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April 14, 2008

Evolutionary Enhancements in AutoCAD 2009

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by Susan Smith - Managing Editor
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Industry News
Evolutionary Enhancements in AutoCAD 2009
by Susan Smith

Kelly Miller and Heidi Hewitt of the AutoCAD team provided a recent demonstration of features for the new releases of AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD LT 2009.

AutoCAD 2009 encompasses much technology found in other Autodesk products. The reason for this is that the company wants users to have a more seamless experience with a common sets of tools, “so that when a customer moves from AutoCAD to Inventor to Maya, it doesn’t feel like you’re working with three different products from three different companies,” explained Miller. “It feels like one set of products from a single company without compromising the tools you need.”

AutoCAD 2009 boasts customizability, in that users can write applications to run on top of AutoCAD, and buy applications that run on top of it. Once again, this product release focuses on improving general workflow. A lot of emphasis is put on publishing and drafting, the essentials of AutoCAD, with enhancements to presentation and visualization such as 3D and photorealistic rendering and modeling capabilities.

AutoCAD LT 2009 is the true 2D drafting application that does not include any 3D or rendering, nor write any VBA, .net or LISP applications.

For some, the annual release cycle that began with AutoCAD 2004 may be a good thing. Autodesk felt it would bring value to subscription customers who wanted a release each year, and it cuts down on the amount of development Autodesk can do for each individual release. Others feel that the release cycle is too short, that they don’t need a new product each year. Most customers, however, adopt AutoCAD based on their own needs and project cycles, and their need for certain new features.

For the typical customer, their entire company is not running on 2008, so the release of 2009 means only that there is a release to look forward to. In many cases, they are still using 2006 as their main product in production. They may be working on some projects in 2008, older projects using 2004, and in addition, may be using Architectural Desktop or Revit, Map 3D and Civil 3D.

Specifics of AutoCAD 2009

AutoCAD users are primarily concerned with productivity, and in 2009 productivity enhancements focused on user interface changes. Autodesk also added value for subscription customers by adding Autodesk Impression as part of the AutoCAD package.

Top new features of AutoCAD 2009 include: a top level user interface and enhanced toolbar and menu system. “Some of the key options you need to make the software work the way you want it to are buried in optioned dialog boxes that are two or three layers deep,” said Miller. “Also because of the structure of toolbar menus, these commands tend to be grouped by function, not based on the way the customer actually uses the software. You have to hop around between edits and inserts and dimensioning commands.”

Miller said that AutoCAD can be user hostile. “It is more difficult for a new user to jump in and learn how to use it. With 2009 we’ve moved to this new task based design, new paradigm in user interfaces, to what Microsoft did with Microsoft Office - the idea of grouping things more by the way customers use them, rather than some command hierarchy that we created 10 or 15 years ago.” The new interface presents information to customers based on the task they’re doing. When you click on Block, for example, the block based commands show up on the top ribbon, when you click on Dimension, dimension based commands come up.

The new command line is much easier for new customers to use and experienced users will also find it familiar. Unlike Microsoft Office, it’s fully customizable and extensible, allowing users to set up their user interface the way they’re comfortable with.

Although users are usually not generally thrilled to hear about a new user interface, this new interface will likely appeal to new users as it has the look and feel of a Microsoft product. It is Autodesk’s hope that established users will find it more productive than the old interface once they get used to it.

Ribbon

The Dashboard and toolbars are somewhat merged into the Ribbon feature in this version of AutoCAD, in fact, the Dashboard has been replaced by this feature. The Quick Access toolbar is familiar to Office 2007 users. By default, this toolbar has only six tools on it but you can customize it easily for more tools.

The new ribbon interface presents command options in a concise visual format.
[ Click to Enlarge ]

Ribbon may seem as though it takes up a lot of space, but you can minimize the amount of space that the tools in the Ribbon take up to the space of one button. You can right click over the title bar, or click on a little icon to minimize down to panels. You can customize Ribbon like the Dashboard, anchor palettes, dock it in different areas, undock it and let it float.

