United States site instead?Los Angeles, June 3, 1999
Archicad 6.o, published by Graphisoft, won the 1999 Architectural CADD Cup for Best Overall CAD software, in addition to nine key category wins, in the fourth annual Designers 3D CAD Shootout for Architectural CADD Systems.
The victory demonstrated the success of Graphisoft’s strategy, laid out
the previous day in a keynote speech given by President and CEO Gábor
Bojár. Bojár addressed the audience of the A/E/C Systems ’99 Software
Industry Leaders Keynote, where Graphisoft was the first non-U.S. company
invited to speak. Bojár was joined at the podium by CEO Carol Bartz of
Autodesk and CEO Keith Bentley of Bentley Systems.
The award was announced on May 27 at A/E/C Systems ’99 at the Los Angeles
Convention Center after more than three hours of heated competition the
previous day. Archicad bested several popular A/E/C software products for
the coveted prize, including Nemetschek’s AllPlan FT 15, VectorWorks by
Diehl Graphsoft, ARRIS 2001 by Sigma Design International, ArchiTECH.PC
3.0
and SoftCAD 3D by SoftCAD International, and DataCAD 8.5 and DataCAD
Spirit
by DataCAD LLC and SoftTech. AutoCAD’s Architectural Desktop was deemed to
be still in the beta-testing phase and was barred from the competition.
The Archicad team included Angi Sams, president of Design Integrations in
Atlanta; Dan Hruby, president of Red Melon Studios in San Francisco; and
Richard Crowe, principal of Gilchrist & Crowe Architects in Tallahassee,
Florida, with expert guidance from Barry Isakson, AIA.
Each team in the competition was challenged to design a building from
scratch, producing all plans, sections, elevations, 2D and 3D details,
color
perspectives, photo-renderings, walk-through animations and virtual
reality
web simulations – all in three hours. This year’s design problem was a
20,000 sq. ft. Caribbean-themed recreation building with a spa, health
club,
extensive pool, restaurant, lounges and a pool bridge.
Event organizer Geoffrey Moore Langdon, AIA, of Architectural CAD
Consultants also moderated six vignettes that allowed teams to showcase
key
features during the competition. This side-by-side comparison provided the
panel of nine judges, as well as a rapt audience, with a chance to compare
each program’s strengths and shortcomings.
“It is increasingly difficult to receive unbiased information about CAD
systems, and the risk of making the wrong decision goes well beyond the
cost
of any system,” said Graphisoft U.S. Inc. President Tamás Hajas. “The CAD
Shootout gives future and present CAD users a chance to compare and select
the tool that fits their personal design practice. I am proud of the
achievement of all our users who are utilizing their computers in ways
they
didn’t think possible before seeing Archicad.”
In addition to Best Overall CAD Software, Archicad earned more gold medals
than any other software in the competition, including in the following
categories:
- Ease-of-use
- Network Collaboration
- Rendering
- Animation
- Floor Plans
- Overall Design
- Large Collaboration Projects
- Parametric Design for Architects
- Architectural Parametrics: Walls, Doors, Windows
Complete results of the competition are available on the World Wide Web at www.architecturalcadd.com.
Graphisoft is a leading provider of computer-aided design (CAD) software
solutions for the architectural profession and the building industry.
Founded in 1982, Graphisoft is ranked today among the largest AEC CAD
software developers in the world, with 12 offices all over the world in
addition to its headquarters. Graphisoft’s flagship product, Archicad, is
used by more than 75,000 architects worldwide and distributed in 25
languages and 80 countries. Shares of Graphisoft are traded on the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange Neuer Markt under the symbol GPH. More information about
Graphisoft is available at www.graphisoft.com.