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Predicting the future of design

Editorial Type: Review     Date: 05-2015    Views: 10732      







Due for release in June, ArchiCAD 19 is taking a giant leap forward in BIM performance through its use of Predictive Background Processing.

It's a measure of the quality and usefulness of a software solution that it is capable of being upgraded to take advantage of the latest technology developments, offering performance enhancements undreamed of when the software was originally being mapped out.

Graphisoft's ArchiCAD is in that happy position, and the latest release of the software, ArchiCAD 19, offers users a quantum leap in the speed with which fully prepared model views are loaded, dramatically improving the editing, modelling and viewing experience.

Predictive Background Processing is just one of the highlights of ArchiCAD 19. Besides a number of working environment and productivity enhancements, the software now includes Point-Cloud support - the 3D scan results becoming increasingly popular for mapping legacy structures prior to refurbs and other developments - and an Interactive 3D Surface Painter, for drag and drop editing of building model surfaces.

Leading the way in Open BIM, the software also includes the ability to import correct IFC models with perfect geometry and minimal attributes.

BACKGROUND PROCESSING
If you are going to buy a computer these days - anything from a workstation to a fairly basic laptop - then you’ll want at least a 64-bit multi-processor with a minimum of 4Gb of RAM and 500Gb HD as a minimum spec. Current architectural CAD applications, however, were developed before the days of multiple core technology, which means that, whilst parallel processing may be a possibility for some purposes, the software doesn't know how to fully take advantage of it. In a 4 core machine, then, most of the time 3 of those processors might be kicking their heels while the remaining core takes the strain.

Whilst processes like rendering and simulation, which used to be handled separately when computers were somewhat slower, can easily be subdivided into separate chunks and run through a number of cores in parallel processing mode, elsewhere the strain is more evident - such as in the editing of a 3D model.

Creating and modifying geometry, and the frequent switching of model views that it entails, incurs substantial amounts of recalculation. When a user switches from one view to the next, that is when the computations start. In order to address this Graphisoft has now developed an algorithm that 'second-guesses' the user switching between views, anticipating what the user is going to do next, and taking advantage of spare core processing capability to update the model in the background. This means that when alternate views are accessed they are immediately available and up to date.

ArchiCAD is already capable of handling large and complex projects more efficiently than other mainstream applications because of the way it handles model updates, and predictive background processing puts it further ahead of the game. Predictive background processing is seen by Graphisoft as a significant game changer, and consequently they have a patent pending on the technology.

FLOATING PALETTES
To make views even more accessible, and as part of its improved work environment, Graphisoft has also updated ArchiCAD’s user interface by introducing Tab-based navigation to ArchiCAD 19. It’s a much more transparent method of accessing pages, and wil be familiar to users of web-based applications. Tab-based navigation speeds up the ability to switch between floor plans, sections, elevations and 3D windows. Views hidden by tabs are updated in the background with current data whilst the user is editing their model, and are then available in less than a second with a single mouse click!

Graphisoft has also introduced a true full-screen mode that provides a more 'natural' viewing environment. Wanting to cut down on clutter and give users maximum space for developing designs, they have maximised the working area on screen, and populated it with floating palettes - Toolboxes - that can be opened and moved about at will, so that only relevant Toolboxes need remain open at any time, tucked away in the most convenient location on screen.



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