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Architectural CADD News by Software |
Last Updated : June 28, 2006
CATIA
IBM and Dassault Systemes
Latest version : CATIA Version 4 Release 2.2
Web Sites : http://www.ibm.com/solutions/engineering and http://dsweb.com
Note from Architectural CADD : Yes Catia is indeed the one
used
in Frank Gehry's architectural office by mechanical engineer
drafters. However, his office has dramatically added to the
software - which is normally used for mechanical engineering
design - with modular architectural elements such as walls,
doors, windows, stairs, etc. and now markets this as a CATIA add on
called Digital Project.
Comments from Architectural CADD : No, we do not
recommend that
other architects get CATIA without Digital Project.
Even still, it takes an extrodinary architectural firm with unusual
circumstances for us to recommend this software. For
mechanical engineers, however, yes, CATIA is an excellent choice
depending on what you are designing.
IBM and Dassault Systemes announced the ISO 10303 (STEP) certification of the CATIA Version 4 Release 2.2 CATIA STEP AP203 Interface product.
Date: 17 Jul 1999
From: Richard Grosser <cadre@ext.canterbury.ac.nz>
Subject: What is ...CATIA?
It's spelt ...CATIA, which is a complex three-dimensional, numeric surface and solids, modelling program, originally developed for application in the French aviation and aerospace industries by Dassault Systemes.
I understand BOEING have been using the software for some time and now IBM have principal rights to it's marketing and distribution. The latest version, v5 is available on Win\NT , which will popularise it's use even further ,although it's somewhat more expensive than ArchiCAD ...especially here, in NZ!
In contemporary architecture in the US, this software gained popularity through Frank O. Gehry's applications with complex wall & roof structures (expensive titanium steel & glass, in particular with such examples as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao) requiring precise maching and tooling.
High on my wish list for ArchiCAD, is to allow more complex curvilinear, topological surface transformations [with complete interactivity], right in the 3D Window, ...not unlike some of the features offered in MicroStation and especially CATIA.
Other CATIA References:
http://pw1.netcom.com/~venkman1/catia.html General CATIA References by a CATIA Trainer
http://arqa.com/links/arquitec.htm Spanish CATIA LInks (esp. IBM, Spain)
http://www.penton.com/cae/aec/articles/982highend.html Feature article on comparison of high-end CAD, mentioning CATIA, which has some comparitive comments re ArchiCAD's performance, that relates to the release in '98
http://www.catia.ibm.com/custsucc/sufran.html CATIA HomeSite - re Frank Gehry's work
From: "Architecture" journal, June 1997,
"Resurrecting Dresden Cathedral" page 157
".... CATIA's architectural applications have been limited. Its costs, capabilities, and jet-engine precision often exceed typical architectural needs. In CATIA, each 3-D component (for example, a single airplane wing) represents a unified database than can analyze fabrication, aerodynamics, surface stresses, hydraulics, electronics, temperature gradients, geometries of compound curves, and potential interferences between cross-connections. Frank Gehry, who designs complex and idiosyncratic geometries, is one of the few architects who uses CATIA extensively. "But for many ordinary architectural projects," observes Steven DeSimone of DeSimone Chaplin & Dobryn, an engineering firm, "using CATIA would be like hunting pheasant with an elephant gun."
Date: 19 Jul 1999
From: jshuether@mindless.com
Subject: Re:CATIA; Frank Gehry
Mr. Nicholson-Cole,
You have upset me with the statement: "Frank Gehry's work isn't really architecture."
If you believe this then you must believe that LeCorbusier's church at Ronchamp is not architecture. Art and architecture have always gone together hand-in-hand, and Gehry is very much inspired by painting and sculpture. Gehry always begins his designs with functional decisions before the whimsical forms come in to play. Most architects are jealous of Gehry because he is financially successful in the business of architecture without compromising his architectural vision--very few architects can claim this. Gehry has 120 people in his office working on buildings around the world. Have you ever visited a Frank Gehry building? I have visited the American Center in Paris, the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, "Fred and Ginger" in Prague, and Vontz Center for Molecular Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Words can not explain the inspiration that these buildings evoke. Very few building generate the emotional response--positive or negative--than those designed by Frank Gehry. For a good understanding of Frank Gehry, his work and his thinking, take a look at the May 1999 issue of Architectural Record.
I would really like to know what you think architecture is?
I am also upset at the statement that CATIA is "not suitable for Architecture." I am very shocked at you since you are such a big supporter of ArchiCAD. ArchiCAD has revolutionized the way for object databases in architectural design. CATIA, while more suited for the manufacturing and aerospace industries is the ultimate in object databases. The 3D models generated in CATIA can be used to generate bending moments, shear forces and reactions due to loading conditions.
The 3D models can also be handed to manufacturers who can input the data into their machinery to produce the aluminum skin of an airplane or the stainless steel skin of a Frank Gehry building. The steel bids for Gehry's Bibao came in 18 percent under budget due to the ability of the steel contractors to do precise quantity take-offs using the CATIA model of the building. The CATIA software empowers the architect because the architect can show the contractor exactly what is to be built. CATIA is a crucial part in the restoration of the Frankenkirche in Dresden. CATIA enabled the architects to rebuild the cathedral in the computer. Once the model was in the computer the architects were able to determine where existing stones could be used in the reconstruction and what new stones would be need to be quarried. Check out the June 1997 issue of Architecture for the complete story. Rather than flatly stating that CATIA is not suitable for architecture, you should have said that its price and complexity do not make it the first choice of software for most architects. James Huether