Sketch-to-BIM

This integration comes with Vectorworks 2026 Update 5 and connects iPad sketching directly to Vectorworks.

Key Takeaways

• New Export to Morpholio Trace command — sends selected, scale-accurate sheets or viewports from Vectorworks via the cloud to a dedicated Vectorworks folder in Trace on their iPad.
• New Import from Morpholio Trace command — brings sketches from Trace back into Vectorworks files as images or vector-based linework, streamlining tracing to CAD/BIM workflows.

Architects today still begin design processes with hand sketching, and many use tablet-based software products like Morpholio Trace. The Apple Design Award-winning iPad app has been labeled “dream software for architects,” and combines the power of Apple Pencil technology with the incredible processing power of the Apple iPad.

Vectorworks 2026 now has full integration with the Apple award-winning app Morpholio Trace, now part of Vectorworks, Inc.

From initial concepts and design details to construction administration stage markups, Morpholio Trace delivers intelligent workflows for architects using the power of immediate hand to sketch workflows.

MORE: Vectorworks acquires popular Morpholio—Leading Mobile Design App

The new Trace integration with Vectorworks reflects a market-proven fact that drawing, tracing, and sketching remain central to how designers think, explore, and communicate ideas. Through the connection with Vectorworks on desktop, designers can move between various workflow scenarios and personas, from the immediacy of hand sketching to the intelligence of their BIM and CAD models.

“With this integration, we’re bringing the power of sketching and the precision of BIM closer together than ever before,” said Vectorworks Product Planner Iskra Nikolova. “Drawings and sketches now move seamlessly in both directions through Vectorworks Cloud Services. Designers can start in Vectorworks and then sketch in Trace, or begin in Trace and bring those ideas back into Vectorworks, enabling a fluid, flexible creative process without extra steps or friction. The release of this integration in Vectorworks 2026 Update 5 marks another milestone in our commitment to connected, mobile-friendly workflows that honor the craft of design.”

Getting Features

This new integration comes with Vectorworks 2026 Update 5, available now. This update is now accessible for all currently released English-language versions of Vectorworks 2026 through subscription and Vectorworks Service Select customers. Vectorworks users can install by selecting “Check for Updates from the Vectorworks menu (Mac) or Help menu (Windows).

To explore the new Morpholio Trace integration and all the latest features, start a free 7-day trial of Vectorworks Design Suite and download Morpholio Trace for iPad and iPhone in the Apple App Store.

Architosh Analysis and Commentary

Morpholio Trace works with more applications than just Vectorworks, as it can ingest 3D models created in various applications, from BIM to professional 3D modelers. Usually, you export your model out to a (.USDZ) or (.OBJ) file format to bring into Trace. Of course, the Vectorworks integration is even smoother than this, and it’s automated in the cloud. 

Beyond Morpholio Trace, Morpholio Journal is another sister app for simply having a digital sketchbook. It features amazing pens and brushes, and you can also write in it. Then there is BoardPro, a mood board application. ELLE Décore magazine called it “addictive” and awarded it “Best Apps” for interior design, home decor, and interior architecture. This particular app is interesting because Vectorworks, as a company, has toyed with the idea of an industry vertical version of Vectorworks for interior professionals. Currently, interior professionals buy Vectorworks Architect or Vectorworks Design Suite to use as their CAD-BIM environment, but we could see an evolution in which both Vectorworks and this suite of apps (especially BoardPro) develop into a consolidated solution or package called Vectorworks Interiors. 

The advantage Vectorworks has created through its industry vertical solutions is the delivery of a tailor-made solution for a particular type of AEC/O professional. Architosh has written about this in the past in some detail: the one-size-fits-all approach will eventually lose out to highly focused, more pointed, and specialized solutions. We don’t know for certain if that is where the company will go next, but the acquisition of Morpholio Trace offers interesting suggestions. 

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Importantly, Newforma announced a simplified, modular user-based software licensing model, which will help firms better align purchases with role-specific needs.

Newforma and AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) was front and center at Newforma World 2026, the company’s annual user conference. So was updating and modernizing the company’s product offerings.

Newforma announces its broad strategic visions for the AEC/O global industry.

Key new announcements include:

• Newforma Vojo — the company’s new AI assistant, built on an agent-driven framework that lets users search project information, analyze content, and complete tasks more efficiently. Initial capabilities include natural-language search across project data, AI-driven analysis of BIM models and documents, and AI-assisted submittal review workflows.
• Hybrid Modernization — continued investment in hybrid modernization with Newforma Project Center, a reflection of its strategic vision, helping with a seamless transition to the cloud, cloud-connected environments, and more.
• Newforma FedRAMP Moderate — new initiative to address ongoing work toward advanced compliance requirements.

At Newforma World 2026, the message was about flexibility towards the cloud, combining Newforma’s AI-driven automation and support of open integrations, and reinforced a “cloud-first, not cloud-forced” approach that supports customers wherever they are in their modernization journey.

Customers choose when and how they modernize. We decided not to be cloud-only, and it’s by design,” said Carl Veillette, Chief Product Officer at Newforma. “Everything we build must either lower risk, save time, or unlock scale.”

MORE: Newforma accelerates AI innovation and AWS expansion

The AI agent Vojo is embedding intelligence directly into project workflows, such as Smart Email Filing, an AI-powered capability that automatically associates emails with projects and recommends filing locations for RFIs, submittals, and action items, which aids firms in maintaining a more defensible project record.

These capabilities are supported by the company’s collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), providing secure and scalable infrastructure for advanced AI innovation.

“AI is only as powerful as the data it’s built on,” said Ben Schreiner, Head of AI and Modern Data Strategy Business Development at Amazon Web Services. “Newforma’s approach combines secure, scalable AWS infrastructure with an agent-driven AI framework to help AECO teams surface insights, reduce manual effort, and make more confident decisions, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Newforma.”

To learn more about Newforma’s latest announcements, go here.

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DACH Region

The news reflects the company’s interest in establishing a stronger European hub that builds on ComputerWorks’ market expertise, technical support structure, and sales channel developed over decades of service to German-speaking architects and designers. The acquisition is expected to be completed by 4 May 2026.

As part of the deal, ComputerWorks in Germany will be renamed Vectorworks Germany GmbH. ComputerWorks AG will spin off its CAD division to establish Vectorworks Switzerland AG, while the remaining business will continue as ComputerWorks AG.

Vectorworks has new corporate offices in Germany and Switzerland, acquiring its DACH region distributor, ComputerWorks AG’s CAD division. 

“For many years, ComputerWorks has represented Vectorworks to thousands of designers and planners in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland,” said Vectorworks CEO Jason Pletcher. “By bringing ComputerWorks into the Vectorworks family, we are not only expanding our presence in these specific countries, but also combining the strength of a global product organization with the expertise of trusted local professionals. This will enable us to help our customers move faster, collaborate more effectively, and deliver superior designs.”

German Language Market Needs

ComputerWorks AG has long localized Vectorworks products for the German language markets, tailoring the product line and offering complementary solutions to meet regional needs for the architecture, interiors, landscape, and entertainment industries.

“Designers in the DACH region face complex projects, demanding clients, and evolving regulations. They need partners who understand both the local context and global tools,” said Alexander Meier, CEO of Vectorworks Germany. “Becoming part of Vectorworks enables our team to bring our deep understanding of customer needs across all disciplines directly to the people building the software. Together, we can shape features, content, and services that reflect how our customers work today and where they want to go tomorrow.”