Ribbon is completely customizable. You can send tools back to Ribbon. There are two nodes- Ribbon tabs and Ribbon panels (this replaces Dashboard panels). You can drag and drop into Ribbon tabs and place Ribbon panels into those Ribbon tabs, on a per workspace basis. The status bar has changed--it used to be just text but now it has icon options.

Layer Properties Manager

The Layer Properties Manager is one of the key ways users organize information inside AutoCAD.

Experienced AutoCAD users recall in previous versions you would make changes in the Properties Manager, then hit the apply button, then go look at your drawing and realize that wasn’t quite what you wanted. With the new Layer Properties Manager there is no apply button. Now with the new Layer dialog, if you changed the color of a layer, it would immediately show up in the drawing, or if you deleted or turned off a layer, it would immediately show up in the drawing.

Quick Properties

In the past versions of AutoCAD, the Properties menu took up a large portion of the screen when displayed. It also includes huge amounts of information, making it difficult to find and edit key properties. Autodesk has replaced that Properties menu with a Quick Properties menu that can be displayed by selecting the object to be edited. The default information displayed is the most common information needed for that entity. The menu can be easily customized by selecting the button in the upper-right corner of the menu.

Quick View

In past versions of AutoCAD users reviewed open drawings and layouts based on drawing and layout names. Often these names may not clearly identify the content of either the drawing or the layout. In 2009, the new Quick View capability enables users to look at open drawings and their associated layouts by using thumbnail images. The new Quick View Layout tool and Quick View Drawing tool allow you to see all the drawings open in AutoCAD so you can see the layouts within those drawings.

Associated layouts display as a small set of thumbnails right over the larger drawing file thumbnail. The drawing file thumbnails can be increased or decreased in size simply by using the mouse wheel.

ViewCube and SteeringWheels

The ViewCube allows intuitive navigation of 3D models.
[ Click to Enlarge ]

As aforementioned, 2009 includes some tools that have been developed for other Autodesk products to give the products a commonality. Developed for 3ds Max is ViewCube, which has also been used for six to nine months in Design Review.

Solid and surface models require many rapid changes in orientation as they are created and reviewed. The common AutoCAD software commands to perform this operation are the Orbit and Named View commands. Located in separate menus, these commands can be difficult to find.

ViewCube is basically a cube that floats in the upper right hand corner of your viewport and allows a much more intuitive way of moving around a model. By clicking on one side of the cube, it orients the model that way, by clicking on a corner it orients the model that way. Click on the home icon and it takes you back to your standard view. Click and hold can rotate the whole model.

SteeringWheels puts panning, zooming and walkthough tools at your fingertips.
[ Click to Enlarge ]

You can also control ViewCube’s location, transparency, size and viewpoint. If you want to set a certain view that you return to frequently such as an entrance to a building, you can right click and choose “set current view as home.” No matter where you are you can click on the little house icon and it takes you back to that home view.

The SteeringWheels tool is another part of the user interface that is consistent in other Autodesk products, and was developed originally for 3ds Max. If you right click with the settings option you can control features such as size, opacity and location with the SteeringWheels tool.

You can click on the walk tool to walk through a building. One really nice feature of SteeringWheels is that if your mouse or cursor slips you can rewind, click on it and it will take you through your various takes so you can see where you want to return to.

Menu Browser

The new menu browser allows browsing by thumbnail image.
[ Click to Enlarge ]

Currently in AutoCAD, the File Open and File Close commands have limited functionality, making it difficult to review what files are being opened before actually opening them. Working with multiple files can subsequently be a time-consuming process. The new Menu Browser interface in 2009 makes it possible for users to browse through files and view thumbnail images. Just placing the cursor over a file name offers detailed information on file creator and file size. Organization of files by name, data or title plus an ability to “pin” specific files so they don’t move off the list when additional files are opened are two of the key features of this new browser.

