Speaking with me over a WebEx session, Graphisoft’s Director of Global Marketing, Akos Pfemeter says, “ArchiCAD has had the best 3D editing environment since version 6, way superior to all other applications. Still, architects have found trouble navigating in 3D space.” But this problem has been solved Akos says. “In ArchiCAD 15 we have reinvented the 3D environment.”

Advertisement - Visit Graphisoft online to learn more.

Indeed, it appears that Graphisoft has spent the past year working hard on two major areas of improvement to ArchiCAD, that both affect the ability of architects to work full time in three dimensions. The first of these is an improvement to the 3D working environment in ArchiCAD itself, and the second of these is advancements in form-making that seriously liberate designers to create just about any form they can imagine.

The third major improvement in ArchiCAD is focused on renovation work and the company has crafted into ArchiCAD 15 excellent tools that enable architects to handle renovation work.

In this In-Depth feature article we will review and show some of ArchiCAD 15 major new features across these three major areas. We will also touch on productivity, collaboration and other features at the end.

Gaining Perspective: Working in Three Dimensions Just Got Easier

It should be stated right away that ArchiCAD has always been a consummate 3D architectural CAD/BIM application. But being good and being great are two different things. Even so, those with multiple 3D CAD experience will always argue the virtues of one application over another. That’s not our intention here. The point is to emphasize that in ArchiCAD 15 Graphisoft has added new capabilities that greatly improve the ability to work in 3D.

New in ArchiCAD 15 is new editing planes in 3D. The new editing plane in 3D is displayed as a light blue-green grid. Interestingly, the user does not have to set the location of the 3D editing plate from the start. Rather, the user’s choice of tool sets a default height and location for the 3D editing plane. The editing plane itself also sets its own size, always big enough to contain the extend of all 3D elements.

01 - The new editing plane can be customized with the grid customization preferences.

02 - Unique only to the 3D editing plane are opacity settings for the grid and grid plane background colors.

Grid lines and editing plane parameters are customizable. The user can, for example, change the grid and grid background color. Specific to the grid of the editing plane in 3D are a pair of opacity settings–quite necessary for working in 3D work–for both the grid itself and its background color (see sliders in lower right of images 01-02 ). While working in 3D, various operations may require a change in orientation of the 3D editing plane. The user can change the editing plane from horizontal, to vertical or to a specified orientation using one of several methods. The editing plane can also be offset from a specific node on an object.

A particularly common process with the use of editing planes in ArchiCAD 15 is the use of “projection” from an editing plane to the plane of another object. For instance, you may project a rectangular object in a plan to a sloped roof to create the opening in that roof. In ArchiCAD 15 the use of a ray (a line that connects both editing plane and the plane of the object being affected) helps to determine the orientation chosen for editing plane in operations.

A big new change from previous versions is the creation of guidelines. When it comes to objects ArchiCAD 15 has eliminated automatic guidelines in favor of user-generated guidelines. When the cursor is placed along an element or node, a guideline “handle” appears as a small orange circle. Placing your cursor over it will provide feedback information. Clicking it will generate a guideline or guide circle. (see images 03 below)

03 - The little orange circles (dots) help you set guidelines with more information and control.

Graphisoft has created a vast array of new ways to generate guidelines in 3D space. There is new feedback from guidelines, the ability to create guideline segments between two nodes in space and a host of ways to create, offset and delete unnecessary guidelines.

To further help with advancements when working in three dimensions, ArchiCAD 15 has new visual aids. There is a new “depth” information created by the dimming of background elements. The dimming effect works when objects overlap each other. This even works on guidelines which will be dimmed when they run behind objects. Also the X, Y and Z axes are now marked with letters X, Y and Z to further help with orientation in space.

Finally, it should be mentioned that ArchiCAD 15 offers full editing and navigation support in not just “axonometric” views (as some other BIMs only do) but in “perspective” views as well. And if you are shopping for BIMs and think axon views are 3D enough for you, we’ll tell you right now they are not. Sometimes a perspective view is exactly what you need.

Next page: New Shell Tool for Advanced Forms

First a Few Notes About Vectorworks

Vectorworks is the all-around CAD program for architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, theater lighting designers and design in general. From the standpoint of graphics, Vectorworks can be a one stop shop for an architectural office.  It’s a design tool, a production tool and a rendering tool that can also be used for most of the graphic layouts an architect might need.

