Today, Columbia, Md.–based software developer Vectorworks announced the release of its 2019 eponymous design and BIM software. For its latest version, the company opted to update and streamline the existing Vectorworks add-ons Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals, Designer, Bracework, and Vision.
As in previous years, Vectorworks solicited and incorporated user feedback when determining and developing software updates, which include "significantly faster workflows and improved software performance," according to a company press release.
“In Vectorworks 2019, we concentrated on our customers’ most common workflows and usage patterns to increase their overall productivity,” said CEO Biplab Sarkar in the same release.
Both the Architect and Landmark add-ons will now include 3D site–model sculpting, which allows users to push, pull, and reshape models, to run site analyses, and to calculate model changes without add-ons. Program users will now be able to display hybrid 2D/3D objects in BIM with varying levels of detail. Vectorworks also expanded its library of BIM object sets to be IFC and COBie compliant. Additionally, the developer has partnered with software company Transoft Solutions to create an online vehicle simulation path platform AutoTurn, which enables users to upload designs into a browser, complete vehicle path simulations, and download the results into project files.
As part of its new offerings, Vectorworks has expanded its presentation workflows to enable users to use its cube clip tool on sheet layer viewports. As a result, users can create section and elevation drawings for presentations in any rendered view or style.
Files opened up in the new software version will update up to four times faster, said vice president of product development Steve Johnson in the release. "Users will greatly benefit from the ability to refine renderings and images without having to export to Photoshop. And, the ability to add, show, and adjust the level of detail that hybrid objects display in a drawing is something no other BIM program offers.”
Vectorworks is continuing to expand its collaboration with Autodesk Revit, thanks, in part, to updates to the Teigha BIM library by the Open Design Alliance. Now, some Vectorworks add-ons can batch import Revit families.
Vectorworks Architect 2019 starts at $1,066 for users upgrading from the 2018 edition, while new licenses start at $3,045. Upgrades for Vectorworks Designer 2019, which offers tools for professionals in architecture, landscape architecture, and entertainment, start at $1,381 and new licenses will go for $3,945.
