This is the story of Mark Wilson’s marvelous and mysterious journey from the drawing board to 2D CAD to 3D BIM which ultimately lead to the creation of QARC Systems.
Mark had his own Architectural practice since 1985. He used the drawing board for over 15 years. Back then a 13-inch VDU screen with 4MB of ram was serious stuff! Yes 4 Megabytes of Ram NOT Gigabytes cost $400. As a result, Mark often had 2 computers going while drafting on the drawing board between commands while waiting for the processor to catch up.
Mark purchased AutoCAD and a 3D add on from a builder who just did not have the time to make it into a production tool. Sound familiar? In those early days it was not unusual to spend 14 hours a day in front of the computer. It was the same then as now long days with no breaks – except for Mark broken back. Mark has been a user of Autocad for over 35 years and has been using 3D 3rd party add-ons for all those 35 years.
Mark “transitioned” to different 3D software twice. Each software was compatible with the Autocad® OEM. At times Mark even Beta tested software and it slowly improved. The add-ons (to Autodesk) software all got harder and harder to use with Autocad® OEM as Autocad® developed their own Architectural desktop 3D program. Eventually the Brisbane written “add on” software was bought out by Americans and the whole thing became Americanized. What’s a foot then? Eventually frustration meant the search was on again.
Mark wanted this to be the last time I had to learn new software. Along the way he recorded every problem and solution documenting the journey in the hope he could pave the way and make the destination easier for others to reach. This probably meant his transition took longer than it should have. But that was the price Mark was happy to pay for the benefit of the Architectural profession. Why you may ask? Mark was frustrated by the learning process as he was not earning while he was earning.
No other Architects would share their “precious” IP as it had cost them so much. Mark thought this was wrong. Why should everyone waste thousands of dollars and hours recreating an inferior wheel? Mark was used to sharing at his local Small Practice Architectural Group.
This is how QARC was born creating Mark from QARC along the way. Mark has closed his Architectural Practice to focus on developing QARC4Revit and other QARC Systems. He has also tutored at University of Queensland teaching 2nd and 1st year students to use Revit the QARC way in six lectures of only 90 minutes. The results are amazing.
