Vectorworks, part of the Nemetschek Group, released its fourth update to the Vectorworks 2024 product line, which grants customers access to AI and virtual reality (VR) technologies through two brand-new tools.
“This latest software update showcases our unwavering dedication to equipping our customers with cutting-edge technology to elevate their design processes,” said Dave Donley, Vectorworks senior director of rendering and research. “By introducing these tools, we are taking a significant step forward in leveraging the power of AI and VR to enable users to explore their design concepts faster and with greater detail. We believe these features will assist our users in securing more work and ensure they can deliver projects with the highest level of precision and creativity.”
For all designers
Combining the power of Vectorworks with the speed of AI powered by Stable Diffusion, customers have access to the new AI Visualizer. The experimental tool uses Vectorworks Cloud Services for a zero-install, uninterrupted workflow to quickly ideate illustrative concepts or create refined images using Vectorworks models from text prompts at any design stage.
Vectorworks customers can now also use VR technology in their design workflows with the help of VectorworksOdyssey, the virtual reality application based on Unity developed for Meta Quest 2 and beyond. With the app, designers and all stakeholders can experience immersive VR models with a bird’s-eye view and virtual walkthrough modes, helping them to gain better context and provide quick and thorough feedback on projects, especially during the early design phases.
Using Apple’s Room Plan framework, the Room Plan feature in Vectorworks Nomad is now even more advantageous, allowing customers to quickly and more easily create accurate 3D models directly from the iOS app. The new capability to scan multiple rooms and seamlessly combine them into a single model, plus the added support for round and slanted walls, provides significant time savings when surveying existing building or site conditions. Customers will also find a new intuitive and direct workflow in the desktop app for importing files from Nomad and Vectorworks Cloud Services. With a menu command directly in Vectorworks, files from 3D scans can be easily found and imported straight into design layers.
For landscape architects and designers
Professionals in the Landscape industry will benefit from the introduction of two new modes of the hardscape tool, Site Model Contour Labels and new Site Model Contour Label workflows. The Style Pick-up and Convert modes of the hardscape tool allow users to create a smart hardscape object from a selected shape using the active settings from the hardscape, similar to the plant, landscape area and irrigation tools.
The update is available to download for all currently released English language-based versions of Vectorworks 2024 and is immediately accessible to subscription and Vectorworks Service Select customers.
