Vectorworks 2019 Packs a Punch with Increased Design Efficiency

Last week Vectorworks released the 2019 versions of Vectorworks Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals and Designer, as well as Braceworks^TM and Vision. Significant improvements have been made in increased design efficiency through overall performance and quality, plus innovations to greatly improve the 3D and BIM modeling, 2D documentation and presentation workflows for architectural, landscape, interior design and entertainment designers.

Vectorworks 2019 Architect

In an interview with Vectorworks CEO Biplab Sarkar, he talked about the importance of the new release, including 3D site model sculpting; the unique ability to have BIM objects display with varying levels of detail in plan, elevation and section drawings; enhanced openBIM interoperability; and a new partnership integration with AutoTURN online for analyzing vehicle swept paths.

“We improved and streamlined the creation of drawings from the models,” said Sarkar. “The primary reason BIM models are used is for people to drive presentation drawings from the models. When you have an object, a kitchen sink or an appliance and you want to present in different views: side, front and back view, for example, you really need a simplified presentation depending upon the scale of the drawing. So, what we introduced is 2D from 3D components for hybrid objects. If you look at the object from the top plan, it will give you a simplified top plan view and if you look at it from any other view it will show a 3D presentation of the object.”

Vectorworks Landmark 2019

The 2019 version extends the view from the top plan to other views. You can have a left view, front view, bottom view, and all these views can be stored in the object. You can choose low, high or medium view selection and specify so details can be changed depending on the view. You simplify the view depending on the scale. For very small scale and everything close together, you don’t want to show all the details of the object, and for a large scale you want to display all the details of a complicated object.

The different views for different details as well as different directions of views can be extended to section views also. With a kitchen sink and a section line going to that sink, you don’t want to show all the details of the sink in the section cut view. You also want to specify the simplified version of the view of the object for the cut. This helps the designer to show different details of the different views. It also helps you modify according to your own needs.

In the same vein, what Vectorworks has done in the section side is extended by how sections can show objects beyond the section line. “Sometimes we want to see things before the section line and we’ve added an ability to do that,” said Sarkar. “For example, from the model you’re creating a horizontal section, almost making a top plan view but you want to show some of the things in the ceiling projected in the section view. Also, you want to show them in a dash line or color, so you can specify they’re not actually there in the objects that have been cut. Yet they’re actually coming from the objects that are before the section line, and that’s why they’re appearing in different attributes. This is important because depending on the section drawings, the manufacturers and HVAC guys should know where the different features of the ceilings are, such as ducts and pipes.”

The new Data Tag Tool annotates every object that you can imagine in Vectorworks in a consistent way. It gives you consistency in annotation and has multiple objectivity. It allows you to tag all the windows or doors of an evaluation view, for example, and you can do it in one shot. You don’t have to click on every object. You can also specify the object to the walls that are not aligned to the views, so there are some walls that may be somewhat slanted, with respect to the view but the tags will put them in proper places.

Vectorworks Spotlight 2019

Sarkar said the new 2019 version makes use of the “I” in BIM, extracting the information from the objects and actually specifying them on the screen for the users to make use of the data inside the object.

In 2019, you can actually make changes directly to the images in Vectorworks. “You don’t have to go to Photoshop or Illustrator to edit the images,” said Sarkar. “After you have updated the viewport, and you want to change slightly the saturation or maybe the one color to cool color, using the temperature of the image, you can change all of those factors with the image editing tools inside the tools. It doesn’t change actual image, it just stores the effects as additional steps, so you can see effects on the images. It can be applied to the images, viewports, resources, all the objects that contain the images. Those are improved workflows. Vectorworks has always tried to provide everything in one toolbox and this is another effort to do that.”

In addition, a new partnership integration with Transoft Solutions Inc., a leader in transportation engineering design and analysis software, includes their AutoTURN technology for analyzing vehicle swept paths within the recently released Vectorworks 2019. The integration of AutoTURN Online within Vectorworks translates to faster and simpler workflows for architects and designers who need to change hardscape orientation and location around buildings. Users can assess vehicle maneuvers within parking lots, garages, loading bays, driveways and other projects.

Clip cube is a new feature that users can turn on and a cube appears around the model.  You can select the faces of the cube and actually see the section appear around the model and explore different portions of the internal model. Rendered views can be done with clip cube, and it is also in Vectorworks and Renderworks.

A lot of improvement has been made to architectural objects such as cabinets, and manufactured data is now available in catalog styles. Space objects can go up to the ceiling, the ceiling can be slanted, and thus volumes can be calculated properly. There is also a feature for space styles so that you can more efficiently create and manage your space for information usage type and color.

“Also, outside the building in prior versions when you have a site model, you could change the site model by editing contouring lines, but now you can actually create push and pull mesh vertices and modify a site model accordingly,” said Sarkar. “This is similar to what SketchUp and Rhino provide so the site model sculpting can select a bunch of vertices and raise them up or down. It also changes the intelligent site model object and creates the elevations of the site model beyond just the visualization.”

Files now open four to five times faster in Vectorworks 2019. Sheet layer navigation and drawing capabilities have been improved with improvements in the Vectorworks Graphics Module that takes advantage of all CPU cores with increased usage of GPU. View changes have also been improved to change from a multiple view to a single view.

A new My Virtual Rig (MVR) import and export file format, as well as enhancements to 3D modeling with Spotlight tools and commands are now part of Spotlight. There is now support for bridle analysis for Braceworks users. Vision users will find an improved user interface and up to 7x faster performance of the previz application.

New point cloud technology provides colors in different portions of the point cloud and photo-to-mesh capability. Augmented reality based on Apple ARP technology has also been introduced, where a Vectorworks model can be augmented with other objects.

Tags: 3D, AEC, architects, architecture, building, building design, building information modeling, CAD, collaboration, construction, design, engineering, generative design, Open BIM, point clouds, reality capture, Vectorworks, visualization

Categories: AEC, AECCafe, Apple, architecture, BIM, building information modeling, Cloud, collaboration, construction, landscaping, point clouds, reality capture, rendering, site planning, sustainable design, visualization

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 19th, 2018 at 9:45 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.