Look Out, Catia: Rhino for Archiecture

Rhino is freeform surface modeling software for industrial and jewlery design. The software was developed and quietly marketed by Robert McNeel & Assoc of Seattle WA USA.

Emphasis on "quietly," for McNeel was also an authorized CAD software dealer for Autodesk. Last year, Autodesk took its prerogative to drop McNeel as a dealer. (At time, I wondered how the action benefited users, who could no longer work with the dealer they might have preferred.)

Being a dealer for Autodesk had a benefit, for it gave McNeel the cashflow it needed to develop complimentary software, like its Rhino 3D surfacing software. (AutoCAD didn't do 3D surfaces until last year.) Being free of Autodesk also has its benefit, because it lets McNeel be more visible, ramp up the marketing of Rhino, and expand its largish customer base.

Next month McNeel is flying some of the CAD media (moi, aussi) to the sandy shores of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a day of communicating the Rhino message. Around the same time, McNeel is sponsoring a gathering of users on the future of architecture in Delft, the Netherlands.

Architecture? The press release explains, "The powerful 3D-curve generating capabilities of Rhino have been applied in a diverse number of design fields, from consumer products to automotive. More and more, architects have been turning to the software to create spectacular sculptural buildings." Look out, Frank Gehry!

Comments

[Evan Yares]

Look out Frank Gehry?

Gehry Partners is a major user of Rhino. Yes, they also use CATIA, and have a partnership with Dassault (Gehry Technologies), but Rhino is a big deal in their architectural practice.