When a client asks for not only innovative design, but an innovative presentation, and when the architecture firm has only 25 days to pre p a re, this might not be the best time to start learning new software. But when the firm¹s existing tools can¹t do the job, and the new software is ArchiCAD for Windows, it¹s a gamble worth taking.

The Design Collective Inc., an award-winning 50-person firm in Baltimore , was asked to develop a prototype housing development for international use, and to convey their design to a multilingual audience. They had used AutoCAD for production but were never impressed with its presentation or design capabilities. Project designer Chris Harvey said: "In contrast, ArchiCAD is a real design tool; it allowed us to develop a complex design, use creative formats, and produce an innovative 3D-based presentation with animations for our clients in a short period of time.

At the project¹s inception, the design team had not yet received ArchiCAD training so they called in AEC Solutions, the local value-added reseller, to determine if the ambitious project was feasible. "We usually don¹t re commend that a firm train on a large-scale project with a tight deadline,² said Dianne Davis, a designer at AEC Solutions, "but they had no choice for generating this volume of information.

J. Alexander Kacur, one of the project architects, received training and video production assistance from Henry Berger of AEC Solutions, and together they developed the buildings in ArchiCAD. Tony Bochicchio designed the unit layouts and drafted them with AutoCAD for later export to ArchiCAD . Harvey, as project designer, coordinated the design, consultant information, and schedule, and rendered the hidden line views. ArchiCAD was used to create the animations and additional computer renderings. To get a good mix of images needed for the presentation and video, Davis used Photoshop to scan photos and production information, and put real skies and other merged elements behind the hand-colored perspectives .

Kacur began his ArchiCAD training designing the steel structural system, performing massing studies, and doing wall-and window-design iterations. There was no time to spare, so animations and renderings were generated as soon as each part of the design was finished. Within three days the first ArchiCAD model was complete. Though time didn't permit Harvey to train on ArchiCAD, it proved a valuable tool in his design process. "To develop the buildings,² he said, "I worked with plotted elevations, massing studies and perspectives. Surprisingly, after the first few days we couldn't always keep up with Kacur and Berger. Kacur had definitely learned to use ArchiCAD quickly.

The rest of the time was spent creating the other two buildings and fine-tuning the unit designs. "We could step inside our design,² Kacur recalled, "to improve the quality of the space. What once required the expense of construction can now be simulated on the screen.

The last four days were a whirlwind of production. The 30 presentation boards had a richness comparable to the firm¹s past work. Finally, Harvey and Dennis Jankiewicz, p resident of The Design Collective, presented the boards and animations to the client¹s representatives. "Not all of them spoke English,² Harvey said, "but they were clearly excited about the project and gave us the go-ahead for a second phase.² Kacur concludes: "The imagination of the architect can now be portrayed in an affordable medium. For us, that new medium is ArchiCAD. The Design Collectives Race against Time The Design Collective Baltimore, MD