|
|
Multimedia and Presentation Tools for AEC (AEC in Focus Column)
1 Jul, 2007 By: AIA ,H. Edward GoldbergProducts push 3D visualization into the interactive workspace.
Until now, AEC presentation products have played a minor role in architects' and engineers' worlds; often called upon to be the "sizzle that sold the steak." To that end, every major 3D architectural CAD and BIM (building information modeling) program has a credible, integrated visualization solution, and existing specialized visualization programs have reached maturity.
The big news in 2007 is the push to extend 3D visualization into the interactive workspace so that designers can share 3D content and information with clients and subcontractors through free 3D readers from Adobe, Autodesk and Google. This year, Adobe entered the 3D arena by equipping its industry-standard Photoshop software with the ability to manipulate 3D content. And the presentation capabilities within Google SketchUp and LayOut are finally accessible since the acquisition made more than a year ago. Below is an overview of my favorite presentation programs from Adobe, ArchVision, Autodesk, Google and Informatix.
Google SketchUp Pro 6 and LayOut
SketchUp is one of the most beloved and useful AEC design and presentation products to be placed on the market within the last eight years. The most important feature in Google SketchUp Pro 6 is an application called LayOut (figure 1). Originally conceived as a sister product to SketchUp (back before it was acquired by Google), LayOut is a full-featured tool for creating and showing presentations. The top four features that make LayOut unique are:
- 1. SketchUp model views placed in LayOut are dynamically linked to the original SketchUp file, so changes to the model are reflected automatically in the presentation.
- 2. SketchUp model views can be orbited, panned and zoomed just like they can in SketchUp. Display settings such as Styles, Shadows, Perspective and Drawing Scale can be controlled for each individual model view.
- 3. LayOut presentations can be displayed full screen, alleviating the need to create redundant PowerPoint versions for client presentations. The same presentation can be printed in high resolution, displayed onscreen and exported as a PDF for digital distribution to clients.
- 4. LayOut introduces the concept of Scrapbooks, a way to make often-used content like logos, north arrows, scale figures and other graphics instantly available for use in every document created by every member of your team.
SketchUp and Google Earth are valuable tools for architects and other design pros. SketchUp users can import accurate location pictures directly from Google Earth, model on top of them and save them as Google Earth KMZ files. Users can share these files privately with clients or upload them to Google's 3D Warehouse, through which clients can see new building designs in context via a public URL. Once the team at Google Earth verifies a building model as accurate, that model can become a permanent feature in this virtual world database.
 Figure 1. The most important addition to Google SketchUp Pro 6 is a new application called LayOut. Originally conceived as a sister product to Sketch-Up, LayOut is a full-featured tool used to create and show presentations. |
Of course, a test drive is worth a thousand words. To this end, SketchUp provides an eight-hour free trial in a fully functional downloadable version. At $495 (or $95 as an upgrade), this program is a best buy.
Adobe
1 2 3 4
About the Author: H. Edward Goldberg
|
|
AutoCAD Tips!
Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen guides you through a different AutoCAD feature in every edition of her popular "Circles and Lines" tutorial series. For even more AutoCAD how-to, check out Lynn's quick tips in the Cadalyst Video Gallery. Subscribe to Cadalyst's Tips & Tricks Tuesdays free e-newsletter and we'll notify you every time a new video tip is available. All exclusively from Cadalyst! |
|