“With more than 30 years of development experience, we know that true innovation begins with a deep understanding of local needs and workflows,” said Andreas Hängärtner, CEO of Vectorworks Switzerland. “When that local insight is amplified through international collaboration and presented on a global stage, it creates new opportunities for our users to design with greater confidence and impact.”

German and Swiss Offices

The Vectorworks Germany office is located in Lörrach, Germany, and the Vectorworks Switzerland office is located in Basel, Switzerland. Vectorworks’s parent company, the Nemetschek Group, is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Nemetschek Haus, a large office complex that also houses several of its key brands, including Allplan and Bluebeam’s European offices.

Global Presence

Vectorwork, Inc., is an award-winning design and BIM software provider serving the entire AEC industry and the related entertainment design industry in 85 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Maryland, United States, with key offices in Newbury, England; Sydney, Australia; Vancouver, Canada; and Japan.

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This year, Nirva Fereshetian (CIO of CBT Architects) and Niknaz Aftahi, CEO of aec+tech, will be hosting a similar event at the beautiful Carrier Johnson + Culture office in downtown San Diego during the AIA National Conference on Architecture & Design, the United States’ premier annual conference and exhibition for the architectural industry.

‘archi+tech’ Social Night

The evening event is a mixture of a social get-together with short presentations by technology providers and leaders in the global AEC industry. But largely, it’s a social event where attendees can have real conversations with members of the digital tech community in attendance.

A kind of class picture from last year’s first-ever ‘archi+tech’ Social Night at AIA National in Boston 2025. The event had sponsors from numerous AEC digital technology providers, including the industry’s largest companies.

Carrier Johnson + Culture is a larger architecture and planning firm in San Diego (with offices in Los Angeles and Seattle) with an award-winning portfolio spanning project types. They have graciously offered to host the event in their San Diego office.

Event Details

‘archi+tech’ Social Night will take place at 5:30 pm, Friday, 12 June 2026 (register here), during the week of the AIA Conference in San Diego. This year, the event is focusing on “innovation” and bringing together people who are actually shaping how technology is used in the architecture and AEC industry.

Nirva and Niknaz are curating a group of around 100 to 120 people at the intersection of design and technology, including:

• Architects and firm leaders
• CIOs, CTOs, and innovation directors
• BIM and design technology leaders
• AEC technology founders, investors, and accelerator teams

What is special about this event is the intimacy of the room and the opportunity to showcase the host firm’s location as a bit of an exhibition of their technological prowess. Last year, CBT Architects displayed a stunning set of digital solutions, specialty technology spaces, model shops, and interactive technology tools to give attendees a sense of what practice is like at a tech-forward large firm.

Registration

If you are attending AIA San Diego in early June and would like to attend this event, please register here: https://luma.com/dfmu0kut

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V-Ray 7 Update 3

“By bringing real-time ray tracing directly into the V-Ray viewport, artists can iterate faster while maintaining the quality that V-Ray is known for, all within a single, unified workflow,” said Vlado Koylazov, Head of Innovation at Chaos.

Key Takeways

• Final-frame-quality real-time rendering is now possible in V-Ray Viewport for those with a Vantage account
• V-Ray 7 update 3 is now out for Rhino and SketchUp, with 3ds Max coming soon
• AI Mood Match technology brings the atmosphere from a reference photo into your render

Real-time ray tracing technology in Chaos Vantage transforms how archviz teams work because it is able to handle complex lighting, large scenes, and large-scale geometry without slowdown. Now, V-Ray 7 users with a Vantage license can tap the power of real-time rendering without leaving the V-Ray workflow.

Parallax Interiors is the software that uses interior shaders from Cosmos. The effect holds from any camera angle and can be varied across a facade to avoid repetition, bringing convincing life to every window, especially during night scenes.

While real-time final-quality ray tracing rendering is a powerful update, Update 3 has eleven other great new features we discuss below, including impactful new AI capabilities.

New Features

There are multiple new features beyond the new capability to tap into Chaos Vantage technology directly in V-Ray 7. These include a new Gaussian splats relighting, Quick Caustics, Chaos Cloud Reviews, new Cosmos Sets, and New Assets.

AI Mood Match technology will be a hit with users who can use a reference photo and have AI match the lighting and atmospheric mood of the image and implement that in the rendered scene.

Moreover, there are multiple new AI tools that bring the power of AI deeper into the production process. An important one is the new AI Mood Match feature. Now, a user can use a reference photo to automatically align a scene’s lighting with the image’s look and atmosphere, reducing manual setup and achieving desired outcomes faster. Other AI features include the ability to AI-generate materials at 4K resolution for eye-popping renders.

Other features include in summary:

• Parallax Interiors — Architects can now add realistic interior depth and lighting to exterior renders without modeling or heavy geometry. Using parallax interior shaders from Cosmos, the effect holds from any camera angle and can be varied across a façade to avoid repetition, bringing convincing life to every window, especially in night scenes.
• Node Material Editor (V-Ray for SketchUp and Rhino) — Users can now build and adjust V-Ray materials visually using a node-based editor, making it easier to understand material logic and create complex shaders with greater control. The node editing workflow offers a more intuitive and visual alternative to traditional material creation and editing. The tool is now available as a preview, with more possibilities to come in future releases.
• AI Enhancer: Large Surfaces Coverage — Architects can add more realistic details to large surfaces, such as floors, walls, asphalt, and terrain, adding natural variation at the correct scale without manual re-texturing.
• AI Enhancer: Improved Accuracy and Single Object Creative Enhancement — Users can achieve more precise results across the board, with new support for applying creative enhancement to individual objects.
• Video Collaboration — Chaos Cloud becomes a professional-grade video review platform for animations and render sequences, with precise commenting tied to timestamps, ranges, and visual annotations.
• Cosmos Sets and New Assets — Cosmos sets provide a fast and simplified way to populate scenes with grouped assets that naturally work together. This update adds 700+ new Cosmos assets, including 400 high-poly Globe Plant models and new branded models.

To learn more and explore what’s new, visit the V-Ray Collection page on chaos.com. Or watch the video below:

Pricing and Availability

Launching first on V-Ray for SketchUp and Rhino, real-time rendering in the V-Ray viewport is available to users with an active Chaos Vantage or V-Ray Collection license. AI Mood Match and real-time rendering in the V-Ray viewport are expected to be introduced to V-Ray for 3ds Max.

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Update 4

This is the fourth major update to the Vectoworks 2026 product line, and it expands on capabilities that architects, interior designers, and other creative professionals are looking for, including enhanced data-driven design workflows.

Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks is a plugin for the BIM software adding real-time, photo-realistic, GPU-accelerated raytracing to Vectorworks workflows.

“Vectorworks 2026 Update 4 reflects our ongoing commitment to empowering designers with smarter, more efficient tools,” said Vectorworks Vice President of Product Development Hugues Tsafak. “From the first iteration of phasing, supporting various project types and sizes, to enhanced sustainability dashboards and Maxon Redshift for Archviz, this release leverages our strength in data management to help designers plan, document, and visualize projects more accurately and sustainably. We remain committed to evolving these tools to meet the growing demands of modern design.”

