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Announcing VectorWorks 12!
Nemetschek North America has enjoyed tremendous success in recent years. In fact, since Nemetschek AG acquired Diehl Graphsoft, we've doubled sales of VectorWorks around the world. This has allowed us to make substantial investments in growth, especially since the fall of 2004.
VectorWorks 12 is the culmination of this investment. As you explore the list of improvements, long-time customers will realize that this release is the most substantial upgrade of VectorWorks ever. We've listened carefully to your requests and improved the product; and we've combined this with our mission to make VectorWorks both easier to learn and use.
You'll also notice some new product names in our line-up. To avoid confusion about which products best suit prospective users' needs, we have renamed several products so that they more accurately
reflect the design disciplines they serve. VectorWorks is now called VectorWorks Fundamentals and continues to form the foundation of our product line as a well-rounded, general-purpose CAD system that continues to lead the pack of general-purpose programs with rich "fundamental" technology. VectorWorks Mechanical has been renamed VectorWorks Machine Design to better describe the type of tools it supplies. We found the term "mechanical" meant many different things depending upon the user's background, leading to misunderstanding about what it does well. Finally, the Industry Collection will now be called VectorWorks Designer and continue to form the peak of our product line. Growing steadily in popularity, it will continue to offer the entire suite of VectorWorks technology to those users who need a wide variety of industry tools.
I'm excited to offer the VectorWorks 12 product line to you and assure you we're moving forward to ensure that your investment in VectorWorks remains the smartest one in the industry. |
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Sincerely,
Sean Flaherty
CEO, Nemetschek North America
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5+1 architetti associati
Genoa, Italy
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Innovative Italian firm 5+1 architetti associati uses VectorWorks Architect to create the award-winning design for the "New Palazzo del Cinema and Surrounding Areas," which will serve as the headquarters for the world-famous Venice Biennale's International Film Festival. |
Innovative. Ingenious. And indebted to VectorWorks Architect. That's what describes 5+1 architetti associati, of Genoa, Italy, and their award-winning entry for The Venice Biennale's international competition to design "New Palazzo del Cinema and Surrounding Areas." The new building's primary function will be to house the headquarters for the Venice International Film Festival. However, it will also serve the community of Venice and the Lido, as well as provide a model on which to base the refurbishment of the surrounding area.
The requirements
"This competition had to fulfill a dual purpose," says Femia. "On one hand, there was the need for international visibility and expressivity. On the other hand, we had to respect the extraordinary richness and delicate ecosystem of the Venice-Lido system. Because VectorWorks Architect is so flexible, it enabled us to successfully satisfy all the project's requirements."
The structure had to meet the local administration's strict requirements, which included incorporating the surrounding areas, accommodating other public use, permitting pedestrian and vehicle traffic access along the adjacent seafront and preserving existing trees.
The solution
According to Alfonso Femia, lead architect on the project and one of the five principals of 5+1, the solution he conceived would not have been possible without VectorWorks Architect.
"Thanks to the flexible NURBS surface and solids modeling tools in VectorWorks Architect, we had complete control over the fluid shape we were trying to create, and we achieved exactly the results we needed," says Femia.
The design was an exercise in evolution. A mostly subterranean structure that's firmly grounded in magical realism, according to Femia, the 90-meter-long longitudinal hall is covered in a mixture of resin and natural materials to convey a metaphysical aspect to the structure.
"The hall design process took a long time and went through many metamorphoses, so we relied heavily on the 3D modeling capabilities VectorWorks Architect offers to depict each version we conceived," explains Femia. "Using VectorWorks, we were able to create a 2400-seat hall that was both an accurate and aesthetically pleasing answer to the functional requirements of the competition."
One wall is comprised of an intricate filigree of glass panels representing a dragonfly's wing and overlooking the gardens outside. While this wall with irregular glass panels presented a particular challenge to the 5+1 team, "again, VectorWorks Architect solids modeling tools helped us create the shapes we envisioned."
The winning presentation
When it came time to prepare drawings to present to the Venice Biennale, viewports came in handy.
"The presentation of the project is just as important as the project itself," says Femia. "With viewports, laying out all our drawings is a lot simpler. We can assemble all final sheets in VectorWorks, which saves us an enormous amount of time."
