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3 Applications on the iPhone for Architects - Drawing and 3D Modelling

By arcfarmer • September 29, 2009

Your finger is a pencil.

At the risk of being personal, I lay in bed on Sunday morning scrolling through the masses of applications on the iTunes’ app store. My thoughts were on where technology may take the architect in the next 10 years. What better place to look than amongst arguably the most cutting-edge technology available in a commercial capacity to the masses.

My query was simple. Applications on the iPhone for Architects.  At first you get a splattering of image related apps. Apps with photos and geotags of different “star” buildings with a heavy USA bias. Though this doesn’t help the designer, it just offers something to look at. I don’t want the frills, I want the function.

I was (and still am) looking for something that I can draw with, or even better 3D model with and export two-dimensional drawings from. A tool to use on the road. A pocket-sized virtual sketchbook, and at this point in time there isn’t much out there. Why not just a napkin and a pen you say? Well I still do, though unfortunately have a tendency to wash my jeans with the idea still in them.

I found three applications on Sunday. Cad Touch r2, Archipelis 3D and Autodesk entered the fray just recently with Sketchbook.

I decided first on Archipelis 3D, an offering from the creators of Archipelis Designer.  Fun for a while and conceptually intriguing. Although they have the basic 3D environment down it turns every finger gesture into some form of blob. An interesting analogy. You can mirror, swivel, scale and move the blob…you can export it. But it remains as just that. A blob. or many blobs. Its application has limits.

Screenshot of Archipelis 3D iPhone application
Though it’s a start, and a commendable attempt at an affordable price (A$2.49). You’d spend more on coffee and you might get more enjoyment out of this app. Speculating, I’m sure it won’t be long until the Goliath Autodesk or a company of similar stature walks into this arena and decimates the competition with an outstanding 3D offering. A portable version of Max maybe? Will McNeel rise to the challenge and create some kind of NURB related offering for all of us? Time will tell as the app store continues to swell…or you could go browse the forums.
The second I encountered was CadTouch R2 by neoDev, an app I’m sure has potential. Unfortunately though I have been stung too many times purchasing expensive applications (this one is A$12.99) based on a good idea without the user base to support research and development. The review from Wang was enough of a deterrent:

“Potentially Good

But is currently very bad. Its a waste of money. Scribble is better. “

For those unaware, Scribble is described on the App Store as “great for kids and children of all ages”. Hmmm.

CadTouch R2 does let you open DXF files however. This could potentially be very handy on site. Being able to dial up a superseded detail after an argument with a builder, correcting him with cold, hard evidence. I can imagine it would be as satisfying as disproving a friend’s argument at the dinner table with the use of Wikipedia Mobile. It never makes you popular unfortunately.

cadTouch - should have chosen a better design for their marketing.

Another interesting thing is that cadTouch R2 is delving into is the world of parametric objects and design libraries. One can only imagine generating a BIM rich virtual model and documentation set from a handheld device, without four walls of an office surrounding you. Focussing that much concentration on a tiny device might be a bit too much to ask of a user. It raises some interesting questions relating to where the industry may be heading though.
The third appeals to the sketch design phase of the design process (for Architect’s). ..and yes, Goliath has started to intimidate the little kids.

Screenshot of Autodesk Sketchbook Mobile


Autodesk’s Sketchbook Mobile (it’s big brother application is Sketchbook Pro) is actually a very well designed and intuitive application. It has a simple interface, of which users of anything from Adobe Photoshop to MS Paint on Windows will have no problem working out. It serves a specific purpose. That of a surface for jotting ideas quickly and colourfully. You can save your ideas, email them and open them wherever you want to go. A criticism? Moving around the canvas. Zooming and panning feels awkward. This might be of concern to the iPhone 3GS user who has a 1024×682 pixel canvas, though it seems ok for those on the iPhone 3G who only have at their disposal a 600×400 canvas and don’t need to zoom in and out as much.

As for the future of 3D modelling, sketching and drafting apps on handheld devices? Who knows? You take another point of interest such as Augmented Reality and imagine what may eventuate when cross-pollinating such concepts. Will some (of course not all) adapt an entirely digital, handheld way of life? From inception to implementation?
Potentially this technology, as long as you are within a breath of a decent wifi connection, will allow the architect to practice anywhere with minimal supporting infrastructure. We are in early days, though by cleaning up the user interface and potentially being able to project image onto a larger surfaces from these devices may end up challenging how the tech-savvy sole practitioner may work. He/She may become the eternal wanderer, designing what takes place along their path globally. Augmenting virtualities and morphing them into realities.
Stereolithographic models could become a common fixture at your local printing station. Offering a place for the Architect’s work to materialise. If a biodegradable stl technology was developed, these models could decompose or be chemically converted back to the powder or resin from which they came again reducing the footprint of this Baudelairean wanderer.
Image of a STL machine - via Wikipedia
More on this to come.



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