Urban Network Analysis Toolbox for ArcGIS
The City Form Lab has released a state-of-the-art toolbox for urban network analysis. As the first of its kind, the centrality tools this ArcGIS toolbox can be used to compute five types of graph analysis measures on spatial networks: reach; gravity; betweenness; closeness; and straightness. Redundancy tools additionally calculate the redundancy index, redundant paths, and the wayfinding index. The tools incorporate three important features that make them particularly suited for spatial analysis on urban street networks. First, they can account for both geometry and topology in the input networks, using either metric distance (e.g. meters) or topological distance (e.g. turns) as impedance factors in the analysis. Second, unlike previous software tools that operate with two network elements (nodes and edges), the UNA tools include a third network element, buildings, which are used as the spatial units of analysis for all measures.
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Spacemaker
Spacemaker is an intuitive, collaborative, cloud-based AI software that empowers architects, urban planners, and real estate developers to design high-quality site proposals. It enables users to create 3D massing models of their site and its surroundings using automatic data sets, test site proposals, and receive accurate analyses for over 100 criteria such as noise, wind, sun, and microclimate. Spacemaker streamlines early-stage planning and design workflows with intuitive tools and generative design, allowing for comprehensive feasibility studies and concept design. It offers ready-to-use data sets, smart design tools for fluid 2D and 3D drawing with real-time floor area tallying, and analyses for noise, wind, solar panels, sun, and parking design. Additional features include import and export capabilities with IFC and OBJ formats, automatic area calculations, microclimate analysis, visualization of differences between proposals, apartment generation, view analysis, etc.
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Orbital Stack
Orbital Stack is an AI and CFD web-based software that provides earlier qualitative guidance, comparing a large number of design options while highlighting any potential wind and thermal comfort red flags. It allows for the realization of a variety of climate-conscious, high-performance developments not previously feasible due to cost and/or time constraints associated with traditional studies.
Orbital Stack is the first digital climate-analysis tool built by global leaders in wind and microclimate engineering using real wind tunnel data. It is truly a game-changer for the architecture and building design sector, offering our clients direct access to wind comfort and safety analysis, thermal comfort and shadowing analysis, and cladding pressure simulations. This means architects can run their own wind simulations and quickly understand the climate impacts of their proposed building designs from the start, making decisions that result in higher performing and more resilient projects.
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AutoCAD Plant 3D
The 2022 Plant 3D toolset is included with AutoCAD. Create and edit P&ID’s, 3D models, and extract piping orthographics and isometrics with industry-specific toolset for plant design. Collaborate on plant design models across project teams and maintain compliance requirements, all in a cloud-based common data environment. The Plant 3D toolset is delivered with standard symbol libraries in the tool palettes. They include PIP, ISA, ISO/DIN, and JIS. Quickly identify possible errors by scanning P&IDs for data consistency according to user-definable rules. Quickly create 3D plant models using parametric equipment modeling, structural steel libraries, and project-specific piping specifications using industry standard piping catalogs. Extract piping orthographic drawings directly from the 3D model and update them as the 3D model is being updated. Work with other industry disciplines to create BIM models for the plant.
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