Book Image

A BIM Professional's Guide to Learning Archicad

By : Stefan Boeykens, Ruben Van de Walle
Book Image

A BIM Professional's Guide to Learning Archicad

By: Stefan Boeykens, Ruben Van de Walle

Overview of this book

A BIM Professional’s Guide to Learning Archicad is a comprehensive introduction to all that Archicad has to offer for creating 3D models, 2D document extracts, and related outputs. This book is not a click-by-click series of recipes, but rather focuses on helping you understand why and how Archicad works by providing realistic examples and expert tips. The book gradually introduces you to Archicad tools using ample examples. It then helps you master its complexity through clear modules, allowing you to start your first project quickly, gain useful skills in subsequent projects, and keep using the book as a source for insights into the software. You’ll start with the basic modeling of construction elements and then move on to adding roofs, stairs, and objects to the project. Next, you’ll dive into basic drafting and 2D views for creating 2D output, and grasp how to use attributes and more advanced modeling tools for designing curtain walls and sites. The concluding chapters will show you how to extract and visualize your data and automate the publishing of your extracts and 2D documents into a variety of output formats. By the end of this book, you’ll have gained a solid understanding of Archicad, how to implement it efficiently in your architectural projects, and how BIM can improve your overall design workflow.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Started with Archicad – Project Setup and Essential Modeling Tools for Your First Residential Project
9
Part 2: Becoming an Archicad Professional – Learn About Archicad Tools and Settings to Create and Publish Any Type of Project in Full Detail

What Is Archicad and How Can You Learn It?

In this first chapter, we will introduce you to the book and its main content. We will get some background information about the Archicad software and its development and how it is installed and licensed. We will also learn about the main objectives and approach of this book, setting expectations right from the start. This is not meant to be a cookbook with step-by-step recipes showing buttons to click but, instead, aims to give you a proper understanding of how the software fits into a professional workflow.

The main topics we’ll cover in this chapter are as follows:

  • An introduction to Archicad
  • A brief history of Archicad
  • Setting up Archicad
  • Licensing
  • The approach of the book

By the end of this chapter, you will know what Archicad is, how you can install it, and what license types exist. You will also have a clear understanding of the approach toward learning Archicad in this book.