The Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out
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The Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out |
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| General News | May 17, 1998 | |
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Press Releases in reverse cronological order :
PRESS RELEASE : (11/20/97)
MiniCAD Wins 1997 Designers 3D CAD Shootout
The level of excitement in the World Trade Center Boston amphitheater was enormous at the second running of the virtual reality design competition referred to as the "Design Shootout", held on the first day of Build Boston. With parades of the Teams of architects, video features on the Team members and software, running commentary, and lots of cheering, the event had a feel of a sort of spectator Olympics for architecture. The Team members were definitely chomping at the bit, evidenced by the DataCAD Team who said "we can do shingles !" popping up rendered shingle libraries as it was announced that the shingle style project would be the Watch Hill, RI Chapel and Arts Center, and by the AllPlan Team, who, on hearing that the project site had a Web site were browsing the Web the night before looking for towns they knew Geoff Langdon, the organizer of the event, was known to frequent (they never found Watch Hill).
This year the BSA joined Architectural CADD Consultants to sponsor this unique competition. Architects, not the software companies, compete to design a building from scratch, and in three hours must produce all the plans, sections, elevations, details, a dozen renderings, animation walk throughs and more, with one Team of architects allowed for each major CADD software. Thus, for spectators, it becomes an excellent way to evaluate what is possible and how one designs with, say ArchiCAD as opposed to AllPlan.
The 1997 Designers 3D CAD Shootout for Architectural CADD Systems had 12 Teams ( MiniCAD, AllPlan, BuildersCAD, Arc+, AutoCAD, ArchiCAD, DataCAD, Architrion, Microstation Triforma, ArchiTECH.PC, DenebaCAD, and last years winner ARRIS, ). Also, in addition to the audience voting on who they felt the winners were, this year we had a panel of 13 judges on a jury who scrutinized every move and asked very challenging questions at the final presentations. As was the case in 1996, every single Team did have a building at the end - with some of the chapels being very good aesthetically - and most Teams had most of the required drawings and animations and showed them at their very entertaining final presentations.
There were some 22 different categories for grading the Teams work, such as "Best Elevations", and "Most Accurate 3D Required Model", that help us all pick out software that, although perhaps not an overall winner, may be excellent for a design firm wanting to offer a particular service or wanting to design in a particular way. Interestingly, the Teams that really designed a building to fit the design requirements and the site context and the very sloped building site (MiniCAD, AllPlan), tended to do much better than the Teams who just tried to show off what their software could do (BuildersCAD, Arc+). Also, some Teams ended up getting rated poorly in categories their software is known to be excellent at - such as ArchiCAD on Sections, and DataCAD on VRML, or AutoCAD on plans, simply because their Team crashed or ran into some other glitch.
The MiniCAD Team did an excellent design that truly fits the requirements, and also showed off their schematic design parti they were able to develop early in the competition, and were a top runner choice by both the jury and the audience, thus winning the competition and the Architectural CADD Cup. The MiniCAD Team also won most of the other 22 categories of voting. Other strong contenders in the competition were the ArchiCAD Team, winning most of the juries categories, AllPlan, which was the juries top choice, and Microstation TriForma, the audiences top choice.
All twelve of the CADD programs represented showed off exceptional abilities, and it seems, particularly from the strong advocacy of the architects using each, that each has a niche type of design firm for which they are appropriate. To help you evaluate that for yourself, and to have fun running the animations and seeing the drawing and perspective results, visit the Web site online, at http://www.architecturalcadd.com/shootout.
See the blow by blow description of how the MiniCAD Team won the 1997 Competition on the Diehl Graphsoft Web site.
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PRESS RELEASE : (11/1/96)
For Computer Magazines : BCS, BCS Active Window, BCS CAD, Tess Times, 3D Artist, Upfront, WorldCAD, etc.
- Competition for Best VRML Modeler for Architects -
Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out for Architectural CADD Systems November 25, 1996 - World Trade Center Boston Amphitheater - 12 to 5 pm
On Monday November 25th - At Noon on the Full Moon - a unique "shoot-out" competition will begin between ten Teams of architects each using one of the ten most powerful CADD software packages for architectural design. The teams will have 3 hours to do schematic design - producing coordinated plans/sections/elevations, 12 quick perspectives, 2 high quality renderings, a walk-through animation, and a VRML virtual reality model all ready for the World Wide Web. To add to the challenge, the design criteria will change every 30 minutes for the first half of the competition - allowing us to see how well the various CADD programs can handle parametric changes - and the designs have required architectural elements that will require sophisticated Boolean 3D solid modeling. A sophisticated computer projection system will switch between the various Teams to allow everyone to follow the action.
All the required drawings are to be produced as GIF files, animated GIF files, animated 3D metafiles, and VRML 3D modeling files for the shoot-out Web site. Both before and after the competition each Team will have a specific Web site featuring their firm, and their architectural VRML modeling software.
Attendee spectators will have a unique opportunity to see side by side comparisons of real architects working with CADD design software that they may be considering, see detailed commentaries of what is going on, and receive all kinds of advice on hardware, software, and networks appropriate for design, as well as for production drawings. They will also have the chance to vote on the winners in several categories - including the overall winner, whose Team and software will win the Architectural CADD Cup.
