As is typical, the big four CAD/BIM vendors all had the largest booths available in the software section of the show. These included Autodesk, Bentley, Graphisoft and Nemetschek Vectorworks. This year Autodesk’s booth was the same size as the others, where sometimes in the past it has twice as large. This may have been because many vendors said New Orleans last year was a big disappointment.

Getting Started

What we are going to do in this report series is run through the companies we have something to report about and post some show floor photos. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of waiting too long in the show to take photos and, as a consequence, the booths are not as busy as they were earlier in the show–a lost opportunity for us to comment visually about what many vendors were reporting was a better year than last year in New Orleans.

Graphisoft

We’ll start with Graphisoft. The Hungarian-based BIM leader was showing its brand new ArchiCAD 16 (which Architosh has a fairly large feature in the wings on) and especially touting its new Morph modeling tool and its EcoDesigner integration. The company was also showing BIMx, its iOS based BIM viewing tool. (see news report: BIMx gets updated for iPad’s Retina Display).

01 - Graphisoft was showing its new Morph Tool, the new direct-modeling technology offers architects powerful conceptual and final modeling capabilities beyond parametrics.

Autodesk

Autodesk was using a booth design we’ve seen a few times with its mini classroom setup directly on the aisle. (see image). The company had a good array of presentations for busy professionals to learn mostly about Revit and BIM process technology. Autodesk had just recently announced its 2013 products suites and so the company had no real new announcements at the AIA.

02 - Autodesk's booth was featuring various product demonstrations all day and as is typical was quite busy.

We did speak directly to Angi Izzi, Senior Industry Strategy Manager for Architecture at Autodesk who told us the company was showcasing its 2013 product suite for AEC and that there had been some additions made, such as adding Inventor to the Autodesk Building Design Suite Ultimate edition, which retails for 11.495.USD.

When we asked about Revit for the Mac Angi Izzi did admit it is the most asked about product customers seem interested in. Furthermore, the lead Revit product manager is now a Mac guy, she said, and Autodesk–from the inside–looks like a different company now. The presence of Macs and Apple gear is everywhere now. What was clearly communicated in response to the Mac question was that the company is very much focused on mobile and the cloud and taking Revit to the cloud is a higher priority. Does this mean the CAD giant will only provide a cloud-based version of Revit for Mac users? Angi Izzi wasn’t giving anything away to us. Right now the company is very focused on mobile and cloud trends.

Angi Izzi also noted that Autodesk customers are very interested in software services delivered to them on-demand from the cloud for things they may not want to purchase software suites on because they use them infrequently. One can think of cloud-based photorealistic rendering or energy calculations and verification for example.

Vectorworks Architect

The Nemetschek Vectorworks folks also had a busy booth and some excellent presentations in their booth theater space, including showcasing a brand new product named SimTread. The CADFaster folks were also showing CADFaster for Vectorworks at the show in the Vectorworks booth as well. (more on that later).

03 - The Vectorworks booth was showing the new SimTread app plus CADFaster for Vectorworks in addition to its flagship line of CAD/BIM software.

We had an in-depth conversation with Tuomas Holma of CADFaster, which is based in Finland, about the company, its products and the latest addition which is the support of Vectorworks. The company’s solutions work on desktop, iOS (iPhone and iPad) and on the web.

Currently CADFaster’s desktop solution–which is the most robust solution–is for Windows only but a Mac version is also planned. Tuomas Holma however could not comment on a time-line for that release. We have much more to say about CADFaster for Vectorworks so look for another report devoted just to that soon.

Unfortunately this year, due to so many requests from companies to speak to Architosh, including the AIA’s Documents software division, we didn’t get a chance to truly visit the Bentley booth. This marks the end of our BIM group for this first report on the show floor. Look for Report 2 for more pics and info.

Bentley, Autodesk, Graphisoft and Nemetschek (all four AEC-BIM players) will have larger booths at the show. We have formal visits planned with three of these companies and one of them (can’t say just yet) is planning on introducing a new software product that will work in tandem with its main AEC offerings.

ArchiCAD 16 of course was just announced and we are still working on our Product In-Depth feature, which should be out around the time of the event. We look forward to seeing live product demonstrations more fully and that can help us round-out our understanding of this big update for Graphisoft.

