By Martyn Horne, Director of Product Marketing, Vectorworks

Martyn Horne

At Vectorworks, innovation isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a commitment woven into our company culture. With the recent release of Vectorworks 2024 Update 4, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in design software yet again. This update isn’t just about incremental improvements; it’s about introducing groundbreaking features and integrations that will redefine how designers work.

AI Visualizer: Unleashing Creativity with AI

At the heart of Update 4 lies the AI Visualizer, a game-changing tool that seamlessly integrates AI into the Vectorworks ecosystem. Powered by Stable Diffusion, this feature empowers designers to harness the limitless potential of AI directly within the Vectorworks interface, but powered through Vectorworks Cloud Services. Imagine generating illustrative concepts and refined images from simple text prompts — that’s the power of the AI Visualizer. By revolutionizing the ideation process, this tool enables designers to delve deeper into their concepts, win more projects, and deliver unparalleled creativity.

Vectorworks’ AI Visualizer allows you to ideate illustrative concepts at any design stage. Image courtesy of Vectorworks, Inc.

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By Product Marketing Manager – Architecture Luc Lefebvre, OAQ, LEED, AP

Vectorworks has always been a strong supporter of the world’s next designers. So much so, we recently held our seventh Vectorworks Design Scholarship competition where undergraduate and graduate students in major disciplines related to architecture, landscape architecture, landscape design, entertainment, and interior design were able to submit a new design or past project from any of their classes for the chance to win up to $10,000 USD.

With over 1,000 submissions, this year’s winners came from all corners of the globe, such as Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

We brought in the best of the best and had an expert panel of international judges evaluate all submissions who looked at design, technology, originality, presentation, and writing.

Congratulations to this year’s winners in the architecture and interior design industries:

Architecture Winners:

• “Bunny” by Kenneth Anggara and Marco Kuo, University of British Columbia
• “Cohabitation Berlin” by Lena Polte and Celina Rodewald, Leibniz University Hannover
• “Loch on Wood” by Dylan Baliski, University of Dundee
• “Over the Coal Ruins” by Nicolas Moraga, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• “Reground” by Elischa Bischof, ETH Zurich
• “Sailing in the Valley” by Yuta Saito, Tokyo University of the Arts

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Carter Hartong

BY: Carter Hartong

Data visualization in Vectorworks is a game changer for your BIM workflows, and while this tactic may initially seem intimidating, getting started is easier than you think. You, too, can learn how to implement it and transform how you approach design decisions in your BIM process.

WHAT’S DATA VISUALIZATION?

Data visualization turns data into knowledge, helping you make more informed decisions faster. It puts the data embedded in your objects into a visual, graphical context, applying it directly through your models and drawings. Just as your models help you conceptualize your project’s layout and design, data visualization lets you picture your “non-design” elements. This is just one of the capabilities in Vectorworks that add up to the data difference, and it’s a key factor in supercharging your workflow.

Image: courtesy of Vectorworks, Inc.

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In the world of design, time is of the essence. Every second counts to create stunning and innovative projects that leave a lasting impression. Because of this, designers need efficient, well-equipped tools to help them bring their visions to life faster than ever before. At Vectorworks, we understand this concept and have molded this necessity into our latest software release. Vectorworks 2024 takes an integrated approach to align with your natural design process. New features and enhancements were carefully structured to increase your productivity and empower you with comprehensive solutions for faster workflows from start to finish.

So, what can you expect? Vectorworks 2024 has feature-focused improvements for everyone. Designers will experience an updated and modernized user interface, so now designing and working in the software is more efficient and easier to customize to your liking. Specifically, the reorganized View and Mode bars make accessing a wide range of tools and shortcuts easy. The ability to customize these bars means you can organize your workspace to suit your needs so you can save more time and simplify your design process.

The updated and modernized user interface makes working in Vectorworks 2024.
Image courtesy of Vectorworks, Inc.

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Luc Lefebvre

By Product Marketing Manager Luc Lefebvre, OAQ, LEED, AP

The world we live in today is much different from even just a few years ago. From the evolving impacts of climate change to a global pandemic, everyone, including us in the AEC industry, must pivot, adapt and advance to meet and overcome the challenges our industry faces. It’s no longer an option to sit back and continue in the same way we have before. Our practices, workflows, and designs must place high importance on our planet and its inhabitants to ensure a successful future. Architects must stay ahead of technological advances to aid and overcome these rapidly evolving challenges. Design for our future must be a top priority.

Combating Climate Change & Designing for the Future of our Planet

The concepts of “sustainable design and construction” or “green building” are no longer novel. Still, since the beginning of the century, the AEC industry has had an increased and amplified awareness of our impact on the environment, and it has changed the landscape of our profession. The reality of the climate crisis forces architects to implement sustainable design practices and has become an essential piece of building construction.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and other advocacy groups have led the charge in changing policies and procedures and implementing set standards to combat the negative environmental impacts of building and construction and set us all up for future success. Resources and frameworks like the LEED, BREEAM, Greenstar, and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Framework for Design Excellence have sparked a powerful movement, leading the industry to adapt and develop design and construction methods that have now become industry standards.

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Alex Altieri

Building information modeling (BIM) has become commonplace in the AEC industry due to its many advantages over traditional CAD. BIM is all about data and turning modeled geometry into what many describe as a “single source of truth.”

If you’re thinking about or are in the process of implementing BIM, there are a few key points that are important to consider: understanding the incentives, establishing goals and vision, having a plan of action, and evaluating and measuring progress. Each of these points help address common challenges associated with implementing BIM, including lack of time, commitment, or resources.

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Alex Altieri

Alex Altieri is a content marketing writer for Vectorworks, Inc. He has degrees in digital/print journalism and philosophy from the Pennsylvania State University, and although he’s not a designer by trade, Alex remains inspired by the ways Vectorworks software helps incite creativity.

Vectorworks 2022 Service Pack 3 is here bringing exciting functionality to our latest version and improvements to Vectorworks Cloud Services for all design customers. The core updates focus on re-engineering the web viewing of a 3D model and Nomad app, new storage integrations with the Vectorworks Cloud, updates to Datasmith file exchange for a direct link to Twinmotion, and support for .gITF within the MVR export from Vectorworks Spotlight.

Image courtesy of Vectorworks, Inc.

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