Details

Already covered in some detail in this report on Maxon, new in Update 4 is support for Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks, bringing next-generation visualization rendering features to the popular design and BIM software platform. Vectorworks is the first of the four major BIM platforms (Revit, Archicad, Vectorworks, and Bentley), used by architects worldwide, to leverage a direct integration with Maxon’s Hollywood-level Redshift rendering technology. As Redshift is available as a standalone product from Maxon, those with existing Redshift licenses can now access the integration directly from inside Vectorworks 2026, Update 4.

MORE: Maxon Enters AEC with Real-Time Rendering

Unlike export-based rendering workflows, the Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks plugin maintains a live synchronization between your Vectorworks main window and your Redshift rendering window. Geometry, lighting, cameras, and scene elements remain aligned between both environments.

Update 4 also introduces new renovation and multi-phase workflows technology. Now, a time-based dimension is embedded directly into your BIM model, assigning defined status conditions. With data visualization integration, Vectorworks 2026’s new phasing status capabilities can now control object visibility and graphic representations.

Other improvements included below in highlight format include:

• Updated Vectorworks Embodied Carbon Calculator (VECC)
• Improved Class and Layer search for AEC professionals
• Linear Material tool now includes world-based parameters for stucco and plaster
• Hedgerow tool is now fully integrated into the Styled Landscape Area object
• Refinement in Spotlight numbering device management tools for Entertainment Industry professionals using Vectorworks Spotlight 2026.
• New Cable tool insertion modes for enhanced efficiency

This update is now available for all currently released English-language versions of Vectorworks 2026 and is immediately accessible to subscription and Vectorworks Service Select customers. To install, select “Check for Updates” from the Vectorworks menu (Mac) or the Help menu (Windows).

Redshift Availability

Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks, which powers the new live rendering integration in Update 4, is available as a standalone product from Maxon and can be purchased either through Vectorworks or Maxon. To use Redshift for Vectorworks, customers must create a Maxon account and purchase a Redshift subscription.

The post Vectorworks 2026 Update 4—Next-Gen Rendering and More Added appeared first on Architosh.

Real-Time Redshift

Starting with sister company Vectorworks, Maxon has launched Redshift for Vectorworks, the German company’s first real-time archviz solution. Alongside this release, Redshift for Revit is also announced as an official beta launch. (There are open sign-ups here.)

Maxon Redshift is now available for Vectorworks, offering an industry competitive real-time to final render pipeline solution.

Graphisoft’s Archicad will get its real-time Redshift for Archicad later in 2026. In all cases, the new real-time Redshift solutions for architectural design tools mark a major milestone for Maxon, which has always served high-end architectural visualization users with its famed Cinema 4D solution. The new Redshift real-time technology embeds its features directly into the host design applications.

“Maxon’s tools have a rich history in media and entertainment, used by the creative teams behind so many popular Hollywood movies to create Oscar-winning visual effects,” said Nicolas Burtnyk, Maxon’s Executive VP Rendering. “Now, we’re bringing this same magic to architects and interior designers, helping them translate their vision into cinematic visual experiences worthy of big screens.”

Solution Details

Engineered for architects and interior designers, Maxon is bringing its award-winning Redshift rendering technologies straight into the AEC industry’s globally leading BIM and design solutions, beginning with global BIM/CAD solution Vectorworks.

An example of Maxon Redshift’s rendering quality.

Redshift for Vectorworks launches alongside the release of Vectorworks 2026 Update 4. The solution allows users to smoothly move from real-time design previews to high-end, photorealistic renders all within the same unified ecosystem. Redshift for Revit (now in beta) and Redshift for Archicad will be released later in 2026, with further launches planned for 2027.

Technicals include:

• Archviz in real-time — Architects can visualize designs instantly in real time, then elevate scenes using the same Redshift technology used in feature films – without leaving their CAD environment. Projects can be sent to Cinema 4D with a single click for advanced modeling, animation, simulation, fly-throughs, and rendering.

• Exceptional ease of adoption — Early user testing highlights a key priority: effortless setup, intuitive controls, and fast results, especially for iterative workflows where architects need to explore lighting, materials, and composition quickly.

• Intelligent, production-ready asset libraries — Maxon’s platform includes a vast library of assets known as “Capsules” – materials, plants, furniture, and environmental elements – updated monthly and supported by procedural tools and AI-assisted search for rapid scene building and creative iteration. As the Archviz solution evolves, so will its library.

• Full Mac and Windows parity — Whether teams work on Mac, Windows, or a mix of both, Maxon’s AEC solution delivers consistent performance and functionality across platforms. Architects can collaborate fluidly, share files with confidence, and maintain unified workflows throughout their design-to-visualization process.

• Better value for architects and studios — Compared with market alternatives, Maxon’s first-wave AEC offering launches at a significantly more affordable price, while offering compatibility with broader DCC pipelines, including Maya and Houdini.

Maxon will be showcasing this new Redshift product line at upcoming architecture and AEC events, including the DigitalBAU (24-26 Mar 2026) and AIA26 Conference on Architecture and Design (10-13 Jun 2026), in San Diego, California.

Availability and Cost

Redshift for Vectorworks is available now for purchase through either Maxon or Vectorworks (initially only in English language, with additional language support coming soon). When bundled with Vectorworks, users can benefit from significant discounts, making it the most affordable renderer in its category.

Redshift for Revit Beta Sign Up

For readers who are Revit users and want to sign up to test out the beta, visit here.

Architosh Analysis and Commentary

Maxon’s Redshift renderer is a GPU-accelerated raytracing system and provides real-time raytracing. The more powerful your GPU, the faster and smoother the UX. Like several of its chief real-time rendering competitors, Redshift for Archviz—which will ship as an annual subscription and include all integration plugins—works as a plugin in a host application and brings up a second dedicated Redshift rendered window from which a side-by-side view is shown. When you rotate your building model in, say, Vectorworks, the building rotates in synch in the Redshift window. 

The visual results shift as you move around in the environment. When you stop the rendering, it up-scales in quality. We are curious how fast Redshift may be on the latest M5 Pro and M5 Max chips since they have much more powerful GPU cores with a neural accelerator in each core. We hope to speak to Maxon executives soon to learn more details about this new offering. So far, the demo results look compelling, but the market is crowded with excellent solutions. One thing we did notice is that Redshift for Archviz is priced quite low at just USD 289.00 per year. That is a compelling offer. 

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Collaboration

The nature of the collaboration highlights Trimble’s trusted thought leadership in AEC, and this will manifest in opportunities to contribute to architecture and design continuing education programs, event panels, research, and knowledge community engagement. AIA members also benefit from this collaboration in that they gain technical expertise, professional development, and specifically learn how to bring vision to life using Trimble’s leading 3D design software under the SketchUp brand.

Trimble’s new SketchUp AI offers new tools.

“United by a shared vision for the future of the built environment, we’re excited about the opportunities this relationship will shepherd,” said Andrew Flank, Senior Vice President of Sales, Events & Exhibitions at AIA. “Strategic partners help fund key initiatives, empowering AIA to provide valuable resources to members while upholding independence and mission alignment.”

MORE: Trimble Launches SketchUp AI—New AI-Powered Modeling

“We are committed to helping architects move their digital designs from concept to reality,” said Chris Cronin, VP & GM of Architecture, Design, and Education at Trimble. “Teaming up with AIA creates meaningful intersections between technology and practice, empowering architects to design with greater confidence, iterate faster, and deliver more resilient, high-impact outcomes for their clients and communities.”

Trimble SketchUp

Trimble provides a large range of software and digital solutions for the AEC/O industry, but SketchUp is the primary software tool that millions of architects and designers know and utilize in their creative processes.

