Nemetschek Vectorworks is growing

2013/04/29

We’ve been going through some exciting changes here at Nemetschek Vectorworks, and we thought we’d take you inside our Columbia, Maryland headquarters to see what’s been going on.

Investing in the development of an ever-improving product means investing in high-performing people, and to that end we’ve increased our staff by 50% in the last few years. Some highlights include the addition of a cloud engineering team to focus on our Vectorworks Cloud Services offering and the addition of regional sales representatives in the United States to provide local presences in San Diego, Dallas, and Chicago.

The Bulgaria-based members of the Nemetschek Vectorworks cloud engineering team work with additional team members based in the U.S.

All this growth has created a need for bigger and better office space. We recently renovated our main building to add more conference rooms, a bigger kitchen and cafe area, and skylights to let in lots of natural light. A short time later, we expanded to include space in a nearby building. The new space–The Studio–has an open concept to encourage creative collaboration among team members.

The new Studio space encourages collaboration through open workspaces.

Our renovated headquarters showcases projects designed by Vectorworks users throughout the building.

We’ve expanded our presence around the world, as well, with new distributors in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine, and China. A Chinese-language version of Vectorworks software was launched in 2012 to meet the needs of this growing market. We also expanded our Vectorworks Service Select subscription offerings, bringing benefits such as free updates, preferred support status, Cloud Services and expanded libraries to countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Japan, France, Norway, and Sweden. And, we’ve brought our BIM Camp program to cities across the United States, Brazil, and the Benelux region.

We will continue to grow and invest in our products, services, and people in order to bring the best solutions possible to our customers. We hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse inside Nemetschek Vectorworks!

“Your World, Reimagined: A Global Design Competition” now accepting entries

2013/04/24

Presented by Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc., MAXON Computer, DOSCH DESIGN, Arroway Textures® and AMD FireProTM graphics, “Your World, Reimagined: A Global Design Competition” asks professional and student designers to tackle an old, dilapidated, or run-down locale and redesign it for a new, improved use. Entries can range in focus from adaptive reuse to landscape reclamation or object redesign.

Winners will be selected by a panel of judges from around the world, including designer and sculptor Nicholas Dunand; digital artist Shinya Fujimura from 3D-KOBO; architect François Lévy; lighting and production designer Tyler Littman of Sholight, LLC; architectural visualizer Alejandro Nogueira from DECC 3D Art; architect Peter Petz from German-Architects.com; digital animator Marc Potocnik from renderbaron; architectural visualizer Erik Recke from Datenland; assistant professor Katherine Bambrick Ambroziak from the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and project architects Maxime Czvek, Thomas Rigby and Tom Boogaerts from BOGDAN & VAN BROECK ARCHITECTS.

In addition to an overall award for Best Overall Design Concept, winners will be selected in the following categories: Best Computer Rendering, Best Animation, Best 3D Modeling, and Best 2D Plan. Prize packages include Visa gift cards and software bundles.

Submissions will be accepted until August 16, 2013. Entries can range from a conceptual design to a completed project with full design development and may consist of up to two design boards or one design board and a movie file that demonstrates their design’s conceptual imagery. Each submission should explain what site existed prior to the new, reimagined design. All submissions must use Vectorworks or CINEMA 4D software, and a free, 30-day trial of Vectorworks software or a free, 42-day trial of CINEMA 4D is available for download.

To enter or for more information, including the complete competition rules, please click here.


Read the full press release

Congrats to Brian Gilmartin, winner of the 2013 Behind the Scenes raffle

2013/04/18

Grand prize winner Brian Gilmartin.

Congratulations to Brian Gilmartin, a student at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, who won the grand prize in this year’s Behind the Scenes raffle, which took place at the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo in March. Brian was awarded a professional license of Vectorworks Spotlight with Renderworks software.

Behind the Scenes provides financial support to entertainment technology industry professionals when they are ill or injured, or to their surviving family members. Funds can be used for medical care, basic living costs, and funeral expenses. To view a video of some of the past grant recipients telling their stories, please visit the ESTA Foundation website.

David Lee lights up New York’s Madison Square Garden for One Direction concert

2013/04/16

A clearly articulated design with accurate measurements ensured
the installation of the light set in just one day and with time to spare.

As founder of Lightscape Design, Ltd. in England, David Lee creates lightscapes that leave lasting impressions. The light set he designed for the U.K. breakout pop band One Direction’s first headlining show at New York’s Madison Square Garden was no different.

For the sold-out concert, Lee envisioned multiple ways to invigorate the show while meeting the requirements posed by the production team. These constraints included fitting his light set around an 80’x30’ video screen and installing his design in just one day. Plus, Lee had only three weeks until show time to execute a plan. Read the full story about Lee’s work on the One Direction concert and what tools in the Vectorworks Spotlight platform helped him achieve stunning results here.

David Lee’s fixture placement, seen here rendered in the Vectorworks software, verified that sight lines and
fixture selection were coordinated with the 80’x30’ video screen.

Images courtesy of Lightscape Design, Ltd.

 

Vectorworks Nomad 2.0 is now available for both Android and iOS devices

2013/04/10

We’ve released a new version of the Vectorworks Cloud Services mobile application, Vectorworks Nomad 2.0.

This updated version of Vectorworks Nomad addresses requests from users about ways to view, share, measure, and annotate files. Enhancements include new redline drawing shapes, a sheet layer sidebar palette, angle and path measurement modes, improved download and upload performance, and improved annotation text objects. Plus, the ability to work in an offline mode provides even greater freedom as users can make design decisions in the field without a network connection.

