The Optimistic Pessimist

The 4^th quarter of 1998 is upon us and I chose a wild yellow high-rise massing study to welcome the precipitance of 3D architectural drafting and design tools.

As AutodeskÒ prepares to release their, Auto-Architect + AutoCADÒ = Architectural DesktopÔ , product another announcement comes from them regarding yet another architectural/civil product: Land Development DesktopÔ .

It seems that "flavors" of AutoCADÒ is the new trend, but isn’t it due time for a type of integration that runs seamlessly without all of the oddball configuration, menu, pathing and installation problems of 3^rd party applications. Not that 3^rd party application use is over, but now at least the architectural core will not be based externally.

For those clients who have already expressed concern over what to do now, I suggest taking a relaxed attitude but prepare to upgrade your existing AutoCAD to Architectural Desktop. One of the reasons I am so confident about this recommendation is that Architectural Desktop is not another CAD product but rather an addition to the existing product. This means that you can not only run it without using the new tools, but you can in fact continue to use your existing customized/3^rd party products. In other words, you have nothing to loose and that’s the kind of risk I am always willing to take.

Odin Cary