Vectorworks is well regarded for its short learning curve compared to other CAD programs. Design can be done all in 3D and those 3D drawings will be or can be the same drawings that become the 2D drawings making up the production drawing set.  Client presentations can be rendered printouts, animations, walk-throughs, or even real time views of a 3D model taken on one’s laptop to a client meeting.  And if one needs to do a graphic presentation, a competition board for example, pictures, text, 2D and 3D drawings can all be composed and printed right in the program.

Vectorworks 2011

Nemetschek North America changed its name last year to Nemetschek Vectorworks. Most in the industry, including its users, saw that as a good sign–a sign that they really want to identify with it (the Vectorworks brand) and thus make it the best they can.

The biggest bit of news in Vectorworks 2011 is that they have replaced the rendering engine in Renderworks with the Cinema 4D render engine.  And they have created an easy integration with the actual Cinema 4D program.  This is a really big improvement especially for anyone wanting to take their models to a very high level. The company claims a 5 to 7 times increase in speed. However, we did not verify this in any tests in this review.

The other big feature change is what they call 2D/3D integration.  Vectorworks has for a long time been a very flexible program allowing one to create just about any 3D form.  But now with this integration of 2D and 3D the program is even more flexible and easier to use for preliminary design.  I know there are people who design in SketchUp and import into Vectorworks. Vectorworks’ new modeling technology, with its improved Push/Pull tool, will begin to enable experienced SketchUp and Vectorworks users to simply model all in Vectorworks 2011. We will spend some time digging into the new 2D/3D integration and modeling features as well as many other improvements in the full review.

New Improved 3D Environment

There are some stunning improvements to the new unified 2D/3D environment in Vectorworks 2011. The most important is the way 2D objects can now be drawn in 3D views, complete with text creation and editing abilities.

Most experienced Vectorworks users will delight in the ability and flexibility to manipulate planar objects in various 3D views. Architects and engineers for example might develop connection details in axon views complete with dimensions and extruded connections and members. (see images 01 – 03)

01 - The new unified 2D/3D environment allows all 2D objects, including hatches, fills and gradients inside objects to be planar objects which can be displayed in 3D.

02 - In order to maintain associative dimensions one must associate the dimension to the 2D planar object prior to it forming the basis of a 3D object.

03 - This axon view was actually rotated. Notice how the text and leader lines exist in 3D. They were drawn on the workplane which was set to the face of the column.

Vectorworks 2011 allows you to work with text blocks in 3D just like in 2D. One caveat however. If you create a viewport of a 3D view or 3D object, you cannot place text in 3D in the annotation layer of the viewport. Therefore, you must first add that text on a design layer prior to the creation of the viewport. That is the method for establishing a detail like above. (see third image above).

Vectorworks 2011 now allows you to utilize, view and edit fills, gradients and hatches in isometric views. This will greatly expand the possibilities for presentation drawings.

Bonzai 3D 2.2. – New Items

Bonzai 3D 2.2 is now available in French and Czech (as well as previously available in German, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Japanese and English). Floating licenses are now supported on networks. This allows for the software to be installed on a number of machines and simultaneous use is allowed up to the number of licenses purchased.

Also is is an included Abvent Artlantis filter for those who are rendering their Bonzai 3D models in Artlantis. Disappointingly, Google has changed its licensing and technical requirements regarding its Google 3D Warehouse and Google Earth and direct access to both from Bonzai 3D 2.2 is no longer supported. The fundamental capabilities of connection still exist they just require an extra step or two, says the company. The Add Component from 3D Warehouse button has been replaced by a new Import Component button.

You can still import images from Google Earth into Bonzai 3D 2.2 and AutoDesSys has produced a set of instructions. To learn more about version 2.2 or to obtain a license or demo visit: http://www.formz.com/products/bonzai3d.html

At SIGGRAPH ZBrush 4 was demoed to attendees at the Pixologic booth. The new software features a brand new suite of sculpting features including new ready mesh techniques with the new Shadow Box. Users can refine hard surface edges with the new Clip Brushes and manage complex multi-part models with the new SubTool features.