The app is now available for both iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Vectorworks Cloud Services is available to members of the Vectorworks Service Select subscription program.


Read the full press release

Monthly Tech Roundup: April 2013

2013/04/09

Here are this month’s tech tip videos:

Applying Sketch Styles in Vectorworks
This video demonstrates how to apply sketch styles to individual objects, allowing you to customize your renderings.

 

Replacing Wall Styles In Vectorworks
This video shows how to replace an existing wall style with a new wall style, as well as what can happen if this action is performed improperly.

 

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Nemetschek Vectorworks proudly sponsors Architectural Record Cocktail Napkin Sketch Contest

2013/04/04

We’re proud to sponsor the 2013 Architectural Record Cocktail Napkin Sketch Contest. Through this contest, architects and related professionals in the United States are asked to share a creative concept on a five-inch-by-five-inch cocktail napkin.

“We’re thrilled to have Nemetschek Vectorworks as a sponsor of our third annual Cocktail Napkin Sketch Competition,” said Laura Viscusi, vice president of McGraw-Hill Construction Media and publisher of Architectural Record, GreenSource and SNAP. “This unique competition builds on the tradition of the great architects who sketched some of their greatest works on napkins.”

Past entries have included drawings of iconic buildings, sketches of ancient masterworks and studies on the design process. Two grand prize winning submissions will be published in Architectural Record, and winners will receive a box of napkins printed with their sketches.

To complement the contest, the Vectorworks design team will demonstrate how architects can turn a hand-drawn sketch into a building information model (BIM) in Vectorworks software. Visitors to the Vectorworks: From Sketch to BIM site will have the opportunity to vote on a project and design details. All voters at each phase will be registered for a chance to win a Wacom® Intuos5 pen tablet, a tool that provides users with a completely natural and intuitive platform for drawing and sketching digitally.

 


Read the full press release

Chinese-language version of Vectorworks 2013 is here

2013/04/02

A local-language version of Vectorworks 2013 software is now available in China, providing designers with access to our entire line of products including Vectorworks Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals, and Renderworks.

“Today’s launch of a local-language version of the latest Vectorworks software will enable us to deliver on our commitment to make it one of the top AEC platforms in China,” says Cecil Fung, director of Mad Macs Technology Distributions, Ltd. “Not only does this release help us bring first-class design software to China’s growing design markets, but it will also make it easier for internationally operating Vectorworks customers to engage local designers and other stakeholders with whom they do business.”

As our distributor in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and neighboring territories, Mad Macs will host several Vectorworks 2013 launch events in Shanghai (April 11), Beijing (April 18), and Guangzhou (April 25), as well as online webinars on April 16, 23, and 30. Each event will detail the software’s new features and BIM capabilities, as well as offer case studies showcasing notable users and projects worldwide. Event giveaways include Vectorworks software and other prizes.

Visit www.vectorworks.cn/en/vw2013-chi-launch-register for more information or to register for the Vectorworks 2013 Chinese launch events.


Read the full press release

Vectorworks sponsors design competitions at PLANET Student Career Days and LABASH

2013/03/28

This month, we were proud to participate in PLANET Student Career Days at Auburn University and LABASH 2013 at the University of Georgia, two national events for landscape architecture, landscape design, and landscape design/build students in the U.S.

We sponsored the PLANET Student Career Days 3D Exterior Landscape Design Competition, a contest to design an exterior landscape for a commercial building with a 2D and 3D representation of proposed features, such as plant material, vertical objects (walls, fences, shade structures, etc.) and walking surfaces.

Guest juror Stephen Schrader, RLA, associate at Holcombe Norton Partners, watches over students in the PLANET Student Career Days 3D Exterior Landscape Design competition.

We also sponsored the Design/Build Charrette at LABASH, in which students designed and constructed a project with Habitat for Humanity and the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design’s Public Service and Outreach Programs. Six teams of students from different universities collaborated to form schematic layouts, and on the last day of the charrette, students worked with local contractors to implement the ideas chosen as winners by professional jury members.

For more information about Vectorworks software for students and educators, please visit our Student Portal.

Students discuss their design for the LABASH Design/Build Charrette.

Auer+Weber designs a resort unlimited in functionality

2013/03/26

The main building will sit mostly in the mountains in a sloping terrain and be composed of materials and colors that mimic the surrounding landscape.

When the German firm of Auer+Weber+Assoziierte GmbH was hired to create a recreational resort in Courchevel, France, it wanted its design to integrate with the landscape, partly fusing with it. Currently under construction, The Grandes Combes Courchevel is proving to be everything the firm imagined.

Located prominently between two mountain peaks—close to where France, Switzerland, and Italy converge—the resort will feature a stunning array of activities for guests to enjoy, including skiing, climbing, swimming, and various wellness activities. A square on the street level brings these concepts together, widening the space and inviting passersby 
to linger in an urban center full of amenities.

The firm’s biggest challenge was 
to manage the complexity of the task—all while integrating such a large-space program into its surroundings in a way such that the architecture became part of the landscape. The result is a resort that will offer a flowing and open access point to the outdoors, and create a space for guests to enjoy year-round that is unlimited in functionality—just as Auer+Weber’s design philosophy intended.

The large-space program integrates into the surroundings so that the architecture becomes part of the landscape.

Read more about this project, and how the structural engineering, building services, energy planning,
 and lighting design teams achieved their goals by using the 3D design tools, commands, and capabilities found within Vectorworks software, here.

Images courtesy of Auer+Weber+Assoziierte GmbH.

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