Trimble notes, “as the creative anchor for Trimble’s mission to bridge the digital screen with the physical world, SketchUp has evolved from a standalone 3D modeling tool into a comprehensive and collaborative ecosystem.”

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New Capabilities

The updates add more than 20 new capabilities across lighting, scene population, AI materials, and more. Teams can now deliver and work within an uninterrupted workflow from ideation through review and approvals, within the Enscape design workflow.

Chaos has delivered major updates across over six products.

“Architects need to deliver more, faster, with less— while adapting to AI transformation,” said Petr Mitev, VP Product, Solutions for Designers. “Our end-to-end design and visualization workflow gives them integrated solutions that eliminate workflow friction from their first moments with Enscape to their final presentations, so they can focus on design instead of managing disconnected tools.”

Design Faster from the Start

Used throughout the architectural world, Enscape is one of the easiest ways to visualize CAD/BIM data in real time and is often most people’s entry point into the Chaos design ecosystem. Today, architects can take advantage of:

• Asset Brush Placement — Used for rapid scene population, 3D assets can now be painted into designs for refined creative control and instant visual feedback. Since assets are fully connected to the original BIM model, choices will remain consistent as projects evolve.
• Centralized Light Management — Users can now manage all of their light sources via a centralized list, removing the need for manual searches. Multiple presets can also be added to a single scene, making it easy to test, compare and refine lighting scenarios without duplicating views or breaking the workflow.
• AI Material Generator — Architects can now create custom 3D materials with real-world photos. High-resolution outputs not only support close-ups and final presentation deliverables, but encourage high-quality experimentation with finishes, surfaces and more — all without leaving the design environment.
• Consistent Assets from Design to Presentation — Assets placed in Enscape transfer cleanly into Envision, maintaining placement and quality across real-time and high-end workflows.
• Grass Visualization Improvements — More realistic grass rendering delivers denser, more natural-looking landscapes with better shading and detail.
• New Chaos Cosmos Assets — Over 1000 high-quality vegetation and branded assets – optimized for both real-time and high-end use cases – have been added to Enscape. These new assets are also designed to work seamlessly across Envision, Enscape and more.

There are also new AI-assisted ideation and design exploration features. Chaos says that AI is a rising star in AI-powered visualization and helps architects explore, ideate, and deliver moods and emotional imagery that propels projects forward through buy-in and approvals. Veras’ AI technologies work without breaking geometry or design intent.

New Cosmos assets are part of this round of updates. Over 1,000 high-quality vegetation and branded 3D assets have been added to Enscape.

Major updates include:

• Render Engine 7 — The recently released Veras 4 now comes with a new AI rendering engine powered by Google’s Nano Banana Pro. The new engine delivers cleaner, higher-fidelity images with fewer artifacts, so architects can cycle through faster ideations while working with SketchUp, Rhino, and Revit.
• Image as Input — Designers can now generate concepts using reference images like photos, plans or sketches on a napkin, offering one of the fastest ways to visualize full scenes without a prompt.
• Gallery Mode — A grid-based, thumbnail view of past renders has been added, making it easier to compare variations over time.
• New Video Presets — Twelve video presets provide render-ready animation settings for smooth, photorealistic motion, balanced lighting, and various cinematic styles.

Of course, more than Enscape obtained new updates. Chaos Envision has also been updated with significant new capabilities. The higher-end standalone visualization software that only runs on Windows and uses its own rendering engine gains several features that will help architects visualize, animate, and produce fully interactive scenes with complex multi-element interactions, such as traffic and crowds. New features include:

• Live CAD Linking — Envision now includes live links to Revit, SketchUp, and Rhino, ensuring that all changes are reflected in the original CAD file.
• Cinematic Camera Movements —  Users can now create smooth, natural camera paths with refined motion control for more polished and intentional walkthroughs.
• Animation Smoothing — Improve the flow of animations with smoother transitions and better interpolation between keyframes.
• Advanced Light Controls — Refine and adjust lighting with greater precision to achieve more accurate mood and presentation quality.
• New HDRIs — 20+ New Chaos Cosmos HDRIs expand your environment options, making it faster to set up realistic lighting and contextual backdrops.

Chaos Cloud, the software firm’s cloud service, helps teams do more together through collaboration, design reviews, and cloud rendering. Added to this are now these new abilities:

• Centralized Reviews — Chaos Cloud now helps teams share, review, and improve designs directly in the cloud, removing the need for downloads or external tools.
• 3D Streaming — Architects can now stream scenes directly from Enscape, providing full fidelity reviews from any remote location.

These features will aid architects in getting faster approvals within their workflows.

Performance Insights

Chaos has been focused on helping architects meet sustainable design objectives for several years now through its Enscape Impact product line. Impact helps teams understand energy analysis early in the design process, when larger impact decisions come more easily and with less rollback on interrelated decisions. New additions include:

• Thermal Comfort Analysis — Architects can now determine if a building will hit the sweet spot between too hot or too cold for occupants, assessing everything from air temperature to humidity in moments.
• Performance Summaries — All performance reports can now be exported and shared amongst relevant stakeholders, ensuring sustainability goals are being hit before decisions become too costly.

All of these new tools and updates benefit Chaos workflows and will help architects communicate more effectively with end users and clients. Chaos says that while each tool is designed to carry out specific workflows, sometimes from end to end, the Bulgarian-originated software firm says users should consider mixing and matching products to fully leverage the technical leadership and features Chaos offers.

New ThermalComfort measures are added to the energy-facing analysis tools for Enscape Impact. Architects can now determine and visualize thermal comfort in their designs.

New architectural design offering updates will be released on a quarterly basis. Stay tuned to Chaos’ blog and social channels for sneak peeks.

Price and Availability

The ArchDesign Collection update is available now for users with an annual license. The collection includes Enscape, Veras, Envision, Chaos Cosmos, Chaos Cloud, and Enscape Impact, and all subsequent updates as long as the subscription lasts. For full pricing details, please visit the ArchDesign Collection pricing page.

About Chaos

Founded in 1997, Chaos provides world-class visualisation and design solutions that empower creative minds to bring ideas to life.

The company serves multiple industries, including architecture and design, media and entertainment, and product e-commerce, providing an ecosystem of accessible tools that support every stage of the design and creation process. Its innovative solutions help architects, designers, VFX artists/animators, and other creative professionals share ideas, optimize workflows, and create immersive experiences.

Headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, Chaos has offices in 11 cities worldwide. For more information, visit chaos.com.

Architosh Analysis and Commentary

Envision’s live links to SketchUp, Rhino, and Revit are a big deal and will be greatly appreciated by users of Envision and those dominant CAD/BIM platforms. The Thermal Comfort analysis with Enscape Impact is also a significant end-user benefit to architects to ensure that their designs offer thermally balanced and comfortable environments for owners and users. And finally, the Enscape streaming to Chaos Cloud is another boost for users to leverage the Chaos Cloud in their workflows. 

We have already written about Veras 4.0 with Nano Banana Pro and all that it can do. The big improvements there (and yet we have not tested this ourselves) are the engine’s better understanding of the architect’s intent, especially in holding to intentional geometry. All these updates continue to add value to architects’ workflows, and we suspect that most practices still lag in leveraging the full capabilities of Chaos’ software tools. The Architectural Design Collection (which includes Enscape, including both Veras, their AI tool, and Enscape and Enscape Impact, the latter two likely not being fully appreciated in the market) could help solve this problem by getting these tools into more users’ hands. 

