Cadalyst - April 2008 - (Page 41)

aecinsight on the Mac and is now available for both Mac and Windows (often in a single version dubbed Universal), there’s actually more AEC-relevant Mac software out there than can be covered in one article. I’ll defer Mac-based home-building software for a future article on design and production tools for home builders; ditto for Mac-based engineering software. Of the rest, I apologize in advance if I omit any otherwisenoteworthy products due to space limitations. Mainstream building information modeling (BIM)– authoring applications, such as Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD (figure 1) and Nemetschek North America’s VectorWorks (figure 2), were the mainstays of Mac-based architectural design and documentation even before the recent popularization of the BIM label. Solibri Model Checker is a critical element in any BIM automation workflow. To integrate buildings models with their sites, ArchiCAD relies on ArchiSITE, while VectorWorks offers Landmark — one of the best building-siting and landscape-design programs on any platform (and a favorite among landscape architects). Spotlight, another VectorWorks add-on, supports general lighting design but brings a unique focus to theatrical and stage lighting. Modeling, rendering, and/or animation software for the MAC OS includes form•Z and its companion tools renderZone and radioZity; MAXON’s CINEMA 4D and the Maxonform plug-in that adds non-uniform rational B spline (NURBS) geometry to ArchiCAD; and the popular Artlantis Render, with plug-ins for both ArchiCAD and VectorWorks (which also offers its own companion rendering package called RenderWorks). The ubiquitous Google SketchUp is available in a Mac version, which works with TurboSketch Studio, a rendering plugin. And, of course, Google Earth and the Google Earth Warehouse are compatible with the Mac’s Safari browser. The 3D paint program Piranesi works and plays well with SketchUp or with any other 3D modeler. Objects Online offers libraries of building-component models, furniture, people, and other entourage for both ArchiCAD and VectorWorks. Additional Resources u Apple’s software guide (http://guide.apple.com) includes extensive subcategory listings for general business functions such as job cost or project management and planning, and for vertical markets such as architecture, construction industry, interior design, and real estate. u For Mac-curious Windows users, Apple provides tutorials titled “Windows on a Mac” and “Moving to a Mac” (www.apple.com/findouthow/macosx). u Architosh.com is an e-magazine for architecture on the Macintosh, and it includes a guide to Mac-based software for digital practice. u My Digital Practice Web site (www.digitalpractice.info) cov- ers smart tools for smart firms, Mac or Windows based. This globe-trotting recitation is not to slight the made-inAmerica Mac standbys such as form•Z, PowerCADD, or VectorWorks. Rather, it’s to reinforce the global appeal of the Mac interface to software developers and creative users alike. Taking Care of Business On the practice side of AEC business, Mac tools afford comparably strong coverage. Microsoft Office and the Adobe Creative Suite (including Photoshop) run natively on Macs, in addition to their Windows versions. The same can be said for MindManager, the most popular mind-mapping and/or information visualization program. AEC Details, from AEC Software, is a task-management tool that originated on the Mac, as did FastTrack Schedule, a Microsoft Project– compatible scheduling tool from the same vendor. The architect-developed PORTFOLIO Prime from Arch Street Software was one of the first practice information management (PIM) tools on any platform. Architecture Information Manager from Architectronica is another architect-developed contender in this category (Architectronica also provides many useful accounting and projectrelated tools). ArchiOffice, a newcomer in the architecture/ engineering/accounting/PIM space, is yet another architectdeveloped program. On the straight accounting side, QuickBooks Pro is the most popular project/job cost software for the 90% of architecture and engineering firms with fewer than 25 total staff members. Firms looking to manage their collections of digital image files often turn to Canto Cumulus or Extensis Portfolio, but general database needs can be met via Bento or FileMaker Pro (both from FileMaker, a subsidiary of Apple). For project workflow and collaboration, many Mac-using architects and engineers rely on Copper Project, which also supports contact management, or client relationship management (CRM). Other folks turn to the suite of Web-based tools from 37 signals: Basecamp, for project management and collaboration; Backpack, an information organizer and calendar; and Highrise, for online content management and CRM. Industry analyst and consultant Jerry Laiserin helps AEC/O businesses — and the technology providers who serve them — build smarter through the integration of technology strategy and business process. E-mail him at jerry@laiserin.com. 41 Drawn Together For drafting and documentation needs when full-blown BIM authoring isn’t needed, Mac stalwarts include VersaCAD, MacDraft, and PowerCADD, which is available with a justly famous add-on package called WildTools that supplements an otherwise-2D program with isometric and perspective capabilities. Astute readers may recognize that vendors of many popular AEC design tools for the Mac are based in Europe. Solibri, for example, is from Finland, and ArchiCAD is from Hungary (I should note that ArchiCAD, MAXON CINEMA 4D, and the US-based VectorWorks are all owned by the Nemetschek Group, based in Munich). Piranesi was developed in the United Kingdom, which also is home to the LightWorks rendering engine that underpins Mac tools such as radioZity, RenderWorks, and renderZone. France and the Canadian province of Quebec seem to have a special affinity for graphics and rendering software: Mac examples include Abvent’s Artlantis and the legendary on-again, off-again architectural modeling program Architrion (there’s also a US-based Architrion work-alike called BOA). Italy is represented with tools such as DomusCAD, DigiCAD 3D, and Domus Terrain. April 2008 cadalyst www.cadalyst.com http://www.guide.apple.com http://www.apple.com/findouthow/macosx http://www.Architosh.com http://www.digitalpractice.info http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - April 2008

Cadalyst - April 2008 Contents Editor's Window Cad Central The Summer of BIM Thin Is In — Large LCD Monitors Caligari trueSpace 7.5 — 3D Modeling Software HP Compaq 8710w — Mobile Workstation Autodesk Design Review 2009 — Design Viewing and Collaboration Software Getting Better — What Should You Learn? Technical Uses for Nontechnical Software AEC on Macs Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Tips Rain Down on Harry

Cadalyst - April 2008

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