The Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out
|
The Designers 3D CAD Shoot-Out |
|
The Architectural CADD Cup
Perpetual Trophy for Architectural Design Software
Article 1 - Definitions
This is a perpetual trophy not a one time event and possession of the winner.
This shall be the only Architectural CADD Cup.
(Arrangements will be made for certificates, etc. that successive winners can keep.)
Article 2 - Purpose
The Architectural CADD Cup shall stand for excellence in architectural design software, shall serve as a vehicle for continually improving the state of the art in CADD and technology, and should represent a friendly competition among architects. Since the Cup is won in a design competition, it is also a symbol of pride for the excellent charrette design work done by the individual architects of the Team.
A specific purpose of the Cup and the competitions for it is to push the state-of-the-art, technologies, and capabilities of architectural CADD design software.
Article 3 - Winners Responsibilities
The winner of the Architectural CADD Cup joins as a member of a Board of Trustees that oversees all future competitions for this cup. They have a responsibility to see that those competitions are fair for all future competing Teams.
The holder of the Cup agrees to have an open public competition for the Cup a maximum of a year from when they won the Cup. They will display the Cup at architectural events during the year to help promote the Cup and the competitions for it.
This trophy should be on display half the time at the offices of the CADD software developer company and the rest of the time in the design office(s) of the competing Team members.
The current Cup holder shall coordinate with the other Trustees how and when the Cup shall be on display at various public architectural, CADD, and construction industry events.
(i.e. AIA Convention, Build Boston, AEC Systems, ACADIA, The Home Show, etc.)
After each competition the Cup will be inscribed with the name of the winning Team, the name of the primary design software used and the company that developed it, as well as the names of the Team members.
The winners of the Cup (the individual architects, their design firms, and the primary CADD software developer) have the right to promote themselves as "current holder of the Architectural CADD Cup", and to list what Architectural CADD Awards they have. They may include photographs and images of the Cup in their office brochures, Web sites, and correspondence. After the Cup has passed on to others, they may promote that they were the winner on ... (listing the specific date), and/or that they are now a Cup Trustee.
Article 4 - Future Competitions
With the rapid pace of software development, an interval more frequent than once per year for future competitions is warranted. In article 3 the winners agree to hold the next competition a maximum of a year later, however, it would make best sense to have competitions once per year. The time and place should be arranged by all the Cup Trustees.
Article 5 - Challenger of Record
The Challenger of Record shall be the architectural CADD software developer company. They will be free to choose which people actually comprise the Team that will use and represent their software. They may choose to have a mini-competition themselves to select which designers should compete, they may choose one design firm, or select volunteers. They will be free to compensate those designers for their time and expenses.
Article 6 - Design Competition
It is important, to promote the status of architectural CADD in the professional architectural community, to show the capabilities of design software in a design competition. A parade of software demonstrations is not the intention of this Cup or the competition. Thus, the competition for the Architectural CADD Cup should always be a real architectural design problem, with design solutions proposed by architects in a short charrette, making use of their design software. To reinforce this design and professional orientation, an important and realistic requirement is that at least one of the Team members be a Registered Architect.
Article 7 - Teams
Teams shall consist of three architectural designers, with two networked computers. The reason there are three is that it takes two to demonstrate networked design collaboration, and the third person is meant to be a communications vehicle and speaker to the audience (that person can also help coordinate the Team when not speaking to the audience). More Team members would be too confusing for an audience to follow.
Provisions for any Auxiliary Team members on the sidelines to serve as understudies will be made by agreement between the Cup Trustees and competing Teams before each competition. Similarly, the need for any other computer equipment (fileservers, Internet connections, laptop systems, etc.) needs to be made by similar agreement, otherwise it is specifically not allowed - since there should be only two computers. The exact cost of the computers used along with any other equipment used as well as the CADD software should always be made very clear to the attending audience (and in write-up articles).
Article 8 - Competition Criteria
Specific conditions, required drawings/models/presentations, and design criteria shall be made clear in the announcement of each forthcoming competition, and may be modified to reflect the continually improving abilities of architectural CADD systems. The specific design problem should remain unknown by the competitors until the actual start of the charrette. The length of time for the charrette should not exceed a time reasonable for an audience to observe the entire event and make summary judgments. Unless otherwise agreed, the charrette competition should be three hours. Thus, with introductory and summary presentations the entire event should be between four and six hours.
Article 9 - Independent and Objective Competition Coordinator
Currently the coordinator and originator of the Cup and the competition is Geoffrey Moore Langdon, AIA, who is not financially connected in any way with any of the CADD companies (i.e. not a dealer, VAR, marketer) but who is extremely familiar with all of the CADD design softwares from teaching some 15 different architectural CADD packages and reviewing all 47 current offerings. In the event anything happens to him or he is not able to continue, an independent and objective committee should be commissioned by the Cup Trustees to actually run the competition.
Article 10 - Care and Maintenance
The current holder of the Cup is responsible for the safekeeping, care, and maintenance of the Cup itself, including making arrangements for its transportation to events and to future winners of the Cup. The $1000 Cup was created by the Alden Galleries of Boston, from designs by Geoffrey Moore Langdon. They can help for any necessary repairs, expansions, engraving, miniature keepers, and so on.
Geoffrey Moore Langdon, AIA
Originator and Trustee
November 25, 1996