AutoCAD vs. ArchiCAD in Architecture
Architectural design today has moved from designing by hand to designing with several different software programs that have made the job much easier. Two of the main programs in many architectural firms today are AutoCAD2000 and ArchiCAD 6.5. Both are very productive design tools but each has its own defects in certain areas of the design process.
Design processes today have been reversed from designing from the inside to the outside, to designing from the outside to the inside. Most designing today is based on the actual structural appearance one will perceive from the exterior, rather than the functional use of the interior; although both are taken into consideration. AutoCAD is a design tool that can take many different paths. Due to demand an outside appearance is needed to be created first. AutoCAD is a tool that allows an architect to create an exterior elevation first, before an actual floor plan is even developed. ArchiCAD, however, is very similar to AutoCAD but because of its limitations, some things that should be simple and intuitive are actually quite tedious. ArchiCAD forces its users to work only in a plan view. This makes it very difficult to create a complex elevation. By the time one can finish, all the effort and inspirational thoughts that influenced a project are gone. Anyone in the architectural field today should know that when using any architectural software, trimming slabs to the progression of stairs should be real easy. This would be true only if ArchiCAD would just extend the roof-trimming tool to apply to the trimming of walls to slabs. Better yet, why not enable the manipulation of elevational shapes in elevation or section view? It is qui...
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...ofessional level. The amount of accuracy that AutoCAD produces differs from ArchiCAD by on ten-thousandth of an inch. This may not seem as a tremendous difference, but when involving stretching of existing lines and manipulation of objects, these numbers play an important role. Using AutoCAD an object can be transformed in any direction and it will keep the accuracy without deforming. An object transformed in ArchiCAD is very obvious because the lines become fuzzy and undefined. These deformities can be very distracting to a client’s eye when proposing an idea.
As an owner of both programs, I have discovered that a strong project and presentation consist of drawings done both in AutoCAD and ArchiCAD. Since both programs excel in their own areas, an Architect could use a combination of these programs to reach perfection when submitting an idea to a client.
We often focus on the many different materials and products needed to make that special architectural structure. We tend to undermine and dilute the cost and time it takes to be able to follow through and complete such a task. However, the most important thing when
Arch shape allowed the Romans building huge spaces with concrete. It was a way to express their power through architecture.
design any and everything in this era from bridges to city walls and castles to
Hovering above are pillars of concrete and stone. Its rise and collapse determined by history. A combination of art and science designed to create notorious architecture. The necessity for architecture is distant from extinction and continuously transforming itself with the duration of time creating innovative methods of portraying scenic and functional works of art. The Romans and Greeks established a foundation for architecture that maintains its reputation as remarkable acts of beauty.
An arch is a curved structure, supporting the building and strengthening it’s structure. Today arch is made of many materials, but at the time of invention, it was usually build out of concrete, stone or brick. When the arch is being build, it is surrounded by wooden scaffolding, supporting the structure. The last step in the construction is to place top center stone (keystone). After than, scaffolding is removed and both sides of the arch now press against keystone, supporting the arch.
are used as the integral components of the architectural design, this reflecting a conceptual cohesion that is missed in previous architecture.
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
When starting construction on a new building, there are plenty of things that can and will go wrong. You will start to lay out the plumbing and find that it clashes with a wall or beam that cannot be moved. To finish your project, you must take more time and more money to adjust to the new layout. Another scenario is the owners won’t let you start construction because they can’t see the end result or where the specific design implements that had asked for are located. For the past few decades the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry has been looking for a solution to this problem. Projects would be set back due to design oversights. Without anything to predict these problems before they happen, these little setbacks were a common occurrence. Once building information modeling (BIM) was born, it was like their prayers had been answered. The future was here.
- Being an Engineer, I find that the techniques an architect uses to accomplish his
Architecture is the concept of bringing structure, materiality, form and space together as a whole, provide people with enclosed atmosphere to experience. Considering this, it is important to identify that materiality and the purpose of details has been a key methodology to bringing architectural intentions into the design in an affective manner, more over producing an architectural expression. However, this position is rather declining in architecture, reducing tectonics and materiality to being secondary to form and space. With the start of modernism, the attempt to achieve minimalistic style has caused detailing to increasingly develop into a decorative aspect of a building, neglecting its individual contribution to architecture.
After completion of this step the architects use the surveying drawing to develop a working drawing for the building. In these drawing you will see triangles, rectangles, squares, arches and other geometry shapes and forms to create their design. The architects through our history have used these shapes to create famous structures all over the world. If you go back to Roman historical sites you will see such examples like the great Coliseum. A great example can be seen is the famous Egyptian pyramid. Some other famous structures are the Eiffel Tower which is in Italy, and Chrysler building in New York. If you look around your neighborhood houses, you will see these shapes.
Digital fabrication is coming into the construction industry to create precisely crafted and complex buildings in response to the new competitive environment and construction market demands. Thanks to advanced technology, the good revolution can be seen in most industrial activities. Almost all of the industry sectors are trying to keep themselves up to date with new related innovation to boost their sustainable growth. However, unfortunately architects and construction engineers have been more conservative despite all of the massive global investment in the construction sector. This conservative trend was started many years after great prosperity and success in the other industries. As an example, in comparison with the more developed automotive industry, the construction industry has been weighing the pros and cons of doing automation, and it is still under development. Despite some limitations and lack of information over the 80’s and even 90’s, but the current status indicates good progress. Today, most of architectural design is no longer possible without computer technologies. The models have become more complex and require advanced tools to understand design codes and implement fabrication processes. It can be said, that the advanced automated tools with a user-friendly programming system can bring incredible solutions for architects and construction engineers. Many researchers have made significant studies to consider all possibilities and limitations of digital design-construction in various types of procedures.
With the interaction between the development of computational approaches in architecture and the contemporary forms of spatial design intelligence, some new architectural design theories emerged to make differences between architects and control designing processes. These theories are almost employed in all designing realms, from architecture to urban design to provide fields of ideas and solutions that privilege by complexity. Most of these theories are oriented to relay on understanding and using computational methods to generate exotic and complex geometries. In this respect, three of these theories will discussed and tested against three buildings. The theories are: parametric design, genetic architecture and emergence, which characterize some of the contemporary architectural design approaches.
Like all engineers, architectural engineers apply the theories and principles of science and mathematics to research and develop economical solutions to technical problems. Their work is the link between scientific discoveries and commercial applications. Engineers design products, machinery to build those products, factories in which those products are made, and the systems that ensure the quality of the product and efficiency of the workforce and manufacturing process. Engineers design, plan, and supervise the construction of buildings, highways, and transit systems. They develop new materials that both improve the performance of products and help implement advances in technology. Engineering knowledge is applied to improving many things, including the quality of health care, the safety of food products, and the efficient operation of financial systems.
Jencks believes “the glass-and-steel box has become the single most used form in Modern Architecture and it signifies throughout the world ‘office building’” (27). Thus, modern architecture is univalent in terms of form, in other words it is designed around one out of a few basic values using a limited number of materials and right angles. In...