Quoted - Cliff Eyland

Cliff Eyland is a professor and the director of the One One One Gallery at the University of Manitoba. I had the pleasure of knowing him while I was a student at TUNS and this observation was a chilling reminder of the times.

"It was the era of deconstruction in architectural design, and I found the milieu to be a great deal of fun--beautiful nonsense. Many students, of course, were dismayed by this era of architecture without buildings, of theory without thought, and of ideas with no place to go."

Read more about Cliff here: http://www.umanitoba.ca/schools/art/galleryoneoneone/

Version Watch (updated) - ArchiCAD 10 (Build 1183)

ArchiCAD 10 (Maintenance Release 4 - Build 1176 - 2007.03.19) is now superseded.

ArchiCAD 10 (Maintenance Release 5 - Build 1183 - 2007.04.05) is now online.

Take heed! Verify your installation before you proceed for a good result. Release Notes for this upgrade are located here. Be sure to read this page carefully before installing the upgrade.

Now that you've read this, it would be a good idea - no, a great idea! - to gather the pieces you need prior to updating. The list of items follows:

1. Updated WIBU drivers - you should have version 5.2 for all platforms are located here.
2. Updated Library - Use the Help Menu Item "Check for Latest Library" before installing this HotFix.
   
3. If you have moved Tools from the Goodies Folder to your Add-Ons folder, they will be updated by the HotFix file. If you haven't done this, you will need to update the contents of the Goodies Folder yourself. Use the Help Menu Item "ArchiCAD 10 Goodies"
4. If you haven't already found it, you might want to save the ArchiCAD 10 US Template File from the Goodies Page as well.
5. If you would like to try a different Work Environment than the ArchiCAD 10 Standard, there is also a scheme on the Goodies Page intended for users of the previous version.
   
6. IFC Translators - Remove Any IFC Translators in your Add-Ons folder before installing this build. Re-install new ones from here. (ignore the dates on this page, there have been updates added recently).
7. (Optional) International Goodies folder for the RAL Colour System Add-On (everything but else is a duplicate of the North American ones, but you might find the RAL one useful) here
8. All teammates should sign out of the project and exit AC before applying the patch. All teammates should then upgrade to the same build number before signing back into the project. Problems could arise if this care is not taken.
9. Last, but not least -The 1183 HotFix file - Use the Help Menu Item "Check for Updates"

The updates are available for Windows, Mac (PPC) and Mac (Intel). They will update demo versions as well as commercial and educational versions.

ArchiCAD 9 or 10 will run on Vista if the WIBU key driver is updated to version 5.20 and the Graphisoft shell extension is excluded from the installation. If you are running Vista, please be sure to consult the Vista Compatibility page here and the ArchiCAD-WIKI article here.

You Can Do This!

Attend the next meeting of the Lower Mainland ArchiCAD User Group.

This month's Topic:
The Latest in LightWorks (with some Photoshop)
Ninety Minutes with Vancouver architect and public artist Dwight Atkinson, Author of "LightWorks in Archicad."

If rendering in LightWorks is a challenge, this is your chance to grill the author of yet another book Graphisoft never wrote.

See the changes in rendering tools since LightWorks was introduced in Archicad 9.

Dwight has been touring the world with his day-long seminar. You get his course overview with some tricks:

-avoiding rendering diseases like: spotty stucco and black soffit.
-sunlight and lamp behavior.
-three minute rendering.
-Materials - Looking Ahead.
-quick ways to insert your rendering into a context photo.
-your questions answered.


Don't miss this.


Dwight will have a few copies of his 208 page, full-colour book for sale - $106. including GST

Date:
April 19, 2007 | 5:30PM - 7:00 PM

Host:
Host: Craig Birston, HBH Architects

Location:
Howard Bingham Hill Architects
Suite 201
1444 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC V6G 2Z4
CANADA
Phone#: (604) 688-8254

RSVP - info@virtual-north.com

ArchiCAD Tips & Tricks - Drawing Indexes

Updated with corrected links.

The creation of Making and Managing Drawing indexes is de-mystified in Jim Mahoney's tutorial published this week at AEC Bytes.