While there are some interesting smaller companies at attendance this year we are sad to see that are actually less software companies planning to exhibit than the last time we were at AIA two years ago. Clearly the economy has hit the industry quite hard this year. We don’t see the formZ folks who are  regulars and are also nearby. We also do not see the Rhino folks there as well. In a prior show Robert McNeal and Co. had a very larger booth and were showcasing smaller third-party add-on developers for Rhino at the show. Perhaps there will be some last-minute changes?

Luxology’s modo has made great strides in the AEC market and we would appreciate saying modo shown at AIA as well as companies like Abvent and many of the SketchUp rendering add-on developers. Google will be at the show and we are assuming SketchUp will be shown despite it being acquired recently.

We look forward to producing these reports in the new few days and learning about what is new.

ArchiCAD 16 introduces a comprehensive ecosystem of solutions which tie together Graphisoft’s various BIM software packages, addressing mobile as well as cloud solutions. The two largest new features of this release are ArchiCAD 16’s new Morph Tool modeling technology and Graphisoft’s introduction of BIMcomponents.com, a cloud-based repository of native ArchiCAD, GDL-based, BIM components.

“Building projects–by their nature–contain numerous custom building components and structures that may require modeling capabilities beyond the standard BIM tools,” said László Vértesi, VP of Products at Graphisoft. “ArchiCAD 16 introduces direct modeling capabilities and cloud-integration to help users create and find the custom objects, components, and structures they need to make their BIM models complete.”

Explicit Modeling

ArchiCAD has long been a BIM leader in parametric modeling capabilities within AEC but this release introduces the Morph Tool, bringing what is commonly referred to as “direct modeling” (or “explicit” modeling as compared to “parametric”) capabilities to its modeling powers.

01 - Graphisoft's new ArchiCAD 16. Introduces new Morph Tool for direct modeling and new BIMcomponents.com portal.

The new Morph Tool brings to ArchiCAD 16 popular modeling techniques such as Push/Pull and direct modeling transformations in an intuitive graphical way. The Morph Tool is an optimal solution for creating custom BIM components, custom structures, and custom elements of the built environment as well as custom-designed building interiors.

BIM Components in the Cloud

Building components is one of the most dynamically developing segments in the BIM industry and Graphisoft has addressed this trend with a user-friendly approach that encourages users–not just advanced scripting-capable third-party developers–to produce and share BIM components for the community of ArchiCAD users to tap into.

The new BIMcomponents.com website is a cloud-based community website hosting thousands of GDL-based BIM components. Users can create, search, upload and download custom BIM components of their choice. The fully-integrated web portal makes sharing and obtaining BIM components simple.

EcoDesign Becomes Integrated

Graphisoft is introducing in version 16 a fully integrated EcoDesigner. The built-in Energy Evaluation functionality of ArchiCAD 16 is similar to the former standalone EcoDesigner product but is based on entirely new technology (eg: zone-boundary based building model geometry analysis, analytic weather data input option, etc.). This technology allows architects to perform reliable dynamic energy evaluation of their BIM model within ArchiCAD relying on BIM geometry analysis and accurate hour-by-hour online weather data of the building’s location.

Together with ArchiCAD 16, GRAPHISOFT also delivers important workflow and productivity updates to its growing portfolio of solutions. These include an upgraded BIM Server™, Cloud-integrated model sharing service for BIMx users with an active maintenance contract, and support for the IFC 2×3 Coordination View Version 2.0 for facilitating OPEN BIM.

ArchiCAD 16 will be released on May 30, 2012, with shipment to customers beginning within a few weeks after the official release. Following a tight release schedule, all 26 local versions are planned to reach the market by the end of Q3 2012. For more information about ArchiCAD 16, please visit: http://www.graphisoft.com/archicad. For a live demonstration of ArchiCAD 16, please register for the upcoming “BIM Components at Your Fingertips” webinar on June 19, 2012.

Renato Candusso is a partner in Candusso Arquitetos. We learned that his rather good sized architecture practice was centered around a strong belief in 3D visualization as a key component of their design and business processes and we invited him to talk to us about his firm, their creative process, and how he uses key tools like Maxon’s CINEMA 4D as part of their workflow to achieve their consistently outstanding design.

The Interview

Anthony Frausto-Robledo (AFR): Renalto, tell me a little about your firm. How long has your architecture firm been in business, what is its background?

