software. In most of those offices, the main reason I am there is to recommend what CADD software they should be using, and in the others I am either troubleshooting or doing tutorials in their current CADD. In the ones I recommend software, in most cases I simply recommend various add-ons, macros, symbol libraries, or upgrades to their existing CADD software, to add productivity, ease project management, or do 3D modeling. Sometimes, though, an office really needs to switch CADD softwares, regardless of the expense, if their firm has taken a new direction (new kinds of projects, gotten into other services such as design-build or facilities management, etc.), changed personnel, or they are taking an opportunity to switch paradigms from 2D drafting into 3D parametric architectural modeling (and get everyone in the office on equal footing with new office standards). After going over all the merits and demonstrating the various CADD programs, it is interesting for me to see how different types of design firms truly do go different directions with CADD.
This week I had three offices where I recommended VectorWorks Architect, two others where ChiefArchitect was the best solution. Another three offices were upgrading to DataCAD 9, yet another to DataCAD Plus, and, with another office I was helping them to run DataCAD 7.5 DOS on a Macintosh. Another office, which has recently made the transition from DataCAD to AutoCAD 14 is now seriously considering 2000i and possibly ADT. Meanwhile, I am helping two other offices go from AutoCAD 14 to ArchitecturalDesktop, and another to IntelliCAD, and helped three design Principals to get started in DesignWorkshop. Yet another six offices are switching to ArchiCAD - two from AutoCAD, one from DataCAD, one from VectorWorks, and another two from nothing at all. (Part of what made the difference for ArchiCAD in several cases is the fact that, at least here in New England, those offices could get pay-per-use versions of ArchiCAD for supplemental stations -- showing that, while designers are now mostly convinced of the economics of CADD they are still very price conscious.) Yes of course I recommend a bunch of other CADD programs, and several were very serious contenders, but that is how this particular past week went.
My computer literate colleagues probably would be shocked how many real architectural offices out there still have a predominance of yellow trace and mylar, and that this week alone I helped some five offices go from nothing to CADD. Makes you wonder how a firm could have slipped by this whole CADD phenomena for so long. These firms have the luxury, though, of completely skipping the 2D drafting CADD phase that has bogged down the rest of us, and jump straight to the new generation of easy to use and learn 3D architectural programs.
I sometimes feel somewhat schizophrenic as a one hour I'll be enthusiastically recommending VectorWorks and then only two hours later I'll be just as enthusiastically recommending ArchiCAD and later that same day enthusiastically recommending AutoCAD ArchitecturalDesktop -- but there are indeed varying conditions and circumstances in different firms, and fortunately I see the differences between the various CADD options having done troubleshooting in so many offices.
This particular week I did not do any design projects myself, as I was too busy with all these other things. I did, however, also work as a part-time de-facto CADD manager in several design firms. In one, which is a very sophisticated network user of DataCAD, I'm helping them set up a better productivity system using DataCAD 9's new xref feature.
In the evening at one school it's exciting to see my students finishing up their Gothic castles which they are doing with the ACIS solid modeler of AutoCAD. It is an interesting case because this is a second semester for a group that had ArchiCAD and DataCAD the first semester. All through the first half of this semester they were astonished that people use the polyline-offset-trim technique of drafting 2D in AutoCAD, and were totally puzzled why firms aren't using ArchitecturalDesktop more predominantly. Their attitude about AutoCAD has gone from almost loathing to really liking the software particularly as they got into the solid modeling. At yet another school I am helping the students finishing up their 3D solid modeling projects of a gallery/lounge in VectorWorks. They really liked the software at first when they were doing 2D plans and such with VectorWorks, and then got kind of bewildered as we got into more sophisticated drawings, but have finally come around to liking the software again now that they are doing virtual reality walk throughs of their gallery project. It is also interesting to see that the students seem to prefer to finance a version of ArchiCAD professional version rather than using the six-month $75 ArchiCAD key, possibly because they know that they're going to need it afterwards.
When I finally get home, Cindy and I are both thankful for two techno gizmos that have definitely changed our lives for the better - NaturallySpeaking Mobile, which allows me to do all my writing as fast as I can speak, and TiVo, which means we never miss any show.
These are busy times in architecture - many of these firms tell me they are flat-out with work for the foreseeable future -- despite theories of a slow down. I am busy too, helping them, almost wishing there really were a slow down so I could finish other projects like new versions of book, videos, online tutorials, and CADD reviews. Cindy and I wish you great holidays and continued good times for the new year.
Links :
AutoCAD = http://www.autodesk.com
VectorWorks = http://www.vectorworksarchitect.com
DataCAD = http://www.datacad.com
ArchiCAD = http://www.graphisoft.com
NaturallySpeaking = http://www.dragonsystems.com
TiVo = http://www.tivo.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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