Find it here.

Other Tutorials in the series can be accessed from the Tips and Tricks page.

David Nicholson-Cole Returns to North America

David Nicholson-Cole is the wizard, sans-pareil, of the GDL world. No one has done more to raise awareness of what is possible with ArchiCAD Object Making Technology, nor has anyone bested his definitive tutorial on the subject - The GDL Cookbook.

I hosted one of David's 2-Day tutorials in 1982 and came away from the event a changed person. What had seemed so impenetrable and daunting started to make sense after the first day and by the end of the course I was convinced that even I - the student banned from the McGill computer labs for being 'most likely to cause an infinite loop on the mainframe' - could do this.

Commitments elsewhere have made it difficult for David to travel in recent years, so it is with great pleasure that we announce a two-day DNC Workshop will be held in Costa Mesa, April 12 & 13.

There is no better way to acquire the skills to make objects of any kind - parametric, well scripted and well-behaved. Functional and beautiful, even.

• Day 1 'Bring GDL to Life'
• Day 2 'Make the Objects You Want'

WHEN: April 12 & 13, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: Digital Vision Office & Training Center, Costa Mesa, CA

COST: $295USD per person, one day, $495USD per person for both days.
Additional people from the same firm: $250USD for one day; $400USD for two days, per person



Contact Caitlin Leal at Digital Vision to sign up. More information is available here.

QuickTime 7.1.5 May Cause Problems with ArchiCAD 10

A recent upgrade of QuickTime (7.1.5) causes ArchiCAD to crash in various circumstances on Mac OS X 10.3. We strongly recommend not to install this QuickTime update. Once installed, it can not be down-graded or removed. The only known solution to remove QuickTime 7.1.5 is a complete system reinstall.

Mac OS X 10.4 is not affected by the problem. ArchiCAD 9 and earlier versions are also not affected. We have reported the problem to Apple. Updates on this topic (possible solution to uninstall QuickTime) will be posted on ArchicadWiki.

BIM Usage Survey

The Center for Integrated Facility Engineering or CIFE at Stanford is one at the forefront of research on BIM in design and construction.

Their research assists the overall deployment of BIM in the Construction economy.

Visit the site and participate in the ongoing survey. The link is located on the home page.

ArchiCAD User Group Meeting - April

The Lower Mainland ArchiCAD User Group is looking for a host and presenter for the April meeting. Please step up and respond in the affirmative so that we can post this event.

Experience ArchiCAD 1.0 on the Apple Lisa

Low End Mac is today profiling a project that puts the Apple Lisa onto an OS X desktop. In theory, then, it would be possible to run ArchiCAD 1.0 in all its original splendour.

ArchiCAD was developed on an Apple Lisa back in 1983. Today most Lisa's are parked in a landfill somewhere in Wyoming.

If you're keen to try this out, let us know. If you've already tried it, let us know!

Cadimage Releases Free Tools for Students

Cadimage, a third-party developer of tools for ArchiCAD, based in New Zealand, have released Free Student versions of their tools for use with all ArchiCAD Student Versions.

Door/Window Builder is a highly parametric tool for creating doors and windows of all types.

The Accessories Tool applies wall sidings, roofing, gutters and downspouts, pressure equalized rainscreens, etc., to ArchiCAD building envelopes - walls, floors, roofs, columns.

Download and register for these from this link. Manuals for each these tools can be downloaded by clicking on the hyperlinks above.

AIA eClassrom - The Building Information Model as a Collaboration Tool

Have a look at this online classroom offering from the AIA:
The link is here.

Graphisoft Spins Off Constructor to a New Company

A new company based in the United States will assume control of the software and services provided heretofore by Graphisoft's Constructor division.

The company as yet to be given a formal name, is backed by Borealis Ventures, venture capital firm. Mark Sawyer, formerly a VP at Graphisoft and most recently the CEO of @Last software (the creators of SketchUp) serves as this group's Entrepreneur-in-Residence.

