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This fall brings a host of exciting activities and events for us and all of you. September will be a busy month filled with trade shows and appearances throughout the country, as we continue our efforts to reach out to all of you. We'll be attending several regional AIA shows in Philadelphia, Chicago and New York, as well as trade shows in Texas, California and Washington, DC, to name a few.
As many of you know, VectorWorks is also a success worldwide, and we thank our many international partners for this. Besides our own 20th anniversary year, some of these international partners are also hitting the same milestones. Last fall, I attended the 20th anniversary party for A&A, Japan's VectorWorks distributor. In a few weeks, I will attend the 20th anniversary of ComputerWorks, the VectorWorks distributor for Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Our longevity and global appeal are some of the reasons why our customers feel comfortable basing their offices on VectorWorks technology.
Continuing on the international front, I'd like to congratulate the firm 5+1 architetti associati, of Genoa, Italy, for winning the international competition to design the new Palazzo del Cinema for the world-famous Venice Biennale's International Film Festival. For more than a century, the Venice Biennale has been one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. The new structure will be the headquarters of the Venice International Film Festival. 5+1 has been a long-time beta tester, so we're happy to hear the product they have helped us create is a key tool in engineering the success of the firm's team of world-class architects.
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Sincerely,
Sean Flaherty
CEO, Nemetschek North America
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Ben Franklin's Ghost
Philadelphia, PA
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VectorWorks, VectorWorks Spotlight and RenderWorks team up to help bring the Ben Franklin's Ghost exhibit to life. |
 Across from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in historic Old City Philadelphia, the ghost of Ben Franklin came to life this past July to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of Ben Franklin's birth. VectorWorks, VectorWorks Spotlight, RenderWorks and a tri-state team effort helped pull it off.
Exhibit designer Kevin Allen, principal of Kevin Lee Allen Design, Clifton, NJ, lighting designer Chris Klug, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, in Pittsburgh, PA, and fabricator Jacob Gendelman, managing partner of blackwalnut, in Valley Cottage, NY, all worked together remotely to have the Ben Franklin's Ghost exhibit ready for its grand opening on July 4, 2005, in the visitor's center across from Independence Hall.
Ben Franklin's Ghost uses keyword search technology to control a 150-year-old effect known as the Pepper's Ghost illusion, by which digitally recorded images of an actor portraying Ben Franklin answering questions are reflected on an angled pane of glass in front of the exhibit visitor.
Visitors can choose from a list of questions to ask or pose their own questions, and the computer matches input to a list of possible answers. Computer software then pulls the most appropriate answer, and Ben Franklin appears to float in front of a backdrop depicting his study, giving the illusion of a ghost.
A ghost of a chance
The challenge for exhibit designer Allen was to design a structure that supported the exhibit's physical needs and was appropriate to the interior space of the historic Public Ledger Building in which the exhibit is housed. The structure had to be inviting and accessible to groups of children, yet, at the same time, not permit any adults to see how the effect is achieved. The exhibit also had to be designed to control the many sources of light in the lobby.
"Using VectorWorks, we were able to do a thousand sections in a fraction of the amount of time it would take to do sketches, putting people at every possible angle to make sure they couldn't see the effect, the projector and the water white glass the image bounces off," explains Allen.
"In about two seconds, replacing what would normally be my thumbnail sketch, I did a quick 3D model of the proposed exhibit and emailed it to Chris," adds Allen. "The 3D model allowed them to visualize the concept and understand how it would be possible to both hide the technology and allow the biggest possible audience to see the effect—much faster and more effectively than any sketch."
Seeing is believing
Lighting of the backdrop is a critical part of the ghost illusion. Without a detailed background and control of the lights tied to the computer programming, much of the illusion would be lost. This is where VectorWorks Spotlight came into the picture.
The challenge for lighting designer and CMU professor Klug was to learn VectorWorks Spotlight first, then design a lighting plan that would conceal the mechanics behind the illusion. "I purchased VectorWorks Spotlight to import the exhibit drawings seamlessly, so I could work on the lighting portion of the project," says Klug. "And I was pleasantly surprised at how effortless it was to learn and apply VectorWorks Spotlight. It really made the process of choosing what lights I wanted and where I wanted to put them easy. I eliminated a lot of the guesswork about whether something was going to be covered or what the falloff was going to be like, because I could actually see it. That was invaluable and saved me an immense amount of time."
Scary tactics
One of the challenges for exhibit fabricator Jac Gendelman was incorporating the Pepper's Ghost technology into the building process.
