EA029: BIMsanity… Is AutoCAD LT a Better Choice for Small Firm Architects? [Podcast]

I met my wife Annmarie in 1993 at my first job with Barry Poskanzer Architecture and Planning in Ridgewood, NJ. I had been working as an intern for several months and Barry was seeking a new employee, another intern to help with lower level tasks and to work with the licensed architects in the firm as a draftsman.

If you are interested in my story my journey from architecture school to owning my own small firm, check out an earlier episode of the Entrepreneur Architect Podcast at EntreArchitect.com/episode21.

Soon after Annmarie was hired, a large package from Gateway computers arrived in the studio. It was a new workstation, the firm's first. Later that day, a couple drafting boards were pushed to the side, a work table was cleared and the massive tower was set up beside the new CRT 21 monitor. Cutting edge software was then painstakingly installed via a dozen or so 3.5 floppy disks; AutoCAD release R12 for the latest version of Windows 3.1.

Up until that day, the firm had developed every design with pencils on sketch paper and prepared final drawings with ink on mylar. Annmarie and I were the guinea pigs hired to learn the new software and help transition the firm into the new era of computer aided design.

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This week on the Entrepreneur Architect Podcast, I'm going to explore the world of architectural design software and what packages are best for a small firm architecture studio.

Is BIM really worth the hype?

Or is AutoCAD LT, as basic as it is… is AutoCAD LT a better choice for a small firm architect?

I don't know the answer. I'd love to know what you think. Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts. BIM vs. AutoCAD for small firm architects… What’s your opinion?

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Photo Credit: Shutterstock / nostal6ie