Action Recorder

The new action recorder saves time by automating repetitive tasks.
[ Click to Enlarge ]

Beyond the user interface changes, productivity drafting changes are high on the list of user requests. Users have requested a “macro recorder,” or rather, a way to quickly and simply create a standardized way of doing a repetitive task inside of AutoCAD. “We’ve had LISP and VBA or years, but essentially those are programming tools,” said Miller. Also those tools required that you create, maintain and port them.

The new Action Recorder is visually oriented inside AutoCAD itself. By pressing the record button, you can record actual actions you are taking inside AutoCAD.

Autodesk Impression

Autodesk Impression is a drawing tool that allows users to take a CAD drawing and give it a hand-sketched look. In particular, when architects and landscape designers are presenting design concepts to principals and planners, they want to show something that looks like they created a drawing from scratch. They start from CAD data, with layer and block information maintaining its intelligence, but they don’t want to give them all that information. The customer can give input, the designer can make changes in the CAD data and then present them with the hand drawn rendering.

Although AutoCAD has had photorealistic rendering tools inside the product for awhile, this is a time consuming process that requires you specify all materials, lighting, sun angle, etc. to get a nice image. When completed, the rendering looks like a photo, and doesn’t invite conversations with the client or other architects because it looks like it’s already complete.

By including Impression in the subscription package, Autodesk expands the market for Impression to introduce it to millions of customers worldwide.

AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD LT 2009 are now certified for Windows Vista. AutoCAD is current with the latest Microsoft and Intel AMD technology. With the 2009 release of both AutoCAD and LT, 64-bit operating system support has been introduced.

AutoCAD LT 2009

AutoCAD LT 2009 is a high level 2D drafting product that embodies much of the functionality of AutoCAD 2009. To describe it, probably it’s best to list what’s not in LT:

• New Ribbon and other user interface changes
• Autodesk Impression
• Action Recorder
• 3D tools such as ViewCube

Summary

For some users, AutoCAD has been the entry point to 3D. How has that transition from 2D to 3D gone since Autodesk introduced 3D capability inside AutoCAD?

“We definitely have early adopters who have enthusiastically embraced 3D inside AutoCAD,” said Miller. Much of the company’s data on this is gathered from communication center surveys through the product itself. Depending upon what country they are in, 10-20% people say they use 3D on a regular basis in these surveys.

Miller also reported success with AutoCAD customers transitioning to vertical 3D oriented products which has created a shift in the way they’re working with the products – they make a 3D model, then get the 2D drawings from it. Some use AutoCAD in conjunction with Design Review and are looking at Revit and BIM now. “AutoCAD has allowed them to take that next step inside AutoCAD, which is their familiar environment.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Miller noted, “We have customers back three or four releases that haven’t even looked at 3D capabilities. There are lots of customers who are still just doing 2D drawings inside AutoCAD.”

Because of the nature of AutoCAD and its ability to be many things to many people, that will likely always be the case.

Top News of the Week

Vela Systems, a developer of mobile field software for the AECO (architecture, engineering, contractor and owner) industry, and Tekla Corporation, a building information modeling (BIM) solutions provider for the building and construction industry, announced a joint software solution that brings dramatic new management capabilities to construction projects. The solution marries Vela's patent-pending field administration software with Tekla's construction management solutions. When enabled with field software and radio frequency identification (RFID), stakeholders in a construction project can manage critical-path building components and visualize the supply chain through a real-time, 4D simulation in which the fourth dimension is time. The joint Field BIM solution enables the AECO industry to feed into BIM the constantly changing status of the supply chain in the field.

