The Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out

Vignette Interview 1

1. How does your Software help architects address the following: *** 2 minutes ***

a. Energy Analysis

(i.e. MAScheck, is a new energy conservation legislation for Massachusetts, where an overall U of proposed design, is now required for all buildings)

b. ADA Requirements

c. Cost analysis

d. Intelligent Interoperability with other software i.e. DXF-II, IFC Classes

(i.e. Architects truly want to have a "wall" recognized AS a "wall" in a drawing transferred to a colleague, how does your software now or in the future address the current efforts of the IAI (International Alliance for Interoperability) and other ways of transferring intelligent drawings such as DXF-II)

* What you are expected to do is to talk about how these 4 issues are addressed currently and in future versions of the software.

The Vignette 1 spokesman will be interviewed to the side of the amphetheater stage.

Vignette Interview 2

2. Site 3D contours *** 2 minutes ***

How does your program make a 3D site model

* Each Team will have to show how they go from a scan to a site model

* The site image that will be used is the one of the hillside in Watch Hill Rhode Island, the image file is on the web site (see this link), contours are 10' height, the road is 24 feet wide, yes, you can use image files of just the site from your work in 1997. If there is a new or different way you would get that same site into a 3D model today, please show us.

Since we know this process takes more than just a few minutes, we are using a site different from the main design problem.

Vignette Interview 3

3. Space Planning *** 2 minutes ***

Show how you used your software capabilities in the design process

* They will have to show how they block out a design and turn that into walls

* We envision that the Teams will show this using what they are currently doing with their main building charrette

Vignette Interview 4

4. Parametrics *** 2 minutes ***

Walls, Windows & Doors and Changes of each

* They will place in an entrance door, and casement window, show us what they get in plan, elev., sect., and axo

** then change it to a double french glass door, and divided lite double hung window

Vignette Interview 5

5. Symbol Libraries, and Smart Symbols *** 3 minutes ***

Symbols, Blocks, Repeated Items, Objects

Architects simply want to know what are included, how are they organized, and how can they be changed

* We will ask the Teams to place a simple table and a bookshelf

** and turn it into a fancy table and a bigger bookshelf with more shelves

* In the process of this they will tell us how many and what kind of symbols are included with their software and how they are organized, also if and how their symbols are linked to a programming or macro language for parametrics.

Vignette Interview 6

6. Stairs, Ramps & Elevators *** 3 minutes ***

Macros & Programming Language

* We will ask the Teams to do a fairly simple U shaped stair with a wide landing for a window seat

** and ask how they would flair the bottom three steps larger

* We also want them to tell us how other important architectural features like ramps and elevators are done.

* This is their opportunity to mention their internal programming or macro extension languages, and what 3rd party lisp/pascal/dcal/etc. routines are available for their software

Vignette Interview 7

7. Roof Design *** 3 minutes ***

How does you program create & change 3D roof entities

* We will ask the Teams to put a hip roof on an S shaped building and put 2 dormers into it,

** then change two of the ends to gables

Vignette Interview 8

8. Sample of real production drawing *** 1 minutes ***

We want to see if and how a designer can take after the schematic design results that our Design Shootout finishes with to the Next Step - real production working drawings. We would NOT propose that they do that for the building the Team is currently designing for the competition

*All that we would expect is that each Team pull up one sample plan and one sample detail section done by any firm on any project as an example of how a real "finished" project would look (with notes, dimensions, and everything), and, while they pull up this slide file, give credit to the firm that made it and let us know :

1) whether it was done entirely in their primary software or transferred to something else, and

2) how much real time is required to get there from the schematic level our Design Shootout finishes with.

Other questions we want each Team to answer at some point in the competition :

A. What file(s) were they able to import into their software ACAD 12, 13, 14, DXF, DWG, image files.

B. How does their software create, or help create, sections.

C. How their software cleanes up wall intersections (X, L, T, and Y) and whether they allow priorities on different wall types when they intersect.

D. How much their software costs.

E. What kinds of systems and operating systems the software runs on.

F. What is the total configuration and cost of the two systems being used in the Design Shootout.

Vignette Interviews

Most, but not all, of these vignettes will be 3 minutes, as you will see in the times listing following this message. We will use a large visible Egg Timer. There are 10 Teams.

The vignettes are really really simple, and you should be able to show how you do a stair in CAD in less than 30 seconds (let alone 3 minutes, which will give you time to talk about the whole feature, and even mention macros that do other things). We plan to do a quick round of all the 20 screens then, during the first 20 seconds or so of your vignette, briefly show what you are up to with the building design at that point, then go into your solution for that topic Vignette Interview.

There is no question that we will all be really tight for time - all the better for the viewing audience.

Last year, many Teams ended up just repeating things during their final presentations a lot of what they had already pointed out during the charrette, or, trying to fill in with a lot of PR company promos. This whole format will help eliminate redundancy and irrelevancy.

We will do a round of all Teams on Vignette 1, then do a round of Vignette 2, etc.

Possibly, the vignettes may time out to be taken at about the same time you are addressing (or have just finished) a particular phase in your design where you may have used that technique. For instance, the one on Space planning will come about 55 minutes into the charrette. The mini-design problem will be something else, but you may wish to briefly show your current building project as an example, in some of these cases.

All but Vignette Interview 1 are graphic, on one of the two computers, with just the core Team members speaking. Teams will have the full allotted time, so that if they show how they can do the required graphic problem in shorter time, they can show us other examples in slide or ani files.

Suggested times for Vignettes : *** total 18 minutes ***

Each is a little 3 minute (or so) issue or problem to be addressed by the Teams. We will go around and see each Team's response to Vignette 1, then do a round of Vignette 2, and so on. Thus each "round" should take about half an hour. We can pull cards to see which Team goes first each time. All of them include quick graphic problems, except for the first one. The first one, to be done immediatly after the start (while the Teams are reading in their site files and recovering from their shock at the enormity of this years design problem) will be a quick verbal interview with a top CEO of the software developer, who will adress their plans to address those issues in future and current versions of their software.

For many of the graphic ones, we will be making use of one of their computers and their third Team member (thus one of their systems will still be working on the 3 hour design problem during the interview). We envision that, to explain how their software does something, they may also make use of pre-done slide files too, as the competitors indeed know all of the mini-problems beforehand.

None of these questions is really new or different from what we have done in this competition in the past, but going to a more structured format for these interviews, where we see the same thing done side by side, is meant to be far more useful and telling.