ZBrush 4 continues Pixologic’s innovation and goal to take art from concept to final production asset without the need to leave the ZBrush environment. “ZBrush has become a game changer for those like me, who have continually relied on external modeling programs for things such as hard surface modeling,” said Trevor Hennington. “I can finally see myself generating full character and prop content exclusively in ZBrush and that is a great thing indeed.”

ZBrush 4 for Mac or Windows retails for 699.USD new and there are upgrade offers for existing users. Pixologic was founded in 1997 and has offices in Los Angeles and France. To learn more visit them online here: www.pixologic.com

New Items in formZ 6.7

Version 6.7 brings general improvements throughout the program. At the top of the list are updates to AutoCAD 2010 DWG and DXF file support and a new version of Spatial’s ACIS modeling geometry kernel which includes support for SAT r19 files.

All users of the Family Plan will receive formZ 6.7 on DVD automatically. The company expects to start sending these updates out by the end of the week. Non-Family Plan members who are current can update for a minimum fee by ordering directly through the AutoDesSys portal.

Bonzai 3D News – More Langauges

AutoDesSys would also like to inform users that bonzai 3D has now bee localized for Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, Chinese and Japanes.

To learn more visit AutoDesSys online here http://www.formz.com/

bonzai 3D 2.0 is available for Mac and Windows and there is a free trial version available for download that gives you 30-days of use. This includes self-teaching video tutorials that making learning bonzai 3D very easy.

AutoDesSys has taken a unique approach with bonzai 3D compared to their direct “sketch modeling” competitor, Google. Rather than simply produce a simple to use but powerful modeler, the company has created an optional photo-realistic rendering plugin from their RenderZone technology found in big sister application formZ. A trial version of this plugin is also available and the cost is 399.USD.

For more information visit the bonzai 3D website here.http://www.bonzai3d.com/

Bonzai 3D New Capabilities

New in version 2.0 of Bonzai 3D is dimensions, advanced NURBS modeling tools (it already had basic NURBS in version 1), a new walkthrough tool, and clipping planes (for real-time sections), to name of a few of the new features. A summary of all the new features can be found here.

Bonzai 3D is a direct competitor of Google’s SketchUp and like that program features an easy-to-use push and pull interface. However, Bonzai 3D is related to formZ and like that program has true water-tight NURBS and solid-modeling capabilities.

Renderings

You can now make stunning renderings from your Bonzai 3D models with the new RenderZone Plugin for Bonzai. This optional software is related to AutoDesSys’s formZ rendering technology and can add photo-realistic rendering capability to this sketch modeler. The RenderZone renderer provides the ultimate in photorealistic rendering with Global Illumination based on Final Gather, Ambient Occlusion, and Radiosity, for advanced simulation of lighting effects and rendering techniques. A trial version of the plugin is included with the bonzai3d 2.0 download.

To obtain the plugin you can contact your local dealer or AutoDesSys directly at: sales@bonzai3d.com or go to:

http://www.bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_purchaseN.html

Pricing is 399.USD. Non-US pricing varies, refer to your local dealer. The RenderZone Plugin is included in the annual student edition.

Free Update Download

To download your free update to Bonzai 3D go here:

http://www.bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_update.html

Kyle Houchens, owner of The Outside Digital Art and Design and designer of over 1000 vehicles for the toy and entertainment industries, will demonstrate techniques about how T-Splines can be a timesaving tool for adding detail to a car model.

Kyle Houchens is an authorized T-Splines trainer and will be joined by T-Splines co-founder Matt Sederberg who will introduce powerful tips for maximizing the latest release of T-Splines 2.2 for Rhino.

01 - Free Webinar on T-Splines 2.2 for Rhino focused on Vehicle Design.

Matt will also demo solutions to “user-submitted” questions about how to use T-Splines for vehicular design. If you would like us to answer your questions you are requested to send them to T-Splines now. You can register for the free webinar here.

Where and When

The webinar takes place November 4, 2009, at 12:00pm – 12:45pm EST. Register here.

