Newton, Mass. – February 18, 2003 – Edgewood Log
Structures, a custom log manufacturer based in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho that
designs and manufacturers high-end custom log structures, has chosen Graphisoft®’s
Archicad® as its design and documentation program for its custom homes and
commercial projects.
Edgewood Log Structures started using Graphisoft’s Archicad about four
years ago, when company President Brian Schafer researched several 2D and 3D
design and documentation programs. Traditional 2D drafting programs failed to
offer any innovation or functions that would help improve Schafer’s design
and business processes.
“We wanted to select a program that would stay current and continue to
support our business long into the future,” Schafer said. “Knowing
we wanted to go the 3D route, we found that Graphisoft had the most superior
product out there.”
Schafer said the learning curve for Graphisoft’s Archicad is very short,
enabling him and his colleagues to gain value from their investment very quickly.
Though easy to learn, Archicad is an advanced design and documentation program
with the ability to be customized in order to meet the most aggressive design
challenges.
“We are not just drawing lines. We are modeling log structures so we can
see room heights and relationships,” Schafer said. In addition, Graphisoft’s
Geometric Descriptive Language (GDL) technology brings intelligent information
to all of the elements in an Archicad model. GDL captures information related
to material, style, measurements and manufacturer data.
“Archicad has a very sophisticated way of making library objects,”
Schafer said. Schafer’s design team can easily control an object’s
appearance and behavior by changing a few settings in a dialog box or by editing
parameters graphically. Edgewood has also used some basic programming techniques
to create custom objects in GDL quickly.
In addition to streamlining the design process, Archicad has been a primary
benefit in marketing and selling the company’s products.
“We are giving our clients an actual picture of their home, one that we
can share very early in the design process and collaborate on with our clients,”
Schafer said, adding that virtual animations of design projects enable his clients
to walk through a proposed home before a log is even cut. “We’ve
won jobs because we can demonstrate our product with color 3D renderings and
animations. People are trained to visualize things, and our renderings leave
no doubt in our customers’ minds about how the project will look.”
Because Edgewood Log Structures projects are managed in Archicad, Schafer’s
team can take a model of the project and with a few keystrokes generate sections,
elevations, and photorenderings. Changes in sunlight, room light, and textures
can easily be manipulated to create a photo realistic rendering of the project.
Schafer has found abundant educational resources that help his team members
establish and improve their Archicad expertise. In addition to the training
seminars that Graphisoft routinely offers, there are user groups, Web sites
where design professionals trade tips and secrets and numerous books about Archicad.
“The training and support that Graphisoft provides is unprecedented in
the industry,” Schafer said. “The seminars they offer are invaluable
in helping us learn the program. There are fabulous training aids available
to empower users to push the limits of what they are doing.”
For more information on Edgewood Log Structures, go to www.edgewoodlog.com.