CAD

CAD revolutionized architectural design in the 1980s by introducing digital tools that replaced traditional drafting methods. CAD (Computer-Aided Design) can be considered the first technical revolution in architectural design, while BIM (Building Information Modeling) can be seen as the second. CAD remains a fundamental component of the design process and continues to be widely used alongside BIM. This means that BIM did not replace CAD, but rather complemented it.

CAD (Computer-Aided Design) literally refers to the use of computer technology to assist in design. But “Computer-Aided Design” has become quite a broad term over time, and today it’s often necessary to specify the context or domain when referring to CAD to provide clarity regarding its application. It is primarily used for creating 2D or 3D designs, particularly for technical and precise design work.

The adoption of CAD represented a significant shift in how architectural projects were conceived, documented, and communicated, marking the beginning of the digital era in architectural design. While CAD started as a digital version of a drafting table, its capabilities and functionalities have expanded into fields such as 3D modeling, simulation, analysis, and integration with BIM and other technologies and systems.

Today, the CAD software market is faced with the emergence of free and open-source CAD software. Although it has evolved over time, some people might feel that CAD has not changed much since the 1990s because the fundamental principles of CAD – creating 2D or 3D designs on a computer – have remained the same.

File formats. The most widely used CAD format is DWG (Drawing). Developed by Autodesk, it is native to AutoCAD and is compatible with various CAD software applications. The other commonly used CAD file formats include two open standard formats developed by Autodesk – DXF (Drawing Exchange Format) and DWF (Design Web Format), other open standard formats for exchanging CAD files – STP/STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product Data) and IGS/IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification), DGN (Design, native to Bentley’s MicroStation), SAT (Standard ACIS Text), and STL (Stereolithography, commonly used for 3D printing).