If you are a current Bonzai 3d user simply download bonzai 3d 2.0 and install it using your current license number. To download it go to:

http://www.bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_getBeta2.0.html 

The Bonzai 3d 2.0 beta includes a watermarked version of the RenderZone plugin. If you are interested in serious testing and feedback of the RenderZone plugin, please send an email to renderzonebeta@bonzai3d.com and we will provide a license code to remove the watermark and resolution restrictions. 

Current users of RenderZone as well as other rendering experts are also invited to participate in testing the new RenderZone plugin for bonzai 3d. Please contact AutoDesSys at the email just given if you fall into this category.

And new in version 7.1 include the support of Google’s Street View imagery to add real-world photo textures to your geo-located SketchUp models. You can now use the Component Browser to search the 3D Warehouse for buildings located near the one you’re working on, then download the ones you want directly into your model. This will save you immense amounts of time rather than hunting for what you need. 

01 - This image shows the ability to use Street View imagery as the basis of a photo texture applied to a model. On the left you can see the SketchUp model with the applied photo texture. On the right you can see Google's Street View and map technology within its own window. Pins locate key points defining the image and then you hit the Grab button to extract it for use.

New Sharing and Collaboration

Version 7.1 improves sharing and collaboration. You can now upload individual components to the 3D Warehouse without first having to save them out to separate files. Split up large city models into buildings, preserve Dynamic Component functionality and more. 

You can now import and export COLLADA files, which enables you to move your data around between multiple programs. Google Earth KMZ is the standard file format for packaging 3D models together with information about their geographic locations. SketchUp 7.1 gives you access to a world of geo-located 3D models. Additionally, you can exchange model data in other CAD formats like DXF, DWG, 3DS, OBJ, XSI, EPS, PDF and more. 

LayOut 2.1

Google has also updated LayOut to version 2.1. New features include dimensioning improvements, new Snap to SketchUp models in Layout, improved freehand drawing tool and the ability to produce lists in bulleted or numbered format. 

There is also improvements to the grids. You can now see your grid as dots instead of lines, in front of or behind your drawing. And finally there is an improvement to Copy/Paste. 

To learn more visit the SketchUp webpage: www.sketchup.com

The new solidThinking version 8 base product has several important big new features and substantial improvements. At the heart of it, solidThinking’s class-A NURBS modeling capabilities are already tops but they too gain some important new functions. The new 3D manipulators were demoed for us and our impression was this was a key new improvement that existing solidThinking users were going to really like. You can work with the 3D manipulators on one, two or three axes and you can also give the exact size of the bounding box in all three axes. We especially liked the user interface components of these manipulators for translation and rotation. (see image 01 below)

01 - New 3D Manipulators make the modeling process easier and faster.

“The new 3D manipulators will make modeling faster for our customers,” said Alex Mazzardo, “which aligns with our product philosophy of helping designers investigate formal options quicker so they can advance their designs through design iteration.” And the enhancements to point, curve and surface representation during modeling creation is much improved.

An example of solidThinking 8.0’s power came through in a demo showing us how a curve that is the basis of a rotated element (like a bottle or vase) can be modified or edited vertex by vertex–or by any combination of segments of vertices–and get real-time rendered updates. (see 02-03 below). And you have point-editing with complete freedom even if you are keeping the Construction Tree.

02 - solidThinking allows vertex-by-vertex modeling editing while retaining the full functionality of the product

The combination of explicit modeling freedom combined with solidThinking’s unique Construction Tree history is one of the program’s strongest selling points. “You can still go back to the profile of an object and modify its parameters even though you have edited direct points,” said Mazzardo. In solidThinking you have both history-based parametrics and explicit modeling combined.

03 - A group of vertices can be edited and manipulated at once...in this case we are seeing a twist manipulation effect transform the bottle design.

Rendering is also a key new area for the improvements in version 8.0. There are new interactive visualization options, including wireframe on a shaded model and you have new options for applying environmental maps. This gives the designer additional levels of feedback. One of the new things you can do is render a window with partial completeness so you can get a sense of the quality of the design and/or render. We were impressed with the ease in which you can setup render quality levels for partial renders.

For example, you may choose to render a partial section of say a motorcycle and focus on the chrome areas at a higher level because of their reflections and refractions; on the otherhand you can quickly change those settings for another partial area for something less important. “The important thing is to give the designer the option to spend the time where it is needed,” said Mazzardo, “that way he can focus more on design.”