Until then, the Construction Division remains part of Graphisoft and will be continuing to drive business and support customers. The spin out will be headquartered in the United States with subsidiaries in Finland, UK and Hungary. Graphisoft will have a minority interest in the new company and will share in the future upside potential of the business.

The reason that Graphisoft has taken this action is “time horizon” according to Dominic Gallello, CEO of Graphisoft.

“We have proven that the market is real and that we can win. The only challenge is the time that it will take for Virtual Construction to go mainstream in large construction companies on a global basis. This will take several more years. We believe that the financing of the losses required until the market moves more to the mainstream would be best be done outside of Graphisoft.

Financiers who make a business of funding such opportunities were eager to provide additional funding for this effort. Further, the Construction Management teams’ belief in the business was so strong, they were happy to participate in the Management Buy Out.”

There will be no change in the Construction Division’s strategy and Graphisoft and the new company will work closely together in the future. ArchiCAD will continue to serve as the foundation for the new company’s construction offering.

Details about the product suite can be found here.

Graphisoft Young Architects Program

In August 2006 Graphisoft launched a program to provide the best software tools for integrated design to Architecture Students at no charge. This month, we are launching the second phase of this initiative with a program intended to carry this support forward to intern members of the RAIC and the Provincial Architectural Associations.

The Young Architect Program is intended to assist recent grads and interns with the acquisition of state of the art tools to pursue their ambitions. Today's BIM applications are expensive and not always accessible to those starting down the apprenticeship road, often carrying the burden of student loans, etc. We recognize the accomplishments these people have made in completing the academic portion of their training and want to be engaged in the practical aspect of their professional formation.

The Young Architects Program is intended to offer recent graduates and Intern Architects the most established BIM application available today - Graphisoft ArchiCAD - at a 30% discount. We are making this offer to both Interns and firms who support architectural apprentices.

Simply put the program is described as follows:

Recent Graduates and Intern Architects may purchase Graphisoft BIM Design & Documentation products at a 30% discount.

The Products on Offer:

• ArchiCAD Current Commercial Version - $2,975USD (regularly $4,250)
• First Year Technical Support & Upgrades by Annual Subscription - $486USD (regularly $695 - 1st year only)
• MaxonForm NURBS based Modeling inside ArchiCAD - $415USD (regularly $595)
• ArchiCAD StarT Edition - $1,395USD (regularly $1,995)

Who Qualifies:

Students, who are registered and approved on the GS educational website, are eligible one semester after their registration. This extends to three years after their graduation. They are identified based on their EDU registration data.

For students not approved on the GS educational website, this offer is valid for one year after graduation. They have to prove their identity and status by sending a copy of their diploma to virtual NORTH. A copy of the diploma will be sent to Graphisoft with the order.

Young architects, who graduated not more than a year before the launch of this program, will also be eligible for the offer until December 31, 2007. They have to prove their status by sending a copy of their diploma to the virtual NORTH. Again, a copy of the diploma must be sent to Graphisoft with the order.

Rules & Conditions:

Young Architects are able to purchase as individuals, or through their Employer. In this case, the Employer will be the owner of the license. Company sponsored purchases are restricted to one license per Intern.

Additional ArchiCAD licenses purchased by the Employer will be discounted at 10% of SRP. These must be purchased at the same time as the Young Architect licenses.

Transferring these rights is not allowed to a third person.

There is only one opportunity per person to take advantage of this offer.

Graphisoft for Education in Philadelphia

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture are meeting in Philadelphia this year.

Meet representatives of Graphisoft's Education Team and find out what we have to offer your design program. Some of the tools on offer were described in an earlier post.

More information here.

ArchiCARD Testers Wanted

image - Dan Brady, Saatchi Gallery

A number of Templates and Working and environments have been created for ArchiCAD users. These are built with the view to creating efficient environments for working drawings. or contract document sets. One example is the Get Standardized Template developed by Eric Batte, a principal at McLeary German Architects.

But what of the design team attempting to put the first draft of the project into a building model? A simpler interface, with fewer layers, well-defined but schematic textures, and a very small list of building elements - e.g. a fat wall and a skinny wall - will actually make the process simpler. Simpler at the beginning because the palette of materials is smaller and more responsive and simpler as the project is articulated because the elements can be more readily assigned to a more complex list of layers.

