Going Green

last week, we launched EcoDesigner  in AbuDhabi.  don't have pictures ..sorry my bad !

anyhow ... the event was successful, many new faces, and every one liked EcoDesigner . 

Now talking seriously ? I am an architect my self, and being an old school guy .. sustainability  and stuff wasn't really an issue that we are worried about in those days, ( we had an environmental designing course... but it was one of those ..arrrrgh lets skip the day  courses )  and to be honest, we the teenagers felt that its kind of Gay ! sorry ... but this is how we felt back in those days.

now the thing that I want to talk about, that now as a grown up - kind of responsible person ( yeah..right ! ), I understand that helping mother earth is a must. 

and when Ecodesigner came, as a user I didn't get the concept immediately, as I was expecting more of those tiny details and complicated things.

but after the first demonstration I understood the concept, that this a tool for me ! not for the Green and sustainable specialist which can talk and talk for days... and I will be just listening  without actually understanding a word! 

its a tool that an average architect can use, the product is designed as a tool to enhance your design ... as simple as this !

hmmm.... off the record ? I still prefer a nice design rather than an environment friendly one ! don't get me wrong ... still we support the product :D but its just me !

so kermit was not 100% correct when he said : "its not easy being green "

Your Personal ArchiCAD

No matter If you are an advanced user or a beginner , there will be always a point where you stop, and try to find a way to do something that the normal tricks didn't achieve .

I remember the first time I used AC ( AC 6.0) I think ? or earlier , anyhow back in those days I didn't have the SUPER LOVELY POWERFUL MARVELOUS AWESOME ROCK STAR LEVEL support from atOne ( ok .. ok .. just kidding ..take it easy (-_-) ) . so I didn't actually have any proper training and I had to find my way, I remember the first project had some sort of  canopy that is half circle, just a flat half circle slab , well .. now I can say that its JUST a flat circle slab ! back then it was a nightmare , no clue what is magic wand , so actually I did it in small rectangles , part by part till I got something similar to what I am looking for, and back then I thought .. maybe ArchiCAD doesn't handle curves well !

but the funniest use I've ever seen , was from a friend of mine that was creating a residential building , and he was trying to create some round flower pots by the windows , and the best way in his opinion was to use the basin (sink) object ! and there was no way to convince him that this is not what the programers expected when they did this object !

the point is ... what we always most of the users keep telling , mostly its not about the software , mostly its about you !

Back to university

after spending almost 2 weeks doing workshops at universities in the region, I have couple of things to say :

- Professors these days ARE different from the ones we used to have !

I remember that we spent our years in the university just trying to prove that a computer will never do a design for you ! ( will not sure about future though)

- Students ARE still the same 

yes, this part will never change I guess, I ve seen the same roles , the extremely excited student, the student that attends the thing just to be there ( in case the professor noticed) , and the student that is not that into this but why not trying ( hmm..that was me in the old days ) !

and another thing that is the same , that actually they all love ArchiCAD because it will give them better presentation and more hours to sleep ( again that was where I was hooked into the ArchiCAD world , more sleeping hours !)

- Its always a pleasure to work with students :

"And how much does it cost?", never hear that question when you go to universities , because simply its FREE for them ! so its all about how good is the software . I like that , feels like utopia , I know I know .. if its that way always  I would never get paid , but I am just saying that it is nice not having the "how much" conversation ,thats all .

-It feels like payback time ! :

I guess that this would be the evil side of me saying that , but when I have a workshop with professors ( sorry professors if you are reading this ) but it feels like payback time ! watching the professors in the students seats, is nice after all !  

First post ...test ..test..123

ok...is this thing on?

Welcome to Club atOne , well .. its the ArchiCADers gathering place, Not quite sure what I will post form time to time, but for sure it is not so formal ( looking at Homer on top banner  gave you a hint already !) , but anyhow I will try to make it more focused on the ArchiCAD side of things , and I really must stop typing "ArchiCAD" and get more of those normal "archicad" ... well... after joining the company for almost 2 and half years now ... I am so programed to type ArchiCAD as the official way of typing it !.

anyhow , most of u have already heard of Club atOne ? "yes..you there with glasses?" ... no? u didn't ? I  wonder where u got ur license from ! ...have u heard of the term ...dongle? ooh.. ok we will discuss this later.

Club atOne is a mix of a community and a reward system, community where we can all talk ... chat .. and even complain ( oh god ! ) . which not exactly what I can do when I am wearing my atone- ArchiCAD super hero costume , and also we can share news...

and also it is a reward system for all Archicaders , I hope you already got some information on that in the newsletter . and more details will be published here soon . anyhow its easy to earn points , just shooting two A-CAD users .. will get you couple of years in prison. fair enough eh ?

well.. no really its easy .. good deeds gives you points , sending us your friends contacts to we can introduce ArchiCAD  gives you points , submitting your work to the newsletter gives you points , a case study gives you points ... and so, and later on you can use those points as discounts when you are buying new stuff , or just get instant gifts !

well...lets get this thing up and running !