"We decided to present our competition drawings on a black background, and we knew that it could only be possible with VectorWorks Architect to have such precise control of line thickness for clarity and readability," adds Femia. "Viewports allowed us to pages images, drawings and text in different scales, giving us total control over line thicknesses and colors."
Femia thanks VectorWorks for this latest accolade to add to their achievements.
"We have always used VectorWorks Architect, and we can surely say VectorWorks Architect is a complete software program for our needs and most certainly for architecture," he says. "In winning this international design competition, VectorWorks Architect has helped us attain our highest professional and personal goals."
The Venice Biennale
Founded in 1893 as a national biennial art exhibition, The Venice Biennale is the oldest and most prestigious cultural institution in the world. Today, The Venice Biennale is an interdisciplinary foundation dealing with architecture, the visual arts, cinema, dance, music and theater. Each year, it produces major international events for each of these disciplines, namely the Venice International Film Festival.
The increasing size of these events, both in participants and attendees, has required increasingly larger venues to accommodate them. Future success of the Venice International Film Festival, as well as the economy of the Lido—the island adjacent to Venice where the current festival structures exist, depends on having adequate space and structures to accommodate growing crowds.
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What is radiosity? |
Radiosity—a visualization enhancement brand new to RenderWorks 12—is a way for a computer to simulate the indirect lighting that occurs when lit surfaces transfer their energy to other surfaces. To calculate the lighting, all surfaces in a model are converted into triangles, and the brightest triangles are visited in turn. Light from each triangle is re-emitted to its neighbors, until some amount of energy has been accounted for, and then the radiosity solution is considered to be finished.
When should I use radiosity render modes?
The radiosity render modes can be used when:
- The usual direct lighting and ambient light does not capture the lighting subtlety, contrasts or color tones satisfactorily
- There is a large contrast between the darkest and brightest parts of the model, or there are large color contrasts among the lit areas in the model
- You are rendering interiors, where the light energy would eventually be dispersed to many surfaces
- You are rendering exteriors and you want to see "washes" of light from overhangs, patios, sidewalks, etc.
For more information about radiosity, please visit here. |
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How can I use a .3ds file with VectorWorks? |
VectorWorks 12 Design Series introduces a new compatibility with .3ds files. These files are primarily used in conjunction with AutoDesk and Entertainment's .3ds Max application and contain 3D objects, including textures, lights and camera objects. Additional symbol libraries can now be imported into VectorWorks 12, including pool tables, swimming pools, furniture, lighting fixtures and many more!
To import .3ds files, simply go to File>Import>Import 3DS (3D only). Select the file to import. Specify the file import options and click OK when done. The object is imported as a group of 3D objects. Information about the object can be found in the Object Info Palette.
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Nemetschek North America Releases the VectorWorks 12 Product Line
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Nemetschek North America announced today the release of its VectorWorks product line, complete with a variety of new features and substantial product improvements allowing users to work faster and smarter than ever before. The company is pleased to reveal its newest offerings: VectorWorks Fundamentals, VectorWorks Architect, VectorWorks Landmark, VectorWorks Spotlight, VectorWorks Machine Design, VectorWorks Designer, and RenderWorks.
"We have made some changes to our product line this cycle to better address the needs of our users and to better position them in the marketplace," says Sean Flaherty, CEO, Nemetschek North America. "Our general-purpose CAD program has been renamed VectorWorks Fundamentals to focus on the requirements of designers looking to do basic drafting and modeling. We are introducing VectorWorks Designer, a culmination of all the products in the VectorWorks product line. VectorWorks Designer is for designers that want to be able to do it all and who need advanced production, presentation, and collaboration. Finally, we changed the name of VectorWorks Mechanical to VectorWorks Machine Design in order to more accurately define its target market."
For a complete list of new and improved features, and for pricing and availability please, visit www.nemetschek.net |
New Seminars Added to Professional Learning Series Line-up
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VectorWorks Professional Learning Series (PLS) seminars give you the hands-on instruction you need to sharpen your skills and enhance your knowledge. To serve you better, new topics and more classes in key locations are now available.
