AEC Tech News #190
21 Feb, 2007 By: Kenneth WongArchitectural rendering firm uses M-Color to transform AutoCAD drawings into illustrations. In Santa Rosa, California, next to the intersection of Montecito Boulevard and Benicia Drive, sits a large plot, sparsely occupied by a beauty shop, a pool cleaner, a coin laundry and a few other retail establishments. The property can accommodate a lot more, perhaps a drugstore, a hardware store, a garden center, a nursery and a few rows of townhouses on either side. The local firm Tierney/Figueiredo Architects is responsible for the expansion design. The plan has been revised more than 30 times in the past several years to comply with the city's strict guidelines and the client's demands. It was up to Jonathan Jonas, who operates the architectural rendering firm Archinature, to churn out a new set of color illustrations for city council meetings, client approvals and advertising collaterals whenever the project was modified. Over the years, Jonathan has perfected the art of producing 3D-like color illustrations (some prefer to call them 2.5D) based on 2D AutoCAD drawings. He often imports site photos and stock images of pedestrians, vehicles, trees and bushes to the scenes to make them come alive. But a large part of his job is done in M-Color, an AutoCAD plug-in from the Finnish firm Motive Systems. Read more>> 1-2-3 Revit: BIM and Algorithmic Form Finding By Rick Rundell, AIA The skylines of the 21st century are changing. The boxy towers that dominate our cities are getting some interesting new neighbors: buildings that owe their architectural form to an algorithmic design approach. How does BIM support the exploration of design possibilities for these new structures? Read more>> Mark Your Calendar: AEC Events Webcast: Tricks with Autodesk Civil 3D Styles, Labels and Expressions Webcast: Autodesk Architectural Desktop, Create Between the Lines Webcast: Civil 3D Quickstart Class For Cadalyst's full calendar of events, click here. Circles and Lines (AutoCAD Tutorial) New Way to Navigate Cadalyst.com |