Interview with ArchiCAD Master Eric Bobrow - Dec 2011
I’d like to welcome back Mr Eric Bobrow to the show. Many of you may remember him from his previous interview on the site, he’s an internationally recognised ArchiCAD expert and author, who has been in the industry for over 20 years.
In this interview we discuss his experience with his highly successful Best Practices Course, which is celebrating its one year anniversary, and his most recent ArchiCAD QuickStart Course, his online Coaching programs, along with his great plans for the new year and more.
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ArchiCAD for Beginners - New videos on Best Practices Course
A new educational year is upon us and I've been getting a flood of new emails from prospective and current architecture students, firstly praising my efforts for creating my few Tutorial Screencasts (thanks everyone for your kind words), but also asking for more! While I would loooove to make some more screencasts, if you've been following me on Twitter or Linkedin I have not had the time to produce the quality of videos I would like to, due to my current design work-load.
I am very happy though that my good friend Eric Bobrow has been able to create some truly awesome beginner videos, as a bonus to members of the Best Practices Course. Though the course is designed to help anyone already using ArchiCAD to work better, faster and easier, Eric and I had discussed after his previous interview the apprehension of those users just getting started.
Well, Eric has stepped up and decided to create a new mini-course – the Best Practices QuickStart Course! It's a series of 6 training lesson modules that will get you started quickly, in a way that is consistent with Best Practices principles and will enable you to benefit from the rest of the Course.
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Get your hands on some Ancient ArchiCAD Libraries!
So, when you upgrade to a new version of ArchiCAD you've got a brand new spanking Library with new and improved parts for your designs, and to bring your old files up to date you've got some Migration Libraries to help (if you're upgrading from version 10 and above), but for much older files you're kinda stuck.
Well, not quite….. Continue Reading... >>
Interview Part Deux with Eric Bobrow - June 2011
< < Check out the first full interview of the ArchiCAD Jedi Master
So, we last spoke in March just before you reopened the Best Practices Course and the videos have seemed to have got raving reviews from the course members. How have the past few months been for you? Are you enjoying directing the course?
This is an amazing journey that we're having together. I'm digging deep to find ways to communicate the essence of ArchiCAD's structure and principles of workflow. Many course members tell me that things in ArchiCAD are making more sense, that I'm connecting the dots, and that they are really enjoying the program far more.
I'm finding the community process very satisfying, as I interact directly with frequent coaching calls - we had been doing one per month, but since March, it's been three times each month. The questions people ask have really stretched me - while frequently I know "the answer" because I've explained it to others many times before, on other occasions I need to work hard to come up with a short and elegant solution to a challenging real-world design challenge, right on the fly, while explaining each step along the way. I explore solutions right in front of the group, trying different options until I reach something fairly satisfying.
One of the course members wrote:
"I really enjoy your fearlessly exploratory style as you work through various solutions to a problem. You make it seem as though anything is possible. It is a pleasure to be taking your course. It has been literally life changing."
Wow! This gives me great joy, as I know that I'm not only teaching, I'm empowering course members to master ArchiCAD and use it creatively without fear....
CAD user? Autodesk Mac division needs you...
Autodesk Research is seeking perspectives from all kinds of CAD users, not just AutoCAD, for a paid research study. If you’re a Mac user and you frequently work with CAD software, they wanna here what you have to say.
The 1-hour study sessions start from May 24 - May 27 and the following one from May 31 - June 3 from 9am to 6pm (Pacific Standard Time), at Autodesk San Francisco, where participants will receive a $60 Amazon.com gift certificate as a thank-you for your time. They are mostly looking for in-person sessions, but also will be conducting some of the sessions remotely, using web meeting software and the phone, offering a $30 gift certificate.
ArchiCAD 15 reveals its mighty paws! - May 2011
"Broaden Your DESIGN Horizons!" is the phrase of the month, as ArchiCAD 15 was announced last week and there've been some eager beavers (myself included) to see if all the rumours are true, together with our hopes and dreams wrapped up in a nice little installation package! Well, they haven't let us down.
