Cadalyst - October 2008 - (Page 29)

cadalystlabsreview By Jerry Laiserin ArchiCAD 12 Great BIM solution just keeps getting better. L bs • La ike ﬁne wine and close friendships, some things just get better with age. Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD, which has been around for 25 years, falls into that category for me. Back in the mid-1990s, it was one of the ﬁrst software products I reviewed, and that ﬁrst review was a revelation. ArchiCAD was far ahead of its competition at the time — almost anyone who wanted a PC- or Mac-based modeling, drafting, and visualization solution speciﬁc to architecture would have otherwise had to buy and integrate two, three, or more programs to accomplish all that ArchiCAD could provide by itself. The product has improved consistently ever since. Figure 1. ArchiCAD 12’s new system-editing capability starts with a hierarchical format for creating and editing curtain wall components, including a user coordinate system to extrude paths along multiple axes for curved and compound curved elements. Down Memory Lane Although ArchiCAD was a top contender for many U.S.based architects in the mid-1990s, the product had a few limitations back then — limitations that for some prospective purchasers tipped the scales in favor of one or another competing product and kept ArchiCAD from becoming more dominant. For example, early versions of ArchiCAD lacked sophisticated means of sharing the work among project team members, a problem long since solved by ArchiCAD’s TeamWork function — still, in my opinion, among the market’s most robust and flexible solutions for project workload sharing. The ArchiCAD of yore lacked true reference-file capability, an oversight long since fixed by its HotLink capability, something that has been even further enhanced in ArchiCAD 12. Users of older versions had to access a separate, albeit bundled, program — PlotMaker — to generate printed output, an inconvenience long since solved by integrating PlotMaker’s functions directly into ArchiCAD itself. These and other perceived shortcomings of the past were corrected well before the current release of ArchiCAD 12, thereby keeping the product more than competitive as a top contender for architectural design and documentation. As a historical footnote, Graphisoft used the label “virtual building” long before I popularized an old academic/ research term — building information modeling (BIM) — to describe this new generation of technologies. In many ways, I thought and still think virtual building is a better descriptor, but Graphisoft asserts proprietary trademark rights to that name, so a multivendor consensus wouldn’t have been possible. Hence, virtual building is Graphisoft’s preferred term for its BIM approach, and ArchiCAD deserves credit for being the longest-running BIM product currently on the market. Graphisoft’s product development philosophy seems to strive not merely to keep up with its competition, but to actively seek out and provide innovative solutions for customer problems of which many competitors appear only vaguely aware. For example, ArchiCAD’s VirtualTrace function, introduced in version 11, is an extremely elegant technique to help users comfortably make the transition between a 2D-based and a 3D-based mode of thinking about workflow for architectural design and documentation. Graphisoft has not only supported interoperability initiatives such as International Alliance for Interoperability/Industry Foundation Classes (IAI/IFC, see September’s “AEC Insight” column for more information) but has consistently backed up its partici29 October 2008 cadalyst www.cadalyst.com adalyst •C ArchiCAD 12 BIM Software This version . . . . . Ease of use . . . . . Features . . . . . . . Installation . . . . . Customization . . . Interoperability . . Third-party add-ons Help . . . . . . . . . Innovation . . . . . Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A+ A+ A+ A+ A+ A+ A A+ A+ A A+ Pros: Great BIM-pioneering product keeps getting better. Cons: None significant. Price: $4,250 per seat, plus optional ArchiPlus subscription on one-, two-, or three-year terms; free educational licensing available. Graphisoft North America 800.545.4223 www.graphisoft.com http://www.graphisoft.com http://www.cadalyst.com

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

Cadalyst - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Window Cad Central SimCity for Real Designs Spring to Life — 3D Publishing Tools Make File Sharing as Easy as Opening a Book Xi MTower 2P64X — Dual Quad-Core Workstation ArchiCAD 12 — BIM Software Dell Precision M6300 — High-End Mobile Workstation Cad Manager Mcad Modeling Aec Insight Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Hot Tip Harry

Cadalyst - October 2008

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