Archinect - News

Hackers are using architects’ computers for crypto-mining, cybersecurity firm warns

2023-09-08T11:09:00-04:00

Cybersecurity firm Cisco Talos is warning of the potential for hackers to target architects and other designers with crypto-mining malware. The hacking campaign, which has largely targeted French-speaking architects, engineers, and graphic designers, sees the victim’s computer infected with malware via installer tools.

“Cybercriminals are abusing Advanced Installer, a legitimate Windows tool used for creating software packages, to drop cryptocurrency-mining malware on infected machines,” Cisco Talos explains.

The vulnerability centers on Advanced Installer, a package used in the installations of legitimate software installers such as Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk Revit, and SketchUp. The hackers package such installers with malicious scripts and use Advanced Installer’s Custom Actions feature to make the software installers execute the malicious scripts.

The resulting malware allows h...

Zaha Hadid Architects on using AI in workplace design

2023-06-15T13:01:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has offered The New York Times an insight into how the firm has deployed artificial intelligence in workplace design. Times writer Farah Nayeri spoke with Arjun Kaicker and Ulrich Blum from Zaha Hadid Analytics + Insights (ZHAI) which uses data and artificial intelligence to design workplaces.

“The pandemic has really supercharged innovation in the workplace,” Kaicker told the paper, noting that before 2020, “the majority of office buildings had a one-size-fits-all desk for everyone, and the same environment around them, the same everything.”

Blum shared that ZHAI possessed a computer tool that, within 27 hours, could generate 100,000 designs for a building interior — a feat which would take an architect a decade to deliver if producing 40 drawings per day. The team cited the firm’s Infinitus Plaza in Guangzhou, China, which saw AI deployed to generate options for positioning the bui...

Kate Wagner on AI's questionable 'disrupting' impact

2023-03-24T13:59:00-04:00

It is misrepresented as some inherently revolutionary technology, when in fact it is rather conservative aesthetically [...] Not only is this a gray area in terms of intellectual property; it also is, well, boring. An architecture dependent on AI will produce content of the lowest common denominator.

While AI applications like Midjourney may have their advantages, Kate Wagner sees their implementation into the architectural design process as deeply flawed and the product of too many industry hype mongers.

Despite their potential to make certain office tasks redundant, Wagner says there’s going to be an endpoint at which human designers are once again made inevitable, writing: "I believe that while design and construction documentation is the most boring part of making a building, it is also most likely to be the last to be automated, for the simple reason that architects and firms are extremely risk-averse [...] Architects would generally rather leave such features such as retaining walls to contractors rather than elaborate on specifics that would make the architect themselves legally responsible. This is, simply, not a practice open to 'disruption.'"

The points she raises about ...

What’s in a word? Nicholas de Monchaux considers the need to redefine how we think of ‘design’

2023-02-23T14:54:00-05:00

Though there was indeed a key shift in the meaning of “design” between 1300 and 1500, it had less to do with language and more with a fundamental shift in the making of things themselves. The relationship between drawing and design did not give rise to a word—or even expand its meaning. Rather, it diminished the word as it had previously been used, and in a way that may now be important to reverse.

What’s the difference between modern and historic conceptions of the industry’s most misused word? MIT Head of Architecture Nicholas de Monchaux says it was the “literal mechanization of production that firmly separated the work of designing from making — with profound consequences for the definition of design, as a word and as a structure of our society.”

Indeed, the advent of consumer economies has seen the word taken on a less-creative meaning “inextricable from a corollary diminishing of the planet’s finite resources,” according to his thinking. The ability to delineate in the now highly-technicized design process is the inevitable victim, remedied only, he says, by a further broadening to include “the resources and decisions on which a designed world depends.”

“We must reshape not just objects but also the culture and institutions that create them,” he concludes, jumping back two millennia. “Not incidentally, such work recaptures dē-signo in its original sense: Not just the sea...

For Unreal Engine-savvy architects, a multimedia company offers the opportunity to collaborate with big-name brands and promoters

2022-12-07T13:23:00-05:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Senior Associate of Design for the Obama Presidential Center, we are using our Job Highlights series this week to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for an Unreal Engine Rendering Artist at PHNTM.

The position, situated in Los Angeles, calls for an individual with a degree in architecture or game and entertainment design with at least one year’s experience in Unreal Engine. Responsibilities will include developing "detailed 3D scenes and cinematic photo realistic images and videos," as well as "optimize assets for virtual tours" of PHNTM’s experiential projects.