Renato Candusso (RC): Sure. We have been in business since 1976. Candusso Arquitetos has always stood out by the characteristics of our designs, which besides being bold and noticeable, seek to balance aesthetic appeal and functionality. Moreover, the constant concern we have to provide the best service to our clients, managing deadlines with organization and efficiency, the investments we make in new technologies, and the attention we apply to the development of construction processes, has all turned the office of Candusso Arquitetos into a reference between the professions and companies that make up the building industry in our country.

01 - The Brazilian architecture firm Candusso Arquitetos is an 80-person strong firm located in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The firm is one of the largest in South America and one of the larger Mac-based architecture firms we have profiled here on Architosh.

AFR: And who makes up the leadership of Candusso?

RC: The partners are myself (Renato Candusso) and my father Roberto Candusso. We now lead a team of over 80 highly qualified professionals who are divided into eight teams: concept, legal documentation, execution, computer modeling, popular housing, special projects, partnerships, and administration. Together we have developed over 1500 successful projects in various segments of the architecture industry.

AFR: Speaking of segments, what types of building types does your firm specialize in designing?

RC: We work on single-family homes, condominiums, residential buildings and towers, commercial buildings, retail, hotels and housing developments. The office always meets the market demands and therefore we can fit into all segments.

02 - A condominium project (set of towers) in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Such projects are entirely visualized using 3D renderings along the entire design process. Candusso Arquitetos continues to seek markets outside Brazil and South America as its services become more capable.

AFR: Your firm is noted for its excellent use of advanced 3D visualization. Can you tell us about how 3D models and renderings are utilized within your practice?

next page: How Candusso Works with Cinema 4D

CadFaster | Collaborate for Vectorworks is a powerful collaboration tool available through a plugin for Vectorworks software. CadFaster | Collaborate provides design and engineering professional teams the power to distribute their 3D CAD and BIM models effortlessly and to invite others to view and mark them up remotely and in “real time”, even from a laptop or iPad.

01 - CadFaster of Finland has been a hot new CAD technology and now its is available for Vectorworks users.

“Vectorworks users will enjoy the simplicity and convenience that CadFaster has to offer them for real-time, cloud-based 3D collaboration,” said Jeremy Powell, director of product marketing at Nemetschek Vectorworks. “We’re very proud to have CadFaster | Collaborate as the most recent addition to our third party partner product portfolio.

CadFaster works by compressing very large CAD data files into much smaller chunks of data that can be emailed or sent to users from a Web URL link. End users do not need to run a client application, simply clicking on the CadFaster file will launch the file in its own user-interface. From there users have the ability to view, rotate and annotate the 3D CAD data. Features include turntable mode navigation, selection of rotation center, standard views and measurement/markup in section views–all contributing to improved productivity.

“Collaborating closely with Vectorworks to offer our software as a plug-in will benefit many Vectorworks customers,” said Raimo Kuismin, chairman, CadFaster. “CadFaster | Collaborate for Vectorworks brings design and engineering professionals the ease of real-time multiuser collaboration with geographically dispersed teams; reduced engineering costs; increased productivity; and most importantly, the kind of functionality that can really drive revenue.”

CadFaster | Collaborate is available in English worldwide for all users of Vectorworks 2012 software. A retail price of 99.USD is listed on the Nemetschek website. For more information or to purchase CadFaster Collaborate for Vectorworks please visit: http://tinyurl.com/7r924nz.

At this present time BIM, or Building Information Modeling, continues to gain significant traction within the AEC industry at various paces worldwide. While it may have begun sooner in Europe for instance, than in North America, the latter region has leapt forward more aggressively. Additionally, in the North American market software giant Autodesk, with its popular Revit BIM platform, has established a notable mindshare presence with regard to the industry transformation to BIM. Within this context a group of proponents of “open” coordination workflows have begun to work harder at clarifying the advantages of what they refer to as a true “Open BIM” process…a process that allows the benefits of BIM without many of the classic limitations that can emerge around centralized file formatting.

Our discussion begins by talking about the importance of this movement.

Open BIM: Context and Importance

AFR (Anthony Frausto-Robledo): Akos, talk to me about the importance of this Open BIM movement.

AP (Akos Pfemeter): Sure. Firstly, the AEC industry has changed a lot in the past 20 or so years. In the last century AEC processes were mostly sequential, meaning that things came one after the other. Now, we are dealing with the forces of an accelerating economy that require AEC projects to finish faster also. This results in the traditional sequential order of things now to have substantial overlaps and even be fully parallel–happening at many times. (see image 01)

AFR: And how does this change the nature of collaboration in AEC?

