

Klipp is relatively new to ArchiCAD, having started implementation in 2005, with full staff training completed just two years ago, but Yanoviak used the program earlier in her career. She serves as the de facto BIM manager for the firm and on a daily basis addresses the computer issues of the 45-person staff. Laura Yanoviak is an associate and project architect at klipp, in Denver.

"It made sense." Today, Scheer & Scheer continues to use the program for all of its drafting needs, utilizing Photoshop and other programs solely as rendering tools to enhance their ArchiCAD models for selected presentations. "The idea of designing in 3-D appealed to me," says Scheer of the firm's initial choice. The three-person shop has been using ArchiCAD for 10 years. ARCHITECT asked two architects at firms that regularly use ArchiCAD to test-drive the junior version and share their thoughts with us.ĭavid Scheer is the design principal at Salt Lake City–based Scheer & Scheer.
#Archicad price usa software#
The program is based on ArchiCAD 11 technology and what the software maker refers to as a “feature set and price tailored to the needs of small architectural practices, home builders, and contractors.” (In June, Graphisoft announced the launch of ArchiCAD 12, which was expected to start shipping in July and also costs $4,250.)Ī primary selling point of Start Edition is the inclusion of BIM (building information modeling) capabilities-an evolving sector of technology that is still much more expensive than other platforms.

This past January, Graphisoft-producer of the venerable ArchiCAD-released its Start Edition at a price of $1,995, a significant savings on version 11 of the program, which runs $4,250. Cost-conscious small firms began purchasing only a handful of full licenses for their most graphics-savvy employees while outfitting the rest of their staff with these more basic computer drafting tools. (The Photoshop Elements program your family uses at home is probably as powerful a photo editor as anything you used at the office a decade ago.)Īutodesk saw the potential for tiered features when it introduced AutoCAD LT, which offers the 2-D capabilities of the industry-leading drafting program at a fraction of the price. Over time, some of these smaller siblings emulate the full-blown versions of just a few years earlier. Software companies have always offered attractively priced, entry-level versions of their graphics programs for smaller firms that want access to at least some features of the software.