"VectorWorks helped us address several tricky issues in building the exhibit," explains Gendelman. "The entire exhibit depended on the technology that enabled the Pepper's Ghost illusion to work. There were some sections that curved into two planes. The side panels were faceted in plan and curved in section, which required a lot of precision layout work, because it was made of a series of boxes that were interconnected—to hold the technology, to hold the lighting, to access the mirror inside, as the illusion needed to be adjustable."
Then there was the tight turnaround. Blackwalnut had four weeks to create construction drawings, build the exhibit, dismantle it and ship it out to be reassembled on site in Philadelphia.
"We converted Kevin's original 2D drawings into construction drawings," adds Gendelman. "We went back and forth with the technology people in Pittsburgh to do all the engineering and interface work. For us, modularity, precision and construction of design is critical because we're building something and must make sure we can completely dismantle it and put it back together. So we built the entire exhibit in 3D before we output anything to make sure it would fit. VectorWorks enabled us to enhance the engineering we had to do in order to make the exhibit buildable."
The Ben Franklin's Ghost exhibit is free and open daily from 9-5 in the PECO Energy Liberty Center, 6th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia.
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How can I change measurement values in my drawing from feet to meters? |
VectorWorks 11.5 can switch between all standard units of measurement fluidly. To change your units of measurement, go to Page>Units.
Choose to set units for General Display. Next, select meters as your unit of measurement. Then, set your options for rounding, decimals and angles. Finally, click OK.
All dimension objects and other measurements will reflect these changes from feet to meters. Note that feet can be used to input the measurement of an object in the Object Info Palette. VectorWorks will automatically convert the values to the General Display units setting.
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Is there an easy way to input bearings when creating a property line? |
VectorWorks 11.5 allows spaces to be used rather than degree markers when entering bearing information in the Property Line dialog box.
For example, a property line bearing segment of N20º32'49"E can be entered one of two ways. The first is to type N20d32s49mE. The second way, an easier method, is to simply use spaces: N 20 32 49 E.
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How can I change the way a DTM is displayed? |
VectorWorks allows a variety of different 2D and 3D display settings for DTMs. Once a DTM is created, the display for 2D or 3D can be changed in a jiffy.
First, go to the AEC menu and select Site Model. In the Site Model dialog box, click on the Properties button. (See image 3-1) The Properties dialog box will now appear. Under the 2D Display Settings section is a drop-down box labeled Display. Simply click in the drop down box and select Smoothed 2D Contour, 2D Triangle or 2D Contour.
The 3D Display Settings can be changed in the same fashion in the 3D Display Settings, Display drop-down box. A few more options are available for 3D Display. Select the desired display settings from the list, including 3D Contour, 3D Grid, 3D Mesh Solid, 3D Triangle or 3D Extended Contour. (See image 3-2)
As each display option is selected, the preview model directly below is adjusted to preview what the selected display will look like. When all display settings have been selected, click OK and OK again. The existing model in the drawing will now be updated.
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I.D. Magazine's 2005 Annual Design Review Features VectorWorks Projects
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Several projects designed with VectorWorks were among the winners of International Design Magazine's 2005 Annual Design Review, America's largest and most prestigious juried design competition.
The 51st Annual Design Review features the world's best designs by the some of the world's most innovative designers. Three of the eight winners in the "environments" category were projects designed using VectorWorks.
Chigasaki-Gikyoku
Yokohama firm S. Nakae & E. Fukunishi Design charmed the jury with a steel-and-cedar cube that sits on a beach in Chigasaki, Japan. The structure is a theater designed for Away at Performing Arts, an organization that focuses on contemporary dance. But performances do not take place within it: The audience sits inside and the dancers perform outside, turning the beach into a stage. The jurors appreciated that the design takes advantage of weather, time of day and changes in light through the cube's pivoting acrylic panels, which act as a curtain.
Ini Ani Coffee Shop
New York firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis made the disposable coffee cup an aesthetic springboard for a cafe on the Lower East Side. Interior walls are compressed strips of corrugated cardboard (the stuff used to insulate takeout cups), and the wall next to the entry is a plaster cast of 479 plastic coffee-cup lids. Most remarkably, the firm undertook the project with a $40,000 budget and a three-month deadline for design and construction.
Conversation Piece
What makes you wealthy? Organizers of the 2004 Interior Design Show in Toronto asked three local firms to answer that question with "concept spaces" presented at the National Trade Centre. Insisting that true wealth comes from people and things that surround us, Plant Architect created a room for eating and socializing—a reaction against the "complexity, instability, formlessness, contradiction, and digital density" of the global economy. A long table and benches in Douglas fir contained drawers for holding both cutlery and memorabilia; paper "bookplates" at each place spurred conversation; and stacked red oak firewood—fuel for the communal fireplace—doubled as an interior wall.
