The Shoegnome Open Template for ArchiCAD 18 has arrived! Here are the download links:

• Shoegnome Open Template – v18
• Shoegnome Open Template FAQ

I separated out the FAQ because it was getting long. If you’ve read it before, go ahead and re-skim it. I’ve added and changed a few things.

What’s new in the template for ArchiCAD 18?

A lot of things. The template is completely rebuilt off of the ArchiCAD 18 USA residential template. I didn’t mess much with some things (mostly Fills, Surfaces, and Line Types), but of course completely obliterated or heavily reworked other things (Pen Sets, Layers, Building Materials, Layout book, etc). The most recent ArchiCAD 18 USA template actually isn’t half bad. I finally added all the schedules I’ve been using for the last few months. And I know I forgot or didn’t get to some stuff, but that’s okay. I’m continually working on the template, so I’ll just get whatever I missed/is wrong whenever v18.2 comes out. If you’ve used or looked at my version 17 template, a lot will be familiar, but this is definitely a big evolution. For instance…

Look at the image above. That’s a 100% live section view of the model. Absolutely no 2D. Just the magic of Pen Sets and Building Materials. I’ll write some posts and record some videos over the next few weeks that explain the what and why. Though of course if you download the template, it’ll all be fairly clear.

Clarity is definitely what I focused on in this iteration of the Shoegnome Open Template. I tried to simplify Layers further, rename everything to be even more clear, whatever I could do to make the template easier to understand and use. To that end I also spent a bit of yesterday creating a very small project within the template so that you could see how everything works together. The FAQ talks more about that.

There are some further notes in the file which you should see when you first open it. Read those too. And finally, if you think I’m crazy to head down the path of color drawings, that’s okay. The template works just as well if you ignore the three colorized Pen sets (but I’m getting ahead of myself, that’s a discussion for my 7th Pen Sets post).

What are you waiting for?

Go download the Shoegnome Open Template for ArchiCAD 18! Did I mention it’s free, if you want it to be? Because it is. Unless you’d rather send some support money my way. Because you can do that too.

If you want all the latest Shoegnome Open Template news, sign up for the mailing list below. I’ll only send e-mails about the template:

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Subscribe to my blog to read more about the tricky world of being an Architect in the 21st century. Want to reminisce about the original launch of the Shoegnome Open Template back in early 2014? Sometime soon I’ll explain why a good ArchiCAD Template and caring about learning BIM is so critical to being a successful Architect in the fast approaching future. Shoegnome on Facebook, Twitter, and the RSS feed.