Axium, a provider of accounting and project management software, announced the expansion of the PORTFOLIO software capabilities with a new Business Development (BD) component. BD is completely integrated with PORTFOLIO and provides a centralized, real-time database with access to the information needed to plan and manage potential new business. It allows easy tracking of opportunities through the various stages and provides visibility to a firm’s opportunity pipeline to forecast future revenues as well as project workloads and resource schedules.

Acquisitions/Agreements/Alliances

Deltek, Inc. , provider of enterprise applications software for project-focused organizations, announced that it has signed Aktion Associates as a new business partner to expand the company's already leading reach into the architectural and engineering sectors as well as the emerging professional services marketplace.

Matrox Graphics Inc., manufacturer of graphics solutions for professionals, and Boundless Technologies, a leading provider of thin clients, announced the availability of Matrox EpicA graphics cards and EpicA software with Boundless Technologies’ ADDS 6700 thin client. With this combined offering, users benefit from significant productivity gains associated with the effective use of more screen real estate.

Announcements

Autodesk, Inc. announced that ADEPT Airmotive (ADEPT), an innovative manufacturer of general aviation engines for the light aircraft market, has been named as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for March 2008. ADEPT relied upon Autodesk Inventor engineering design software to develop its revolutionary 320T -- a 320-horsepower general aviation engine with a compact design that offers low vibration levels and high structural integrity. The 280 lb. engine is lighter than a traditional piston engine of comparable horsepower, allowing the 320T to reap significant fuel efficiencies to the operator of the aircraft and is less impactful on the environment.

Sun Microsystems, Inc. will report its third quarter fiscal year 2008 financial results on Thursday, May 1, 2008. The company will host a conference call to review the results beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT. The general public can access the financial results and listen to the call via Sun's Investor Relations website at www.sun.com/investors.

With Earth Day just weeks away, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released a profile of the Ranch House at Del Sur, featuring it as the most highly rated "green" new construction building included in its "project profiles" of exemplary green buildings. The Ranch House is the welcome and information center for the "green" 1,800-acre Del Sur residential community in San Diego, Calif., developed by Black Mountain Ranch LLC. It is the second-highest rated building of its kind in the United States and one of fewer than 30 such buildings in the world.

Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced a strategic initiative to deliver Bridge Information Modeling (BrIM) technology for the entire bridge lifecycle. A new business unit, Bentley BrIM, will drive the initiative under the leadership of Bentley Senior Vice President Gabe Norona. Bentley BrIM will provide broad access to newly acquired advanced bridge products in Bentley's comprehensive software portfolio. In addition, it will integrate these and other related Bentley products to provide an interoperable, data-managed bridge solution for planning, design, engineering, analysis, fabrication, construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation. This end-to-end solution will enable the transportation industry to efficiently and effectively address the challenges of new and aging bridges and deliver sustainable, long-lasting infrastructure.

Awards

Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced that it has won a FIATECH Celebration of Engineering & Technology Innovation (CETI) Award in the Lifecycle Data Management & Information Integration category. The award was accepted on behalf of Bentley by Dr. Manoj Dharwadkar, Bentley director, technology management, and Rahul Patil, Bentley software engineer, during FIATECH's annual conference in New Orleans. It honors Bentley for its collaboration on FIATECH's "Accelerating the Deployment of the ISO 15926" (ADI) project, and recognizes Bentley's extensive work this past year on the ISO 15926 international standard for process plant information, including:

-- Development of Adaptive Information Models based on ISO 15926 Reference Data Library.

-- Development of ISO 15926 adapters for Bentley products.

-- Development of Bentley Class Editor for managing the Adaptive Information Models and data mappings and the implementation of ISO 15926 Part 7 WIP facade (Web Services) within it.

-- Collaboration with leading contractors on ISO 15926 implementation issues.

Gus Bergsma, vice president of global sales, Bentley Structural Engineering Group, has received the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Special Achievement Award. The award, which was presented at the 2008 NASCC: The Steel Conference, in Nashville, Tenn., honors individuals who have made a positive and substantial impact on the structural steel design and construction industry. Bergsma was recognized for his work promoting software in Bentley’s RAM Structural System that empowers structural engineers to analyze, design, and create structural drawings of the gravity load-resisting members in steel buildings.