The newest classes in the PLS line-up are a VectorWorks Landmark 12 class, for landscape architects, landscape designers and land planners, and 3D Modeling and Rendering to help you make the most of the powerful new 3D modeling and presentation capabilities version 12 offers.
In addition, more classes in key locations have been added to meet growing demand for VectorWorks classroom training across the US.
For more information about these new classes and locations, visit the Classroom Training page of Nemetschek North America's website.
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Revamped Training CDs offer Project-based Instruction
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Completely new for version 12, the VectorWorks multimedia training CDs have been formulated with your workflows in mind. By leading you through real-world projects, each dynamic CD contains exactly the information you need to ramp up quickly and maintain your momentum—whether you're new to VectorWorks or have been using it for years. You'll learn best practices and tips and tricks all within the context of projects that relate to your industry. Each training CD takes you through a project step-by-step—from residential and commercial architectural plans to landscape plans and light plots and more.
Titles in the series include: VectorWorks Core Concepts, VectorWorks Essentials, VectorWorks Architect parts I and II, VectorWorks Landmark parts I and II, VectorWorks Spotlight, RenderWorks and the VectorWorks Upgrade Companion.
For more information, visit the Training CDs page of Nemetschek North America's website.
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Upgrade Companion to Ship with VectorWorks 12 |
The brand-new Upgrade Companion was designed as a comprehensive CD to help upgrade users get up and running quickly on version 12. It includes information on how to migrate existing workspaces forward, as well as information on what 10 users have missed in version 11.
The CD contains a searchable PDF of all the printed manuals, as well as a new Upgrade Companion manual. The Upgrade Companion manual is formatted as a PDF, so it can be printed, but it is designed to be run alongside VectorWorks, so you can easily work between the two.
The Upgrade Companion provides:
- an exhaustive table of contents that lists all new features and links to their descriptions
- descriptions of all new capabilities and their benefits
- explanations on how to access new tools and commands and how they work
- tips and considerations to keep in mind when using the feature
- links from the feature descriptions to VectorWorks 12’s online help
- narrated movie files that demonstrate how to integrate the new feature into your existing workflow
The Upgrade Companion will be shipped FREE with all VectorWorks 12 upgrades. |
VectorWorks User Wins Venice Biennale's International Design Competition for the New Palazzo del Cinema and Surrounding Areas |
Nemetschek North America announced that VectorWorks users 5+1 architetti associati, of Genoa, Italy, won The Venice Biennale's international design competition for the construction of the New Palazzo del Cinema and surrounding areas. The new building will serve as the headquarters of the Venice International Film Festival, for which it will host all main functions. The building and surrounding areas will also provide a location for gatherings and other cultural events.
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DATES |
EVENT |
LOCATION |
Oct 13 - Oct 15 |
The Remodeling Show
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Baltimore, MD
(Booth #2552) |
Oct 21 |
Tech Expo
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Baltimore, MD
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Oct 25 |
TiPC: BIM and Integrated Practice: Milestones and Initiatives
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Baltimore, MD
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Nov 03 - Nov 05 |
GIE
Green Industry Expo |
Orlando, FL
(Booth #1238) |
Nov 11 - Nov 13 |
ETS/LDI Conference & Expo |
Orlando, FL (Booth #1069) |
Nov 15 - Nov 17 |
21st Annual Build Boston |
Boston, MA
(Booth #250) |
Nov 15 - Nov 17 |
AIA Minnesota |
Minneapolis, MN (Booth #213) |
Dec 01 - Dec 02 |
JLC Live Pacific Northwest |
Portland, OR (Booth #933) |
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TRAINING DATES |
LOCATION |
CLASS |
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Nov 30 - Dec 2 |
Columbia, MD |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• Landmark Fundamentals |
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Dec 5 - 7 |
New York, NY |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• VectorWorks Fundamentals |
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Dec 7 - 9 |
Los Angeles, CA |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• VectorWorks Fundamentals |
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AIA Accreditation
NNA is pleased to offer AIA Continuing Education credit for our
seminars. The VectorWorks and VectorWorks ARCHITECT classes are AIA CES certified, so attendees can earn up to 32 CES learning units. For additional information, contact training@nemetschek.net.
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