Bricsnet Architecturals is an architectural-specific add-on for IntelliCAD 2000 and now AutoCAD. Bricsnet Architecturals for IntelliCAD provided affordable, high-performance 3D parametric modeling, but IntelliCAD was not the best base vehicle. Bricsnet’s move to AutoCAD is an excellent strategy. AutoCAD’s 3D Orbiter and automated UCS control alone makes Bricsnet Architecturals much easier to use. Many CAD developers claim that their program is easy to use, but in my experience, the new generation of software for the AEC industry contains a large amount of information to increase efficiency, and in turn is difficult to learn. In addition, just as buildings vary widely, building designers work in many different ways, and programs must be customizable. All of these new programs have steep setup and learning curves, though once you’ve mastered them, they increase productivity.

Although just released, Bricsnet Architecturals for AutoCAD is very mature. I reviewed a beta version. Bricsnet Architecturals’ parametric 3D modeling technology was originally developed for UNIX and later ported to Bentley Systems’ MicroStation, where it became the core technology for MicroStation TriForma. Bricsnet Architecturals is now rewritten in C++ and uses the ACIS modeling kernel, which lets it run on IntelliCAD and AutoCAD. The core technology is reengineered to take advantage of object-oriented programming techniques, with emphasis on ease of use and incorporating new functionality such as connectivity between building elements, the concept of styles, and scale-dependent representations.

The program is powered by the ACIS 6 solid modeling kernel. Standard AutoCAD uses the ACIS 4.2 kernel. Architecturals for AutoCAD also does not use AutoCAD’s ARX intelligent object system is proprietary Autodesk technology and because it is not available for IntelliCAD. Bricsnet uses the Microsoft COM (component object model) standard instead.

Bricsnet Architecturals steps up to the plate

Bricsnet Architecturals for AutoCAD is based on the single building model concept (figure 1). This basically means that you create a virtual 3D model of the building, including all of its component parts. These component parts contain information that you can later extract to develop quantity and cost estimates. Bricsnet goes one step further and tracks the components through its Styles Explorer, which allows parametric changes at any stage of design development. You can change the exact definitions of 3D components and 2D drawings at any point in the process, enabling a top-down design approach—placing components, then changing them as necessary (figure 2). Relationships between walls, rooms, floors, windows, and other building components are always maintained. Finally, Architecturals cuts sections through the completed building model and extracts 2D drawings for traditional AEC documentation.

Because Bricsnet Architecturals for AutoCAD works primarily in 3D, you first model a form and either accept a default material or assign a style to the component. Styles, similar in concept to Microsoft Word styles, are a collection of settings such as thickness, layer, material, top and bottom control surfaces, cost group, and extrusion direction. When you change a style, all forms with that style automatically update. This enables the aforementioned top-down design approach in which the program represents walls initially as simple shapes and redefines them as complex multimaterial walls later. Though rectilinear forms are relatively easy to model, curved surfaces present a unique problem. To easily solve this problem, Bricsnet Architecturals for AutoCAD implements a feature called control surfaces. Control surfaces are infinite surfaces used to modify the shape and position of building elements. For example, you can define a roof as an offset and thickness from a curved control surface. You can use the same control surface to specify the top of various walls. If you change the shape of the control surface, both the roof and the walls modify and stay connected (figure 3).

The project manager
The project manager is the backbone of Architecturals. A project contains all information needed to complete a particular design. One file contains the model as 3D geometry, and other files contain 2D geometry such as plans, elevations, details, and sections.

All materials, styles, and other settings are specified at the project level so all members of a design team can share them. This lets you make changes in all files of a project simultaneously and facilitates archiving and transferring project information.

Roof and stair builders
Bricsnet Architecturals comes with a set of comprehensive tools for building roofs and stairs. The Roof Builder defines slope angles, eaves, and profiles and generates roof plates and polygons (figure 4). Alternatively, you can specify the roof with a control surface to create unusual shapes such as upwardly curved structures. You can modify the roof at any time during the design process. The Stair Builder creates linear and spiral stairs. You define a number of parameters such as the height, slope, and number of steps. As with the Roof Builder, once you place the stair, you can modify its parameters at any time. The Stair Builder is written in VBA (Visual BASIC for Applications). You can modify the source code to make custom stair types if you’re the brave sort.