Two VectorWorks users have won a 2007 Design Award from the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (FLASLA). Morris Architects received the Award of Excellence for their project, “Niterói Centro Masterplan 2026,” and Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin, Inc. took home the Award of Merit for “Florida Southern College: A Landscape Master Plan.” The two firms, both located in Orlando, won their awards in the Planning and Analysis category.

Nemetschek North America congratulates BKSK Architects LLP and Leroy Street Studio for winning an American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2008 Housing Award. The AIA recognizes outstanding projects in four categories: one- and two-family custom housing, multifamily housing, one- or two-family production housing, and special housing.

Meridian Systems, a software solutions leader for improving capital program and construction project performance, announced that it has been reviewed and approved as a provider of project management training by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). Meridian will also offer a course series at its User Conference that has been accepted as a PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) Program.

People

Bentley Systems, Incorporated has appointed Christopher Barron to the position of vice president, corporate marketing. In this capacity, Barron will be responsible for all of Bentley’s corporate marketing strategies and campaigns, along with its public relations initiatives, and will report to Chief Marketing Officer Ed Mueller. Barron has more than 25 years of experience as a marketing executive at some of the leading providers of design software for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) market, including Autodesk, Softdesk, Graphisoft, and Intergraph. He joins Bentley from Stone Face Group, a consultancy for marketing strategy, branding, communications, and Web site and graphic design, where he served as CEO.

Bentley Systems, Incorporated has appointed Harry Vitelli to the position of vice president, platform product management. In this capacity, Vitelli is responsible for developing and managing Bentley’s MicroStation and ProjectWise product strategies and programs. He reports to Shaun Sewall, vice president, platform products and technology. Vitelli brings to Bentley more than 25 years of experience growing software sales revenues as a technology industry executive for both publicly and privately held companies. Most recently, he served as vice president of alliances at Adobe Systems and earlier as senior director of product management for Adobe’s Acrobat, Adobe Reader, and PDF software lines. Other executive and management roles he has held include vice president of marketing at PrivateExpress, general manager for North America at Sony Corporation’s Psygnosis Division, and senior manager of product management for Apple QuickTime.

Financials

Oce Announces First Quarter 2008 Results

New Products

3Dconnexion, a Logitech company, announced that its 3D mouse product line will be supported by the Second Life Grid(R), the platform behind the popular online 3D virtual world created by Linden Lab(R). 3Dconnexion's 3D mice - including the award-winning SpaceNavigator(TM) - will be supported by Second Life beginning in mid-April, offering Second Life residents better control and coordination with 3D objects.

3Dconnexion announced the newest addition to its award-winning 3D mouse product line - the SpaceNavigator(TM) for Notebooks. Designed for on-the-go 3D professionals and enthusiasts, the SpaceNavigator for Notebooks enables a precise, rich 3D experience in a compact, mobile design that's only half the weight of its desktop counterpart - the SpaceNavigator.

AMD announced it is advancing application performance with stunning imagery through the introduction of the first commercially available 3D workstation graphics card with DisplayPort support. The ATI FireGL(TM) V7700 professional graphics accelerator provides superior rendering speed, 3D performance and color fidelity for Computer Aided Design (CAD), Digital Content Creation (DCC) and Medical Imaging professionals. ATI FireGL V7700 delivers the top-quality image quality needed to create photorealistic visualizations of real-world objects and environments --like the design concept for a new aircraft or a home remodel--by providing designers with The Ultimate Visual Experience(TM).

WennSoft, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has released Job Cost Portal, a new product that allows project managers access to project and job information in WennSoft Job Cost. The release continues an active year for WennSoft, which has seen the release of five new or updated products to meet the changing needs of customers.