Related on Archinect: Epic Games unleashes Unreal with the Academy

Why the role interests us

The PHNTM role’s emphasis on proficiency in Unreal Engine marks the latest example of an architectural career’s intersection with immersive multimedia and gaming. Last month, the topic was also the focus on a MoMA exhibition showcasing its own video game collection. Last year, meanwh...

Nordic architects' open letter reignites scorching Autodesk criticism

2022-09-21T15:47:00-04:00

Some of Northern Europe’s leading architecture firms have signed an open letter lamenting the lack of “serious development” laden in Autodesk’s proprietary design software, an aging suite of tools the authors claim is asking usurious prices despite neglecting years of industry-wide complaints.

The letter addressed to Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost was written by the Association of Consulting Architects in Norway (AiN), the Association of Finnish Architects’ Offices (ATL), the Association of Architectural Firms in Iceland (SAMARK), and the Danish Association of Architectural Firms — each the largest professional architectural bodies in their respective Nordic home countries and representing more than 14,000 architects combined. Its contents included pointed criticisms of the multi-user license system, the incompatibility and lagging interoperability of Autodesk products to each other and to modern computing systems, and continual price gouging.

Their invective offers an update to a 202...

Job opportunities for emerging and mid-level designers specializing in BIM

2022-07-12T11:45:00-04:00

Building Information Modeling (BIM) continues to be a growing tool among architecture firms. Previously reported on Archinect in October 2021, a new study concluded the many benefits of BIM use on project completion and client satisfaction.

"According to the report, these benefits include improved client satisfaction and design quality, a risk reduction through reduced errors, and enhanced environmental and operational performance. Contractors who exploit BIM processes also experience improved win rates, a reduction in constructability issues on-site, reduced defects on handover, and higher cost control, compared to projects which do not use BIM." With the benefits of BIM expanding, so is the need for BIM specialists.

As the industry's leading architecture job board with 100+ new job listings each week, we're focusing on employment opportunities for emerging BIM professionals and senior BIM experts. If you're looking for more information on what a BIM Specialist is, be sure to chec...

What role do simulations play in the green design process, and in architectural careers?

2022-05-25T08:43:00-04:00

Last week, we reported on Barcelona’s mission to build a digital twin of the entire city on a supercomputer housed in a 19th century chapel. Speaking to Politco about the potential for the data-driven replica to aid Barcelona's urban development, the city’s Deputy Mayor noted: "We are in an emergency situation in which we no longer have time to make mistakes. To meet the 2030 climate goals, to be climate neutral by 2050, we have to get things right the first time around."

The digital twin project in Barcelona joins similar digital urban environments being built to replicate U.S cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, with the Las Vegas model specifically designed to "help Las Vegas building owners transition to net-zero carbon emissions."

With the ever-increasing ability of cities to capture real-world data, from traffic behavior to air quality to informal expansion, citywide digit...

What a building scientist does, and how architects can become one

2022-05-18T11:51:00-04:00

Earlier this week, we covered comments by columnist Kunle Barker in the UK’s Architects’ Journal, who warned against the trend of offsetting emissions to achieve a “zero carbon” built environment.

“Offsetting is not sustainable,” Barker wrote. “In fact, it's not even close to being sustainable, and most worrying of all, it is allowing lazy, ego-driven designs to be accepted by us all. We must find an objective and fair way to assess if (and how) a building should be constructed. This is the only way the built environment can become part of the climate solution.”

Barker’s comments demonstrate the growing value of building science, and dedicated building scientists, as a means of addressing the question of “how” a building should be constructed.

Archinect Feature: Meet the Architects Designing Software to Fight Climate Change

While all architects possess at least a working knowledge of building science, such as structural systems and mechanical engineering, a building scientist is ta...

Real-time architectural visualization receives a boost with Enscape 3.3

2022-04-13T20:09:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Enscape

Architects and designers can enjoy a more refined design workflow thanks to the creators of the popular real-time visualization plugin, Enscape. New features including Site Context and Alpha Channel Export plus support for SketchUp 2022 have just been released with the latest version, Enscape 3.3.

A recognized leader within the AEC industry, Enscape is renowned for being a fast and simple rendering plugin for modeling software such as Revit and Rhino. The tool supplements the design process, empowering architects to rapidly test ideas, walk through their rendered project, and show clients exactly what is being proposed in a comprehensible format. With Enscape 3.3, the new features and functionality are set to improve both the design and the client experience.

