Shoegnome Work Environment for Archicad 29
October 7, 2025
I updated my Work Environment for Archicad 29 so that we can all start using the latest version of Archicad ASAP. Enjoy.
Endless Path of Improvement
EntreArchitect Episode 524: Jared Banks – Sharing a New Paradigm for the Profession of Architecture
September 1, 2023
I was a guest (again) on the EntreArchitect Podcast. Check out my interview with Mark R. LePage.
Your first task when switching to BIM
November 16, 2022
When learning BIM, the first task is always the same, no matter what program you use or why you made the switch.
Shoegnome is ready to Grow
April 16, 2018
Shoegnome Architects is looking for freelancers and maybe full time employees.
I feel Guilty because it’s Fun and Easy
September 8, 2016
My design process stresses me out. Not because it doesn’t work. No. It’s because it does and it makes me feel guilty.
Online ARCHICAD Training by BIM6x
June 13, 2016
We need more online ARCHICAD training options. Take a moment to read about why Link Ellis and Chris Clark have created ArchiBoost.
ARCHICAD Solo has limitations, and that’s great
March 27, 2016
Back in January 2016, GRAPHISOFT introduced ARCHICAD 19 Solo to the North American market. In our market, ARCHICAD Solo replaces ARCHICAD STAR(T).
A Tale of Two Platforms
March 8, 2016
Folklore says that Bill Gates’s magnificent residence on Lake Washington may have been, ironically enough, designed on a Mac.
I want this.
March 2, 2016
Shoegnome was nominated for the JDR Industry Blogger Awards, in the Best Blogger Architecture category. This post is about something more important.
The Wedge Between Us
December 14, 2015
One other pet peeve of mine is to hear architects…talk about their ‘CAD guys’ or ‘BIM technicians’…It’s the same thing as someone touting themselves as an orchestra conductor but they can’t read music or play any of the instruments before them.
Is BIM making you a better designer?
October 28, 2015
Why aren’t more people talking about BIM and design? How to design better. How to be a better architect. How to make beauty and art. How to be awesome.
Shoegnome Shortcuts for ARCHICAD 19
October 23, 2015
When I upgraded to ARCHICAD 19, I completely redid all my keyboard shortcuts for ARCHICAD. I suggest you do the same.
Here We Go Again
August 18, 2015
Jon recalls the transition from hand drafting to CAD and sees some frightening similarities to our current struggle with the shift from CAD to BIM.
AIA San Francisco is better than you local AIA Chapter
October 14, 2014
AIA San Francisco is better than you local AIA Chapter. But that’s only half the post. The rest is about 99% Invisible and the Radiotopia Kickstarter Campaign.
Interior Elevations in ArchiCAD
January 6, 2014
Do you need to create Interior Elevations in ArchiCAD? Of course you do. We all do. Are you creating them in the best possible way? Watch this video and find out. Got something to add? Share your tips in the comments.
Do you love your BIM software too much?
April 11, 2013
The recent announcement of Google killing Google Reader has me thinking about dead software, over specialization, and the dependence on software companies. My readers who use Autodesk products might feel a little uncomfortable for a moment… are you too dependent on the whims of a mega-corporation that is clearly less interested in architects than they were when their flagship product was AutoCAD? Click on that link and count the number
The Number One Reason for designers to learn BIM
March 20, 2013
Okay so perhaps if you’re 100% going to retire in the next few years this doesn’t apply to you. But if you plan on working for sometime yet, you need to get with the latest technology, you need to accept that our profession involves and REQUIRES a mastery of technology. Here’s a great quote from Thomas Krowka, written on February 22, 2013 as part of my favorite LinkedIn thread: “Of
A tale of Three (Capital A) Architects
March 1, 2013
Yesterday I wrote this other post. You might want to read it first. But you don’t need to. In fact your ignorance of that discussion (amazing comments by the way), might help answer the riddle below. A tale of Three (Capital A) Architects Three Architects are walking down a road. They have just been asked by the Wealthiest Man in the Land to design the Greatest Building Ever. Each is
Maybe Someday I’ll actually Design a Building and see it Built
February 28, 2013
That’s what Architects are supposed to do, right? There’s a big series of posts coming about this topic, but I wanted to foreshadow a bit and ask a question. If you were to give a two word description of the following architect, what would it be: The architect who loves the act of designing through the media of our trade-whether pencil on trace, scale models, or digitally. After being asked
Little Clues
November 29, 2012
You say “you know what you’re doing in ArchiCAD”. You might not be the best, but you’ve got a really good system. You’re fast and efficient. But how quickly can an ArchiCAD Expert tell if you’re a good judge of your own skills or just horribly deluded? That all depends on how long it takes for ArchiCAD to open your file. Because once it’s open, a pro will need less
BIM Guilt: How many Ds are you doing?