With Job Cost Portal, project managers can access job and project details within Job Cost – including cost codes, forecast revisions, customer invoices, transaction details and change orders – without logging in to WennSoft Job Cost.

CADnection, developers of distributed file-sharing and AutoCAD integration technology, announced the availability of extended reference file management capabilities in its namesake product.

The CADnection product forms a seamless integration between Autodesk’s AutoCAD -- the most widely used engineering and architectural drafting program -- and Microsoft SharePoint -- a suite of server-based capabilities for data sharing, content management, and business process acceleration.

Explorers, adventurers, vacationers, and others will now be able to hold in their hands the landscapes that captivate them thanks to a new company, LandPrint.com, which is offering 3D physical models of any landscape on the planet. Consumers visit www.LandPrint.com, select their favorite place -- e.g., a mountain, canyon, forest, river, volcano, waterfall or glacier -- and submit their order. These models are "3D-printed" in full color by Z Corporation of Burlington, Mass., USA, and shipped directly to the customer's door.

COADE announced the release of CADWorx Design Review 2008, the first product developed specifically to provide faster and easier review of CADWorx and ancillary plant design models by designers, project managers, facility owners and other stakeholders involved in the review, modification and approval of the design prior to fabrication or construction.

TurboSoft, Inc. is proud to announce release of version 5.6 of its product TurboFTP, a powerful secure FTP client and FTP synchronization tool for Windows.

TurboFTP allows you to connect to a regular or secure FTP server and transfer files between them. TurboFTP is a secure FTP client in that it fully supports secure FTP over SSL/TLS and SFTP over SSH2. TurboFTP works seamlessly with an SSL/TLS based secure FTP server or an SSH2 server, offers industrial strength encryption including AES, thus protects your data over an insecure network.

Sepialine, provider of Cost Recovery software for design professionals -- announced that its Argos Cost Recovery System is compatible with AutoCAD 2009 design software.

Around the Web

Ganflec Architects and Engineers, Inc. Marks 30th Anniversary April 7, 2008, Central Penn Business Journal

Events

Charlotte VectorWorks User Group Meeting

Date:

April 15, 2008

Place:

2151 Hawkins Street, Suite 400
Shook Kelley, Charlotte, NC USA

3D modeling presentation from Stan Rostas.
Time: 6:30pm

hongchoe@shookkelley.com

Revit Structure Test Drive

Date:

April 18, 2008

Place:

Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel
1701 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA

Revit Structure can save you hours by linking your design and analysis programs. Avoid the lengthy process of coordinating information and re-modeling. Focus on your design, produce accurate and consistent documentation, and deliver on time, on budget with Revit Structure!

Use building information modeling to do higher value tasks and produce fully coordinated construction drawings. Take advantage of parametric change technology so a change in one view accurately updates in all other views. Experience how to use a single integrated model for multiple analyses and documentation. Come on out and try it for yourself. See firsthand how this powerful BIM design tool can simplify your current methods.

Time:

9:00am - 12:00pm

The 2008 International Conference on Biocontainment Facilities

Date:

April 21 - 22, 2008

Place:

JW Marriott Hotel
Washington, DC USA

Tradeline’s 7th annual International Conference on Biocontainment Facilities examines the new biocontainment operating details, project plans, design standards, construction details, and validation and commissioning processes for containment of highly infectious diseases and pathogens. Here you’ll get the details and lessons learned on biocontainment space conversions and upgrades, biocontainment with animals, biocontainment suites integrated into multi-function buildings, specialized lab types, operating protocols and SOPs, successful commissioning strategies, capital costs, and operating budgets.

