The Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out
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The Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out |
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Teams
Each team of three shall have at least one Registered Architect. One person on the team will be an official coordinator and contact for that team.
(The 1996 restriction on software companies and venders has been lifted. In fact, since it is the CADD software developers who have the most at stake here, we are sending the invitations to register a Team directly to those software developers first. We expect that the architects who competed in last year's competition would wish to aid those software developers efforts, and to organize a Team if necessary.)
Teams Provide Hardware/Software/Network
Each team brings their own computer hardware. We realize that it may look inequitable, however, it is valuable to see what any given software may require to be optimal. For instance, if any given team could produce impressive results with older, slower, cheaper machines then that would obviously count in their favor. Currently the feeling is to limit each team to two machines for practical reasons. We feel that having two machines linked by network would shed valuable information on the networking and collaborating abilities of various CADD softwares.
One Team For Each Architectural CADD Software
Each major software for architecture may have only one team representing it - otherwise the emphasis would be more on design competition between firms rather than stressing the abilities and merits of CADD systems. Major architectural software that works as an add-on to another package may compete even though another team is using a competitor package that has the same engine program at its core (i.e. both ArchT and AutoArchitect could compete, as could both MicroArchitect and Triforma). If you would like to participate or contribute your help, and another team is already representing your favorite software, please speak to that Team's Coordinator - you may find that you can help or even compete after all. Each Team needs 3 people who will be on the stage working, but they can have up to 3 additional people as Auxiliary Team members (who serve as understudies, help out in planning, organization, and so on) so Teams should feel free to invite willing people anxious to participate to join their Teams.
Team Organization
Each Team runs, organizes, coordinates, cooperates, and funds, itself. The Event Coordinators, other than accepting the challenges and putting contact information on the Web, are not involved with organizing the Teams in any way. The Teams will really need all three competitors, as two will be constantly busy on their two networked systems, while the third alternates between coordinating design and speaking to the audience. Teams are free to bring in "Auxiliary Team Members" who would serve as understudies, advocates handing out literature, system setup personnel, and cheering section. Having more people wearing the same Team T-shirt may also build spirit.
Team Web Page
Each Team will be provided with a free Web page, where they will be able to promote their Team, their favorite software, and their companies. Before the actual competition, the Team page will feature bios about the Team members and information about the Architectural CADD software they are using. After the competition, the Team page will post the designs of that team.
Venders / Training Centers / Sponsorship / Promotion
Venders, dealers, VARs, developers, consultants, training centers, user groups, and so on, will be given the opportunity to have displays in the entrance gallery to the auditorium hall. They can also help sponsor a team (t-shirts here we come !) or the event itself. In addition, they will have the opportunity to have a presence or links to the Web page of the Team using their software.
To become an event sponsor, all user groups, associations, or companies need to do is to agree to help promote the event in their flyers and publications.
Conglomerate Entrants - Multiple CADD Packages
The object of the shoot-out is to evaluate the state of the new generation of architecturally intelligent 3D design software. However, if any group wishes to propose a conglomerate solution of any of the older CADD packages used in conjunction with solid modeling visualization tools (i.e. PowerCADD plus FormZ, DesignWorkshop plus TurboCAD, 3D Studio plus AutoCAD, etc.) that they believe would be truly competitive (and capable of the rigorous design requirements), they should submit it to the event coordinator for consideration.
Judging
There will be a number of categories for judging, (best 3D modeling, best animation, fastest change adaptations, best network collaboration, best special abilities, etc.) including the best overall CADD software which will win the Architectural CADD Cup. The primary judging will be a jury of judges of architectural CADD experts, drawn primerily from the AIA Computer Aided Practice PIA. To encourage audience participation, the audience of spectators will get to vote on four of the categories.
The Incentives to Participate :
For the various CADD companies, the reasons to be involved as a sponsor are obvious - mainly the promotion of their software - but what of the incentives for the individual architects to put themselves through this competition. Certainly there is the prestige not only of possibly winning but also of competing, and the promotional aspects that may have in drumming up design clients or enhancing resumes to be more attractive to design firms. Architects also tend to like a challenge, like competitions, and like to show off the software they are advocates for - especially if that software is not the "standard". Showing off one's software favorably can encourage many more designers to switch to it - making their user group more active, in turn benefiting the original adopters of those non-standard software solutions. This year, incontrast to last year, the restrictions on the involvement of the CADD software developer companies themselves have been lifted, and thus, are also free to compensate those compeating architects for their time and effort.
