Designers choose Vectorworks Architect software because it provides a solution that supports the creative process instead of replacing it. From 2D and 3D to BIM and beyond, Vectorworks Architect delivers a robust suite of capabilities that will enhance your workflows from concept to construction and improve your design process.
Vectorworks Architect is the industry's only modeling, drafting, and documentation software built with BIM at the heart of the design process.
With Vectorworks Architect, your firm will benefit from best-in-industry building information modeling tools. With the software's design-oriented BIM capabilities, you will streamline costs, refine construction details, and increase your energy efficiency – all without altering your preferred process. Flexible parametric objects help you create a virtual prototype of your designs, with as much or little detail as needed. Edit and analyze your model while simultaneously generating interactive schedules.
More than half a million designers around the world are inspired by the transformative design capabilities of Vectorworks Architect. With intuitive features for working individually or across teams, Vectorworks software becomes an extension of the creative process. Designers choose to use our solutions because they can explore countless design options while creating a comprehensive BIM model and construction documents.
Capture your visions in 3D and design without limitations with Vectorworks Architect. Our first-in-industry, cross-platform graphical scripting capabilities offer new ways to explore form and function, while our advanced suite of Parasolid-based solids and NURBS-surface tools provides you with the ability to create any shape and easily transform geometry.
In addition, Vectorworks offers you the capability to model complex forms with our subdivision surface modeling built on Pixar's OpenSubdiv library. With our intuitive interface, you will design in any 2D or 3D view using modes in modeling tools that react intelligently to faces of objects as you move your cursor.
Vectorworks Architect empowers you to design without constraints. With a broader array of drafting and annotation tools than other BIM applications, you will produce stunning presentations and the highest quality documentation while you design. Use your Vectorworks BIM model as the basis to create and refine custom schedules and construction documents directly from your design, supporting changes you make throughout your iterative design process.
Collaborate and maximize efficiency. Project Sharing enables architects, interior designers, and others to unify their workflows by allowing the project team to work on the same Vectorworks file concurrently. Streamline your journey from simple sketch to final product.
Move your BIM models fluidly among design, analysis, and construction packages with the robust import and export capabilities of Vectorworks Architect. Using industry standard file formats like IFC, you can communicate effectively with consultants and collaborators who may be using Revit or other BIM software. Vectorworks Architect also offers DWG/DXF/DWF and PDF support for the creation and analysis of construction documents.
Exchange concept models from Rhino or SketchUp. Support for both the import and export of 3DM, SKP, and COLLADA file formats, as well as OBJ, STL, and 3DS, lets you explore the full range of design options by incorporating information from multiple sources, consolidating data into one place quickly and easily.
Vectorworks Architect offers solutions to develop compelling client presentations that highlight your skills, build your brand, and grow your business. Featuring best-in-industry 2D and 3D graphics and versatile rendering capabilities in Renderworks® — the rendering application powered by MAXON’s Cinema 4D render engine — you can design, document, and communicate with your customers from a single platform.
OzCAD produces a special version of Vectorworks Architect called Architect Australia, which is localised for Australian practice. It contains Australian libraries for walls, doors, windows, finishes, standards, applied finishes, sanitary fixtures, details, fireplaces, handrails and more. We have also added high quality 2D and 3D entourage libraries for people, vehicles, trees, furniture, etc., plus additional hatches, colour palettes, image fills and gradients. For more information, read the detailed descriptions below.
AnimationWorks allows you to create complex camera or object animations entirely within Vectorworks, then save them as QuickTime movies which can be viewed by anyone who has QuickTime installed. Read more and see sample movies.
Standard libraries include Dulux®, Taubmans, Porters, Murabond, Colorbond®, Laminex®, Concrete Colour Systems and Cabots®, AS 1100.301 Material Colours.
Allows a drawing to be setout with coordinates that refer to a user defined origin or datum. If datum changes, objects can be updated to display the new settings. Options include whether IDs are displayed as in the example below, and whether X/Y or X/Y/Z values are shown. Can optionally display as Eastings/Northings.
Offers a speedy way to work up details that require repetitive elements to be drawn at regular intervals. By default it can draw dressed, undressed or finished timber sections in square or rectangular profiles, at nominated centres and at a nominated rotation. This allows studs, battens, joists, etc., to be quickly worked into details, whilst maintaining editability. Because the tools also supports symbols, you can add any repetitive element to the mix, such as roof tiles, timber cladding or floor boards, C or Z purlins, etc.
Quickly search for and edit multiple class names in one hit with this useful utility.
For doing electrical plans. Comes complete with a customisable symbol library and a worksheet for listing all electrical components in the drawing including quantities, manufacturer's information, model, colour, etc.
Replaces the numeric dimension value on a picked dimension with the text ‘EQ’.
This tool allows a much greater variety of handrail objects to be drawn as a single piece or as multiple mitred lengths at any angle. It includes a library of predefined types that include glass, wire, timber and aluminium.
For doing plumbing and hydraulic plans. Comes complete with a customisable symbol library.
Produces simple block models that can be used for shadow diagrams, floor space calculations or any time you need one or more simple shaped buildings quickly. Buildings can have flat, hip or gabled roofs.
For laying out site services. Comes complete with a customisable symbol library
Creates simple or complex windows and doors which are fully editable parametric objects. It allows design and documentation to happen more quickly and provides increased control over component sizes, greater flexibility with door and window designs, better line weight and class control, and the ability to do corner and bay windows with a few clicks. Supports a much greater range of door and window styles for both residential and commercial construction, including parallel sliding door systems, louvred windows, sashless glass windows, pivot doors, glass doors, glass block windows, along with all other conventional door and window types.
WinDoor also includes a custom library of standard Australian doors and windows that can be added to or edited by the user, then used to replace or modify an existing object. With the latter option, it is possible to copy one, some or all attributes from a library item, then apply these to one, some or all WinDoor objects in the drawing. Other new options also include pivot, hopper and round windows, as well as overhead doors.
All WinDoor objects can report both glazing and ventilation areas and have additional data entered such as glass and frame type, screening, egress, compliance and so on.
