For VectorWorks customers involved in the building design and construction markets, Building Information Modeling (BIM) continues to be a major topic of discussion. As people consider how to adopt this workflow in their practice, our support teams have received requests for help in how to best structure drawings for a BIM workflow. To most effectively address these needs, a best-practices team was formed at Nemetschek North America last year. This group has two main goals: to generate information about how to most effectively and efficiently use VectorWorks Architect in a BIM environment, and to communicate with R&D about how to improve our features to best match the needs of these types of users.
This week we're launching our "BIM in Practice" section on our website. This section will be the collection point for our recommendations. We've moved the information from the old BIM page on our website and published the second of our best-practice example files. Jeff Ouellette, whom you may have seen active on our discussion forums over the past year, developed this example to show how to structure a file for a multi-person design team on a 1,000,000 square feet mixed-use development. The accompanying white paper describes the strategy to break down the project into multiple files for a design team and to re-use design components. It shows a fairly standard U.S. building type, but the structure of the document can be applied to many different types of projects.
For those of you who are interested in using a BIM workflow in your practice, we'd love to hear your feedback on our approach. Jeff will respond to comments and suggestions on our VectorWorks Architect tech forum. We're also looking for ideas for our next project. Feel free to let us know the direction that would be most useful for you.
Sincerely,
Sean Flaherty
CEO, Nemetschek North America
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Nemetschek North America Updates VectorWorks 2008 Product Line: Nemetschek North America today announced the release of its Service Pack 2 for the VectorWorks 2008 line of software, which includes VectorWorks Designer, VectorWorks Architect, VectorWorks Landmark, VectorWorks Spotlight, VectorWorks Machine Design, VectorWorks Fundamentals, and RenderWorks. READ MORE
Localized Version of VectorWorks 2008 Now Available in Norway: Nemetschek North America has announced that its international distribution partner in Norway, Dankantus AS, has released its localized version of the newest VectorWorks 2008 family of design software. Dakantus AS has tailored VectorWorks 2008 products to meet the specific needs of the Norwegian marketplace. READ MORE
VectorWorks User Group Formed in Charlotte, NC: Nemetschek North America announces the formation of a VectorWorks User Group in Charlotte, North Carolina. The User Group consists of designers who use VectorWorks Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Machine Design, Fundamentals, and RenderWorks—a family of cross-platform, comprehensive CAD/BIM programs for large and small design firms. READ MORE
New Team Members: In keeping with our goal to bring the brightest and the best people into NNA to engineer new software, provide top-notch tech support, and get our products out to our users, we are proud to announce these recent additions to our staff:
- Phillip Fletcher, Software Engineer
- Vladislav Stanev, Content Developer, Integrated Products
- Jim Kelly, Tools and Installer Engineer
In our Engineering Department:
- Annique Barber, Sales Support
- Wes Gardner, Architectural Industry Specialist
- Eric Gilbey, Landscape Architect Specialist
- Emily Lawler, Sales Support
In Sales & Marketing:
- Glen Bach, Senior Technical Writer
In Technical Publications:
Kubala Washatko Architects Featured in Architecture Week: “The Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee simply radiates with a special kind of wholistic beauty. It's a charming, efficient, respectful, and delightful structure, and more. It's a community building whose building has helped build a community.” Read more about this four-story metal-sided timber-frame building designed by Wisconsin VectorWorks firm The Kubala Washatko Architects in “Milwaukee’s Urban Ecology Center” in Architecture Week.
Printing: Move Page Tool: One of the most common printing questions in Tech Support is "When I print from VectorWorks why am I printing out a blank sheet of paper?" In most cases, the problem is caused by the page boundary being in the wrong position. WATCH
Window and Door Render Settings: This tech tip shows a correct method for applying textures to different parts of windows and doors. Please note that textures are only available with the RenderWorks module. WATCH
Trade Shows
Dec 30: FORUM - AIAS Annual Convention, Milwaukee, WI
Jan 9-11: MANTS (Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show), Baltimore, MD
Jan 16: Sacramento Landscape & Nursery Expo, Sacramento, CA
Feb 6-8: New England Grows, Boston, MA (Booth #3014)
Feb 21-23: LAbash 2008, Guelph, ON
Mar 20-22: USITT, Houston, TX (Booth #880)
Mar 28-29: JLC Live New England, Providence, RI
All Trade Shows
Training
Jan 9-11: Intro to VectorWorks and Landmark Fundamentals, Columbia, MD
Jan 14-16: Intro to VectorWorks and Architect Fundamentals, San Francisco, CA
Jan 16-18: Intro to VectorWorks and Landmark Fundamentals, Chicago, IL
Jan 16-18: Intro to VectorWorks and Spotlight Fundamentals, New York, NY
Jan 28-30: Intro to VectorWorks and VectorWorks Fundamentals, Columbia, MD
Jan 30-Feb 1: Intro to VectorWorks and Landmark Fundamentals, New York, NY
Feb 4-6: Intro to VectorWorks and Architect Fundamentals, Los Angeles, CA
Feb 6-8: Intro to VectorWorks and VectorWorks Fundamentals, Boston, MA
Feb 11-13: Intro to VectorWorks and Landmark Fundamentals, Columbia, MD
Feb 14-15: 3D Modeling and Rendering, New York, NY
Feb 18-20: Intro to VectorWorks and Landmark Fundamentals, San Francisco, CA
Feb 20-22: Intro to VectorWorks and VectorWorks Fundamentals, Orlando, FL
Feb 25-26: 3D Modeling and Rendering, San Francisco, CA
All Training
Poblocki Sign Company: When Poblocki Sign Company was given the job of
creating the signage for the new Trump International
Tower in Chicago, they knew it would be a challenging
job. When completed in 2009, the post-modern skyscraper
condo-hotel will soar 90 stories on Chicago's Gold Coast
and will be the second tallest building in Chicago. With over 6,000 signs to
plan, create, and place in
this high-profile skyscraper,
VectorWorks Architect turned
out to be the tool to meet
the challenge. VectorWorks
"Trumps"
Tower Signage
Challenge."
VideoScreen 2.3 is a plug-in that allows VectorWorks users to insert video devices, like projection screens, plasma televisions, CRT monitors, and LED arrays in their drawings. VideoScreen 2.3 works with VectorWorks versions 12 or newer - INCLUDING 2008. VideoScreen 2.13 will run in VectorWorks versions 11.5 or newer. Either will run on both Windows and Mac computers. For more information, visit www.nemetschek.net/community/addons/plugins/videoscreen.php
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