Autodesk Architectural Studio.

The pen is mightier than the mouse

WHILE ADDRESSING a "computers for architecture" conference in the mid-1990s, William J. Mitchell, dean of the school of architecture and planning at MIT, held up a blank sheet of paper. "If computers had been invented first," he said, rattling the paper, "this would be hailed as a revolutionary interface technology." Speaking only half facetiously, Mitchell cited paper's advantages: portability, interoperability, adaptability to multiple input media and file formats, zero power consumption, and so forth. Architects in the audience chuckled knowingly, aware of the disruption that CAD software had imposed on their centuries-old process of thinking by drawing.

Starting with Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad in the early 1960s, CAD software had grown ever more complex and abstract--even as it became more comprehensive and realistic. Arcane commands and coordinate systems, layers, levels, cells, blocks, entities, objects, attributes, viewports, layouts, and file formats encrusted the design process like so many barnacles, slowing down what should have been smooth sailing. Many frustrated architects looked in vain for a better way of using computers to directly express their design ideas.

Fast-forward to the turn of the millennium. Autodesk unleashed a team of developers to rethink and revamp the entire process of using software as an aid to architectural design. Ironically, the metaphor for this new approach was the old, paper-based architectural studio: a workspace for drawing and making notes; trays full of pens, pencils, markers, brushes, erasers, X-acto knives, scale rulers, and geometric templates; rolls of tracing paper and sheets of graph paper; reference and display space for photos, sketches, and alternative schemes; model-building materials for quick 3D analyses; and the like.

Working initially under the code name Project Nora, then under the working title StudioDesk, what became known as the Architectural Studio development team (ArchStudio, for short) devoted nearly two years to creating and testing a working prototype. The version discussed here reflects the main features implemented as of press time and offers a reasonable prediction of the commercial Version 1.0 anticipated by year-end.

The most noticeable thing about ArchStudio's interface is that it doesn't look like CAD software, or even like typical Windows software. In fact, experienced CAD jockeys who've tried it are initially puzzled by its simplicity. Where are the pull-down menus, the tear-off palettes, or the floating toolbars? Where are the windows, panes, title bars, and control menus? However, designers who have been frustrated by that sort of computer complexity jump right in.

The maximum real estate on the default startup screen is devoted to a lightly gridded workspace, bordered on the right by a tray of 3D tools and on the left by another tray of 2D tools plus some templates--all reminiscent of pre-computer drawing boards. The 2D tools look and behave like their physical counterparts. Using the recommended stylus and tablet or touchscreen hardware, you point to a roll of tracing paper and drag it across the workspace to unroll a new transparent sheet. Select any of the default ...