Autodesk just released the latest version of Autocad Architectural Desktop that has been renamed simply to AutoCad Architecture 8. Most Structural Engineering Consultants know that Autodesk has also released a new product a few years ago called REVIT Building Systems or more accurately REVIT Structural for the structural engineering community. Regardless of recent surveys taken of the percentage of engineers in this field who are switching from AutoCad to REVIT is much less than 10%. In fact, the estimates I have obtained from participating engineers on the Structural Engineers Association International (SEAINT) Listservice (http://www.seaint.org) are closer to 1% than to 10%. One reason for the lack of interest is that most of the tools and interaction in the REVIT Building Systems will appeal to large firms that are designing large buildings and municipal projects that can benefit from the interaction over a large network of each design team as well as the growth of BIM. A current subscription holder of AutoCad's latest version would have to pay over $1,500.00 plus a new subscription fee of $695.00 per year for a single station REVIT license. As it currently stands, most of us running an Architectural Desktop or Architecture 8 platform can do the same job, but without the interaction of the software into current FEM programs such as the very fine RISA 3-D and RISA-Floor products (and other similar programs). I mention RISA only because I am a user of their product and know the work involved in adding programing to bring the software into compliance with the REVIT modeling.

 

Let's talk about AutoCad Architecture 8. At first glance one might think that the changes of the ADT 2007 package looks a bit anemic, but after spending a few weeks with the new version I am very impressed. For years I have attempted to work in both Model (actual size) drawing space and then add my annotations to my drawing in one of a number of Paper Space (scaled) viewports. If I wanted to change something, I had to make sure that my annotations were scaled to the appropriate view scale I was using.

This version of autocad makes it possible for the user to automatically resize all scales by setting text, dimensions, blocks and notes to an annotative state. If I start with a Model view and add notes to it in 1/8th scale, it may look too large, but rather than choosing a different dimension or text style I can change everything from notes to hatches by simply setting the model drawing scale from 1:1 to 1/4:1'-0". Everything resizes. I can change it again to any scale I would intend to plot and I am not limited to changing it on my Model view, I can change it anywhere in Paperspace, on my sheet views before I plot or I can take an item such as a hatch pattern out of the annotative state and adjust the scale as I have done it in the past. This is, perhaps, the most impressive feature that makes this version worth the subscription price.

 

While we are talking about Subscriptions, let me mention that the subscription provides the user with many great online tools, webcasts and interaction with other in live forums. What I don't like is the idea that if I decide to skip an upgrade, I must pay two times the subscription price for say Architecture 10 in two years. There is no savings by skipping a release an you may as well budget your finances to keep your subscription current year after year. Personally, I have used the tools available online and found so many useful tutorials that I believe I am using Autocad Architecture 8 in the most productive way.

 

You can continue to use Autocad as you have in the past. You can create tons of layers and set each lineweight to a layer OR you can use the simplified plot setup. The new Autocad STB settings, for example allow the user fewer choices (unless he or she chooses to over-ride the settings). You can have a Full Saturation; 50% or 25% Screen and a non-plotting mode. I use two basic settings for viewing on screen in color and another for simplified output in black and white based on these simplified plot style techniques.

 

The trick is to use the new Layer State settings that allow you to save various layer settings in a file that you can retrieve. If you want all your lines to be plotted black on white paper, you change the Viewport Color and Plot styles. Architecture 8 then makes it easy to simply retrieve your original color set up.

 

Architecture 8 will also track the changes you make in a drawing. You can now use Word as a word editor and Mtext allows the user to align text layouts as you would on a typical document file. The Mtext features have been expanded tremendously so that you can create the notes outside of Autocad and simply link them into your drawing wherever you want. The Autocad database object tracking is so good that any changes are automatically reflected into the drawing where you want them. If you move the notes to another sheet, the database is updated to track the location for later retrieval.

 

Overall, the program operates as a much more oiled machine and uses the system registry more to store changes rather than outside files. I'm working more in 3D now because the features are available and much less confusing to me. From the Online Webcasts such as "Ask Amy" or the tips from "Heidi Hewitt" I've used my subscription to get the most productivity I can from the software. The main reason I don't consider moving to REVIT (it does make 3-D  structural components easier to manipulate) is that I would have to give up the ability to customize Architecture 8 much more creatively for my own office standards.

 

The last item I would like to mention is one that I have not yet learned but exists in this version. Autodesk has linked the Architecture 8 software to Microsoft Office Excel so that you can create schedules much easier and maintain a constant link in the drawings. My goal is to use the freeware version of MultiLat(tm) that I wrote and oonated to the structural community to interact with this version of Autocad and create automated shearwall links within the design spreadsheet and link it to the shearwall schedule in the drawing. The beauty of this is that if my client wants to change a shearwall or remove one that causes me to either nail closer to capacity of the wall and accomodate the additional uplift (holddowns), I can do it within the MultiLat(tm) spreadsheet and automatically update each drawing that references the link.

 

This is a great start for Architecture 8. I know I have left a lot out, but I wanted to provide you with a taste and a taste of something good is what I have given you. Next time I am going to go into a few more specifics on the presentation aspects of the software to create sections and elevations simply an automatically. Until then, I give this a ****_ (four out of five star rating).

 

Dennis