The new version brings many new features that ArchiCAD users have been requesting to improve their design workflow. It is considered to be one of the strongest upgrades since version 10. As always some prayers have been answered, yet some people have been disappointed that their requests have not been heard, but as Jared describes in his blogpost "I upgrade, you upgrade, we all upgrade" on the Shoegnome blog, ya can't make everyone happy, but I gotta say I’m thrilled :)
“ArchiCAD 15 addresses architects in their native language with an innovative approach to handling design spaces and forms,” said Miklos Szovenyi-Lux, vice president of product management, GRAPHISOFT. “In addition to reinventing the 3D design space and providing architects with a wide array of new design tools, ArchiCAD 15 also addresses the increasing number of architects who earn their living from renovation and refurbishment projects,” he continued.
ArchiCAD 15 enriches architectural forms available for designers to unleash their creative minds. The new version also expands the scope of the BIM workflow to include renovation & refurbishment projects.
The general features in ArchiCAD 15 include an impressive list of new and refined design tools and workflows, but also improvements to its IFC interface and OPEN collaboration workflow with engineers, full 64-bit support for the Mac OS, and improvements to its parametric object libraries as well.
Check.... them.... out : Continue Reading... >>
My article in ArchiMAG magazine : April 2011
So, a few days ago I was contacted by ArchiMAG, the international ArchiCAD focused magazine, saying that they wanted to feature one of my tutorials on their blog, and they did, which was great! But then we got talking a bit more and they asked me if I’d like to possibly write for their magazine. I’ve never written anything professionally before, but a couple of articles on the blog have actually brought some consistently large traffic, so I’m giving it a shot!
The periodical covers articles about software and hardware as well as tips n’ tricks, and this month the ArchiMAG magazine is featuring one of my older but still relevant blogposts, “How to use Apple’s Magic Mouse with CAD”. I’m attempting to have at least one article for each future issue of ArchiMAG, so stay tuned.
Check out the cover of this issue’s magazine along with the article! I gotta say, it looks pretty awesome! Continue Reading... >>
It's LIVE! The ArchiCAD Best Practices Course is open
There's no time to lose, so you've seen the FREE videos, go reserve your space in the Best Practices Course experience!
I've had the chance to take a sneak peak behind the scenes and I can honestly tell you the amount of great videos and content is mesmerising. This might be the most important opportunity you’ll ever have to transform your professional life! Continue Reading... >>
My interview with Eric Bobrow!
< < Update June 2011 - Check out the interview Part Deux of the ArchiCAD Jedi Master > >
So I had the chance the other day to interview Mr Eric Bobrow. As I mentioned in my earlier post, he’s an internationally recognised ArchiCAD expert and author, who has been in the industry for over 20 years.
In this exclusive interview we discuss Eric’s long and illustrious career, the birth and evolution of ArchiCAD, striving for more efficient workflows, his first product called “MasterTemplate”, his previous career as a professional dancer, as well as the upcoming reopening of his ArchiCAD Best Practices Course, and more!
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Eric Bobrow on Youtube
If you haven’t already checked out Eric Bobrow’s free preview of the Best Practices Course, what are ya waiting for? But if you want even MORE free stuff, Eric’s been kind enough to add a few videos with valuable tips n’ tricks of the trade on his new Youtube Channel. That’all folks, happy ArchiCADing!
Lessons from an Archicad Jedi Master - Eric Bobrow
Having trouble with Archicad? Do you want to save hours of work with a few simple tips? Well our long-time colleague Eric Bobrow, internationally recognised Archicad expert and author, has brought out a new online training course on the most effective methods for working with ArchiCAD and not battling with it.
Continue Reading... >>Autocad for Mac availlable for download + purchase!
