ArchiCAD is an architectural BIM CAD software for Macintosh and Windows developed by the Hungarian company Graphisoft.
Development started in 1982 for the original Apple Macintosh, and it
became a popular product for that platform. It is recognized as the
first CAD product on a personal computer able to create both 2D and 3D
drawings. Today more than 100,000 architects are using it in the
building design industry.
ArchiCAD allows the user to work with data-enhanced parametric objects,
often called "smart objects" by users. This differs from the
operational style of other CAD programs created in the 1980s. The
product allows the user to create a "virtual building" with virtual
structural elements like walls, slabs, roofs, doors, windows and
furniture. A large variety of pre-designed, customizable objects come
with the program.
Archicad allows the user to work with either a 2D or 3D representation
on the screen. Two-dimensional drawings can be exported at any time,
even though the model in the program's database always stores data in
three dimensions. Plans, elevations, and sections are generated from
the three dimensional virtual building model and are constantly
updated. Detail drawings are based on enlarged portions of the model,
with 2D detail added in.
Third-party vendors and some manufacturers of architectural products
have compiled libraries of architectural components for use in
ArchiCAD. The program includes Geometric Description Language (GDL)
used to create new components.
The newest version (2008) is ArchiCAD 12.
ArchiCAD can import and export DWG, DXF IFC and SketchUp files among
others. Graphisoft is an active member of the International Alliance
for Interoperability (IA), an industry organization that publishes
standards for file and data interoperability for architectural CAD.
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