Posted by Ray Strang on December 31, 1999 at 06:12:36:In Reply to: PowerCadd posted by kenkuhlman on December 30, 1999 at 16:16:30:
Ken;
First of all, I am NOT SOM, etc. Nor is most of the architectural profession. So whether or not huge firms would choose this tool has little to do with its value in the context of my work. For one thing, many Government jobs require Autocad in their RFP's and I am simply not interested.
However, I tried very hard to make Minicad my office standard, on the promise of integrated 2-D/3-D and it was largely a bust. The tool was determining the building details. I was drawing what could easily be drawn, and what was easy to draw was what the programers had been able to make work. That's a problem, since my clients don't want buildings designed by programers.
I also am involved in a collaboration with an Archicad firm and many of the same problems occur- the software is leading the show rather than the design. This is not to say that you can't use either of those tools to do excellent drafting work, or that what bothers me isn't axactly what someone else would consider a strength. However, these programs seem to become most effective as drafting tools when you are using what amounts to their 2-D components alone. That's when you are NOT trying to use all the parts together that the authors have worked so hard to integrate.
So, now we are looking at what it takes to get buildings built. I want the most creative, responsive, competent design produced as cost effectively as I can make it. I have ended up using PowerCADD w/Wildtools (in conjunction w/ Design Workshop) because, (A), it is very capable without being junked up, and, (B),it is integrated with my modeling tool (DW).
In short, I just don't care what "The Big Boys" are doing. I just want to build my buildings. I want my tools to work and not get in my way. Nothing's perfect, but so what? Design Workshop & PowerCADD/Wildtools works just fine for me.
I hope this is the kind of answer you're looking for. It's way to easy to loose sight of what we're doing, (building buildings), and waste time focusing on our tools. This is a good conversation because its a chance to remind ourselves of that.
Ray Strang