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CAD upgrades, new hardware, and more
By Deborah Snoonian, P.E.

SketchBook Pro
Alias (formerly Alias Wavefront)
www.alias.com
(for Windows tablet PCs only)

SketchBook Pro’s pressure-sensitive pens “draw” darker the harder they are pressed on the screen.

The birth of the tablet PC last fall is spawning a crop of pen-based design tools, including this new offering from the makers of Maya. SketchBook Pro turns a tablet PC into a sketchpad with a customizable collection of pens, markers, and brushes at the ready for digital artists. The drawing tools are pressure-sensitive: the harder you press on the screen with the pen, the darker the resulting stroke. Even a felt-tipped pen held to the screen for several second “bleeds” into the screen, just like a real pen would do on paper. Users can create different pen and brush sizes and shapes and save them in a personal library for future use.

Instead of traditional drop-down menus, the primary interface is a simple artist’s palette located in the lower left corner of the screen, but movable to any area. A user chooses tools by tapping on them with the tablet PC’s pen. The software allows designers to create layers in their sketches and undo up to 20 previous penstrokes. Its ease of use will make this tool a favorite among sketch-happy designers.

QuadriSpace Presenter 2.3
QuadriSpace
www.quadrispace.com
(for Windows only)

QuadriSpace Presenter’s interface is divided into two areas: one for viewing images and models imported into the software from other applications, and one for tools that put together presentations.

As more and more architects design directly in 3D, they have a variety of options for presenting these models to their clients. This software, which debuted last year, lets designers create interactive, multimedia presentations that incorporate visuals, text, and sound—all without having to learn complicated animation software. Various types of visuals, such as 3D models, 2D images and drawings, and text boxes and labels can be imported into a presentation and ordered in a logical sequence for
the viewer. Programmable buttons within a presentation let the viewer navigate through the various images (e.g., walk-throughs, zooming, and so forth). A viewer allows those who don’t own the software to see presentations on their own computers. Though the file types handled by the software are limited to DWG, DXF, and 3DS, this is nonetheless a handy tool for showing off designs in a polished, professional manner.

BEES 3.0
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/software/bees.html
(for Windows only)

BEES 3.0 helps architects design green buildings.

Amid a growing number of tools that guide architects who design green buildings, BEES is one of the oldest on the block. Its name is an acronym for Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability. The decision-support software prompts a user to enter information about a project, including location, size, and selected materials. It then assesses the environmental performance of a given design based on the life-cycle approach outlined in ISO 14000 standards, as well as economic performance based on ASTM standards for life-cycle cost analysis. Both analyses are combined to create an overall performance measure. The latest version includes historical performance data for nearly 200 building products. The software, which is available free of charge, was developed by NIST with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Solibri Model Checker (SMC)
Solibri
www.solibri.com
(for Windows only)

Areas where conflicts or potential problems are detected within the Solibri model checker are highlighted for easy viewing.

This tool automatically checks digital building models against criteria such as component dimensions, interrelationships, and building codes to determine potential problems with a design before they are discovered in the field during construction. The software works with models developed in software compliant with the Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) created by the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI), such as Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD and Microsoft Visio. The interface is split into two halves: one for viewing information about the model, the constraints against which it is being checked, and a list of the potential problems found during the analysis; and a second viewing area for seeing the IFC-format building model at various angles. The constraints against which models are checked are included in the software but can be customized for a specific project. Constraints can also be grouped together into sets that are useful for interference checking, space checking, and other common tasks. When problems are detected, they must be corrected in the original application used to create the model and then rechecked in Solibri at a later time. As IFCs become more common, this tool will be handy for ensuring that building design data are accurate as projects enter the construction phase.

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