Autodesk AUTOCAD ARCHITECTURE User manual

AutoCAD®
Architecture
Purpose-built for productivity.

Immediate Productivity
If you are an architect who knows AutoCAD®
software, you can start using AutoCAD®
Architecture software with minimal training
to create drawings, documentation, and
schedules faster. Purpose-built with
architects in mind, AutoCAD Architecture
automates tedious drafting tasks to help
reduce errors and increase eciency. As
you work, you can discover new and useful
features at your own pace.
Smooth Collaboration
Easily share designs and project information
with clients and members of your extended
project team. Use integrated rendering
tools to create contextualized design
visualizations for clear client communication
and accelerated approvals. Rely on
industry-leading DWG™ technology to
exchange information with colleagues.
Expedite project review cycles by publishing
files directly to DWF™or DWFx formats.
And exchange files with mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing engineers and
structural engineers who use other
AutoCAD-based and IFC 2x3 certified
programs.
Key Features in AutoCAD Architecture
Familiar User Environment
AutoCAD Architecture features a streamlined user
interface. Find your favorite tools and commands
faster, locate lesser-used tools more eciently, and
discover relevant new features more easily. The
result is less time searching through menus and
toolbars, and more time getting your work done.
Details
AutoCAD Architecture software includes a
comprehensive library of detail components and
keynoting tools. Fully automate the creation
of details to ensure appropriate, consistent
annotations, and save time and eort spent on
tedious documentation and design annotations.
When you are ready, generate keynote legends
quickly and easily.
Walls, Doors, and Windows
Draw and document typical building elements such
as walls, doors, and windows. Draw wall layouts
that reflect actual construction. Modify walls and
their endcap conditions on a component level for
improved handling of common wall conditions, such
as angled, cornered, or intersecting fire-rated walls.
Automatically insert and place doors or windows
with complete placement control. Move any wall,
and all connected walls and spaces automatically
update. Use familiar AutoCAD®commands such as
Fillet and Chamfer.
Spaces
Automatically tag every room in a drawing, complete
with room areas. As room boundaries change, you
can easily update spaces, causing tags and areas to
refresh, maintaining accurate documentation.
Sections and Elevations
Generate D sections and elevations with material
hatching, directly from your floor plans. If your
design changes, fully updated section and elevation
graphics are generated, maintaining layer, color,
linetype, and other properties.
AutoCAD Architecture software is AutoCAD for architects
Gain immediate productivity and smooth collaboration
within a software environment you already know.

Get all the functionality of AutoCAD software, plus tools
designed specifically for architectural drawing, design,
collaboration, and documentation.
Renovation Documentation Tools
Speed the design and production of renovation
projects with tools to help create correct
representations of existing, new, and demolition
plans. AutoCAD Architecture renovation
documentation tools enable you to assign objects
to dierent renovation categories, and then
change these assignments at any time. Using
a single revision plan helps you switch between
renovation, demolition, and revision plans more
quickly and avoid the need to create and maintain
redundant data sets.
AutoCAD®Revit®Architecture Suite—
for Maximum Flexibility and Advantage
Combining AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture,
and Autodesk®Revit®Architecture software
applications into a single, comprehensive package,
the AutoCAD®Revit®Architecture Suite software
allows you to transition to building information
modeling (BIM), while protecting your legacy
software, training, and design data investments.
Purpose-built for BIM, Autodesk Revit Architecture
delivers a powerful, competitive advantage by
speeding creative design work, facilitating analysis
for sustainable design, and automatically delivering
coordinated, consistent documentation. Support
ongoing work in either AutoCAD or AutoCAD
Architecture while you make the switch to BIM with
Autodesk Revit Architecture, at your own pace.
AutoCAD Architecture
Success Story
Whitney Architects, Inc.
Since , interior architecture firm
Whitney Architects has delivered a broad
range of technical and design services for
large corporations, financial services firms,
and hospitality providers. Whitney adopted
AutoCAD Architecture software to better
provide this diverse blend of services and to
foster improved collaboration.
Before moving to AutoCAD Architecture,
Whitney experienced diculty sharing files
with consultants, and required a great deal
of support from their previous CAD vendor.
According to Stephen Bures, president of
Whitney Architects, “We consistently ran
into trouble training new employees. They
were familiar with AutoCAD, but none of
them knew our previous CAD application,
resulting in a steep learning curve and
increased costs. That was a big part of our
decision to make the switch.”
Since adopting the software, Whitney has
completed almost  major construction
projects more productively and accurately
than possible with its previous CAD
software. “Right out of the box,” says
Bures, “AutoCAD Architecture helped us
save roughly  percent in time spent on
drawings.” Collaboration with mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing engineers as well as
structural engineers and other consultants
has improved significantly, too. “Our
drawings are much better with AutoCAD
Architecture, not only because the quality
control process is easier, but also because
the interface with all of our consultants and
clients is easier and more exact. As a result,
we save time on projects,” adds Burres.
Scheduling
Customize the appearance of out-of-the-box
schedule styles to meet company standards or create
new schedules from scratch, complete with required
calculations, with ease. Schedules are linked directly
to your designs, enabling you to update them to
reflect any design changes with the click of a button.
Rendering
Bring designs to life for client presentations at
any stage of the design with integrated rendering.
The streamlined visualization capabilities are fully
integrated into the AutoCAD Architecture workflow.
Make your presentations stand out by visually
communicating richer design information. Extend
rendering capabilities even further using the FBX file
format to export designs to modeling and animation
software such as Autodesk 3ds Max Design.
Dimensioning
Greater flexibility in AutoCAD Architecture enables
you to dimension any wall—and all its components,
including wall stud centerlines and faces—according
to your own dimensioning standards. And since
the dimensions are associative, they automatically
update as your designs change, eliminating the
tedium of many manual updates.
The power to be productive

Right out of the box AutoCAD Architecture
helped us save roughly  percent in time spent
on drawings.
—Stephen Bures
President
Whitney Architects
Phoenix Convention Center, designed by Populous. Photo © Christy Radecic 2009
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accompanies download of this software.
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Learn More or Purchase
Access specialists worldwide who can provide product expertise, a deep
understanding of your industry, and value that extends beyond your software
purchase. To purchase AutoCAD Architecture software, contact an Autodesk
Premier Solutions Provider or Autodesk Authorized Reseller. Locate a reseller
near you at www.autodesk.com/reseller.
Autodesk Learning and Education
From instructor-led or self-paced classes to online training or education
resources, Autodesk oers learning solutions to fit your needs. Get expert
guidance at an Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC®) site, access learning
tools online or at your local bookstore, and validate your experience with
Autodesk certifications. Learn more at www.autodesk.com/learning.
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