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SCMP Reporter

ARCHICAD really is a breath of fresh air and when it was released in Hong Kong last year set the standard for the future architectural CAD design.

  Most CAD users are draftsmen and engineers, not designers and architects, so they need a complete package for designing and presenting in three-dimensions.

        Graphisoft, a Hungarian company, has been producing its flagship product, ArchiCAD, exclusively for the building design industry for 11 years.

  ArchiCAD was designed in 1984 for the Apple Lisa platform and has been the most popular architectural CAD on the Macintosh platform.

   In 1992, Graphisoft introduced the Windows version of ArchiCAD 4.1. Version 4.5 won the 1994 Eddy Award in the United States for the Best New CAD product. This year Graphisoft has brought out the Windows NT and Digital's DEC AlphaStation versions.

  In 1992, when I first used ArchiCAD 4.03, its main features were that it was easy to use and it was innovative. Although it was a 3D system, I could still print two-dimensional plans from 3D drawings without losing any quality in the drafting. In addition, it had fly-through and 3D sectional perspectives.

  Now, with ArchiCAD 4.55, there are more features and solutions, but the package has remained simple to use and to understand.

  I ran ArchiCAD 4.55 Windows version on a 486DX/33 with 16 mega-bytes of RAM and 240 MB of hard disk.

  Be warned, though - version 4.55 uses a lot of RAM. It requires at least 16 MB of RAM and in addition the whole ArchiCAD folder takes about 50Mb of hard disk space. That includes a library with 600 3D building components and five utilities, among which are StairMaker 2.5, PlotMaker, RIB Link and Playback.

  On my 486DX, version 4.55 performed quickly and stably but would run more smoothly on a Pentium or a PowerPC.

  Rendering takes a while with less than 16 MB of RAM, but using virtual memory help the process slightly.

 ArchiCAD performs well in its 3D drawing mode on any configuration. In its tool-box palette it has wall, slab, roof, window, door and dimension components and an auxiliary grid system that many architects have found useful.

  I have found that version 4.55 is like a second brain that looks after all the details in a building; you need never draw a building in section, elevation or perspective, but simply ask for these views to be displayed. Dimensions in version 4.55 are tied to specific points, meaning they are re-calculated and updated after any change in a floor plan.

    Not only are the dimensions changed, but also their positions are re-calculated to avoid figures from overlapping. Walls are automatically trimmed or extended to meet the roof, saving considerable time in calculating complex intersections.

   The 3D projection settings is most helpful. With it you can see your design immediately in 3D with axonometric views, perspective views and elevations.

   StairMaker also saves time - it generates stairs in three dimensions in all shapes and sizes.

  Sunlight can be positioned to cast shadows for any time and date that must be taken into account in big city projects.

  Lamps settings allow you to place interior and exterior light fittings to show the effect of their lighting. 'Fly-through' and 'Walk-through' are easy to set up by using the camera tool. You can take many paths between two camera positions to smooth out a final movie in QuickTime.

  The quality of the rendering in version 4.55 is well above average, but it still lags behind 3D Studio in glossy texture. But bear in mind that the 4.55 is not a package for high-quality commercial rendering.

  As to 4.55 version's being used in concert with AutoCAD - you can read or save ArchiCAD files as AutoCAD DWG or DXF files. You can even export 4.55 files to 3DStudio, Wavefront (SGI), Zoom and Atlantis Render for high-quality texture rendering.

    From next year Graphisoft plans to make all ArchiCAD files directly readable by 3DS. ArchiCAD can print on most printers and plotters and its PlotMaker program for laying out, printing and plotting drawings lets you place and scale many drawings from ArchiCAD and other CAD programs through 4.55.

  This package is a must for designers who do not want to waste time learning commands and devote it to their proper jobs - designing.

  Although this package is expensive when compared with AutoCAD, its functions are tailor-made for building designers, rather than engineers.



Designers build up ideas on ArchiCAD