Review : 3D Modeling in Vectorworks 2009

I am a graduate of Architectural Technology, so far my architectural career has mainly consisted of a lot of AutoCAD use so I would class myself as a very competent user.

Although Vectorworks has been sitting on my desktop for ages, I have had limited exposure to it’s use. So when I read, on the first page of Johathan’s new book, that it was aimed at those who had already worked their way through the beginner book/course I had a few second thoughts but decided to plough on regardless.

Luckily the book is excellently laid out giving clear click by click directions to each step with plenty screenshots to show those who are not so familiar with the Vectorworks interface (like me) where to go.

The book progresses from an introduction of the simple modelling commands in Part One to giving them a practical basis in Part Two, applying them to some architectural tasks. Part Three then brings everything together with a small task to model a bus stop, revisiting all the commands learnt in the previous sections.

For $75 you get a the little spiral bound book, which handily opens out flat so you don’t loose your page as you follow along. Tucked inside the back cover is a CD with an electronic version (PDF) of the manual which contains embedded videos which provide even more explanation.

In summary, $75 may seem a bit pricey for a tiny little book, but in fact what you get is a thorough introduction to the fundamentals of 3d Vectorworks. In addition, I’ve found myself dipping back into it any time I get a little lost, so it also performs an important role as a quick, arms reach away, reference. I am thoroughly impressed by the effectiveness of this book in taking me from being a Vectorworks novice to a master of 3d Modelling. I will definitely be purchasing more of Jonathan’s future handbooks!

About the Author:
Jonathan is an architect in New Zealand and is director of ArchonCAD , a famous Vectorworks training company. It’s website (http://www.archoncad.co.nz/) has loads of written and video tutorials, some free some subscription based. He also tweets regularly here www.twitter.com/archoncad

The Book:
Title : 3D Modelling in Vectorworks 2009
Author : Jonathan Pickup
Publisher: Nemetschek North America
Purchace From: http://www.nemetschek.net/training/guides.php

Developing Word Cloud Navigtion

As you can tell this website is under on going development, there are a lot of bugs that need to be ironed out as regards navigating through the posts and such.
At the moment though I’ve developed a bit of a penchant for graphic design, luckily there’s a lot of work to do to sort out - the typography etc. which I know isn’t looking as good as it could.
My latest idea has come from my discovery of Wordle.net which generates text clouds like the one above the “About” section. It got me thinking wouldn’t it be so cool to use something like that for the site navigation. The page titles Home, Projects, About, Blogetc, would be the prominent words while others generated from Wordle’s search of the site surround them.
Now I’ve just got to figure out how too make it work with rollovers etc..and not be to image intensive. Watch this space for more developments!

Grand Designs

I’ve just seen this excellent episode of Grand Designs, here, such a crisp modernist design really sensitive to its surroundings. I really like the stairs, photographed here.