3D architecture evolution
The new frontier in design and documentation
Architectural design has traditionally been performed with a pencil
and sheets of paper. Most designs still start this way, but when
the sketches need to start taking a more definitive shape they
need to go to CAD (Computer Aided Design). CAD allows precise details
and easy alterations. But typical CAD is lacking in it's presentation
abilities.
We pioneered 3D
architecture, CAD and
models when CAD was in it's infancy and now many architects
and designers use 3D architecture extensively. Still, not all
have embraced this technique and this is mainly due to a lack
of understanding by the older architects who cant see the obvious
advantages or don't have the fresher graduates that have been
trained extensively in the technique.
It is now possible to design, present and document an entire building
of any size or shape in complete architectural 3D. Clients get
a better visual representation of their design, the plans are more
accurate and many construction issues are resolved early by the
3D architectural form being created in virtual
reality as though
is was in real life.
Pioneers of 3D Architecture
People knew Steve Bell as a designer, mainly in the luxury housing
field. What many people don’t know is that over the
years Steve has dropped out of design and moved into 3D architectural animation and
graphics for architecture. It was a natural progression considering
that he was creating virtual models of his designs and creating animations
of them before most people even knew the technology existed. ArchiCAD
served him then and it still does today.
“So many people ask if ArchiCAD is an overkill
for what we do. They all seem to think that buildings
and rendering should be done in something like Studio Max,
or that for just structural 3D we should drop back to
something like AutoCAD. What they don’t understand
is that the same toolset and workflow that we used for architectural
design and documentation is also the most advanced modelling system
for architecture available”
Steve’s company, Archiform 3D, models all structural forms and
hard landscaping in ArchiCAD and uses an in-house developed advanced
set of parametric objects to accelerate the process not just from the
beginning but through any architectural revisions.
“It’s not just the speed boost that we get when we start a job. We
know for a fact that there will be revisions as our clients are often designing
right up to the actual hand over date. This is where we get one of the
largest boosts in speed – the ease in making changes. The parametric
abilities and pure object orientated workflow means we are capable of fast
alterations that reflect perfectly in the 3D architectural model. It allows
us to do something that few of our competitors can, which is building a
scene rather than just one view”
Archiform 3D promotes scene building extensively through it’s website,
offering significantly more views and animations per scene due to the nature
of it’s production process. ArchiCAD lies at the heart of this workflow,
with Archiform 3D using it exclusively.
“ArchiCAD understands what a building is, always has, always will.
When people ask us whether we are spending money on an overkill they should
just look at what we do and then ask whether we could afford to not have
ArchiCAD”
Steve's leanings towards ArchiCAD are obvious and it forms a strong
3D architectural background. Archiform 3D utilizes it well.
3D architecture is no longer the way of the future, it is the
way of now. Now it is only a matter of extending what data can
be extracted from 3D architectural virtual
models, or "building-simulations".
Updated November 2005
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