I recognized Franco's reflection in my monitor. We had grown up together. He entered the studio and I greeted him with open arms. Before I could even ask how he was he shook my hand and with excitement in his eyes said, "Lino, Rosangela and I found a piece of land! It's beautiful! We're going to build our dreamhouse!"

I interrupted him and brought him jokingly back down to earth with the classic, "But my services are going to cost you!" We looked at each other and broke into laughter, patting each other on the back just as in old times. I was happy to accept the job and was touched by the faith my old friend had shown in me.

My first task was to meet with Franco and his wife Rosangela - undisputed queen of the castle - to gather the necessary information and define the project. They had had work done on the house before and had always displayed impecable taste. Unlike Franco, however, Rosangela had always shown great difficulty interpreting blue prints or technical drawings. I explained my design proposals and ideas to her the best I could using gestures but Rosangela became frustrated. "I can't take it anymore! I don't understand a thing!" she said. She turned to her husband and said, "If YOU like it, fine. I'll just have to trust you on it!" Her statement was a shock to me - she felt completely excluded from the design process!

From that moment on, I felt yet another responsibility - that of helping Rosangela feel included in the design of her new home. It's not rare that a designer finds himself in this position - that of having to help the client visualize the architectural space. But I knew I had the right amunition, the tools that would help me win Rosangela back and allow her to feel as well as see her new house.

For my professional work I've chosen software that is best adapted to the kinds of projects I do - programs that give me the most for my money and have earned my trust in terms of both quality and satisfaction.

I've been designing for over twenty years, specializing in residential architecture. I computerized my studio with Macintosh several years ago. When I made the decision to work on a computer, I looked for a CAD program suitable to my needs. I visited several computer shows and saw many demonstrations. After a long search, I found a program that today still continues to satisfy my requirements for quality and serve as a strong reference point for my clients who trust me to propose the best possible solutions to their design challenges.

I'm talking about Interstudio's program Domus.Cad - a 3D CAD program so intuitive and simple to use that it won me over immediately. I could design any project in plan and have sections, axons, and perspectives generated automatically and quickly.

From then on, my drafting table became only a backup tool. I use the same drawings for building contractors, details, and obtaining permits. All I have to do is change the printing scale, saving me a lot of time. Drawings that used to be tedious, such as sections - especially those that cut through stairs or roof elements - are no longer a problem.

Domus.Cad is easier to work with than it is to describe. A simple click of the mouse can change a wall's color...or a window's dimensions. And each change is immediately visualized. By clicking the edge of a floor slab, even one with an irregular shape, and I can read its area. Plus, I can import and export in DXF, import photos and PICT images, automatically generate walls and arches on any drawn polygon, and automatically calculate roof pitches, stair rises, or diagonal intersections.

But the most amazing aspect of this program is its interactiveness using QuickDraw 3D. When a wall, floor slab, roof, door, or window is inserted or a balcony or stairway is moved, the three-dimensional model changes in real time...with all the assigned colors! And by simply moving the mouse I can rotate and view the design from any angle...or actually enter and walk through the design to show the client exactly what it will be like!

The next time I met with Franco and Rosangela to show them how the design was progressing, they were surprised - and impressed - by the quality of my work and how much I'd accomplished in such a short time. They compared my "computerized" work to that of another architect who works with more "traditional" means. They were more than satisfied with the results...but I wanted to show them even more!

I sat them both in front of the computer and brought up the design of their house. Their faces lit up when they began to move the mouse and see the rendered view move and change! Then they moved the camera inside the house and saw the stairs connecting the house's two floors...then the living room...the master bedroom and the kitchen!

For the first time Rosangela began to understand what her house was really going to look like! She was, for the first time, a part of the design process. She began to intervene and observe each part of the house meticulously.

Not long before designing my friends' house, I'd seen a demonstration of Art*lantis Render by Abvent. I was facinated by what Art*lantis could do - applying light and materials - and was even more enthusiastic when I learned that it could be used with Domus.Cad.

In its next stage of development, Franco and Rosangela's house was transfered from Domus.Cad to Art*lantis, exporting it in DXF format. When I opened the design, we were able to see it in plan as well as in section. The colors I'd assigned to the various building elements in Domus.Cad were read and interpreted by Art*lantis. Plaster walls were identified in one color, stone walls in another, roof elements in yet another and so on. Each like element was identified by its own color.

I positioned the sun using the mouse, placing it at just the right distance to obtain the effect I wanted. Then, to avoid shadows that could have been bothersome when seen from certain angles, I added a few artificial lights until the entire 3D model, including the interior, was lighted.

Franco and Rosangela looked at me with disbelief. We selected a perspective angle showing the house from the entry drive and rendered it. I opened the "shader" library, displaying all the materials: wood, stone, pavement, vegetation, water, mirrors...in all different forms and colors.

At this point all I had to do was drag the wanted material from the shader and drop it on the correct building element and the material was automatically applied to all the building elements of that same type.

Click the image to see an enlargement.

We applied all the plaster finishes, stone, roof shingles, and glass - even the drapes and furniture materials - and in just a few minutes had a photorealistic image of the house! We tried several different types of materials and colors to arrive at a final product. I saved the rendered image in PICT format, then moved the point of view and rendered another image, then another, and another...all from different angles.

Franco and Rosangela were amazed at how easily I could change the materials' characteristics and render them more opaque or textured depending on the resolution wanted. I could even change the colors or modify the dimension of the materials.

I saved about ten images in all, then exported the images to Domus.Cad and paged them with the plans and other technical drawings. I then plotted everything on an ink jet plotter.

As the design process came to a close, I saw Rosangela become less and less frustrated. She now knew exactly how her house was going to look, right down to the details. Franco was even happier than his wife...and I was happier than both of them!

With sincere wishes for a happy and prosperous design future,

Lino Cerruti

Paladina - Bergamo, Italy - August 28, 1996

PS - If your curious to see the final product, click the image below.

See more projects of Lino Ceruti!

Interstudio S.r.l. - Piazza Monteoliveto 6/a - 51100 Pistoia, Italy- tel. ++39 0573 99291 - fax.++39 0573 992930

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