I have been an AutoCad (full and lite) user for 20+ years. Recently, I did some contract work for a residential design/build construction company and was required to use their Chief Architect to produce design and construction documents for a large custom home. After taking a few weeks to get up to speed, I was able to get a feel for the software's pros & cons. I had also just purchased Revit for my practice (got a lower interest, small business loan - it's all deductible - call me crazy!), so I was able to compare the two.
Pros: Chief Architect produces a "parametric" 3d model. Plan changes reflected in elevation and 3D and vice versa. It is relatively simple to output some very palatable 3d interior and rendering views (don't look too closely at the details though) to impress most residential clients.
The software is a kind of BIM in that, if you take time to enter the data correctly, you can produce lots of good quantity take off info. Chief Architect and lots of residential product manufacturers offer
residential parts & pieces (cabinets, fixtures, windows, etc.) with integrated data info for you to use in your building model (WAY more than is available for Revit!).
Cons: I found that the software interface was very cumbersome and not very flexible. For example: each "room" of the building needed to be defined and entered into dialogue boxes up front: give the room a "type" from a fixed list that determines relationship of floor to foundation, depth of room below, floor, wall and ceiling types - this included the plate height for the roof at any exterior walls of the room, rafter depth there, etc. All this information would then be available to produce quantity take offs, but
there were too many "work arounds" needed to get the desired results for a good set of CD's to actually illustrate the detailing for a more complex house design. Even the in-house designers at this d/b company acknowledged their frustrations with "work arounds" to compensate for some software limitations.
Chief Architect seems to be designed for a knowledgeable non-architect to be able to produce plans, elevations, 3d renderings and material quantities for single-family residence with a relatively straightforward design. Although, I haven't compared Chief to anything but Revit, I wouldn't recommend it for an architectural practice.
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Stacey Clear AIA
Clear Architecture
Saint Louis MO
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