AP: Back in the time of paper, design coordination meant that everyone would exchange paper drawings and use light tables to coordinate differences. Then 2D CAD came along and instead of light tables we overlaid Xref’d 2D CAD layers in much the same way to coordinate and discover important differences.

01 - BIM today is addressing the very nature of the transformation from traditional project delivery to "integrated" project delivery (IPD). Methodology changes are responding to "parallelization" of typical "sequential" processes of design, manufacturing and construction. BIM addresses these fundamentally but Open BIM as an approach is formulating the ideal workable solution for all parties involved.

But BIM (Building Information Modeling) fundamentally changes things including interdisciplinary coordination as well. In contrast to the 2D drawing primitives as the least common denominators of the traditional workflow, BIM carries an abundance of information that does not make sense to coordinate using the traditional approach.

AFR: But it seems there are some different views or approaches to how “coordination” or collaboration takes place within the BIM workflow. Can you define these?

next page: Approaches to BIM: The Open BIM Way

For Vectorworks Architect the Import Shapefile command has been added to the Architect workspace. IFC data can now be attached to symbol definitions from a context menu in the Resources Browser.

For Renderworks, the Use Enhanced OpenGL Shadows option has been added to the 3D tab of the Vectorworks preferences. Enhanced shadows are highly accurate shadows used in OpenGL rendering with shadows (Renderworks required).

The Service Pack is available for all licensees as a downloadable updater from within the application. For more information on Vectorworks go to: www.nemetschek.net

Architecture and design students and teachers are entitled to receive the fully-functional education version of ArchiCAD for free. Students and teachers are entitled to one year free education licenses of ArchiCAD after showing proof of their education status. In addition, architecture schools and academic institutions are entitled to equip their computer labs with the free academic version of ArchiCAD. Given that BIM is the fastest-growing trend in the AEC design industry, Graphisoft took the lead in developing the first, full-fledged BIM curriculum to support the university education of BIM to students. As a result, the number of universities taking advantage of this opportunity has grown as well. Since Graphisoft began offering free software to students, teachers, and universities through www.myarchicad.com, students are better-equiped to start their careers armed with the knowledge and practical skills they gain through the study of Building Information Modeling.

The Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM) is the leading school of architecture of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) of Spain. It prepares future architects and grants the title of Architect, as well as doctorates and diverse master degrees. ETSAM is considered by many professionals of the sector as the best in Spain and one of the best architecture schools word-wide.

BIM for Small and New Firms

“We recognize the importance of BIM within the building and construction process, as well as the financial realities many new firms face. The release of STAR(T) 2012 represents our commitment to providing a powerful software solution to those customers,” said Steve Benford, managing director, Graphisoft North America. “ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2012 is an excellent option to gain a BIM solution that meets their needs now and will meet their needs in the future as they grow.”

ArchiCAD STAR(T) 2012

ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2012 is a full-fledged BIM solution with critical features most smaller practices need. Architects can take advantage of a full BIM toolset and create any type of “virtual building” model and architectural documentation (floor plans, sections/elevations, 3D views, details).

There are several new features in the STAR(T) Edition users will enjoy, including:

• Intelligent Element Connections — automatic connections between building structures and elements to help the creation and maintenance of the BIM model while preserving the flexibility architects need
• 3D Design Space — the new 3D guidelines and editing planes to help the creation of the BIM model in the natural 3D environment, including axonometric and perspective views
• Latest DWG-DXF file exchange capabilities with the 3rd party applications of consultants

ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2012 will be shipping for less than 2000.USD. For more information visit www.graphisoft.com to find a reseller.

Architosh Analysis

ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition is an interesting product that we feel fits the majority of needs of the small office or sole practitioner very well. And a firm outgrows those needs a company can upgrade to the full version of ArchiCAD. The STAR(T) Edition can read files created with earlier version of STAR(T) (2007 and newer) as well as ArchiCAD 8.1 and 9.0.

What is different about this version versus the full version of ArchiCAD is that STAR(T) Edition doesn’t support the Teamwork functionality found in ArchiCAD proper. There is no XRefs support or Hotlinked Modules support. Also, some of the sophisticated modeling is not supported, such as shells, curtain walls, slanted walls, columns and the profile manager is not present. There is also no LightWorks rendering engine built in or Sketch Rendering. And finally there is no NET license or license borrowing. When it comes to documentation there are no limitations or differences between this product and ArchiCAD 15.

For those who have been interested in ArchiCAD but concerned about price STAR(T) offers them an alternative road map to migrating to a BIM practice.

Open BIM is a universal approach to the collaborative design, realization and operation of buildings based on open standards and workflows. Open BIM is an initiative of the buildingSMART organization and several leading software vendors using the open buildingSMART Data Model.

Benefits of Open BIM

The key benefits of the Open BIM workflow approach include:

• Workflow integration results in greatly reduced coordination errors compared to sheer file exchange-based coordination methods of various disciplines
• Project members can work with any of the “best-of-breed” solutions in their respective fields without risking “incompatibility” hence exclusion from certain BIM projects
• Project members can maintain full control over software upgrades independently from their peers on the different AEC projects they participate in
• Accessibility of BIM data is provided for the entire lifecycle of buildings including design, construction and operation

The Open BIM program’s aim is to help coordinate efforts related to the promotion and implementation of Open BIM collaboration workflows by providing common definitions, requirements and branding. AEC software vendors, AEC practices (designers, engineers, contractors) as well as AEC projects are all welcome to participate and use the OPEN BIM logo as a promise of successful and streamlined collaboration.

01 - The new Open BIM logo looks like this. Initiatives include the ability for a wider array of participants in Open BIM to co-brand their BIM workflow processes and philosophies towards open standards using this logo.

The buildingSMART organization is a neutral, international and unique not-for-profit industry alliance supporting Open BIM through the life cycle of a building. The group develops, maintains and issues certifications for the data model standard known as Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). The IFC standard was accepted by ISO (ISO/PAS 16739: 2005). Full ISO accreditation is in progress.

To learn more about Open BIM go here: http://buildingsmart.com/openbim

Rift Architects applied OPEN BIM collaboration workflow to design and build a high-end residential complex in the heart of Oslo fjord, 40 minutes outside of Oslo, Norway. The residential project offers residents an enviable way of life, with islands, reefs, sandy beaches and fishing all within arm’s reach.

01 - Graphisoft to host OPEN BIM webinar featuring this project in Norway. (image courtesy of Graphisoft, copyright by Rift Architects)

Webinar Details

In attending this webinar you can learn about:

• How OPEN BIM’s safe and streamlined workflow ensures seamless collaboration between architects and engineers using products like Graphisoft ArchiCAD, Tekla Structures, and DDS-CAD MEP.
• Learn how OPEN BIM projects are more easily shared among architects, engineers, builders and clients
• See how Rift Architect’s use of OPEN BIM saved the client time and money on the Norde Jarsberg Brygge project

Registration

The live webinar is on 27 March 2012, Tuesday. To register for different locales around the world you can visit this information page here. There is a Spanish-language version for this event as well. To register to here.

To learn more about Graphisoft visit this page.

“The reality is that BIM is more about process change than technology adoption,” said Thomas M. Simmons, series instructor. “With this program we are focusing on how to make the transition to BIM so that its benefits can be maximized throughout the design process.”

Individuals can register for one or all the six courses on the LearnVirtual registration page. The dates and topics of the sessions are as follows:

• March 14 — Defining Fundamental BIM Concepts, Terms & Tools.
• March 21 — Implementing BIM in the Design Phase
• March 28 — Visualization with BIM
• April 4 — Strategies for Creating Documents from a BIM Model
• April 11 — Collaboration from Small to Large Teams
• April 18 — Integrating Sustainability into the BIM Process

Course instructor Thomas M. Simmons has worked in architecture, engineering and construction firms in San Francisco, Houston, Portland and Seattle to implement BIM. He is a recognized expert in Building Information Modeling and the implementation of its technology.

LearnVirtual specializes in the design and implementation of educational programs for AEC professionals.

Pricing and Registration

Sessions are 29.USD, but all six can be had for 125.USD. You can learn more and register at: www.learnvirtual.com

Self-sufficient City

Designed using ArchiCAD, the Skyscraper Village is based on the design and research of a city that supplies its own food. The building would function as a self-sufficient city, and would also consist of parks, open-areas, dwellings, offices and industrial areas.

01 - Skyscraper City, an award-winning project was done on ArchiCAD.

The project consists of four towers interlinked to one another. The goal of the project was to create the feeling of being in a city. For example, Brendan designed multiple routes to get from one place in the building to another, just as one might take different routes to the same destination in a city.

A native of Voorschoten, now living in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Brendan Bakker studied engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht, specializing in architecture and the built environment. He is currently working on his master’s degree in architecture at the Technical University of Delft, which he expects to complete in 2013.

To learn more about ArchiCAD visit Graphisoft’s website here.

Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD 15 won Construction Computing Magazine’s BIM Product of the Year in 2011 and now the company has released a white paper titled, “Get There Faster with ArchiCAD.” The white paper examines five critical areas to explore before making final BIM software selection. The sole purpose of the white paper is to provide accurate, reliable information about critical issues related to BIM and how ArchiCAD technology addresses these issues.

The key issue areas are:

• Improve profitability
• Enable agile and competitive workflow
• Provide real-time collaboration
• Easy-to-learn and simplfied 3D workflow
• Optimizes use of computer hardware power
• Keeps IT costs low
• Is a secure and proven BIM product

The white paper shares expertise from six design leaders. The company says, “we want to teach and educate in an effort to help architects make informed technology decisions.”

You can download the BIM white-paper here.

The new ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2012 is based on the robust BIM technology of ArchiCAD 15, but with a feature set and price tailored to the needs of small architectural practices, home builders, and building contractors.

ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2012 is a full-featured BIM program, containing all the tools necessary to creating a building information model of your design and then documenting the project fully as well as generating a list of materials. The latest release features the core functionality of ArchiCAD 15 plus:

• Intelligent Element Connections – automatic connections between building structures and elements to help create the creation and maintenance of the BIM model while preserving the flexibility architects need
• 3D Design Space – 3D guidelines and editing planes to help the creation of the BIM model in the natural 3D environment including axonometric and perspective views
• Latest DWG-DXF file exchange capabilities with the 3rd party applications of consultants

ArchiCAD STAR(T) Edition 2012 is available in International English, German and Austrian versions. Other localized versions will follow during Q1, 2012. To learn more visit them online here.

In this review I am not able to address all of the improvements, added features, etc.  There are too many.   I am just going to sort of randomly pick out a few and comment on some that stand out at first glance.  The best way to see them all is to go to this site.  And you will notice that my comments are directed mostly towards the use of the features by an architect, because that is what I know best.

Working Planes: Handwriting is on the Wall

The first new feature that I noticed with affection is the ability to select a working plane by just clicking on it and then being able to work directly on it, adding text, cut outs, new parts and so on. (see image 01) I have up to now been too lazy to really use working planes choosing instead to sort of work around them.  This is a great new feature.  But on my computer at least I have noticed a bit of a time lag as the changes get updated in 3D.  This is one of the many issues that come up as a program gets more complicated.  Older computers have a harder time keeping up.

The handwriting in on the wall, that is if you select the working plan then type some text it will be on the wall or plane selected in 3D, this I believe could be done before but now it’s much easier.  Also dimensions can be added in a 3D view so it is much easier to show the height of an object for example.

Pushing and Pulling

This is not really new from 2011, but by easily selecting the working plane it also becomes easier.  One thing I thought would be fun and useful was to draw a curved line on a working plan in 3D and then pull it up to a height and turn it into a wall by extruding it.  That didn’t work.  Then I tried to change my curved object by offsetting it.  That didn’t work either.  What does work is to draw any shape in 2D then offset it using the close open curves (also works with straight lines) mode then use the push pull tool to stretch it up to whatever height you want.  It could also just be extruded at that point.  The thing that makes this interesting is the ability to easily create curvilinear shapes that can become walls or maybe areas of glass. (see image 01)

The Push Pull tool gains efficiencies despite it being fundamentally different because you simply do not have to select the working plane on an object now. That can be done in automatic mode, saving you many steps. You can also toggle that automatic mode off, a handy feature at times.

01 - Offsets and shape making in Vectorworks 2012. Note that text can be easily added to any plane by selecting it by just clicking on the plane, thereby making it the working plane and then typing text (see text on blue section, as well as imported image).