Read more about the winning projects on the "Environments Design Distinction" page of I.D. Online. |
New Online and Onsite Training Offers Convenient, Customized Options |
New training options provide convenient instructor-led training that can be customized to a user's specific needs.
VectorWorks onsite training provides courses for those companies who prefer the convenience of hosting employee training sessions in-house. VectorWorks certified trainers, located in key locations across the country, work with each company to analyze their needs and tailor a curriculum accordingly.
VectorWorks online training offers instructor-led training via the Internet. Powered by WebEx, these sessions can be scheduled at the user's convenience for a half an hour or longer. Each individual has the opportunity to work with a certified VectorWorks trainer through a WebEx interactive interface, so the user can see the instructor's screen and follow along. Online training provides the ultimate convenience for intermediate or advanced users who wish to increase their knowledge on a specific topic, tool or workflow within any of the VectorWorks products. One-on-one sessions are tailored to the user's individual needs.
"I highly recommend online training for users who want to refresh their skills and even encourage new customers to take a session," says Guy Hedrick, of Guytron Amplification. "I've been using
VectorWorks for five years, yet just one online training lesson has renewed my enthusiasm and expanded my ability—and, thus, my use of the product. I will do it again soon, since I thought of several follow-up questions almost immediately after completing my session."
For more information, visit the VectorWorks Online Training web page at www.nemetschek.net/training/online_training.html and Onsite Training web page at www.nemetschek.net/training/onsite_training.html.
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VectorWorks Home Design Tutorial Receives Rave Reviews |
Within just weeks of its release, the Home Design with VectorWorks Architect training tutorial has been receiving positive feedback from satisfied VectorWorks users.
Here's what several surveyed users report:
"I have already gleaned a couple ideas from the tutorial and expect even more. It's well worth the price."
"I learned about short-cuts and valuable parts of the software I didn't know existed. Good work! Well worth the cost."
"This is just what I needed to learn about—the process an architect goes through in using VectorWorks for home design."
To learn more about Home Design with VectorWorks ARCHITECT, as well as other VectorWorks training materials, visit the VectorWorks Training Books and Tutorials web page.
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DATES
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EVENT
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LOCATION
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Sep 13 |
Trends in Architectural Design Software |
Chicago, IL |
Sep 15 - Sep 16 |
JLC Live MidWest |
Chicago, IL
(Booth #6076) |
Sep 16 |
AIA New York State Convention Product Showcase |
Syracuse, NY
(Booth #65) |
Sep 16 - Sep 17 |
TSA Annual Convention & Expo |
San Antonio, TX
(Booth #900) |
Sep 16 - Sep 17 |
Chesapeake Section USITT |
Washington, DC |
Sep 23 - Sep 25 |
The Monterey Design Conference |
Pacific Grove, CA
(Tabletop A) |
Oct 05- Oct 08 |
AIA Georgia Design Conference & Expo
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Savannah, GA
(Booth #109) |
Oct 07 - Oct 11 |
ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo
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Fort Lauderdale, FL
(Booth #2329) |
Oct 13 - Oct 15 |
The Remodeling Show
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Baltimore, MD
(Booth #2552) |
Nov 03 - Nov 05 |
GIE
Green Industry Expo |
Orlando, FL
(Booth #1238) |
Nov 11 - Nov 13 |
ETS/LDI Conference & Expo |
Orlando, FL |
Nov 15 - Nov 17 |
21st Annual Build Boston |
Boston, MA
(Booth #250) |
Nov 15 - Nov 17 |
AIA Minnesota |
Minneapolis, MN |
Dec 01 - Dec 02 |
JLC Live Pacific Northwest |
Portland, OR |
Dec 08 - Dec 10 |
ACTE |
New Orleans, LA (Booth #1119) |
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TRAINING DATES
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LOCATION
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CLASS
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Sept 13-16 |
New York, NY |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• VectorWorks Fundamentals
• RenderWorks Fundamentals |
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Sept 19-21 |
Columbia, MD |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• VectorWorks Fundamentals |
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AIA Accreditation
NNA is pleased to offer AIA Continuing Education credit for our
seminars. The VectorWorks and VectorWorks ARCHITECT classes are AIA CES certified, so attendees can earn up to 32 CES learning units. For additional information, contact training@nemetschek.net.
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