Another approach might be to simply do the initial work in something like SketchUp. This approach is attractive because the results are, well, sketchy. Transferring the information to a team assigned the task of design development may well have to start over. The efficacy of SketchUp could in fact disrupt the workflow through the simple disconnect between team members. In the long run I would argue that this form of media transfer is bound to be the cause of a loss of design intent, productivity and even data loss.

ArchiCARD is intended to aid firms in the implementation stage of bIm by providing a simple template that keeps the team using a single tool and a single file for the whole job.

ArchiCARD is inspired by Wes Sims of StantecArchitecture in Edmonton who has never shied away from building simple, elegant physical models of his projects, but found the interface of a bIm application to complex to be fully engaged with.

We're getting ready to start the alpha testing phase for the template and are looking for individuals and firms to assist with its refinement for final release this Spring. If you would like to help, please contact us.

Help Wanted: BIM Modeler to Assist Calgary Architect

A Calgary based architect is looking for assistance and training with a custom residential project. If you are interested or know someone who is please send an inquiry to info@virtual-north.com. The project is being prepared in ArchiCAD version 9. Migration assistance to version 10 would also be requested.

ArchiCAD Drafting Services Required - Calgary

An ArchiCAD draftsman is required to assist with the creation of permit drawings for a house in Calgary. For more information please contact us.

Parametric Electrical Symbols for ArchiCAD 10

A useful electrical symbol library for ArchiCAD is something that has not been readily here in North America. The Graphisoft offering is a weak link in the otherwise well produced library of parametric objects included with ArchiCAD.

Electrigon is the result of a collaboration between users who found a good starting point in custom objects created by David Larrew at Kirksey Architecture.

James Murray with the assistance of Andy Thomson have packaged it for us all to use.

Download the Library here.

Thanks guys!

LightWorks Textures and Rendering Environment

Dwight Atkinson put the Lightworks rendering engine under the microscope in his book Lightworks in ArchiCAD. The book is written in what is almost lab notes fashion, an exposition of experimentation with every facet of the tool. This material was developed and refined in a one day seminar that has been delivered in cities around the World.

Written originally for ArchiCAD version 9, the content of What You Need to Know is still germane to ArchiCAD 10. Supplementary material released online to his readers has been reorganized by Andy Thomson, an ArchiCAD user in Toronto.

ACE Lightworks Materials 1.1 is the result and is available as an Atkinson-sanctioned download with content reorganized for usability. It is available here.

The Book is a reference resource primarily for ArchiCAD users, but Atkinson's approach to rendering and composition in the digital age should be read by anyone trying to create digital visualizations. Get it directly from the author here. $95USD

New GDL Object Information Portal

Congratulations to the Architekturbuero and Joachim Suehlo for the creation of a well organized and readable information portal for all things GDL.

Welcome gotoGDL.net

GDL (Geometric Description Language) is the core of intelligent parametric objects inside ArchiCAD - ArchiCAD speak for what Revit refers to as 'Families".

This site is well-categorized, written in English and will point you to free objects, object vendors, object makers, tutorials for making your own, building products and manufacturer sites that provide native ArchiCAD models, etc.

Other GDL links can be found along the right hand side of this page.

Lightworks Texture Archives Online

Lightworks - the Ray Tracing rendering engine inside ArchiCAD - has a support site for its users. Lightworks-User hosts additional texture libraries - or LWAs - to use with ArchiCAD projects. Most of these are free. To browse the list of available libraries go here.

Not all of these libraries work with ArchiCAD - LWA Enabled: Architectural Functionality labeled files should work. Download thes files and place here: Graphisoft/ArchiCAD 10/Add-Ons/Visualization/smdata/archives

When editing Materials, the LWAs will be visible in the list of Lightworks Shader Settings.

Innovation in Practise - AIA TAP Award Case Study

The RAIC has conferred only one Award of Excellence for practice innovation since it introduced the Archtectural Innovation category in 2001.