For more information on the Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out for Architectural CADD Systems - featuring the new generation of architecturally intelligent 3D design software, check out the Design Shoot-Out Conference on BSA Online, or the World Wide Web : http://members.aol.com/ShootOut3D/event.html To receive a an advance registration form by mail (tickets $30 in advance, or $45 at the door, which includes the Wine and Cheese Reception), or get information about AIA CES credits, contact the Event Coordinator at Architectural CADD Consultants, at 508-927-6796, or 508-921-8421 fax, or email ShootOut3D@aol.com.
Each Team consists of three designers (at least one of whom must be a Registered Architect) working on two networked CADD stations. There can also be up to three Auxiliary Team members who will not be on-stage. Currently there are six established Teams (with Team Coordinators) : The AllPlan Team (Ivan Bereznicki), The ArchiCAD Team (Greg Conyngham), The DataCAD/PowerTools/Referee Team (Curtis Wayne), The MiniCAD Team (Robert Anderson), The TriForma Team (over Microstation, Robert Rowse, and The AutoArchitect Team (over AutoCAD, John Ruby). There are also four other Teams still being formed no official Team Coordinator : The ArchT Team (over AutoCAD), The ArgosBDS Team, the Architrion Team, and the ARRIS CAD Team. More challengers are still expected.
The design problem is meant to be challenging for the Teams to do in the allotted 3 hours, however the building complex to be designed (not revealed until the Shoot-Out) is definitely simple enough to be done - as least as schematic designs - in that time. The intent is not to trivialize architecture - it is recognized that a complete project with design services takes far longer - but to see what the new generation of architectural CADD design software can do, and to highlight this dynamic profession bringing it to the arena and the World Wide Web.
A number of organizations are co-sponsoring the event by helping to publicize it : Architectural CADD Consultants, CAD Direct, The BSA AutoCAD Group, The BSA ArchiCAD Group, The AllPlan Designers Forum, The Boston Computer Society CAD Group. Others are invited to join.
For AIA : BSA, BSA Online, AIA, AIA Online, Architecture, ArchRecord, etc.
PRESS RELEASE : (11/1/96)
- Architecture As A Spectator Sport ! -
Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out for Architectural CADD Systems November 25, 1996 - World Trade Center Boston Amphitheater - 12 to 5 pm
On Monday November 25th - At Noon on the Full Moon - a unique "shoot-out" competition will begin between ten Teams of architects each using one of the ten most powerful CADD software packages for architectural design. The teams will have 3 hours to do schematic design - producing coordinated plans/sections/elevations, 12 quick perspectives, 2 high quality renderings, a walk-through animation, and a VRML virtual reality model all ready for the World Wide Web. To add to the challenge, the design criteria will change every 30 minutes for the first half of the competition - allowing us to see how well the various CADD programs can handle parametric changes - and the designs have required architectural elements that will require sophisticated Boolean 3D solid modeling. A sophisticated computer projection system will switch between the various Teams to allow everyone to follow the action.
Attendee spectators will have a unique opportunity to see side by side comparisons of real architects working with CADD design software that they may be considering, see detailed commentaries of what is going on, and receive all kinds of advice on hardware, software, and networks appropriate for design, as well as for production drawings. They will also have the chance to vote on the winners in several categories - including the overall winner, whose Team and software will win the Architectural CADD Cup.
For more information on the Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out for Architectural CADD Systems - featuring the new generation of architecturally intelligent 3D design software, check out the Design Shoot-Out Conference on BSA Online, or the World Wide Web : http://members.aol.com/ShootOut3D/event.html To receive a an advance registration form by mail (tickets $30 in advance, or $45 at the door, which includes the Wine and Cheese Reception), or get information about AIA CES credits, contact the Event Coordinator at Architectural CADD Consultants, at 508-927-6796, or 508-921-8421 fax, or email ShootOut3D@aol.com.
Each Team consists of three designers (at least one of whom must be a Registered Architect) working on two networked CADD stations. There can also be up to three Auxiliary Team members who will not be on-stage. Currently there are six established Teams (with Team Coordinators) : The AllPlan Team (Ivan Bereznicki), The ArchiCAD Team (Greg Conyngham), The DataCAD/PowerTools/Referee Team (Curtis Wayne), The MiniCAD Team (Robert Anderson), The TriForma Team (over Microstation, Robert Rowse, and The AutoArchitect Team (over AutoCAD, John Ruby). There are also four other Teams still being formed no official Team Coordinator : The ArchT Team (over AutoCAD), The ArgosBDS Team, the Architrion Team, and the ARRIS CAD Team. More challengers are still expected.
The design problem is meant to be challenging for the Teams to do in the allotted 3 hours, however the building complex to be designed (not revealed until the Shoot-Out) is definitely simple enough to be done - as least as schematic designs - in that time. The intent is not to trivialize architecture - it is recognized that a complete project with design services takes far longer - but to see what the new generation of architectural CADD design software can do, and to highlight this dynamic profession bringing it to the arena and the World Wide Web.
A number of organizations are co-sponsoring the event by helping to publicize it : Architectural CADD Consultants, CAD Direct, The BSA AutoCAD Group, The BSA ArchiCAD Group, The AllPlan Designers Forum, The Boston Computer Society CAD Group. Others are invited to join.
See the blow by blow description of how the MiniCAD
Team won the 1997 Competition on the 