Next page we delve into morphogenesis and Architecture >

“Through our latest release, we offer new ways for industrial designers to enrich and accelerate design inspiration,” said Alex Mazzardo, solidThinking, Inc.’s vice president of product strategy and marketing. “In addition to inviting users to free their minds from technological constraints, solidThinking aims to maximize value and provide cost-saving 3D design solutions.”

Many of the world’s leading brands and companies use solidThinking to design and develop their products, including companies like: Bulgari, Cartier, Diesel, Fujitsu, Merck, Nikon, Toshiba, Volkswagen and Volvo. 

01 - solidThinking version 8. A sample of the incredible realistic rendering quality of a product design-developed entirely within solidThinking.

solidThinking version 8.0

“We have seen a number of companies significantly increase and even double the speed of their product development lifecycles using solidThinking,” added Mario Mazzardo, vice president of product strategy and management. “We are eager to help the global industrial design community realize similar benefits and more, thanks to several new productivity boosting features in version 8.0.”  

Key new features include:

• A completely restyled and more streamlined UI (user-interface) enabling a better workflow
• New 3D manipulators for translation, scaling and rotation of objects
• Enhancements to point, curve and surface representation
• New Interactive Visualization options, including wireframe on shaded model and environmental maps
• Real-time rendering during review and visualization phases of design
• Progressive Rendering for immediate feedback on the final image
• Re-rendering of selected subregions of an existing image
• A new materials library functionality — users can now also setup multiple materials libraries
• Optimized Final Gather for increased rendering speeds and lighting accuracy
• Ambient Occlusion for greater depth, performance and realism in the photorealistic rendering phase
• New complex reflectance shaders for generating lifelike visual elements, including the ability to integrate and create glossy and blurred reflections, frosted glass, car paints, plastic and metallic effects
• High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) capabilities and the ability to create spherical images that can be visualized in the background of perspective views while modeling
• Many smaller features and improvements…

solidThinking 8.0 embodies all of the features that current users love, including its first-glass NURBS-based surface and solids modeling and best-in-class Construction Tree technology. 

Longtime solidThinking customer, Italian design firm, Pininfarina Extra, is extremely impressed with the new solidThinking 8. 

“Every time I start solidThinking, I access a 3D world that makes product design a dynamic and flexible process disclosing new horizons,” said Piero Pifferi, designer CAS and rendering for Pininfarina Extra. “The results are gratifying for both the designer and the customer.”

The bugs eliminated in version 4.7 specifically under Snow Leopard are:

• fixed texture import bug
• fixed render manager bug
• fixed crashing render bug
• fixed bug when rendering resolutions not dividable by 8

Apple officially started selling Mac OS X Snow Leopard today at its retail stores, online and through various channels. 

McNeel states here that the newest Wenatchee build of Rhino OS X supports Mac OS X 10.6 (aka: Snow Leopard). Rhino for Mac OS X is still in development but the working progress builds (Wenatchee versions) are very high-level, functional and currently being used in production by industrial and product designers, architects and 3D hobbyists. To learn more visit this link.

We’ve been saying that at Architosh for ten years Ken!

Next Generation Want CAD on Mac

But as I have been expressing privately to many of the CAD industry leaders who are already on the Mac for years now, it is the next-generation of young designers who will be putting the pressure on the switch over to the Mac platform. So I was pleased to read this quote in full here. Marc Chapin posted this at Desktop Engineering:

“The next generation of design students who are growing up with the Mac now will be looking for trusted CAD solutions for that platform, regardless of the aging CAD population who use Windows/Linux. The first big CAD provider who jumps onto the Mac platform, regardless of the huge expense, will reap the rewards of being the first to enter that market and will receive the greatest financial payback.”

Marc then writes…

“I am a young industrial designer (5 years experience) and use SolidWorks on Windows XP 64 and am considering NX 6 on a new Mac. I think that if any one of the mid range priced CAD modelers like SolidWorks, ProE, SolidEdge, or Inventor were to port to the Mac platform, they would instantly reap financial rewards from people like me. Just my 2 cents.” 

NX 6 on Mac Articles and Video

While Architosh just recently posted a story on the official release of NX on Mac, there are three separate but related stories and blog posts coming from the main press that covers highend (and PC-only) CAD. 