• 2003 - Dunlop Architects Inc. (now Stantec) - Dunlop Project Information of Best Practices Database. No documentation about the submission was published - if it was, nothing is currently online.

The AIA established a TAP Award for innovation using bIm in 2005. Among the firms awarded recognition for innovative practise is Kirksey Architecture of Houston Texas. They received an award last year for inspriational product delivery on a design/build project. The design team used bIm to collaborate with the builder/owner and all members of the project team.

A presentation by the architects describing this project was broadcast live over the web two weeks ago and is now viewable on-line the Graphisoft web site.

While you are there, be sure to have a look at the Orcutt/Winslow Partnership Presentation as well. The presentation outlines their working methods and highlights how this firm manages to achieve a company wide buy-in to the process.

Both these firms claim to have as much as 75% of working drawings in place coming out of design development. No small boast.

MaxonForm for ArchiCAD 10 - Mac-Intel Version

The Mac-Intel version of the MaxonForm plug-in is now available.

The download link is here.

virtual NORTH Customer Referral Incentive Program

Our success is based in part on the strength of our strategic user partnership. Working together, we do more to help our customers to achieve meaningful business results and further leverage their investment in ArchiCAD.

To really put our partnership into gear, virtual NORTH has created a user Partner Incentive Program that allows you to personally earn credits toward future purchases for referrals to virtual NORTH.

How the Program Works

If you refer a prospect to virtual NORTH, we will award you vN Credits for each prospect referred that we have not already contacted. If that prospect buys ArchiCAD, then you will receive additional credits.

Prospect Referred = 50 vN credits
Prospect Referred & Closed (ArchiCAD) = 200 vN credits
Prospect Referred & Closed (Start Edition) = 100 vN credits

vN Credits are equal to one dollar that you can use to apply towards any of your BIM-related needs, including ArchiCAD libraries, add-ons, training sessions, upgrades, or even additional sites. Alternatively, credits can be redeemed for cash at 50cents per credit. We maintain a running total spreadsheet to keep track of your referral credits.

For additional information on the incentive program please contact:

Aaron Bourgoin
(780) 628-2750 or aaron@virtual-north.com

Thank you for your partnership and we look forward to your participation in this exciting program.

To send us your referrals, please download and fill out this form.

Lower Mainland ArchiCAD User Group Meeting

The next user group meeting in the Lower Mainland is scheduled for Thursday, March 1. Thomas Palmer of Oberto Oberti Architecture will host the event at their offices.

Thomas will present examples of their ongoing template development with an emphasis on the Layout Book.

For more details and to register go here.

Wanted: ArchiCAD Model Manager

Graphisoft is seeking mid to senior level designers and project managers for involvement in large scale projects which would be delivered as building information models.

Responsibilities include management of client relationships, and daily project team management including work planning, status of project deliverables, and quality control of project documents. Applicants must have at least 7 years of experience in every project phase, and strong 3D modeling skills.

The successful candidate will have a portfolio that demonstrates management of past projects of various sizes and complexity. In addition, candidates must have good mentoring and delegation skills, strong organizational skills, and show an emphasis on motivating the project team and maintaining client relationships. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, extensive knowledge of ArchiCAD 10 are required. Understanding how to successfully establish and maintain remote relationships, and experience with AutoCAD, Revit and MS Project are desirable. A bachelors or masters degree in architecture and 7-10 years experience is expected, and professional registration is desirable.

Please send a cover letter, resume, and 1 -2 work samples as Acrobat PDFs to: RBrouwers@graphisoft.com or mail/fax to: Graphisoft c/o Robin Brouwers, One Gateway Center, Suite 302, Newton, Massachusetts 02458-2802 USA, Phone: 617-485-4203, Fax: 615-216-5542

ArchiCAD Tips & Tricks: Template Development

Angi Izzi, President of Design Integrations, has just published the second of a 4 part series on producing better documentation with ArchiCAD on the Cadalyst AEC web site.

Part 2 of ArchiCAD Insights: Creating Concise Documentation covers Pens and Colors, Dimensioning Preferences and Output Scales and can be found here.

