The Designers 3D CAD Shootout 2000
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The Designers 3D CAD Shootout 2000 |
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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.
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.
To Register :
See the information on the Team News Page