The post Chaos delivers major product line updates appeared first on Architosh.

A Direct Presence

By acquiring these distributor companies, Graphisoft gains the assets it needs to operate directly in the region, serving its customers in two critical BIM markets, whilst also delivering direct customer support as the company rolls out an expanded product line.

“By welcoming our Australian and New Zealand distributors into the Graphisoft family, we accelerate growth, strengthen customer relationships, and deepen our long-term commitment to both markets,” said Daniel Csillag, CEO, Graphisoft. “The Central Innovation team brings over 30 years of market expertise, strong customer relationships, and deep insight into user expectations, further enriching our global experience and strengthening our presence in the Pacific region,” Csillag added.

Graphisoft acquires its Australian and New Zealand distributors. See our Analysis section below for more info.

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in expanding BIM adoption across Australia and New Zealand, and we’re confident our customers will benefit significantly from Graphisoft’s hands-on approach to support and services, as well as its long-term vision for the AEC industry,” said Shannon Reshno, COO, Central Innovation.

Continuity

Graphisoft’s customers in Australia and New Zealand will continue to work with the same teams they already know and trust, and these organizations become part of Graphisoft’s global organization.

For more information, visit graphisoft.com/en-au in Australia, and graphisoft.com/en-nz in New Zealand.

Architosh Analysis and Commentary

There has been a long-term trend in the AEC software world where makers of software are acquiring regional resellers and distributors, often after decades of running these businesses. For the reseller or distributor, this often times with retirement and provides liquidity and an exit strategy, but for the customer, it often means continuity with the teams they know and the regional teams that know their markets.

Moving to the DTC (direct-to-consumer) model can offer the regional user improved access to global resources, but in Graphisoft’s case, this aspect of providing support is likely already excellently handled by these Australian and New Zealand distributors. For Graphisoft, the channel discounts they provide to distributors and resellers are now internalized, offering improved margins. Often, the distributors of CAD and BIM software offer unique packages and incentives to move product, but the days of renewing perpetual licenses are very much in the rearview mirror. 

The acquisitions of the AEC businesses of Central Innovations include the entire AEC side of their business. We assume this includes Ci Tools, the company’s own software extension package for Archicad.

A key point to note is that parts of these businesses appear to have been acquired from Central Innovations of Australia, the parent company of Intercad & Graphisoft (Australia). Here is the announcement from Central Innovations, directly. Central Innovations focuses on both AEC and manufacturing CAD solutions. Only the AEC part of the business is acquired with capabilities beyond serving Archicad, including support and solutions for Twinmotion, Solibri, and Ci Tools. Ci Tools, is an extension toolset for Archicad sold by Central Innovationthat enhances Archicad’s core functions in areas like cabinetry, 3D roof claddings, a keynoting system, a Fitout tool, and more. 

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This is the largest startup investment in Autodesk’s history and echoes a conviction that AI should augment, not replace, human ingenuity while going beyond text and language and entering the physical world.

World Labs

World Labs is a frontier AI research company co-founded by Dr. Fei-Fei Li (CEO), Justin Johnson, Christopher Lassner, and Ben Mildenhall. The company is focused on spatial intelligence and is a world leader in this domain of artificial intelligence. World Labs is building AI models that can perceive, generate, reason, and interact with the 3D world.

A screen capture from Autodesk’s video on its investment in World Labs. We like this image because it conjures the feeling of the unknown and the weightlessness of the promises of AI. How much weight will AI tech take off the shoulders of design professionals? But at the same time, working in the future of AI is like working in outer space. It’s that radical. (IMAGE:  Autodesk)

World Labs’ first product is called Marble, and it generates spatially consistent, high-fidelity 3D environments that you can inhabit and move through. Once created, you can also edit them as you are inhabiting them. You can also model inside them with familiar modeling tools, but in general, the feeling is a combination of traditional 3D manipulation and text-prompt-based editing and generation.

Investment from Autodesk

World Labs’ Marble platform looks especially strong in many, if not most, of the fields that Autodesk software operates, from architecture and interiors to robotics and manufacturing to gaming and entertainment. The strategic investment at a glance looks like this:

• USD 200 million in World Labs (an AI startup working at the frontier of AI)
• Autodesk’s largest startup investment to date
• A research-level / technical collaboration focused on physical-world AI and multimodal world models.

Dr. Fei-Fei Li remarks about the backing and investment by Autodesk and their strategic collaboration, saying:

“Physical AI must understand worlds, not just words. With Autodesk’s deep expertise in geometry, simulation, and real-world design, we have a uniquely complementary opportunity to ground AI in how the world is actually designed and built, for designers, builders, and creators.”

Marble’s API technology enables third-party tool providers to leverage the World Labs AI technologies in their host applications. One such application is web-based Fenestra. (see image below).

World Labs spatial intelligence AI technologies have attracted the investment interest of Autodesk, AMD, Nvidia, Fidelity, and more.

Both Marble and Fenestra are fully web-based, and both support Gaussian Splats rendering through SparkJS. When a user submits an image or text prompt using Fenestra, the web-based software connects to the Marble API and constructs a navigable 3D environment, which can be further edited and explored. Both spatial and 2D elements can coexist in supplying the AI engine the inference data it needs.

Another tool using the Marble API is Interior AI. This new tool has garnered quite a bit of publicity from top-shelf press, including the New York Times and Fast Company. We don’t like its homepage tag line, “Fire your interior designer,” and the messaging it sends, and especially think that Autodesk’s position with AI technologies is that they will complement the design professional, not eliminate them.

What Autodesk is saying is that the company wants to forge a different path for AI, as opposed to the hyperscale AI investments and centralized platforms crunching on ever larger LLMs. They write, “Our investment in World Labs represents a different path, focused on solving the hardest problems in designing, building, and operating the physical world, guided by human needs and domain expertise rather than scale alone.”

To read the blog post about the investment, go here. 

Architosh Analysis and Commentary

With a USD 1 billion funding round from heavy hitters like Nvidia and Fidelity, Autodesk’s largest-ever investment in a startup appears to be a strong strategic play. We wonder how the Marble API may interact with the new AI technologies we saw at last Fall’s Autodesk University. Those neural CAD engines were aimed at a different kind of utilization of AI technologies, but we can certainly see how multimodal AI workflows and technologies can be combined. 

World Labs says they are focusing next on fully interconnected design canvases. Fenestra is working on what they are calling an Infinite Canvas. CAD and BIM systems today already have infinite internal 3D and paper-space 2D worlds (ie, “canvases”). What we are seeing in the AEC/O market is vast, rapid advancements in the “pixel”-based technology stream of our industry. This has been the case since Midjourney and GANs. AEC pros, however, must get this pixel image-oriented or vide-oriented pixel laden content into precise and accurate parametric 2/3D vectorial data. That challenge has begun, but it’s a vital bridge piece that will greatly help the acceleration of these kinds of AI visual tools in the AEC markets (not that these tools aren’t already on fire in the market, because they are!) 

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Morpholio Acquired

The award-winning Morpholio Trace came to the AEC market after the iPad became a hit new device for AEC professionals. Over the years, other tools emerged, including Morpholio Board and Morpholio Journal—all apps for Apple’s popular iPad and iPhone. The iPad is the dominant marketshare leader for tablet computers in the United States’ construction industry.

