fi3er

well,
I draw all plans by hand and I model in VIZ.
And yes I know that its becoming oldfashioned.
so, my question is, what soft should I choose for drawing plans?
I ve tried Autocad, but I dont like it, cuz its just 2D.
What should I choose if I like VIZ workin philosophy ?
ArchitecturalDesktop?
Archicad?
Allplan?
Revit?
...?

thanx for recoms
fi3er

Saturn

Hi Daniel. The most widely used 2D software for drawing plans in AutoCAD. Plans, as you know, are 2D. What do you mean by you "like VIZ working philosophy"? You can import a 2D cad file to Viz. You can model 3D in Cad if you wish. Cad is a powerful tool.

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Jason Matthews

haneet khanna

i think nothing is more accurate and fast than AUTO CAD in the field of architecture...(only for 2d plans)

graphix

fi3er,

AutoCad 2002 or later is a very powerful tool in both 2D AND 3D. There is a VERY large group of people on these forums that model in Autocad and only import to viz to light, material, and render.


graphix

fi3er

thnx,
well, I would like to use parametrical object such a windows, stairs etc.
I d like to work on the building in 3D so that when I change somethin in plan it changes in 3D and vice versa. I would love to have then sections and plans generated, import to VIZ for texturing,mapping,rendering...

Psychoscorpic

Hi, fi3er

You may want to try a demo of DataCAD.
It is very intuitive, is natively 3D, and has extrememly powerful macros for Stairs, Roofs, Terrain etc.
Since you are working in 3D, Sections & Elevations are simply a matter of dragging a Cut-line or viewpoint, and hitting a button to generate Hidden-Line drawings.
(It is also Wa-Hay Cheaper than AutoCAD)

"By Architects for Architects" is their slogan.
When it comes to 2D work & space shuttles, AutoCAD is still better.
For buildings, DataCAD has saved my bacon many times.

trhoads

You could try SOFTPLAN. It seems very intuitive, and I believe that it models in 3d as you draw in 2D, but I could be mistaken, and it will build the house as it goes, creates material lists, and does lighting too. I will attach a link to another forum where it was discussed at great length. Hope no-one minds. It was a pretty good thread, and the progam seems to be very powerful.

http://discussion.autodesk.com/threa...hreadID=347627

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Mark Bolin

The link that Travis is pointing to is one that I started. If you do residential or light commercial, I can't say enough about Softplan. It allows you to design in both 2d and 3d. For residential design, I can't find anything that can touch it and I tried just about everything before selecting Softplan. The rendering in the current version is not great but it is acceptable when trying to communicate with clients. I use Sketchup and VIZ for final renderings.

The attached image was created in Softplan including the site. It was rendered in VIZ with VRAY and landscaping added in Piranesi.

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trhoads

Ha, small world. I have looked a little into Softplan for my own personal work. Most of what I do during the day is commercial, and I don't think that it would work. I am glad to hear that it works very good for residential work. Good old moonlighting.

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Mark Bolin

It's hard to justify if you're not using it full time. But if you are doing residential design, it makes your life so much easier and also makes it fun. You'll wonder how you lived without it. And this comes from someone who thought they would never switch from Autdesk products to a small software company in Tennesse. While the current version might not be technology wise up to Revit, who is? It looks fairly simple at first glance but it simply gives you the tools to do the job and nothing else. What a concept! By keeping it simple, they can focus on giving you the best tools for residential work.

Mark

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