Definition:
The letters CAD stand for Computer-Aided Design. Architects, Drafters, Engineers, and Artists use CAD software to create plans and construction drawings.
Before the age of computers, drawings and blueprints were drafted by hand. CAD is more efficient because the software records lines as vectors based on mathematical equations. Portions of a drawing can be twisted, stretched, or moved. The picture as a whole will automatically adjust.
CAD Software will let the designer:
- Switch between two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) views.
- Zoom in and out for close-up and distant views.
- Rotate images to view them from different perspectives.
- Change the scale of images: When one value changes, related values are automatically adjusted.
- Manipulate the shape of images: Changing one portion of an image automatically changes the entire picture.
CAD is also known as CADD, which stands for Computer-Aided Design & Drafting Examples. Popular CAD programs used by architects and engineers include: ArchiCAD, Graphisoft EcoDesigner, AutoCAD.
Sustainable Design with ArchiCAD
Green design has been embraced openly by many architectural firms worldwide. They appreciate the value and financial sense of developing a truly green design and architects who actively take ‘green’ decisions early on are saving their clients real money, now and in the future. EcoDesigner coupled with ArchiCAD’s open standards place the Virtual Building T at the heart of energy analysis.
Informed decisions
“Sustainable architecture” is the practice of designing, constructing and maintaining buildings in a way that their environmental impact is minimized. One of the most important aspects of sustainable design is energy efficiency – a drive to reduce the amount of energy a building consumes over its life-span. The truth of sustainable design is that approximately 80% of the design decisions that influence a building’s energy performance are made by the architect in the early design phase; the remaining 20% are made by engineers at the later phases of design. Therefore it is crucially important for architects to be able to utilise a quick and reliable energy performance evaluation at the very early stage of the building design process.
Using Graphisoft EcoDesigner we can easily analyze, at an early stage, Green Passive Solar Homes Design for energy efficiency. Providing invaluable feedback on the building’s energy performance means we can make better decisions on how to conform to regulations and satisfy the interests of the client and the operator of the building. Ultimately, with energy efficiency we all win!
Hi and thanks for visiting our website. I can not say what is better Software in CAD. It depends on what are you designing with it and on one’s personal test. I love to design in AutoCAD and ArchiCAD. ArchiCAD plus EcoDesigner is very powerful and friendly Software allowing to design our green passive solar homes.
EcoDesigner is an integrated, easy-to-use building energy evaluation tool for ArchiCAD. EcoDesigner sets new standards in sustainable design by enabling architects to measure and control the energy consumption/production of your buildings and make energy-conscious decisions early on in the design phase.
Thank you, Olga