Kenneth Wong’s article from Desktop Engineering contains the user-feedback quotes we noted above, and the new MacDesign blog by Develop3D magazine online also covers this new story (and with some different graphics) and an interview, and finally there is the SolidSmack post. You can check out some YouTube videos of NX 6 on Mac above and below.

Detailed descriptions of all new features can be found in a new TouchCAD 3.6 PDF guide found here: http://www.touchcad.se/New_in_TouchCAD_360.pdf

For those not familiar with TouchCAD, it is a modeling CAD software that provides fast and very accurate curved surface modeling using modern push-pull techniques, with integrated unfolding/unwrapping features to quickly convert complex 3D models into production ready drawings or cut files. TouchCAD is popular in boat design and similar curved bodied industries. 

TouchCAD 3.6 was developed in Sweden and is popular with boat and vessel designers, those who need CAD for unwrapping/unfolding.

TouchCAD 3.6 is a native cross-platform application for Mac OS X (Universal Binary) and Windows XP/Vista and is available in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Swedish. There is an updated video tutorial library with extensive instruction and over 3 hours of new videos. TouchCAD 3.6 has sophisticated objected modeling of complex surfaces. In addition it can map images or graphic objects to its surfaces. 

To learn more visit here: www.touchcad.com

Bonzai 3D promises to take conceptual 3D modeling to a new level by combining the immediacy and ease-of-use of conceptual modeling–popularized by SketchUp–and combine it with serious “modeling head-room” for the architect or designer. Bonzai 3D contains a very robust geometry engine (the same engine that lies at the heart of its much more expensive formZ program). It is combined with a rich array of file format support enabling Bonzai 3D to interoperate with multiple CAD and 3D software packages, including Google’s SketchUp. It supports more than 20 file formats and is directly compatible with its big sister application formZ. 

What Makes Bonzai 3D Hot

There are several aspects that make Bonzai 3D a hot application. Firstly, Bonzia 3D looks familiar to anyone who has seen or used SketchUp, utilizing a similar paradigm in user-interface design, marked by simplicity and directness (no more buried tool icons).

Secondly, Bonzai 3D utilizes the same industrial-strength modeling technologies found in formZ, yet advanced and improved with the latest technologies. Thirdly, these powerful functions, like the rich set of Boolean operations, are accessed by a new user-interface (UI) paradigm that will challenge SketchUp on ease-of-use. 

Additionally, auto-des-sys, Inc., has gone very far in the direction of ease-of-use by embedding video tutorials directly into the application. The company is clearly taking a lead with this approach, marked by users’ desires to get up to speed with new software faster and master application capabilities without expensive third-party training or instructional materials. In many ways this approach shadows the award-winning video instruction included in Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD BIM product. 

Bonzai 3D will support all of these features (partial list):

• Fluid, powerful, smart user interface
• Smart 3D drawing
• All the classic 3D modeling tools
• Real time Booleans
• NURBS and curved surfaces
• Dynamic Graphic Editing
• Advanced OpenGL rendering
• Sculpting Editing Tools
• Graphic Texture Mapping and Editing
• Extensive Texture and Object Library
• Google Earth and SketchUp Compatibility
• Embedded video tutorials

Bonzai 3D will retail for 500.USD. Architects at the AIA show can pick up the new application for a show special price of 299.USD. To learn more visit auto-des-sys, Inc. here. 

Architosh will report more on Bonzai 3D in the days ahead.

bonzai 3D public beta

Architosh spoke with Chris Yessios at AIA National 2008 when the company was showing an earlier beta of Bonzai 3D — along with formZ — to the architectural industry’s largest conference. At that time Chris Yessios said they admired the SketchUp team because they delivered innovation to the area of interface design in 3D, making it dramatically easier and more approachable to model in 3D with little training. 

However, Bonzai 3D will bring both the ease-of-use of SketchUp combined with the underlying power and solids-modeling robustness of formZ — one of the industry’s most respected and advanced 3D modeling programs. 

Bonzai 3D will eventually sell at an introductory price of $499.USD. It is a self-teaching program which means, based on conversations we have had with Chris Yessios, that there are copious amounts of video tutorials combined with a rich, interactive help system.

