Catia for architecture

[TWingate]

Hi All.
I work at Alsop Architects and I'm looking into future software strategies. We are thinking of moving on from Microstation to a more 3D and parametric CAAD solution. Catia is one of the packages we are reviewing.
Its trackrecord and capabilities to handle very larde assemblies are of great importance to us.

Im looking for people who use catia for architecture or have relevant information.

Regards,
Thomas Wingate
Alsop Architects

http://www.alsoparchitects.com

 

[nickeaston]

I have 5 years of V4 experience; 4 with Frank Gehry beginning with Bilbao Guggenheim and ending last summer with Disney Concert Hall.

Since V4 is rapidly becoming an orphan (is not being further developed), I am self-training with V5 and hope to re-enter the AEC arena next year.

V5 is a totally new application to learn, but IBM/DS has included a massive online help/tutorial system. It appears that after a few more iterations it will be suitable adaptable to architectural needs.

There are a number of requirements still on the wish list however...

 

[TWingate]

Hi.

We are getting Catia V5 for a months trial. installing right now actually. Let me know about your experiences with using the software.

Regards,
Thomas Wingate

 

[nickeaston]

While V5 has a massive online help/tutorial system, including many ready-made starting models (called .catparts in V5) it is a totally different concept in mcad compared to V4.

V4 has a proven capability to handle very large assemblies in the aircraft/auto industries and in fact we used that capability quite well in managing the hundreds of models used in the Disney Concert Hall. I'm sure that V5 was designed with the same cability in mind, since it is targeted to replace the same V4 users eventually. A former Gehry associate is putting together a set of large models for me so I can play with importing them into V5 and so on.

There is still a significant wish list for V5 however; you can't yet Develop (into flat pattern) complex surfaces. The Structure product is useless, about 2% of the V4 structural product (which couldn't create curvilinear structural shapes). And since I still don't have a number of architectural models created on the same master project axis/elevation, I can't yet see how and if V5 overlaying works--this is quite important in large "assemblies."

License-wise, one needs at least the hd-2 level (Hybrid Design) at about $25,000. This level would probably still be short of what a firm designing complex surfaces would need. If digitizing models with a cloud of points, that product is extra. When Develop becomes available, sometime next year, that product would be extra. If designing sheet metal complex surfaces requiring tight tangential element transition, those products are extra...

I have not tried out the drafting products you get with hd-2. My guess, not being an architect, is that the typical architectural firm will use its existing AutoCAD competency for preparation of 2D documents (as does Frank Gehry). The capability for producing cuts and projections is reputedly even better in V5 than it was in V4.