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Jack of all trades

Editorial Type: Comment     Date: 05-2015    Views: 2604   




What a great time to be an architect

3D modelling tools have reached such a high degree of sophistication that any conceivable structure can be created, rendered and located in some exotic location, and appear indistinguishable from a real building. It can then be analysed, sectioned, layered and used to produce a wealth of fascinating reports from the geometrical data, and the information stored with each additional component.

In fact there's not much that you can't do now when it comes to laying out the actual shape, size and components of a building, and a lot of the most recent developments and innovations have centred around improving the actual means of doing so, namely the user interface. Except that now we have some really interesting stuff being added to the latest releases of two of our most popular architectural applications that give extra power to the architect, in terms of enhanced performance in modelling and greater freedom in design.

In the first instance, Graphisoft has broken free of the constraints of multi-core processing, which is great for static processes such as rendering and simulation, as the compute intensive processes involved can be chopped up and fed into each of a computer’s cores for proper parallel processing, but which is not so hot for the dynamic elements of model design - namely the drawing and editing process itself.

Using algorithms that they have developed and are now patenting, Graphisoft has introduced predictive background processing in ArchiCAD 19 (see the article on page 10). Predictive background processing updates background views of a model using one or other of a computer’s 'idling' cores. This means that when they are selected by the user by opening the appropriate tab, the up to date model is immediately available. This represents a massive leap in BIM performance.

Vectorworks is also making things a whole lot easier for architects with the unveiling of Visual Scripting at their recent 2015 Design Summit. Scripting allows users to create a flow chart outlining the building design workflow, created from a series of nodes that specify one or more attributes or logical constraints. These are then translated into geometric components using the Python API. Similar to Bentley’s GenerativeComponents in scope, it allows iterations in building designs to be used to configure optimum designs according to whatever constraints are built into the workflow. See the article on page 24 of this issue for more.

Of equal interest is the inclusion by both companies of Point-Cloud support. It is getting to be the 'must have' application for all architects, perhaps reflecting the need to reference existing structures, either as a basis for adding to them, refurbishing them, or plonking your own project next door to them. The rise in interest in 3D scanning could also be guessed at by the number of exhibitors at the recent BIM Show Live event who were demonstrating the latest 3D laser scanners.

Building performance is another tool being handed to the architect. It's not enough these days to just create a concept and then develop it through to a buildable 3D model - architects now have to calculate energy usage or building performance right from the beginning of a project. An architect doesn't need to have the skills of a professional environmental engineer though, as the modules available with both ArchiCAD and Vectorworks are simple to use and sophisticated enough to provide an architect with a projected BREEAM rating.

All of these new developments will provide architects with the tools to work faster, design better, create more complex structures, deal with environmental concerns and communicate better with each other. That’ll work for us!

by David Chadwick

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