The news means architects, interior designers, and other creative professionals can extend the design-centric workflows of both companies’ solutions from the earliest ideation and sketching all the way through complex and sophisticated Open BIM workflows with documentation and delivery.

Morpholio is now part of Vectorworks Inc, after a strategic acquisition by the Nemetschek Group’s daughter company.

“We are thrilled to welcome Morpholio to the Vectorworks portfolio,” said Vectorworks CEO Jason Pletcher. “Morpholio shares our belief that software should enhance designers’ creativity, not hinder it. By combining Vectorworks’ CAD and BIM platform with Morpholio’s expertise in mobile sketching and presentation, we are strengthening our foundation and expanding what our tools can do together, so customers gain even more freedom, confidence, and creative control in their workflows.”

Joining Forces

The founders and team members of Morpholio, who are architects and designers with a strong passion for design and quality, will now join the Vectorworks team. With Vectorworks’ global resources, scale, and commitment to innovation, the Morpholio apps will now advance even more rapidly than before, serving both the needs of existing Morpholio customers and the strategic goals of the Vectorworks platform.

“This partnership allows us to put the best of mobile together with the best of desktop and create opportunities for designers to bring the unique magic of drawing to more parts of their process,” said Morpholio Co-Founder Mark Collins. “In the years ahead, we see an opportunity to support a richer design experience where sketches, markups, BIM, and AI work seamlessly together. That’s how we unlock new creative superpowers without losing the soul of design.”

The two companies see building on existing AI technologies in Vectorworks and leveraging that to bring additional AI-ready features to Morpholio Trace via sketching, moodboarding, and presentations.

The Power of Morpholio

Morpholio Trace is widely regarded as an all-in-one drawing and design app for architects and designers, offering “scale-aware” sketching, layers, markup, and presentation-ready imagery that pair naturally with Vectorworks models and drawings. The acquisition actually formalizes an existing relationship between the two companies, including work to advance connectivity between Morpholio apps and Vectorworks Cloud Services.

Morpholio Boards serves interior designers and stylists with powerful moodboarding, product curation, and presentation tools. Interior designers use it to deliver polished deliverables to their clients.

Morpholio Journal provides a flexible digital notebook and sketchbook, giving architects and designers a place to capture ideas, notes, and visuals.

“Over the past decade, the iPad and Apple Pencil have sparked a creative renaissance for architects and designers,” said Morpholio Co-Founder Anna Kenoff. “Morpholio was founded with the vision to help define that era. While that has been an incredible beginning, we’re now ready to lead the design industry into its next creative technology revolution.”

Going Forward

For existing Morpholio users, day-to-day use of the apps remains unchanged, and customers can continue to subscribe to Morpholio Trace, Board, and Journal through the Apple App Store. Vectorworks also plans to introduce new offerings designed for larger offices collaborating across devices in Morpholio Trace and Board in the future.

“As part of the Nemetschek Group, Vectorworks’ acquisition of Morpholio is an important step in our strategy to deliver intelligent, connected, open solutions for customers across AEC brands,” said Sunil Pandita, Chief Division Officer Planning & Design, and CEO of Allplan. “Over time, we see a strong potential to expand Morpholio’s mobile sketching and presentation capabilities available to designers working in a multitude of Nemetschek applications, so more of our customers can benefit from cognitive, richer, and cohesive workflows from concept through construction.”

“I believe strongly that joining forces is not an additive operation—it’s a multiplier,” said Morpholio Co-Founder Toru Hasegawa. “Vectorworks and Morpholio coming together is not simply a sum of capabilities, but the start of a multidimensional expansion of initiatives, reach, and long-term value.”

To learn more about Morpholio, go here or here for more on Vectorworks.

Architosh Analysis and Commentary

Morpholio was founded in 2011, a year after Steve Jobs first unveiled the iPad on 27 January 2010. At that time, Architosh did a series of features focused on the revolutionary iPad because we instantly saw its potential for field work in AEC, including bringing construction drawings onto the job site as well as sketching and more. Morpholio’s founders, Mark Collins, Anna Kenoff, and Toru Hasegawa, were architects and clearly saw the same potential and more. Based in New York City (by the way, one of the strongest architectural markets for Vectorworks), Morpholio Trace was quickly recognized within the industry. We first wrote about it in 2013, including it on a list of drawing apps for the iPad. 

Winning multiple awards and honors, and being featured in the New York Times, Fast Company, TechCrunch, and Architectural Digest, among other publications, Morpholio Trace has evolved tremendously over the past decade and a half. Looking forward to the era of artificial intelligence, what is exciting about this pairing is that AI visualization tools are getting much better at staying closer to what architects are actually trying to envision, and are able to be fed hand sketches and stay quite close to the design intent in those hand sketches. 

But where were those sketches taking place? 

By and large, tools like Chaos’s Veras 4.0, which we just wrote about, and numerous other AI-powered visualization tools, including Vectorworks’s own AI Visualizer, can leverage hand sketches, but much sketching, if not the vast majority, takes place on actual trace paper. Morpholio Trace was always meant to be the digital equivalent of a roll of tracing paper. You can already sketch over 3D models (that can come into Morpholio Trace) for your 3d sketching, but now we can imagine the Nemetschek Group’s AI Visualizer rendering technology going to Morpholio Trace so that architects can deliver client-facing workflows that go from sketching to photo-realistic AI-powered visuals and animations. Moreover, its moodboards content can feed the AI engine. 

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Veras 4.0

The new Veras 4.0 focuses on delivering higher fidelity output with fewer unwanted errors. The latest engine reportedly makes a huge improvement in how it understands geometry, a key aspect that architects are focused on intently as part of any design workflow. Not just geometry, but lighting and materials fidelity are also much improved, says Chaos.

Unlocked Workflows

With this new engine, new workflows are unlocked for the first time. Images can be created from turning 2D floor plans, drawings, or even hand-sketched images into 3D scenes. The engine can also create multi-angled perspectives from mood boards and retain the correct geometry.

The hero image for the new Chaos Veras 4.0

When working with Veras 4.0, designers can add furniture and other entourage with a single text prompt or make changes like “change the color of the couch to blue” without selecting the item itself. Such capabilities speed up the workflow and eliminate tedious steps.

Clarity in Prompts

The new engine treats prompts as clear instructions and not as loose suggestions, producing outputs that more closely follow the stylistic intentions of the designer, or material changes or environmental adjustments.

version 1 image and text prompt version 2, next image

A version 2 text prompt image is different than version 1 image at left.

“When AI renders drift from the design, they create rework, lost time and awkward moments in client reviews,” said Bill Allen, Director Product Management, Chaos. “Veras 4.0 directly addresses this by keeping the AI aligned with the designer’s vision, rather than inventing its own version of the project. With greater control, designers can trust Veras to reflect their intent while exploring concepts quickly and confidently.”

Quick Iterative Visioneering

Chaos Veras 4.0 is built for architects and interior designers who need fast, design-faithful visuals directly from SketchUp, Revit, or Rhino without needing to have even intermediate rendering skills.

Image Reference as Input has also been updated, allowing designers to guide new outputs using an existing image instead of relying on text.

There is also Gallery Mode, a grid-based, thumbnail view of all past renders, which makes it easier to compare variations over time. Twelve new video presets have been added for ready-to-use animation options. Designers can produce smooth, photorealistic motion graphics with balanced lighting and a consistent cinematic style.