You gotta love the ability to change the size and angle of tiles and hatches on the fly; wow this one is cool.  It’s great for anyone who does layouts of paving for example.  I almost made myself crazy doing this a few versions back working on the design of a small piazza in Italy.

next page: Collaboration

A webpage dedicated to the planned event states: “Graphisoft considers Steve Jobs the greatest hero of the information age. We believe such superlatives are warranted: indeed, we cannot be entirely objective with respect to Steve Jobs, because to a large extent, Graphisoft ArchiCAD owes its global success to him. In 1984, Apple was willing to give Graphisoft a chance.”

BIM Begins on Apple Lisa

ArchiCAD is largely considered the very first true BIM (Building Information Modeling) software program, inventing and coining the term “virtual building” in the process of developing 3D CAD for architects which enabled them to literally build the building, completely, in 3D on the computer. “The first version of ArchiCAD ran on a Lisa computer, the immediate predecessor to the Macintosh,” reports the company. “We exhibited this program at the 1984 CEBIT in Hannover, where Steve Jobs saw it and decided to give Apple’s full support to its development and distribution. Apple gave us cash and computers at a time when Graphisoft was a young company with very limited resources; the technology represented by those computers was not even available in our part of the world.”

01 - Ark-Coca-Cola skyscraper wins fifth design excellence award. The project is a BIM achievement in Australia and was designed using Graphisoft ArchiCAD.

ArchiCAD quickly became available on the Mac and remained an exclusive on the Mac well into the 1990’s. Apple introduced the young Hungarian company to its global distribution network, which the company relies on to this day, helping sell and represent ArchiCAD in countries around the world.

“In 1985, after Steve Jobs left Apple, the company lost its soul,” states Graphisoft on this webpage. “At the time, many of our partners said that Graphisoft was the guardian of Apple’s spirit and soul. Some even said that we were the ‘real Apple’ at that time. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple 12 years later, the company again began to create miracles.”

“The working environment at Graphisoft Park embodies the spirit of Steve Jobs, which strives for excellence in every detail. Our built environment aims to inspire and promote this passion for quality in the talented people who work here. Graphisoft Park is indeed a fitting location for a statue commemorating Steve Jobs and his legacy.”

To learn more about Graphisoft’s thoughts on Steve Jobs and its view on Apple and the Graphisoft connection, click here. The event takes place in front of the Graphisoft building, 1031 Budapest, Zahony u, 7, G Building, at 3:00PM CET.

Those who wish to attend can RSVP by contacting Julianna Gulden, Graphisoft PR at: jgulden@graphisoft.com

Graphisoft also took home the award for Environmental Project of the Year for Rural Regeneration Centre at Hadlow College, the UK’s first certified Passivhaus educational building.

To learn more about Graphisoft’s BIM solution ArchiCAD 15 go here.

NCME and Graphisoft agree to establish a NCME-Graphisoft Strategic Partnership with objective to promote and implement Building Information Modeling (BIM) to strengthen the design capabilities of NCME, the brand and influence of NCME, to support the growth of BIM in China and the creation of specifications for municipal design, as well as BIM standards for China based upon Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD and related software.

North China Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute (NCME) is a nationally recognized, professional organization. A design and research organization integrating urban planning, cost consulting, environmental assessment, project design, contract engineering, project supervision, research and technology development.

During the course of the next three years, Graphisoft will assist NCME with implementing BIM on design, collaboration, sustainability, and create BIM specifications.

To learn more about ArchiCAD visit them online here: www.graphisoft.com

Architosh Analysis

Graphisoft continues to make substantial progress in China with several related agreements like this one in the past few years. Recently Architosh reported on Graphisoft’s team-up with United Design Group of Shanghai, China. And just this early Fall the BIM innovator signed a MOU with China Academy of Building Research Architecture Design Institute.

With China’s recent construction boom BIM is exploding in the growing country. Large-scale agreements like this one can form a very positive momentum for the BIM innovator, growing its market share and attraction in one of the largest markets in the world.

“We are thrilled to receive this honor,” said Steward Rom, Chief Marketing Officer of Nemetschek Vectorworks. “We strived to make the Vectorworks 2012 program the ideal solution for designers in the AEC community with continued improvements to our 3D, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and rendering capabilities, and it’s an honor to be recognized by the Construction Computing Awards. We’re also fortunate to have partners like Computers Unlimited who make it possible for us to bring these innovations to users around the world.”

The awards ceremony was held November 17, 2011, at The Hotel Russell in London, and team members from Computers Unlimited were in attendance to accept the award.

To learn more about Vectorworks, go here.