Nemetschek Group’s innovative BIM authoring platforms, which compete with Autodesk and Bentley’s BIM solutions, have one very unique thing in common: they run on the Mac platform while Autodesk’s and Bentley’s solutions do not. While the host BIM apps keep platform parity a priority, sometimes key third-party support and integrations can lag for Mac users.
Now Escape’s rendering plugin for the Mac versions of Archicad and Vectorworks has caught up, which will surely please legions of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture firms.
Enscape for Mac
Enscape for Mac has been available for the Mac version of SketchUp for quite some time (see: Architosh, “Product Review: Enscape for Mac SketchUp,” 30 Nov 2022). With the release of the Mac version for Archicad and Vectorworks, these new full integrations will give Mac-based architects and designers the ability to explore high-quality 3D walkthroughs at every stage of the design process while allowing them to deliver high-end visualization experiences for their clients.
Enscape for Mac on Vectorworks shown here.
“Enscape takes the expertise out of visualization, so architects can assess the impact of design decisions in record time,” said Petr Mitev, VP Product, Solutions for Designers at Chaos. “With our new Mac integrations, we’re bringing that power to even more people, so designers can enjoy real-time feedback from their favorite applications and operating systems.”
Enscape enables architects to access real-time visualization inside their BIM design authoring tool of choice and now works across platforms (Mac and Windows). Key features include:
- Real-Time Walkthroughs — Navigate fully-rendered projects with perspective, walk, and fly modes using a live link between Enscape and your host application.
- Render Ready 3D Assets — Fill scenes with a wide range of accessories, vegetation, people, furniture, and vehicles to bring more realism to a design.
- Material Editing — Adjust material attributes like color, reflectivity, light emission and height to test ideas or lock in specific looks.
- Visual Variety — Display scenes in a variety of rendering styles or adjust atmosphere settings like illumination and cloud density for clients in the moment.
With these capabilities, BIM users in Archicad and Vectorworks can perform daily design reviews with teams and project stakeholders using the power of immersive rendered 3D technology.
SketchUp Gets Upgrade
Enscape for Mac’s first integration for SketchUp also gets new improvements this week. Enscape Light Objects gain three new additions. Users can now utilize Sphere, Spot, Line and Rectangular and Disk to add atmosphere and set up the right mood for any project. Many assets will also now come with variants.
Compatibility
Enscape for Mac is available now for Archicad 26 and 27, Vectorworks 2023 SP6 and 2024 and SketchUp 2022 and 2023. Existing users can now download the new versions or improvements for free. Subscription plans can be found at the Enscape pricing page.
To try Enscape for Mac, sign up for a free trial today.