The time is finally upon us, Oct 15th 2010 will be remembered as a momentous day for Apple, Autodesk, the Mac community and all CAD users around the world. To all CADmonkeys clinging to your Windows machines, as your only excuse for not switching to the Mac has been “no native Autocad on the Mac”, get ready to gracefully take the plunge and join the Mac CAD force; it’s been a long time since Autocad has been available for the Mac, as the application had turned its back on the Mac in the ‘90s, however two days ago Autocad for Mac became available for trial download, full purchase, as well as completely free for students and educators and is spreading like wildfilre!
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Autocad officially being Macified, but also iPhone + iPad friendly!
You may have noticed a couple of weeks ago some news buzzing around. If you can feel a slight chill in the wind don’t be alarmed, it seems only the fiery dungeons of Lucifer have developed some frostiness.
Autodesk has never seemed to be a big fan of the mac platform, though since Apple’s staggering comeback in the recent years, there have been some echoing whispers in the blogosphere as Mac users have been requesting a native version with ever-growing frequency.
Well those whispers have been officially silenced, as Autodesk have officially sounded the horn that the upcoming 2011 release of it’s star product Autocad® will be making it’s second debut after nearly two decades on the frikkin Mac, signifying a new level of acceptance and i guess even vindication of Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs for his Mac OSX and iOS vision and strategies.
Yauza..., well if you’ve recovered from your hand-to-chest ghasp, get ready for another one. They’ve also announced they will be releasing a version of Autocad for iOS devices like the iPod Touch, iPhone + iPad!!!
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How to use Apple's Magic Mouse with CAD!
Back in October 2009, Apple surprised us with a new introduction to the mac peripherals, the Magic Mouse the world’s first multi-touch mouse. In the past Apple hasn’t been very successful with its mice, but many are starting to come around now that the company has seemed to have nailed it.
The drawback has been for us CAD users that there’s one tiny thing missing..... the essential middle scroll wheel...! Without it to pan + zoom, and orbit around a model, it just takes ages to model anything really - thus rendering the device quite useuless for 3D design.
Well despair no longer, there is a way.....
Archicad 14 : focus on exchange + interoperability
So, if you remember last month I mentioned Graphisoft was releasing the new version of Archicad, well a couple of days ago they finally announced the launch of Archicad 14 due to ship next month!
As you may know, Archicad is usually used for architectural modelling, but the newest version is focusing on greater integration and collaboration workflow of the architect and the engineer, aiming to squeeze in to the multi-discipline practices’ workflow.
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BIM on iPad shown off by Bentley systems
A great find for today, Laura Handler of bimX has had an interesting encounter at the annual Bentley conference - BE Community Live - with some tablet technology + a bit of augmented reality in the mix.
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Autocad finally coming to the Mac!
It seems the Fates have not forsaken us!
A couple of months ago I had mentioned that Autodesk had conducted an online survey which suggested the company was evaluating the interest of Mac CAD users, and possibly even alpha testing a Mac version of Autocad! Now it seems the rumours may have actually been true thanks to a sneaky beta tester from Italy....
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Integrated versus discrete graphics, which one?!
It’s a bit confusing which choice to make if you’re buying a new Mac or PC to get high quality and fast processing graphics needed for 3D design. Do you go with an integrated graphics card - meaning that it’s built directly into the motherboard (or logic-board for macs) circuitry - or with a “discrete” one, which is a separate dedicated Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) usually hooked up directly to the board ?
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SitePAD™ : the first true CAD app for iPhone + iPad
In a couple of past articles I’ve talked about the different options offered for CAD on iPhone and iPad, and how nothing has really impressed anyone yet - bringing great frustration to many design professionals. We’ve transitioned from desktop to laptop quite quickly in the past few years, and now we’ve been aching for someone to create a useful app on the go. The existing apps are either too simplistic or just vector-based drawing systems - which give the impression of an architectural drawing - without any practical use other than creating an image of say a floorplan, which later must be traced over - most times inaccurately - in a proper CAD application to become useful.
Enter SitePAD : Pocket Aided Design for iPhone and iPad!
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Archicad 14 is announced and on the way!
imags source : Graphisoft
After only a few months since Archicad 13, which brought astonishing improvements to the BIM universe, Graphisoft has announced the latest version of its award-winning architectural design software, ArchiCAD 14 !
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ArtlantisObjects.com : the Artlantis media mecca
So in the previous tutorials (ACM006 + ACM007) I mentioned the Catalog - Artlantis’s great object manger. By now you’ve probably started using Artlantis a bit more and explored using the objects + shaders provided with the package; and though there are plenty to get you by at the early stages, if you want to step it up a notch you’re probably going to want some more!
Well fear not, archiCADmonkey’s got ya covered. I found a fantastic site called ArtlantisObjects.com, where you can find all sorts of Artlantis news, interviews, some Artlantis tutorials and media all in one place.
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Autodesk's Project Dragonfly graduates to 'Homestyler'
Some might have been aware of an innovative web application Autodesk had been working in its Labs called ‘Project Dragonfly’; the labs experiment with new approaches to CAD design on the ground as well as in the cloud, and Dragonfly was a ‘technology preview’ for quickly designing a floor-plan using only your browser.
Well I’m very excited that Autodesk has taken its training wheels off and renamed it : ‘Autodesk Homestyler’.
Homestyler is a very simple 3D home + garden design application all of which runs on your browser - meaning that it’s ‘cloud-based’, just like many of the services we use everyday like Gmail, Gdocs, Flickr, or Youtube, whethere you’re running Mac OS, Windows, or Linux.
creative NERDS show off Photoshop CS5
Following Adobe’s online event, the excitement skyrocketed about the entire CS5 suite. The improvements across the board are amazing - bringing more control + flexibility in design, allowing the creative process to flow more naturally.
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Adobe CS5 online sneak preview event
Adobe is offering a sneak preview of it’s new Creative Suite 5 software, online today at 4pm BST.
CS5 is said to have over 250 new features across the Suite, but I’m most excited about the great stuff they’re bringing with Photoshop CS5.
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Archicad online object libraries
the archiPad - mobile CAD in the Post-PC era
all about new and exciting Apps for Architects, Engineers and Designers!
Update 2011 : Get your hands on ALL previous ArchiCAD Libraries, from v4.1 and up! >>>
Archicad has hundreds of objects you can use embedded in its Standard Library, ranging from simple geometric shapes to Parametric objects like stairs or kitchen cabinets. Though most are preconfigured to standard settings, nearly everything is extensively editable - as they are GDL objects. Every few months the Archicad team even sends an update for the standard library, fixing a few bugs and adding more objects.
Want to learn how to Manage & Migrate your ArchiCAD Libraries effectively?
Check out the Week #4 Tutorials of the ArchiCAD Best Practices Course
Some third-party developers have created more specialised and detailed objects to add to your designs including furniture, electronic equipment, trees, you name it! Some are free, though the really good ones come at a reasonable price. To start off I’d go with the free route and try the GDL Object Depository created by Graphisoft, where Archicad users can exchange free objects and texture libraries. Loving the free and open-source, the Open GDL board is a place for developers mostly, but has plenty of free stuff to download.
Though if you’ve got some cash to spare, Objects Online is a great resource - these guys have created hundreds of great high quality Archicad objects, most have a pricetag on them, but a few are free to download - with a “donation” option. Similarly Archicad Solutions specialises in creating and customising GDL objects for Archicad, and CADGarage has some library parts for sale along with books, DVDs, and accessories for Mac + Archicad.
These are generally the sites I’ve found useful, though Graphisoft has compiled the mother-list of all GDL developers’ websites. Go ahead and check them out and if you find any other good ones please feel free share them with me and I’ll spread the word. Happy GDL hunting!
3D sketching with ILOVESKETCH
the archiPad - mobile CAD in the Post-PC era
all about new and exciting Apps for Architects, Engineers and Designers!
ILoveSketch from Seok-Hyung Bae on Vimeo.
A while before all the hype of tablet PCs and iPads, some great minds over at the Department of Computer Science of Toronto University developed a system giving the ability to “sketch” in 3D space while using a tablet-type device. “ILoveSketch” is a 3D curve sketching system that brings the benefits of drawing like pen on paper, while automatically creating a concept 3D curve model. It’s a really clever system integrating traditional sketching techniques and user interaction with a 3D model in novel ways.
“I Love Sketch” could become a great asset to industrial designers to rapidly draw up 3D concepts designs, though you can easily see it being used for conceptualising architectural forms and complex designs before moving onto CAD or BIM apps. As Google Sketchup revolutionised quick + easy modelling to a point where nearly anyone can draw in 3D, this kind of system could do the same with virtual sketching methods as sketching is more natural than using a mouse and requires less training to get the hang of. This isn’t just t two-dimensional sketching, but an evolution of a kind using nurb-based geometry to create freeform shapes via curves of high precision and great ease. ILoveSketch takes advantage of multi-stroke sketch techniques and gesture-based functions to create groups of these curves while drawing with a Stylus-type pen.
The video above demonstrates what ILoveSketch is all about while taking the viewer through the basic techniques used to create an airplane model in 3D without needing any kind of command or specific buttons.The environment is easy to navigate - zooming, panning, rotating, etc. are intuitive, while easily switching between the different sketching techniques.
If this sort of system could become integrated somehow into a powerful multi-touch surface like the iPad together with something like the Pogo Sketch, it could change the designers workflow dramatically and even be a major step up from the previously discussed CAD or BIM app. Hopefully in the near future we’ll see what these guys can come up with - one thing’s for sure, cadmonkeys of the world are itching to see in the next few months what’s boiling in the iPad pot.
What's the best computer for 3D CAD + BIM?
the archiPad - mobile CAD in the Post-PC era
all about new and exciting Apps for Architects, Engineers and Designers!
I’ve gone through a few computers in my time, from basic laptops to building my own super-PC with an NVidia powerhouse, moving onto a Macbook and now even growing slowly out of my superpowerful Macbook Pro. Though I do love my macs - as I am mad with multitasking - I do try and be objective when recommending a piece of hardware, or software for that matter, to be the best fit to the individual. There’s one thing that every designer has in common, we need POWER!
So, what’s the best computer for 3D, CAD and BIM?
David Fano over at Design Reform has written an article about just this subject, putting this question out to the PC and Mac community. Though his recommendations are mostly aimed towards windows users, the general concept of processor power, RAM + hard drive size and such are quite universal. It depends in the end if you feel comfortable with a certain setup and are happy with the final results....while not having to wait 24hrs for an image to render....!
The comments after the article are definitely worth a read, very interesting seeing what other powerCADers use.
ACM005 - Simple Archicad Building
This time we get a bit deeper into Archicad and go step-by-step how to draw up a simple building + get used to the tools of the workflow. It's a simple design, nothing very exciting, but a good start to get you on your way to Archicad mastery.
This is the longest video in the series - 22 minutes long - so get a nice cup of coffee ready. If you download the iTunes version you'll see I've added chapters into the video so you can jump back + forwards to whichever part you want.
Enjoy the show!
Stuff mentioned :
The Wall tool | Editing Walls + Settings | Splitting Walls | Material selection | Storeys + Settings | Slabs + Settings
The Roof tool | Polyroof + Manual | Stairs + Slabs | Doors + Windows | The Mesh Tool | Adding vegetation
+
Suspending Groups | The Cursor Tracker | The Pet Palette | The Magic Wand
The Eyedropper | The Syringe | General 2D + 3D views | Show All / Selection in 3D 
Useful links
Graphisoft Archicad
Abvent Artlantis
If you found this show useful, a quick review on iTunes would be very much appreciated!
You can contact me if you have any comments, ideas for new shows, or would like to share any tips
