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From CAD User AEC Magazine  Vol 22 No 11 - NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Vectorworks 2010 makes it easy for new converts to get to grips with 3D modelling, writes David Chadwick

If recent surveys are to be believed then the message is finally getting across. The use of 3D computer technology to design buildings is up by about 30% according to data from a CAD Manager survey, supplied by VectorWorks.

It cannot have escaped the attention of the diehards that the companies currently 'winning the business' are those that have already embraced the new technology, are producing the better designs, are more able to adapt themselves to clients requirements, and who can work more efficiently in the current economic climate. It also means that they are now willing to undergo the upheaval that will naturally occur in their processes and workflows, possibly assisted by the growing realisation that if they are to survive into the future then they are going to have to evolve (especially poignant, I suppose, with all of the airtime currently being given to Charles Darwin's anniversary!).

So hats off then to the companies providing the wherewithal to make the change to 3D, and in particular to Nemetschek's Vectorworks, which has made “Making Change Easy” the theme for the release of Vectorworks 2010. The new release provides an intuitive, easy-touse 3D modelling environment for newcomers to parametric modelling and its bi-directional associativity. It’s a clever little motto too, applicable to both improving the ease with which companies can embrace 3D technology and to the ability to play around with, and incorporate, design ideas, changes and modifications to your designs - the basis of parametric modelling's success. According to Sean Flaherty, CEO of Nemetschek America, many small- to medium-sized firms find the transition to information modelling workflows difficult, with technologies hard to learn and difficult to use. “Vectorworks 2010,” he says, “is going to help remove these barriers and make the change for designers easy.”

And for the latter they have improved their customer’s ability to interact with the 3D model by adding a number of new bidirectional associativity features, and improved the 3D modelling environment. Any changes made to a design are immediately propagated through the rest of the model.

INTEGRATED DCM

Vectorworks 2010 also includes, for the first time, the Dimensional Constraint Manager (DCM) from Siemens PLM, which allows users to make edits to a model and ensures that they are automatically reflected throughout the model - particularly relevant and important in the architectural mode of Vectorworks, as it enables users to build more reliable wall networks and connections.

EASY-TO-USE 3D ENVIRONMENT

The big improvement here is the way in which users can now work either in 2D or 3D on the correct plane, using a new 'unified view'. Similarly, 2D objects can also work, or occupy, the screen plane, or planar, space as part of the unified coordinate system. Another useful tool is the ability to acquire snaps, making it easy to select, modify or align objects in 3D. I alluded earlier on to Vectorworks’ Architecture mode. Vectorworks can be used in a variety of application areas - architecture being just one of them. When the header is selected from the left hand toolbar, it expands to reveal a number of architecturally specific features and tools. You can do the same for MEP, mechanical design, rendering or the production of construction documentation. In fact the whole set of functions run from basic 2D/3D functionality and include Landmark - terrain layout, Architect, Machine Design, Spotlight, for setting up lighting configurations, and of course Renderworks, the photorealistic rendering engine. (You will find more detail on how these can be put together, and what they will cost, at the foot of the article).

BRING ON THE WALL!

Not that I would ever attempt to do it myself, but Vectorworks seems to be particularly enamoured with wall design. In addition to the Wall Hole component introduced in the last version, they have now added a wall sculpting tool which allows users to create custom shapes and components in walls. That could involve some fancy recess work, using different shaped bricks or some concrete embossing.

The main point, though is that, regardless of what you design, you never lose the wall's intelligence and behaviour - you could still make parametric modifications to it in fact! The Wall Hole tool has also been improved, cutting down on clicks needed to create an effect and improving the editing facility on the latter. There's also a new Prevent Wall Insertion option, that allows users to specify wall insertion modes for symbols or plug-in options when you first design the wall, as well as improved wall textures!

Another item that always crops up is stair design. It’s actually quite a complicated operation, and if it can be somewhat automated then so much the better. Vectorworks 2010 introduces a new Stair Object tool, with more flexible configurations available for some new stair types. They also say they have improved performance and reliability but they don't explain exactly how that would be applicable to a flight of stairs! And, as you can see from the accompanying images, Vectorworks 2010 also introduces a tool that will allow you to place corner windows in buildings - in both 2D and 3D!

RENDERING IMPROVEMENTS

As well as an improved texture mapping interface, Vectorworks 2010 includes Decal Texturing - the application of multiple textures onto a single object. It comes with some decal specific textures or materials and can be used to create signs and labels.

There are a couple of ways that the display of 3D models can be made more lifelike. One is by setting them within HDRI scenes - photorealistic backgrounds that can be used for interior, exterior or studio shots - and another by using blur reflectivity shaders. This is a technique whereby glass surfaces, simple or accurate glass itself, mirrors and shiny metal reflect shadows more realistically by adding a blur factor.

Like most architectural features, they look false when they are too accurately depicted - it needs a bit of a blur to persuade the eye that you are looking at something real! The difference between simple and accurate glass? Well I’m not entirely sure which is which myself, but I would suspect that accurate glass has some depth in which refraction can occur, and simple glass merely reflects light off its surface.

A TOTAL SOLUTION

The various purchasing options available for Vectorworks underline just what you get for your money. If you want to go the whole hog then you can buy Vectorworks Designer with Renderworks, which includes Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Machine Design and Renderworks, for around £2,000. Landmark is the section that allows you to set up the building plot and the terrain before you place your building on it - even down to locating it in geophysical space!

The alternative is to buy a set of modules designed for specific professions - an Industry Series product which allows you to buy Architect, Landmark, Spotlight or Machine Design separately, with or without Renderworks. This will set you back between £1250 and £1650, depending on what you bundle with the package.

For less than a grand you can invest in the basic 2D/3D functionality of Vectorworks, called Fundamentals, which comes in around £900. All prices, of course, need VAT adding on. You won't notice many differences from the display of each package, except that clicking on either of the modules you have bought brings up extra toolboxes that lay out the features you have. The beauty of it all is that you can start a project by first laying out the building plot, then design the actual building itself, and finish off by rendering the building and producing photorealistic renderings of it so that it can be shown to your clients, or the public, in its proposed setting! What’s more. HDRI imagery taken at the actual longitude and latitude can be used to reconstruct the background.

www.vectorworks.uk.com

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