Renga Architecture

Designing with 3D

Renga Architecture's interface is focused on making design comfortable, and on making all tools available in 3D.

For the utmost in creativity, users are provided with an unrestricted 3D space in which to design. As our purpose is to allow users to work comfortably in a 3D environment, we made the deliberate choice of ensuring all tools needed to solve design problems work in 3D mode.

You have the freedom to handle any number of levels and floors, and can access the most popular element types effortlessly, along with the tools to modify them. With each command is a variety of views, types, and styles for solving serious issues in the design of buildings made of complex architectural forms.

Nevertheless, a 2D design mode is available in Renga Architecture that shows the plan view of any level, yet does not restrict users in terms of functionality. While working in plan mode, you continue to build the 3D model of the project.

Improving the User Experience

As we developed our new design system, one of our tasks was to create a better context-sensitive user interface.

To arrive at this result, we conducted research into to how users solve tasks. We spent time implementing user-system interaction rules, designing the appearance of the working plane, and developing the logic of how commands should be expected to behave.

The result is Renga Architecture's design environment in which users are comfortable designing over the course of an 8- to 12-hour workday. Our balanced interface resulted in a muted color gamut, efficient model placement in 3D space, a convenient navigation system, and a sufficient number of functionally grouped commands whose options don't overwhelm the user.

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Elementary Flexibility

We designed a system that rejects attempts to describe all instances of construction elements and equipment.

Likewise, users should not be held hostage to blank reference books, an absence of required element configurations, or be required to purchase databases from outside sources.

Users need a universal tool that creates any kind of building configuration from elements. Renga Architecture provides a style editor for all object types. These editors enable you to create new element types in quite a natural manner. Instead of accessing catalogs and reference databases, users access styles of elements that are saved and quickly modified. Modified elements are transferred easily to other projects and so can be shared office-wide and with clients.

Navigating Project Documents

Renga Architecture was designed to have a convenient project structure that is intuitive for you to navigate. Projects are navigated directly via the 3D model or by using the Project Explorer.

Architects typically create 3D models that contain information indicated by symbols, such as for cuts, facades, and levels (floors). Users access the embedded information merely by pointing at any of these designations, and then through a drop-down menu have the system trigger an instant transition to the selected design representation.

The Project Explorer mode contains all design representations listed in logical order, which the system obtains automatically. It provides users access to levels, cuts, facades, and drawings.

Laying Out Drawings

The most important job comes at the end of the design process, where drawings (layouts) are generated for use by construction crews.

All you have to do for layouts is to place created views (levels, facades, cuts) at the required scale in a drawing. Views arranged in drawings are projections, automatically obtained from the 3D model associated with the project. Any modification to the model instantly changes the geometry in the layout.

Drawing mode is a full-scale graphic editor that lets you add required graphic primitives to drawings manually, such as line sections, arcs, hatches, fills, elevation marks, and dimensions. The crucial aspect to this mode is that projections are laid out in compliance with SPDS, or other standards if you work with international customers.

Exchanging Data

To maximize Renga Architecture's integration into information environments that already exist at design firms, our program exports data to other systems as .ifc, .dxf, or .obj files.

IFC is used by BIM design, DXF by CAD systems, and OBJ by 3D rendering and animation software. Non-graphical information exchange is supported through .csv files, an open and non-proprietary format supported by most data systems.

This makes it possible for you to use 3D and 2D project data as needed by your firm, and among all team members during every stage of the project.

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