Intro to VectorWorks & Architect Fundamentals

Date:

April 21 - 23, 2008

Place:

7150 Riverwood Dr
Columbia, MD 21046 USA

VectorWorks Architect offers all the tools and technology you need from an architectural design software application in one cost-effective, cross-platform program.For information call (877) 202-8871 or email 
training@nemetschek.net

Command Alkon Customer Conference 2008

Date:

April 22 - 24, 2008

Place:

The Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans, LA USA

Join Command Alkon as we travel to the great “Crescent City”. Our Conference will take place April 22-24, 2008 at the city’s premiere luxury hotel and meeting center, the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Command Alkon has negotiated a special $179/night rate for Customer Conference attendees. Fall in love with the French Quarter, take-in the excitement of the Warehouse/Arts District, or try your luck at Harrah’s Casino directly across the street from the hotel. Connected to the hotel you’ll find the Riverwalk Marketplace, featuring more than 140 shops and restaurants.

The 12th Annual Portland CANstruction Design Competition

Date:

April 22 - 27, 2008

Place:

Pioneer Place Mall
888 SW 5th Avenue, Downtown Portland, Portland, OR USA

The 12th Annual Portland CANstruction Design Competition combines the competitive spirit of design/build competition with a unique way to help feed hungry people. Competing teams, led by architects and engineers, showcase their talents by designing giant sculptures made entirely out of canned foods. At the close of the exhibitions all of the food used in the structures is donated to the Oregon Food Bank for distribution to pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, elderly and day care centers.

For more information, please contact Amy Kerr (503) 471-6833 amy.kerr@edelman.com
or visit www.canstruction.org

During mall hours of 9:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Minneapolis VectorWorks User Group Meeting

Date:

April 23, 2008

Place:

4441 Claremore Drive
Radloff Architects Office, Edina, MN USA

Focus on the use of RenderWorks 2008. Please bring any sample projects you have that might be if interest to the other members.
Time: 7-9pm

Phone: 952-941-1667

NYC VectorWorks User Group Meeting

Date:

April 24, 2008

Place:

48 W 21st Street, Ste.1002 (between 5th / 6th Ave.)
Robin Reigi Inc., New York, NY USA

Round table discussion - Bring your best practice ideas and most vexing problems to this meeting.
Time: 6:30-8pm
Phone: 646.382.9963

Email: vwnyug@ifarchitect.com>
Web: www.robin-reigi.com

Using Revit in the Residential World to Facilitate Sustainable Design

Date:

April 25, 2008

Place:

1701 Locust St
Radisson Plaza - Warwick Hotel, Philadelphia, PA USA

Join Synergis and David Cohen, Architect and Owner of DEC Architect LLC, for a walk through of a real world example using Revit in the residential world. See how the software facilitates sustainable design, as well as the fabrication and visualization process.

Time: 5:00 – 7:00pm

Meridian Systems 2008 User Conference

Date:

April 29 - May 1, 2008

Place:

Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
Scottsdale, AZ USA

The 11th Meridian Systems User Conference will take place April 29 - May 1, 2008 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. Meridian conducts this annual customer gathering to facilitate increased product satisfaction and knowledge sharing across its entire customer base.

2008 International CAD Consortium Conference

Date:

May 4 - 8, 2008

Place:

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The main goal of this organization is to allow its members to share their knowledge and expertise with their peers. Created more than 20 years ago, the ICC will host its 2008 annual conference in Montréal May 4th to May 8th.

Research Facilities 2008

Date:

May 5 - 6, 2008

Place:

Boston, USA

Operationally efficient. Integrated. Flexible. Highly productive. New research facility planning models (new construction and retrofits) are using improved interior plans and robust, flexible system infrastructures to achieve more research program per capital dollar, longer-lived buildings, and lower capital and operating costs. At Tradeline’s 28th annual Research Facilities conference you’ll see the latest examples of up-front thinking, design details, construction cost escalation solutions, energy reduction strategies, and operating criteria for fast-changing interdisciplinary research programs, future research requirements, and cost-effective building operations.

You can find the full AECCafe event calendar here.

To read more news, click here.

-- Susan Smith, AECCafe.com Managing Editor.

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