You can learn more and download a copy of the public beta here: www.bonzai3d.com.

2008 may turn out to be a watershed year for advanced industrial societies due to the collision of two major forces: the near total collapse of global financial markets and the rapid uptake in interest in alternative and renewable sources of energy. Both play into the adoption and interest in BIM for several reasons. Most notably BIM, unlike CAD, enables a better understanding (vis-a-vis analytical software tools) of building energy use and capture much earlier on in the design process. 

And in this time of marked “economic downturn” architecture firms, according to a recent AIA Economics report, are stepping back and looking for ways to optimize workflow and gain new efficiencies. Into this picture fits BIM (building information modeling) and with that ArchiCAD 12. Let’s take a look. 

ArchiCAD 12

With ArchiCAD 12 Graphisoft — which is now apart of the German Nemetschek Group – has done major work on a new underlying “systems technology” as well as optimized their code base for today’s multi-core processors from Intel and AMD. ArchiCAD 12 is the world’s first multi-threaded BIM application. The Hungarian developer also has addressed a broad range of BIM functionalities with a series of engaging new features and functional improvements.

So what’s new…?

First and foremost is the new Curtain Wall tool, based on the new systems technology mentioned earlier. Because this technology underlies significant future changes to ArchiCAD this will be our main focus in this review. However, there are several other important new features that warrant attention. First and foremost is the new Partial Structure Display and the related new feature 3D Document capability. Both of these make dramatic improvements to the core program. 

Secondly, Graphisoft has dramatically improved the StairMarker tool and the Hotlink Module. Finally there are several smaller improvements of which we will briefly touch on near the end of the review. 

A New System – Curtain Wall Tool

By far the biggest new feature in ArchiCAD 12 is the new Curtain Wall tool, which Graphisoft has told me is based on new “systems technology.” Developed internally Graphisoft’s new systems technology differs from its intelligent objects technology behind things like doors, windows, and stairs. 

The main distinction visible to the end user is that Curtain Walls — based on the new systems technology — can be edited at the “component member” level without dissembling the whole system or element. Also unique is that when you edit Curtain Walls at this level you do so within a dedicated 3D work environment complete with its own tools specific to the purpose of editing curtain walls. This is entirely different than the way in which you edit other building objects within ArchiCAD and it is a welcome change. (see image 01).

01 - ArchiCAD 12's new 3D Edit Curtain Wall Environment.

A key defining aspect of this new “systems technology” is that in the case of the new Curtain Wall tool there is introduced a new schema or set of “constructs” for understanding how the curtain walls you create are actually made and controlled by the program. These constructs include things like “reference line”, “reference plane”, “grid” and “base plane” and other constructs more closely aligned to real-world components like “panel” and “frame.” We are not going to talk about these specifically in this review but it bears mentioning that we hope Graphisoft can implement its systems technology going forward with a directness and simplicity consistent with the best aspects of the program. 

A couple of quick emails led to a telephone interview and conversation with longtime SketchUp product manager, John Bacus. John does an excellent job of describing the latest addition to what has become a staple in the architectural world for conceptual modeling.

Discussing SketchUp 7 Pro

AFR: John, first I want to congratulate you guys on quite an amazing update. There are some real impressive features in SU 7.

John Bacus (JB): Thanks, we went dark for quite awhile.

AFR: Yeah, I was really beginning to wonder…but now I see what Google has been working on. The Dynamic Components feature is really quite extensive. Where can users go to learn more about Dynamic Components and how to make sophisticated things like stairs?

JB: There are a couple of places…

The best place we would recommend to learn more about Dynamic Components is to look at other Dynamic Components. We have shipped some with SketchUp 7 Pro and there are others you can find on 3D Warehouse. You can also learn more by watching the YouTube videos on the SketchUp Channel.

SketchUp 7 Pro - Dynamic Component: Google Provided Stair

AFR: Are those on 3D Warehouse produced by Google?

JB: Some are Google-produced and some are by others. Some are by manufacturers, like Marvin Windows. With their windows you can size them to the limits in which they can manufacturer them.

AFR: What about learning more as to the mathematical and logical functions that you see under the Functions tab? Where does one learn how to apply those?