Software: The Latest Architecture and News

Real-time visualization takes a 3D architectural model and transforms it into something that can be used to communicate with those less technically inclined. Your vision and design intent can be understood easily, which allows you to make decisions faster.

Architectural visualization technology has made this process accessible, but many tools on the market claim to offer the same thing; real-time updates, a seamless design experience, and high-quality, industry-standardized renderings. So, how do you know which one to choose?

“All the physical spaces that we (architects) design – buildings, interiors and cities are born as metaspaces, and we call them 3D models”. With this statement Brian Jencek, director of planning at San Francisco-based architecture firm HOK, narrows the boundaries between the current way of designing and the future of architecture in the metaverse. According to him, we are not that far from this technology, since we already use the same tools that visual designers use to create realistic environments, such as Unity, Twin motion and Blender.

“Understanding precedes action.” That is the motto of the Urban Observatory, an interactive installation and web app created by TED founder Richard Saul Wurman that compiled a wide range of urban data for over 150 cities, allowing users to compare various characteristics of those cities – from population density to traffic speed limits – side-by-side. Urban Observatory was first created in 2013, a banner year for news about urban big data; later that same year, Waag made headlines with its interactive map visualising the age of every building in the Netherlands. The emergence of such platforms allowed people to see the world around them in new ways.

With the rise of Google Earth and other GIS tools, and platforms like envelope.city, or environmental simulations based on digital twin models of cities, urban big data has quietly come to underpin a wide range of tools used by professionals who shape our cities, with both the amount of data collected and the influence it has over decision-making expanding dramatically. However, these advances typically happen behind closed doors and in undemocratic spaces. How long must we wait for software that has all the user-friendliness, accessibility, and appeal of those older platforms, but which provides the average person with the tools to shape their city? In other words, if “understanding precedes action”, then why after almost a decade are we not seeing big-data-driven apps that encourage the public to actually do something?

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From smartphones to space rockets and self-driving cars, the power of technology in this modern digital era is enormous (and practically limitless). It has impacted every aspect of our lives and will continue to open up endless possibilities that today we cannot even begin to fathom. When applied in a socially and environmentally responsible way, technology has the power to enhance productivity, communication and sustainability, enabling global communities to function efficiently, addressing people’s everyday needs and improving their quality of life. Simply put, good technology serves humanity. And just as the healthcare or manufacturing industries have taken advantage of this, the architecture, design and construction world cannot fall behind.

Considered the second most requested skill (behind field experience) in the industry and used by a growing number of design professionals, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has proved to be the present of architecture. But with constant new features and exciting improvements, it is also very much the future. For decades, the revolutionary software has established itself as a powerful tool with a long list of invaluable capabilities: detecting errors, reducing costs and material waste, mitigating risks, optimizing workflows and, above all, allowing for seamless, multi-disciplinary collaboration.

Within the Latin American and Caribbean region, it has been recorded that at least 25% of the population lives in informal settlements. Given that their expansion is one of the major problems afflicting these cities, a project is presented, supported by the IDB, which proposes how new technologies are capable of contributing to the identification and detection of these areas in order to intervene in them and help reduce urban informality.

How many times have you heard the old claim that “Email is dead”? Surely, more than once. To the surprise of many, and despite the rise of new messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams during the pandemic, Email remains by far the most widely used communication tool in many businesses. Every day, more than 300 billion emails are sent and received globally, and employees spend an average of 5 hours checking their online correspondence. This trend is only expected to rise in the upcoming years, especially within project and client-based industries – like architecture, engineering and construction – that heavily rely on this means of communication.

However, its consolidated use doesn’t always equal efficiency, particularly in companies that don’t set up the necessary internal processes to file emails in a central space. With the silent threat of poor mail management, many architecture firms and other businesses must face unnecessary risks, time and productivity costs, and increased stress among workers.

Technology manufacturer 2N is diversifying its range of products by offering A&E, BIM technology, and other strategies for architects and designers.

2N is a Prague-based company engaged in the development and manufacturing of products in the field of IP intercoms and access control systems. According to an IHS report in 2016, 2N is the largest global manufacturer of IP intercoms, and a major innovator in the field of IP access systems, IP audio, and IP lift communicators. The company was established in 1991 in the Czech Republic, where its headquarters remain to this day.

Internationally recognized for their weeHouse® concept, Alchemy has been proving since 1992 that even the smallest of dwellings can have a huge impact. weeHouse®, a term that Alchemy trademarked in 2002, was conceived as a modular-friendly design system that emphasizes quality before quantity, and has been recognized by an ethos of “less is more.” The Minnesota-based firm, led by Geoffrey Warner FAIA, designs the structures to be modern and sleek with particular attention to using expressive local materials with environmental sensitivity.

The Squam Lake House in New Hampshire, although not technically a weeHouse, was required to strictly respect the floor area and volume of a dilapidated cabin 15’ from the shore. Fabricated mostly offsite by Bensonwood using 18” thick, pre-glazed wall panels and white oak timber framing, the panels were erected in only 4 days.

Eric Winter, AIA and architect at Alchemy, shared some valuable insights about the project’s design process. 

D5 Render SketchUp Extension | Elmtec SketchUp, a real-time renderer for digital designers, brings a whole new layer to the industry thanks to cutting-edge technologies, making it easier to render ultra-realistic images with real-time raytracing, creating a transformational movement within the design industry. From 28th September 2021, Elmtec is the official distributor for D5 Render in the UK and Ireland.

Twinmotion 2021.1 offers powerful new possibilities to create, develop and present visualizations as a fully connected member of the Epic ecosystem, cementing its place as an essential component of the entire archviz process from concept to advanced photorealistic experience. Additionally, with this release, Unreal Engine continues its efforts to improve existing features and workflows in response to customer feedback.

Currently, specialized technical skills in the use of BIM methodology are in high demand, especially in the field of architecture. Even during the pandemic, job offers in this area have remained relatively stable, especially due to the flexibility of this methodology and the possibility of working collaboratively from remote locations. However, when looking for a new job, those interested in BIM should consider several questions: What am I specialized in? What areas are in highest demand? What type of professional BIM role is the most common?

Floors, roofs, ceilings. Speaking in a very generic way, they are practically all the horizontal elements that we can find in the construction of a building. These three parts have a very similar way of modeling in Revit and this is the reason why when learning this software, they almost always appear one after the other. The order is usually a rather logical and therefore similar order: starting first with the floors, later the soffits and, finally, the ceilings. All this, clearly after having modeled the exterior and interior walls of our building.