“We’re always looking for new ways to support our customers’ design workflows,” said Petr Mitev, VP of Visualization Product Group at Enscape. “With our latest release, we’ve automated s...

Perkins&Will, Building Transparency, and C Change Labs awarded grant to develop carbon reduction tool

2021-06-25T16:54:00-04:00

Global design practice Perkins&Will, in collaboration with climate action-focused software company C Change Labs and nonprofit organization Building Transparency Canada, has been awarded a grant to develop a tool that facilitates the design of low-carbon buildings.

Called the Tally Climate Action Tool or tallyCAT, it will build on existing technologies, giving users access to material and product information, in real time, within commonly used BIM programs, such as Revit and Rhino.

Image courtesy Perkins&Will

The CleanBC Building Innovation Fund (CBBIF) based out of British Columbia awarded the team $460,000 as part of its mission to fund projects in the Canadian province that accelerate the availability and affordability of low-carbon building solutions. The tool is expected to launch in March 2023. It will be globally available as an integrated plugin and provide open access to a library of materials within design software.

“Our goal is to make it easy for designers to understan...

Walkable Plans projects 1:1 scale drawings unto floor for immersive design development

2020-07-06T11:20:00-04:00

Walkable Plans is a Pittsburg-based "floor plan projection center" that allows users to project their architectural designs unto the company's facility floor. The 1:1 scale projection enables designers and their clients to review designs at full size, providing a more immersive design experience.

A start-up to replace your office materials library

2020-05-05T12:09:00-04:00

Material Bank is a New York City-based start-up seeking to upend the building industry's relationship to building materials sampling and ordering.

The company is founded by Adam I. Sandow, an entrepreneur who leads the SANDOW company, a collection of interconnected media and designer- and consumer-oriented businesses that include the magazines Interior Design and Luxe Interiors + Design as well as the annual NYC X DESIGN showcase.

Material Bank bills itself as "the world's largest material marketplace of its kind" by offering free, customizable, and on-demand material library services for architects and designers to use.

Anyone who has worked in a design office knows that nearly every practice has a motley collection of material sample books, paint swatches, and other catalogs scattered around the office that designers use to select finishes for their work. In larger offices and universities, these collections might have dedicated spaces and staff on hand to coordinate the materi...

Sharpen your Autodesk CAD and BIM skills with Microsol Resources and CADLearning by 4D Technologies

2019-11-07T08:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Microsol Resources

Microsol Resources Corporation—a recognized leader in building information modeling (BIM) technology solutions, as well as a leading Autodesk Platinum Partner serving the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries—announces its most recent technology partnership with CADLearning by 4D Technologies, an Autodesk Authorized Publisher and a premier learning portal for all things Autodesk.

CAD and BIM users and administrators can manage talent, knowledge, and competencies in one easy-to-navigate interface.

CADLearning provides the most comprehensive library of Autodesk learning content for over 40 products, including AutoCAD, Revit, and Civil 3D. CAD and BIM users and administrators can manage talent, knowledge, and competencies in one easy-to-navigate interface. CADLearning helps firms identify and fill skills and knowledge gaps, improve performance, and save time and resources by providing product support to maximize ...

How financial technology benefits from architectural design

2018-04-16T16:13:00-04:00

Design lies at the heart of both architecture and software. People continuously try to define what design is (which maybe means designers are not good at designing design), and the reason is perhaps because there is no single type of design but several. Here I’m going to talk about three that are relevant to both architects and fintech: blueprint-based design, recipe-based design, and systems design.

David Galbraith, previously featured in our Working Out of the Box series, explores what financial technology can learn from architectural design by diving into three design types. Galbraith has worked for Norman Foster and Fisher Park, and is currently a partner with Anthemis Group, a VC firm that focuses on financial services.

Instant, customizable digital architectural stencils hit the market

2016-09-06T14:38:00-04:00

With a press release that makes references to Banksy's iconic global stencils, the new digital architectural stencil set from Morpholio enables architects to instantly make customizable stencils of complex designs, from faces to condo layouts to intricately shaded trees. The initial image can come from a photograph, drawing, or render.

As Toru Hasegawa, co-creator of Morpholio Trace Pro explains: "Software should mirror the gestures, intuition and behavior of the creative. Trace Pro seeks to amplify it, and in doing so, make it as smart and elastic as possible."

This video illustrates the process, which involves gliding the stencil tool over a particular design, capturing it, and then replicating it/editing it at will with the assorted tool bars: