| Pioneering
Software to Design, Document and Sell Buildings |
| Graphisoft's
ArchiCAD® is an integrated building simulator and it optimally
combines the ease of use of personal computers with the powerful
functionality of professional CAD systems. A family of complementary
products has developed around ArchiCAD including PlotMakerTM for
assembling and printing large CAD drawings, StairMakerTM for designing
complex stairs, and VisualGDLTM for furniture and other three-dimensional
object modeling. Third party developers working in collaboration
with Graphisoft also extend the ArchiCAD product family with their
respective applications including ArchiSITETM, an ArchiCAD specific
terrain modeler and Art.lantis RenderTM for ArchiCAD, a ray-tracing
renderer. In addition, dozens of country and industry specific
object libraries and utility programs are published and sold around
the world. |
| ArchiCAD®
IS Architectural CAD |
| ArchiCAD's
genius lies in its simplicity and dedication to building design
and documentation, as best stated by ArchiCAD user David Sutherland
of Synman Justin Bialek in Melbourne, Australia: |
" Unintelligent
CAD systems rely on the interpretation of the user to ascribe
meaning to the computer entities. As far as the software is
concerned, those entities are merely lines, arcs, circles.
Unlike [these systems], ArchiCAD is intended only for the
use of architects. You construct buildings using building
elements: floor slabs, walls, roofs, windows, doors, stairs
and other objects. With little work, buildings can be analyzed
with respect to building bulk, overshadowing and visual appearance.
With more detail added, facade modeling can be analyzed. From
that 3D model can be automatically generated plans, elevations
and sections, perspective views, fly-by views and virtual
reality views."
|
| GDLTM,
the First Object-Based CAD |
| raphisoft's
Geometric Description Language, or GDL - first written in 1982
and continuously developed since - is an object-oriented and parametric
3D modeling technology. GDL contains all of the information necessary
to completely describe building components as |
- 2D architectural
symbols,
- text
specifications, and
- 3D models
for calculations and presentation.
|
| It is the
foundation of ArchiCAD as well as tens of thousands of intelligent
building objects in use around the world. |
| GDL is a
robust and well-tested environment for object-based CAD and has
been licensed by other companies in recent years for use in software
and in representing true manufacturers' building products. |
| Virtual
BuildingTM |
| As early
as 1984, Graphisoft pushed Computer-Aided Design (CAD) beyond
the frontier of automated drawing towards a concept called "Virtual
BuildingTM," a three-dimensional repository of building intelligence
and the foundation upon which are based construction documents,
specifications, animations, virtual reality scenes and all other
views of the building. Some of the major benefits of the Virtual
Building concept are: |
- derive
construction documents from a single data file for greater
flexibility, efficiency, accuracy and consistency when making
revisions;
- calculate,
display and output quantitative data for cost estimates, bills
of materials, schedules, and building management information;
- communicate,
using the same data, by photorealistic perspectives, movies,
even virtual reality scenes for clients or real estate agents,
and shadow studies for authorities or neighbors.
|
| Collaborative
Architecture |
| Architectural
firms today require solutions which are flexible, mobile, network
independent, secure and simple. |
"The
aptly named ArchiCAD for TeamWork ... ups the ante with a
two-pronged approach that addresses not only how project work
is divvied up, but also how the divided elements are tracked
and integrated back into the project," declares Jerry Laiserin
of ARCHITECTURE Magazine. "ArchiCAD for TeamWork represents
a significant new approach to aligning CAD with the natural
workflow of a design office. Especially impressive is the
ease of use with which novice CAD users can access this newfound
power."
|
| As simply
and elegantly as ArchiCAD itself, ArchiCAD for TeamWork allows
teams to share entire three-dimensional buildings. TeamWork is
just the latest example of Graphisoft's approach towards addressing
the demands of the building industry through innovative technology. |
| "They had
mastered the poetry of composing extremely complex applications
into the most condensed computer code possible in order to run
on small hardware." Rick E. Bruner, San Francisco Examiner, USA
|
| "It's main
advantage over U.S. and European competitors... is its use of
a single database to thoroughly integrate separate applications
of 3-D graphics, large-scale drafting plans and a bill-of-material
spreadsheet for cost, quantity and scheduling information." Rick
E. Bruner, San Francisco Examiner, USA |
|
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