Germany-based Enscape announced during its ENVISION 21 virtual user conference this week that they are delivering a native Mac version to the AEC market in the first half of 2022. They also announced a new integration with TestFit, an exciting generative conceptual design tool.
Over 6,000 architects, designers, and 3D artists globally tuned into ENVISION 21 this week. The three-day conference technically ended today but there will be on-demand opportunities for those who have missed it.
Enscape announced that it will bring its popular real-time interactive rendering software to the Apple Mac platform in the first half (H1) of 2022. (see below for more info)
CEO Christian Lang of Enscsape says, “By integrating deeply into your BIM modeling software, focusing on simplicity and ease of use, we transform the discipline of architectural visualization into a mission-critical tool of today’s design process, right from the very start, throughout all phases of architectural projects.” And with that here are the latest announcements for Enscape.
Enscape for Mac
The Mac version will particularly be developed to capitalize on the strengths in Apple’s ARM-chip transition and will run on the M1 and future M-series Apple Silicon. This will bring new competition to Epic’s Twinmotion, the only real-time immersive rendering solution currently native to Apple’s Mac platform. It will also likely dovetail with integrations with Mac versions of SketchUp and Nemetschek’s daughter BIM companies Graphisoft (Archicad) and Vectorworks (Vectorworks Architect). That latter company is already the first BIM solution fully native for Apple Silicon Macs.
MORE: Apple’s new M1 iMacs — Are They Fast For CAD/3D Users?
Critical to porting Enscape over to macOS is the adoption of a graphics API that can work across both Intel X86 Macs and the new ARM-based Macs. Enscape isn’t providing much information on how they are technically moving forward. They may choose to adopt Apple’s Metal entirely or utilize Vulkan with the MoltonVK technology that brings Vulkan-on-Metal support to Mac X86 and Apple Silicon. (see Other Items below)
For users interested in the upcoming Mac version of Enscape, please visit this link and share your interest. It will be helpful for the Enscape team.
Integrations — TestFit
At ENVISION 21 the company also announced its first Enscape SDK (software development kit). The enables other AEC software companies to tap the potential of Enscape’s real-time rendering engine. Enscape’s first partner in this new SDK is TestFit Inc. (see: Architosh, “TestFit.io — Architecture Needs a Better User Experience,” 15 August 2021)
Architosh has written about TestFit before but readers not familiar should know it is a generative design solution aimed at the front-end of the design process to gauge feasibility, guide pro forma development, and turbo-charge successful layouts during the initial planning process. With Enscape’s visuals onboard, TestFit will become an even more impactful early-stage design tool. Readers can learn more here.
Other Items
Enscape told its ENVISION attendees the company is committed to the needs of AEC professionals and will continue to seek quality improvements and new features to support their workflows further.
“We will constantly listen to direct customer feedback, and we will do everything we can to prioritize and meet those requirements,” says Petr Mitev, Vice President, Visualization Product Group. “We will continue to focus on a product that is highly accessible, easy to use, and serves not only as a visualization tool but as a tool that supports the entire design workflow.”
To support faster rendering and interactions the company announced it is migrating away from OpenGL (the graphics API by the Khronos Group) and migrating to the group’s Vulkan API instead. This will enable the German software company—which now has over 100 employees in multiple locations—to optimize performance and streamline development. Vulkan, while not truly embraced by Apple, is supported by a robust developer community to provide Vulkan on Apple’s many platforms.
Recordings for all sessions from ENVISION 21, including the company’s strategic direction and future roadmap are available on-demand here.
To learn more about Enscape and ENVISION 21 visit here and here. For info on Enscape and TestFit go here.
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