Windows and doors
No architectural program is complete without a door and window creation tool, such as Bricsnet Architecturals’ Frame Builder (figure 5). Basically it is a wizard-like series of interactive dialog boxes to write scripts.

The program creates the 3D doors and windows, then interprets the scripts. You can specify the 3D and 2D representation with inner and outer sills, bearings, and panes. When you place a frame, the program automatically cuts an opening in the wall. It automatically connects windows and doors to walls. When you move the wall, the frames move automatically. The same applies when you rotate the wall and specify an offset to create a slanting wall. When you delete the frame, the wall opening heals. When you change the representation script of a frame type, all frames of that particular type update automatically. These routines are complete—they even include lintels and lintel components.

Compound blocks
The doors and windows you create are called compound blocks. Compound blocks store multiple representations of a block, such as top view, elevations, and 3D model, that are used depending on the document. They can also contain subtracting volumes called antimatter that create openings, cuts, and niches.

One example of a compound block is a chair. The compound block of the chair displays the chair in elevation for an elevation drawing and in plan for a plan drawing.

Appearances
Appearances define how a material is visualized in a 2D drawing. Several materials can share the same appearance, and the same material can have different appearances, depending on the drawing scale.

You use appearances to give the component its linewidth, hatch patterns, etc. As with everything else in this program, you can modify appearances at any stage of the project.

Slab connectivity
The edges of slabs such as floors can connect to different walls. When you move a wall, the slab automatically resizes so that it remains connected to the wall.

Alternatively, you can reconnect a side of a slab from one wall to another wall at any time. Together with frame and wall connectivity, slab connectivity ensures that you can quickly modify the building geometry while maintaining the building structure.

Master and submodels
When you create large models, it’s often convenient to split the design into different files. The master model specifies how the individual files are assembled to form the entire building. When you create sections and elevations, you can specify submodels in which certain model files in the master model are ignored. This lets you create different simplified representations of the same building and speed up section generation.

Cost items and groups
Each cost item such as a concrete floor has a unit price and a measurement unit, which can be constant or variable. You can subsequently group cost items into cost groups, such as walls, foundations, and roofs. The program calculates actual costs from the unit price and the volumes or surface areas in the 3D model, so you can immediately see the cost implications of design alternatives (figure 6).

Customization
Bricsnet Architecturals includes VBA, which many business applications support, allowing you to integrate the program with enterprise and engineering systems.

Because you can access all of Bricsnet Architecturals functions via COM, professional developers can also build applications using C, C++, and Java.

Internet integration
You can install plug-ins and insert 3D building components into Bricsnet Architecturals with a simple drag-and-drop operation.

You can automatically upload sections, plans, and specifications to Bricsnet’s Project Center, a project management Web site. According to the company, Bricsnet Architecturals will soon integrate with on-line bidding and procurement.

Licensing
You can purchase Bricsnet Architecturals directly or buy an annual subscription, which includes updates and upgrades on the Internet and free Web-based interactive training.

Get started
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, CAD programs adequate for professional design work have a large learning curve, as does this program. Because Bricsnet Architecturals is so integrated with AutoCAD, you need to understand how to operate AutoCAD in 3D.

When I first received the program, it came with IntelliCAD, which I found more difficult to operate. The downloadable manual contributed to my difficulty—the manual needs more tutorials and illustrations and fewer explanations of the concepts.

As with many programs of this kind, manuals tend to be written by technical people while the end users tend to be non-technical and just want to get the job done. That’s why there are dozens of after-market computer books. Included with the program is a series of interactive multimedia tutorials. These help much more than the manual does, but could be improved upon.

As a side note, because this program uses solid modeling, make sure that you have plenty of RAM and a fast processor. In any case, this is an excellent program capable of professional-level work. Expect to spend a couple of weeks setting it up and getting used to it. Bricsnet informs me that it is releasing a new template that will shorten the setup time. Also expect to see third-party plug-ins that will simplify set up. Bricsnet also plans to release an add-on structural package soon.