More Info

With this update, Veras becomes more predictable and versatile, providing a more stable foundation for daily design work.

For more information, please visit Chaos. 

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An essential theory change is to challenge the notion (current working method) that workflows function in separate stages, with visualization being its own stage across disconnected workflows. For decades, design, modeling, visualization, asset-sourcing, and presentation happened in isolated steps, often requiring repeated export, re-imports, etc. The underlying workflow remained fragmented.

D5 Workflow

D5 is aiming to reduce this friction inherent in this fragmented workflow by enabling visualization to be part of the design process itself. At the core of the new D5 Workflow is that visualization shouldn’t be treated as a downstream task but an upstream one. Architects should be able to immediately visualize and test their design ideas.

The new D5 3.0 delivers a smoother, unbroken workflow with AI at the center.

This shift is enabled through three components.

• D5 Lite, which brings AI-native real-time visualization directly into early design tools like SketchUp, bridging the gap between conceptualization and design development. It allows architects to visualize instantly, lowering the barrier to professional-grade rendering and keeping ideas moving from the earliest stages.
• D5 Works, a curated asset platform designed specifically for architecture, landscape, and interior design, is integrated into the workflow to remove the need for external libraries, manual file management, or format conversion.
• D5 Render 3.0, the latest evolution of D5’s real-time rendering engine, serves as the intelligent core of the workflow with advanced AI capabilities and physically accurate realism.

These three components of the workflow form a continuous loop in the workflow process, reflecting the ideal way in which architects want to work.

AI as Enabler

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a core component of the new D5 Workflow. D5 leverages AI to become a key assistant and to tackle repetitive tasks and set up work, all shortening feedback cycles. This happens through:

• AI Scene Match — use AI to simply describe your desired atmosphere in words such as ‘Autumn dusk’ or ‘Snowy winter’ and D5’s AI Agent generates reference visuals, matching lighting and post-processing parameters to your scene in a simple click.
• AI Asset Recommendations — either using an uploaded reference image or prompting D5’s AI Agent, will suggest the perfect models from the library for your scene. This can save hours in a standard week.
• AI Image-to-3D generation — upload an image to generate a 3D model to use in your scene. The AI Agent will analyze the image and smartly build a high-accuracy 3D model in seconds.

All of this helps architects and 3D artists iterate without restarting their work, and the emphasis is not so much on automation but on continuity in the design process.

AI technologies in the new D5 enable rapid asset recommendations based on uploaded reference images or text prompts, using AI Scene Match.

D5 notes that other similar industries have made a similar transition to integrated workflows by replacing collections of specialized but disconnected tools. As such, D5 sees the latest enhancements as signaling a long-term commitment to reduce friction in the entire architectural design lifecycle.

D5 Render 3.0

Other new features in the new rendering engine update include a new Ocean System. The new ocean system delivers dynamic waves, caustics, and shoreline interactions. The system will smartly analyze your terrain to generate organic coastline transitions, rolling waves, and wet-sand effects.

Also new is Displacement Material (beta) to complement the existing Parallax solution. Now users can physically displace geometry based on height maps. The weather system is also completely updated in version 3, with a new Volumetric Cloud. A new set of accurate preset skies gives your scene a start, and then you can fine-tune with sliders.

D5 introduces a new Ocean System that dynamically interacts with your terrain modeling, creating truly organic coastline transitions.

A new City Generator takes large urban models and transforms them to life with realistic building facades, urban streetscapes, and treelined parks and boulevards.

D5 Works

Directly in the launcher, D5 Works is a materials and creative hub putting comprehensive resources at your fingertips. This includes being able to acquire affordable assets to use in your scenes that complement the D5 Asset Library’s assets and workflow.

For presenting your visualizations, D5 v3 offers simplified ways for users to create Panorama Tours, Spatial Tours, and XR Tours, with the latter supporting 3D Gaussian Splatting. And there is also Cesium integration now in D5 for instant massive urban real-life context.

Supported Platforms and Integrations

For workflow integration, D5 version 3.0 works with SketchUp, 3ds Max, Rhino, Revit, Archicad, Vectorworks, Blender, and Cinema 4D.

D5 requires Windows 10 v1809 or later and has GPU threshold requirements of NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB or higher, AMD Radeon RX 6000 XT or higher, or Intel Arc A3 or higher.

To learn more, visit them here.

Architosh Analysis and Commentary:

D5 Render does not support Mac natively because its core rendering engine is built on Microsoft’s DirectX 12 (DX12) with DirectX Raytracing (DXR) technologies, which are incompatible with Apple’s Metal Architecture. While the development team has noted that they plan to support the Mac, there is still no official release date. To support the Mac, they likely would need to develop a cross-platform compiler to translate their code into Apple’s Metal API. 

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Phase 3 Conditions

As announced multiple times since April 2024, existing customers holding Archicad perpetual licenses with active SSA/FWD maintenance contracts can convert their licenses to Archicad subscriptions under preferential terms. In other words, lower costs than for new customers.

Graphisoft announces Phase 3 Conditions for Subscription Conversion for existing users.

The third phase of Graphisoft’s multi-year SSA-to-Subscription Conversion Program will start on April 1, 2026, and will run for a full 12-month cycle till March 31, 2027. The main change to the current Phase 2 conditions is that during Phase 3, customers’ SSA/FWD contracts will lapse at the end of their next term, independent of their decision about converting their licenses to subscriptions; thus, converting them to a subscription will be the only way to keep their licenses current with future Archicad updates. Please note that local conditions and timelines may vary.

Benefits

The company also says that these preferential terms extend out a bit, assuming there are no significant shifts in economic conditions. Graphisoft CEO Daniel Csillag notes:

“Technology in the AEC industry is evolving at lightning speed,” said Daniel Csillag, Graphisoft CEO. “Shifting our product delivery model to subscription allows users to take advantage of agile, responsive, and up-to-date software solutions — as soon as they hit the market.”

To learn more, go here.

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Trimble Collaboration

Trimble and Programa are strengthening the path from 3D design to project management for the interior design industry. A new shared sign-on process provides users with a more secure, seamless integration across the industry’s leading platforms. The new shared sign-on process has been live since mid-December.

Programa’s project management tools feature a working Kanban-style board for task assignment and management. However, the real strengths of Programa are its Web Clipper technologies that streamline obtaining product specification data into well-managed schedules and project specifications.

Designers can now use their Trimble ID credentials to log in to Programa, which simplifies their daily workflows and improves security and the user experience. After all, multiple logins are a hassle, and this consolidates two. Chris Cronin, VP & GM, Architecture, Design and Education, Trimble, says:

“Our goal has always been to give designers their time back,” said Traviss Orr, co-founder and CEO of Programa. “Minimizing the friction between design and operational tools they use every day lays the groundwork for cutting through the admin and inefficiencies that slow studios down.”

About Programa

Programa is the studio operations platform for architects, interior designers, and suppliers. By uniting specifications, schedules, approvals, budgets, invoicing, time tracking, client communication, and supplier coordination in one connected workspace, Programa eliminates fragmented tools and reduces admin. The result is stronger collaboration, clearer visibility, and more time for designers to focus on creating spaces that matter. https://programa.design/

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Update 2 – MacOS

Update 2 also addresses the demands of the Blender community, which have been calling for native Mac support in V-Ray for Blender. Now they have it!

V-Ray for Blender is now available for Blender on macOS. This is a fully native implementation of V-Ray for Apple’s Mac operating system.

