“For this release, we listened closely to our customers and balanced new innovations with exceptional quality and performance improvements,” said Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar. “Specifically, in Vectorworks 2019 we concentrated on our customers’ most common workflows and usage patterns to increase their overall productivity with Vectorworks products across the board.”
The global design and BIM solutions provider, based in Maryland in the United States and a Nemetschek Group company, has announced the 2019 versions of Vectorworks Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals, and Designer, as well as Braceworks and Vision.
Vectorworks 2019 Products
At the heart of the entire Vectorworks product line are new performance improvements due to tapping the power of multiple cores in CPUs and GPUs and taking the power of the Vectorworks Graphics Module to other areas of the user experience—like Sheet Layers.
01 – Sheet Layers in Vectorworks 2019 get optimized thanks to the implementation of the Vectorworks Graphics Module technology being applied to them.
Innovations and improvements significantly improve the 2D and 3D aspects of the software, including BIM modeling, 2D documentation, and presentation workflows, for designers such as architects, landscape architects, entertainment design professionals, and interior designers.
For Vectorworks Architect 2019, new features include powerful Clip Cube Viewport options, new Layer and Class Filtering capabilities, and streamlined section drawings to just to name a few. Version 2019 now enables new ways of handling 2D components of 3D hybrid objects inserted into BIM models, giving users the ability to control how much information is shown in 2D views such as interior elevations and building sections. When such hybrid objects are also cut in section, a similar controllable 2D sectional presentation of the object can be shown. Now users won’t have so many lines and details showing up on items like toilets when they only want the key outline of the object in most types of plan views.
Also for AEC professionals are powerful new Data Tags that aim to eliminate the symbol tags for smart objects like doors and windows but so much more—ultimately giving users a bounty of control and optionality in terms of how they are used, including sophisticated ways of making up custom symbols. Vectorworks Landmark customers, along with Architect, gain new 3D site model sculpting, similar to technology Architosh wrote about from Perfect Parallel, a technology platform that golf course giant Nicklaus Design acquired several years ago. (see: Architosh, “In-Depth: How Developer ‘Perfect Parallel’ is Changing the Game of Golf,” 16 Sep 2015)
02 – Architects now have the ability to do innovative implementations of buildings in section via the Clip Cube Viewport support on Sheet Layers, complete with new Photoshop-like image manipulation slider controls for custom looks.
Both landscape design professionals, urban design and architects will also benefit from new AutoTURN Online integration that helps them plan roads and parking lots, verifying turning radii and other aspects of design for vehicles.
“Vectorworks 2019 is a release that will have a dramatic impact on productivity, allowing designers to make their day-to-day work faster and easier,” said Vice President of Product Development Steve Johnson. “Users will experience the benefits of this version the moment they open the new software and see files open up to four (4x) times faster,” he added.
Vectorworks Graphics Module
The Vectorworks Graphics Module is custom OpenGL based technology that has been optimizing the speed of Vectorworks across multiple areas of the software for years as the company continues to tap its power for different parts of the software. The VGM, as it is called, now takes advantage of all available user hardware (CPU and GPU), increasingly tapping CPU cores and usage of the GPU now on items like Sheet Layers.
“The VGM sheet layer improvements really speeds up working in the drawing files by making redraws much, much faster. This is a big improvement in workflow by making navigating the drawing so much faster. It’s a real pleasure to work with,” said Chad Hamilton, AIA, LEED AP, Principal Architect at Hamilton Aitken Architects.
Availability
The English-language versions are available today. European, Australian, and New Zealand editions will be followed by Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese versions a bit later in the year. Users can contact their local reseller or distributor.
To learn more visit: www.vectorworks.net
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