Part 1 covered Layers and Layer Combinations and is located here. A complete list of Angi's articles at CADalyst is here.

We'll keep you posted on the publication of the next instalment and other related articles.

New ArchiCAD Book: From CAD to Quantity Survey

Erik Wilk is the driving force behind FC-Cadlink, a web site for French ArchiCAD Users.

Last November he published a new book on Scheduling and Listing, a much neglected topic even in the days when all of this functionality was embedded in something called the Calculate Menu.

The English version of the book, ArchiCAD - From CAD to Quantity Survey will be published on January 20. Here is an abstract:

Architects, building industry professionals and architecture students who use ArchiCAD will discover throughout this book the potential and power of the calculation functions of ArchiCAD.
After explaining the notions and basis of quantity survey in ArchiCAD, the author then explains step by step, and with a concrete example, how to create a book and specification data base, how to transfer an existing data base, how to configure tools and properties, how to link it all through GDL scripts in order to generate a price list, a quantity estimate, an estimate or a summary description from your 3D model.

You will familiarize yourself with the strengths of the ArchiCAD quantity survey, such as the keys, components, specifications, properties, criteria and lists.

Well documented and widely illustrated, this study will become your benchmark encyclopaedia, thanks to its index and detailed table of contents.

Book examples as well as the supplied files are realized with ArchiCAD 9. The procedures are identical if you possess ArchiCAD 7, 8 or 10.

Eric's book weighs in at 352 pages and costs 45Euro.

ISBN 10: 2-9527670-1-7

ISBN 13: 978-2-9527670-1-9

See a detailed Table of Contents and Order your copy here.

Lower Mainland ArchiCAD User Group

Duane Siegrist and Dale Staples of Integra Architecture have graciously offered the use of their office for a meeting of the Lower Mainland ArchiCAD USer Group on Wednesday Noon, January 24.

Integra is located at 416 West Pender Street.

This is intended to be a planning session for a year's worth of events.

On this month's agenda:

• A Look Ahead - Nemetschek & Graphisoft in 2007
• The Jump to Ten - Are We Ready for Eleven?
• ArchiCAD Training in the Lower Mainland
• Graphisoft Educational Policy & its Implications
• Suggestions from the Floor
• Technical Support Improvements
  
• Date & Venue for the Next Meeting

A link to other information or updates will be posted here.

ArchiCAD Tips & Tricks: Using Favorites

AECBytes has just posted an informative tutorial penned by Eric Bobrow on the use of the Favorites Palette.

The Printer Friendly Version can be found here.

Nemetschek to Acquire Graphisoft

without embellishment or emphasis from me:

Budapest, 2006 December 21st

Nemetschek AG was granted a call option by Graphisoft’s major shareholders

Major shareholders of Graphisoft SE, holding the majority of the issued shares of Graphisoft SE, and Gerhard Weiss, CEO of Nemetschek AG signed today a call option enabling Nemetschek AG to acquire the majority of Graphisoft SE on an acquisition price of €9/share.

Following the expected exercise of the call option, Nemetschek AG will have majority control of Graphisoft SE and, in line with the effective regulations of the Budapest Stock Exchange, it will make a public tender offer for all shares of Graphisoft SE at €9/share.

“This is a very important strategic financial acquisition and we believe this will substantially increase our shareholder value”, said Mr. Gerhard Weiss, CEO of Nemetschek AG. “It is our intention that Graphisoft will retain its own identity and continue its strong corporate culture and distributor network which is driving its success.”

“There is a consolidation in the software industry and joining the forces of the two leading European AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction) software vendors will solidify our global position in the worldwide market. We believe, that this move will serve the interests of our shareholders, customers, partners and employees as well.” said Gabor Bojar, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Graphisoft SE.

Free Software For Students - The Integrated Design Suite

ArchiCAD 10 has been a free download for students since this past August. The procedure is simple. Better still the product is not a sub-set of the commercial version so it moves along with the regular cycle of maintenance releases. Students don't need bugs either.

While this is, in-and-of-itself, a great thing; wait, it gets better.