“Responding to the Blender community, we’ve introduced macOS support to V-Ray for Blender, giving even more artists access to our industry-standard rendering and the latest AI technologies to deliver stunningly realistic rendering faster,” said Allan Poore, chief product officer, Chaos. “With streamlined workflows that enhance speed, scalability, and accuracy, artists can spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on creating exceptional images and animations.”

The Blender community has spoken and asked for V-Ray for Mac support, and Chaos has listened. Update 2 brings native macOS support for the first time.

V-Ray is a trusted rendering tool across multiple industries, including AEC, VFX (visual effects), product design, and animation. V-Ray offers a complete “studio-grade” visualization pipeline inside of Blender’s interface and app. Update 2 also includes support for the latest version of Blender 5.

Key features in the update include:

• Native macOS support for V-Ray for Blender
• AI Enhancer adds details and realism to supporting elements like foliage, people and terrain, helping artists refine renders without tedious rework and time-consuming re-renders. It allows them to fine-tune specific objects, such as clothing, and refine vegetation for greater precision and consistency.
• AI Material Generator turns any photo of a real-world surface into a render-ready, PBR material with all the necessary maps in just a few clicks. Part of the recently expanded Chaos Cosmos, AI Material Generator creates secondary materials that don’t require extensive art direction, allowing rapid scene shading without time-consuming setups or extra tools.
• AI Upscaler saves hours of rendering time while delivering crisp, photoreal results. Artists can turn low-resolution images into high-quality, presentation-ready visuals in a single click, boosting resolution while also sharpening textures and enhancing fine details. 

V-Ray for Blender also facilitates Distributed Rendering, spreading rendering loads across multiple computers. And support for Cycles’ Material Override, for easier lighting analysis, custom clay, and wireframe renderers.

For more information, please visit V-Ray for Blender.

Pricing and Availability

New users can get access to the update by purchasing the Blender-only version of V-Ray at a special price or as part of any of the V-Ray suites. Educational pricing for V-Ray is available as well. V-Ray for Blender is available for Windows 10, Windows 11, and macOS (11.0 or newer).

Complete details on the pricing can be found here.

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The Hammers

“It is truly an honor to receive four of the ‘Hammers’ awards for the Nemetschek Group,” said Yves Padrines, CEO of the Nemetschek Group. “Our brands remain dedicated to putting our customers’ needs first in every product we create. My sincere congratulations and thanks go out to the teams of all our nominated brands – and especially to this year’s winners, ALLPLAN, Graphisoft, and Vectorworks. Together, we are pushing the construction industry forward, addressing today’s complex challenges through digital innovation, and empowering our customers to help shape the world.”

ALLPLAN, Archicad and Vectorworks Architect win big at The Hammers.

Traditionally, both Archicad and Vectorworks—two leading BIM players in the AEC industry—do very well in The Hammers each year. This year, ALLPLAN also won, earning the “Cloud-Based Technology of the Year 2025” award for its ALLPLAN for BIMPLUS platform. The German ALLPLAN was also runner-up in the “Structural Engineering Application of the Year 2025” awards, as well as for ALLPLAN for SCIA.

Graphisoft won its 15th consecutive award for BIM Product of the Year for Archicad. Moreover, the Hungarian-based BIM leader also won, in conjunction with Anotherkind Ardchitects, the “Digital Construction Project of 2025” for the Sherwood Observatory project.

Finally, Vectorworks Architect once again captured the Hammer award for “Architectural Design Software of the Year 2025,” with Archicad being the runner-up.

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“Corona 14 brings arch-viz specialists the ultimate in photorealism in the easiest ways possible,” said Tom Grimes, product manager for Chaos Corona. The new version, he added, merges AI tools and procedural materials to accelerate workflows while supporting richer visual storytelling.

Gaussian Splats Arrive for Real-World Context

A headline addition is Gaussian splat support, enabling users to pull real-world captures directly into 3D scenes with accurate reflections, refractions, and volumetrics — all with high memory efficiency. The feature lets artists rapidly contextualize buildings inside detailed site environments or incorporate scanned objects with smoother surfaces and more natural depth.

Chaos adds Gaussian splats support in the new Chaos Corona 14 for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D.

Other new features include AI tools for materials generation, enhancement, and upscaling. Additionally, Corona 14 expands Chaos’s push into AI as a creative co-pilot:

• AI Material Generator converts a photo into a tileable, PBR-ready material with full map sets — ideal for fast secondary materials without sacrificing realism.

• AI Image Enhancer improves detail and texture in supporting elements (people, foliage, terrain) and allows LightMix outputs to be enhanced for rapid lighting and mood exploration.

• AI Upscaler converts low-resolution drafts into crisp, presentation-ready renders, saving rendering hours during look development.

All AI features can be toggled on or off to meet client policies, copyright-risk requirements, or data-sensitivity rules.

New Procedural and Environmental Systems

Corona 14 introduces several artist-driven tools aimed at reducing reliance on external assets:

• Night Sky, an extension of Corona Sky, adds physically based moonlight, stars, and even the Milky Way. Time, date, and location can be set, or creators can manually direct the celestial environment — fully animatable for time-lapse or cinematic sequences.

• Fabric Material, a new procedural fabric shader, generates woven textiles with detailed control over thread patterns, opacity, bump, and displacement. Presets are included for quick setup, eliminating the need for bitmap-driven workflows.

Availability

Corona 14 is available now for 3ds Max 2018–2026 (Windows) and Cinema 4D R17–2026 (Windows and macOS). The software is offered via subscription with monthly and annual options.

For more information, visit Chaos Corona.

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Vectorworks Architect, the company’s flagship product for the AEC industry, won the honor over the competition. Moreover, OMI Architects, a Vectorworks-based firm, won the Sustainability Project of the Year award for the Havelock project.

Top Honors

“We are delighted to be recognized by the Construction Computing Awards,” said Rubina Siddiqui, AIA, senior product marketing director at Vectorworks. “This honor reaffirms our commitment to empowering design professionals with tools that combine creative freedom, workflow efficiency, and sustainable design. In a time when innovation, agility, and environmental responsibility are more vital than ever, Vectorworks Architect helps designers bring bold, sustainable ideas to life — and this award reflects that impact.”

Vectorworks Architect takes top honor for Best Architectural Design Software.

The Construction Computing Awards recognize outstanding technologies, tools, and solutions that power continued efficiencies and innovation in the AEC industry. Winners were recognized during a ceremony at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London.

Havelock Project

Located at 70 Great Bridgewater Street in Manchester, the Havelock project transformed a dated office building, formerly known as Evershed House, into a modern, energy-efficient workspace. Utilizing Vectorworks Architect, OMI Architects collaborated closely with their project partners to coordinate design models, optimize building performance, and communicate design intent across every stage of development.

More Info

The complete list of winners is available here and will also be featured in the November/December issues of CAD User and Construction Computing magazines.

To learn more about the latest release, visit vectorworks.net/2026.

Architosh Analysis and Commentary

The Nemetschek Group companies tend to dominate the Hammers each year, a clear recognition of the popularity of their software products in the UK’s AEC industry. Vectorworks Architect 2026 delivered more innovation this year in a continued direction towards deepening the program’s core strengths in graphics leadership (both 2D and 3D) for a BIM solution, innovative UI updates, worksheet slicing, new BIM tools for windows and doors, and dashboard technology in its first instance as a sustainability dashboard complete with embodied carbon analysis. 

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