COMPATIBILITY ISSUES
While Start is based on the ArchiCAD 11 platform, Yanoviak found some anomalies when moving between versions—not an unusual operation within an office and most certainly a factor when dealing with consultants.
Start Edition will open only ArchiCAD 9 files, but only ArchiCAD 11 will open Start files. “We’re constantly exchanging information,” says Yanoviak. “I’m really concerned about that.” She notes that although the Start User’s Guide is identical to ArchiCAD 11, the missing features are tagged “Note—this feature not available in Start Edition.” Scheer says this disconnect will prevent firms from splitting seats between the full version and Start (as many small AutoCAD firms do with the full version and LT). “Is it really a good idea to not have this compatible with version 11?” he asks.
HARDWARE KEY
One surprisingly retrograde feature of Start is actually shared with the full-fledged version: a USB hardware dongle that acts as a key to the program. “[Graphisoft gets] an earful about it every time they get together with users,” says Scheer, who owns four licenses for his three-person firm. He keeps one dongle in his laptop bag to make sure he’s always ready to go mobile without leaving an office desktop unable to run the program. Yanoviak has a harder time, as she’s constantly monitoring the location of a few dozen thumb drives that can easily walk out the door—especially when somebody leaves the firm. While it’s standard equipment, she notes that it’s not exactly a well-designed object: “It doesn’t even come with a lid or a cap.”
ENTRY-LEVEL BIM
Graphisoft touts ArchiCAD Start as a budget entry to BIM. Eventually, says Yanoviak, “2-D drafting will be a thing of the past.” And Scheer notes that “architects don’t need CAD, they need BIM. It’s not about drawing anymore. It’s not about representation. It’s about simulation.” By mimicking the construction of the building during design, architects can solve problems that have previously been left to the contractor. “That’s the only way for architecture to maintain its centrality to the building production process,” says Scheer. And BIM capabilities—properly implemented—can add directly to an architecture firm’s bottom line. Using ArchiCAD and its BIM features have reduced Scheer & Scheer’s average drawing time from 40 hours per sheet to fewer than 18. While Start probably won’t allow firms to make this large a leap in productivity, it could provide a useful introduction to BIM strategies and easily bring the full-scale program within budget for a firm.
CONCLUSIONS
Scheer & Scheer would seem to be the perfect size firm to adopt Start, but David Scheer discounts the discount. “The cost of software has never been a big problem,” he says. “I’ve satisfied myself that it’s such a productivity enhancement that I consider the cost of the software to not be a big consideration.”
“Who would really use Start Edition?” asks Yanoviak. Of course, a firm of klipp’s size isn’t the target market Graphisoft has identified for the new product. Scheer notes that its suitability depends on the project type. Small firms that do remodelings, additions, single-family homes, or small commercial projects and interiors that are essentially one-offs without repetitive elements from project to project could benefit from Start, he says. “I might object to some of the design limitations, but there are work-arounds for these things.”
Although neither reviewer intends to purchase Start, both point to the program’s strength: the 3-D ArchiCAD platform with BIM capabilities. “The main pro is the price,” says Scheer. As noted, there are more than a few issues that Graphisoft might want to address in its next version, which will be released sometime in 2009. But it is, after all, just a Start …
For the full specifications of ArchiCAD Start Edition 2008, visit the product website.