The Architects who participate will also receive AIA CES continuing education credits. In addition, there are the promotional possibilities of the free Web page the Team gets for the competition. There may be a chance that the companies behind the software the Team uses could contribute early or beta releases of their software to Team members (in order to look good relative to their competition). There will be other benefits, which will become more apparent as the competition draws near, and, there is the Architectural CADD Cup.
Teams Required to Provide Videos
As was stated in all the earlier information, and on the Shootout Web site, this year we are looking to present a more professional image for the shootout, which in turn makes the whole thing more of a marketing opportunity for all of you. Color programs with ads (more on this later), olympic style Team introductions, jury judges of national distinction, and so on. Part of this is the use of the 3 videos we need from each Team.
The 3 required Videotapes
1. The first video is just a logo, team name, or software name. It can be animated or rotating or a still image. It should be continuous so that we can pop it on at any time and see the same logo.
The purpose of this video is to put this on imediatly before any of your Teams work is shown, or people representing your company or user groups are interviewed, during the competition and during the final presentations. Last year, it was not always clear to the audience or people viewing the video of the event exactly which Teams work was being shown at any given time. This video should be easy. If you need help we might be able to do it for you, call Geoff.
2. Second video, maximum 30 seconds. Introduces your Team and their software, it should display or say their names and their design firms or companies (and, if they are registered architects, should say so). This will be played only at the very beginning of the competition as your team runs in, and immediatly before their final presentation at the end. We know several Teams are just using Powerpoint and NTSC video out for this video right off the computer.
3. Third video, maximum 5 minutes. A promotional and informational video for the CADD software, and your company. Hopefully this is an important marketing tool you already have. Each of these will be played at some point during the first half of the competition. In the long run, this could be your most important marketing opportunity, regardless of how well your Team actually does. We know several Teams who didn't have one of these types of videos already who are using camcorders and interviewing the software developers and their architect testers for this video (i.e. this does not need to be a multiple-thousand dollar production).
All 3 videos should be standard NTSC, VHS.
Obviously we would like to have them before the event, so that we can coordinate the overall production. Please keep us informed on when you have each of these videos ready. We would like to have everything on Monday Nov 17th the day before. Do not mail them, just bring them to our Team meeting on Monday the 17th.
1a. We could also use a GIF file (animated or still) or Web page with the GIF of the Team logo/name, as it may prove easier to pop this on (but we will not know until the event).
So we have sold just over 1000 videos of last years event. With the much
greater promotion, and involvement of AIA national, the BSA, etc., our plans
are to initially print 4000 videos of this year event - so the promotional
exposure of your 5 minute video is much greater than just to our immediate
audience.
Questions and Answers :
What are the monetary requirements for entry?
The Registration fee is $ 2,695. This includes not only the Design Shootout registration itself, but also entitles the Team to exhibit booth space in the Build Boston '97 tradeshow.
Since 3 hours is very short for a design charette (as I say to my friends I can sit still and think for 3 hours and appear to be doing nothing), how will the project be posed to the competitors? Will it be presented as a design brief (program) or as a complex design to be produced and rendered in 3D? In either case, how will the nature of the challenge be kept circumspect, so that no team gains an unfair advantage in thinking ahead?
We are very concerned about such unfair advantages as well. Even rumors of what the exact building type was beforehand may cause Teams to unfairly load their systems up with likely-to-be-used modules, sections, or symbols. Thus, the exact building, building type, site, and so on will be secret until the Shoot-Out begins. We will only assure all the Teams that it is a relatively small two story building, not a house, but is easily designable within the allotted time. It will also require some specific important features that will require boolean solid modeling. The changes to the design (every 30 minutes) stop halfway through, so that perspectives, renderings, animations, and VRML can be generated in the final 90 minutes. The designs are meant to be schematic, not necessarily construction drawings - the Team is free to use what they can develop fastest. We realize that 3 hours is not a great deal of time for two people to develop a lot, nor do we wish to trivialize architecture, we feel that the audience of professional architects will be principally interested in seeing side-by-side what, how much, how well, and how easily the various CADD programs can let designers do. Note that in the 1986 competition, where the project was a 3 story Town Meeting Hall and Visitors Center for Beverly Massachusetts, and included offices for the Chamber of Commerce, Harbormaster, and so on, all eight Teams had compleated a building at the end of the 3 hour period.
Do we need a sponsor in the BSA? (We have one who will sponsor us if necessary)
You do not need a BSA sponsor, but contacting and coordinating with local supporters is a very good idea.
Are we required to have a team of 3 players? Could we compete with 2?
As mentioned above, you will want to have all three. For political reasons you may also want to invite others to be Auxiliary Team Members as well.
To Register :
See the information on the Info Registration Page