Imagine ArchiCAD as the information hub or documentation centre on all your projects. What about the modeling of complex geometry, organic forms, etc.? form*Z might be the answer. But, how do you turn a complex form*Z model into a set of live model section drawings? Generally speaking it can't be done.

Enter MaxonForm. This is the modeling engine from Cinema 4D adapted for use as a) a standalone complex modeler; and b) a tool integrated with ArchiCAD to produce sectionable accurate views of any complex geometry created in MaxonForm and integrated into an ArchiCAD model. Better yet, the object remains editable throughout its life by taking it back to the MaxonForm modeler.

So, now we have integrated tools with bi-directional links rather than tools that can't effectively talk to one another. Who needs a disjointed linear workflow?

What about rendering and animation? Abvent's Artlantis Studio is now also a free download for students. Radiosity shading with a link back to the ArchiCAD model database. Continuity. The days of a-model-for-this, a-model-for-that are over.

Lets go back to the beginning - the pre-design, schematic phase. SketchUp can offer structure and massing tools, but what if you're looking for something a little more precise? Something that remains linked to a BIM model. ArchiCAD can be used to create massing models its true, but the translation of relationship diagrams - the stuff you work on as you develop a design from a functional program or a set of design criteria. A new tool that works with ArchiCAD might be just the answer. Affinity, from Trelligence Software creates a pre-design database that once linked to an ArchiCAD model stays linked and allows you to weigh the design against both quantitative and qualitative criteria.

All of these products are available in student versions - all but Affinity are free to students and Institutions. And all, but MaxonForm are available online.

All we need now is a tool for Building Simulation. Ecotect might just fit the bill. Its not free for students, and we are still waiting for the translators to arrive, but a student could buy Ecotect and Affinity take all of the freebies listed above and assemble an integrated design suite for about $149CDN.

That is sweet.

Here's where here to obtain them:

• ArchiCAD 10 & ArtLantis Studio
• MaxonForm
• Affinity
  
• Ecotect

BTW ArchiCAD is able to import files from SketchUp and import/export files to/from Revit, Google Earth, 3D Studio - well just about anything you can think of.

Syllabus Program Goes the Distance

A Memorandum of Understanding has been released outlining Athabasca University's role in the delivery of a revived Syllabus Program for Architects.

Syllabus, a non-academic path to a professional career in architectural practise started in 1978. The program was largely shut down by provincial architectural associations by 2001, but has been revived by the RAIC who now offer a Profession Diploma of Architecture.

The full Press Release is here.

ArchiCAD 10 - 2006 Cadalyst All-Star Winner

ArchiCAD 10 - the only Building Information Modeling (BIM) software recognized by Cadalyst editors in the December issue.

ArchiCAD 10 has won a highly coveted spot on Cadalyst’s 2006 All-Star Award roster. The award seeks to recognize products reviewed by the Cadalyst Lab Reviews Editors in the second half of 2006 that truly standout as exceptional products among those that earned Highly Recommended ratings. These products offer the best-of-the-best when it comes to sleek and sophisticated functionality and powerful and measurable benefits for users.

Ron Lafon, Cadalyst reviewer, characterized ArchiCAD 10 as “fresh, innovative and solid.” Lafon praised the enhanced user interface and found the software to be easier and quicker to navigate. In addition, LaFon commented that, “ArchiCAD 10 is on the cutting edge of interoperability,” allowing users to save files in multiple file formats. LaFon was also impressed with the substantial advances made in the software’s ability to handle vast amounts of information while at the same time, minimizing file size when saved.

The complete review of ArchiCAD 10, published in the December issue of Cadalyst, by Ron LaFon, can be found here.

Virtual Construction Webinars This Week!

Graphisoft's Second Generation Suite of Constructor Products is now released. Two webinars this week will showcase the technology inside Graphisoft Estimator and Graphisoft Control.

I'll post a more comprehensive piece on this later, but if you haven't had a look at Constructor, these would be very good opportunities to see what it does.

Visualization might have been the hallmark of 3D CAD, but the road to BIM will be paved with strides towards integration of disciplines and the management of real projects.

For more information and registration for these events, go here.