November 6, 2012
BIM Guilt: the feeling that you aren’t ‘doing’ enough to claim BIM. There is a perception that to qualify as someone doing BIM, you can’t just talk about your 3D models. A mere three dimensions is pathetic. To matter, you better be doing at least 4D models, if not 5D or 6D to really count. SIDE NOTE: If you’re not hip to the extra Ds, it typically means phasing (4D),
Frustrating ArchiCAD Things That Need to be Changed: You
October 23, 2012
Okay that title is a little facetious. But you should expect that from me by now. There is a wonderful thread on LinkedIN that was started two weeks ago on the ArchiCAD Residential Designers Group. You need to be a member to view it, so a direct link to the thread is a little annoying to include. If you’re a residential designer who uses ArchiCAD, it’s a great group to
The Sound of Doom, Reflections, and What’s Next
September 16, 2012
I figured out how to easily change the tag-line on the website. One more thing to experiment with. The Sound of Doom Stippling. If you’ve heard me talk about being an architect in the 21st century, then I’ve probably referenced this. I’ve worked with architects who still stipple by hand. One time I heard this noise while doing some intricate automatic scheduling in ArchiCAD per a client’s request. I paused
What’s your Horrible BIM blog name?
September 14, 2012
Rebranding and Evolution I’ve been spending a lot of time working on what’s next with my career, my company and my writing. This year has been one of upheaval, risk, and experimentation. Remember the last two weeks? I think next week I’ll share some more news about this fall. And then later about what’s coming in 2013. Once I figure that out. Lots of exciting stuff. This week and last
I Quit my job this week. What have you been up to?
March 1, 2012
Seriously. After 4 1/2 years at SALA Architects, I’ve left to pursue other adventures. I left my very stable job. A job where my coworkers appreciated what I provided for the firm and would love for me to stay there forever. During the worse economic meltdown in almost a century. With a wife in school full-time. And two young daughters. Happy Birthday Madeleine. You’re 3 tomorrow! And only a vague
Why isn’t your next job posting like this one?
November 6, 2011
A while ago I saw a job posting. Here are some highlights. If you could hire someone tomorrow, would your job posting look like this? Why not? Small, award-winning firm seeks licensed Architect/Project Manager. 60% multi-family housing, mainly for non-profit developers of affordable housing. 40% single family residential, commercial and institutional work. 100% thoughtful, beautiful design. Our work is varied, exciting, and creative. Everyone from drafters to the Principal use
This won’t help me win, but let’s not lose Miguel Krippahl’s ArchiCAD blog.
October 22, 2011
Miguel Krippahl has been blogging about ArchiCAD since October 2006. Back then I’d been using ArchiCAD for only 9 months. Miguel has decided that after blogging for so long, the BIMx competition is a turning point. If his readers don’t help him win by liking his entry, he’s going to stop blogging. If no one is willing to make the gesture, then his blog isn’t having a significant impact on
You are going to give Master Script 80 Euros; And be VERY happy you did
September 26, 2011
An interesting offer… I’ve been trying to figure out how to write this review for weeks. Okay months. Jeroen de Bruin of Master Script first contacted me about writing a review for Total Zone and Total Marker on July 26th. I was flattered and thrilled. I warned him it’d be a little while. I wanted to use Total Marker and Total Zone in a project. Flipping through features and dreaming
Zumbro Zen
September 13, 2011
I’m particularly proud of this project. It’s the Star Tribune’s Home of the Month for September 2011 and is going to be on the Homes By Architects Tour in Minnesota on September 17th and 18th, 2011. I did the drawings back in late 2008 on ArchiCAD 11. You probably won’t see my name in the articles. I wasn’t the lead designer. But I https://shoegnome.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1d-2d-3d-intersection.webpd the project. I often join projects
Take 14:36 to let Eric Bobrow teach you about Guide Lines in ArchiCAD 15
September 5, 2011
When I introduce my coworkers to ArchiCAD 15, I show them three new things and then say “get to work, we’ll cover the rest as it comes up”. I know that’s not the best way to learn a new version, but everyone using ArchiCAD 15 at SALA Architects happens to be on projects with tight deadlines. So they get the short, short version of my upgrade speech. Half of the
I’m Looking for Guest Bloggers
May 22, 2011
In the next few months I’m planning to revamp the blog and website. I’ve spent the last year focusing on writing and getting the word out. Now it’s time, among other things, to update the about page and the ArchiCAD page to better reflect who I am and what the blog has evolved into, add links to my favorite ArchiCAD sites, etc. As the first step in that process I’d
Groups Part 2
May 15, 2011
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post on groups in ArchiCAD. It has quickly become one of my most popular. If you haven’t read that post, you might want to start here. Well I’ve been thinking more about groups since then. And Link Ellis (one of my ArchiCAD heroes) offered some great additions to the list in this LinkedIn post. Below is a summary of Link’s thoughts (4.
I upgrade, you upgrade, we all upgrade
May 8, 2011
Or at least you better. No one should be running ArchiCAD 6.5 on Windows 2000. It just doesn’t make sense. And it is a huge loss of value and wasted effort. No one should have to deal with plotmaker ever again. Ever. There is just no acceptable argument as to why someone would still want to use it. A few weeks ago, my brother Mike sent me a link to
How much do you know about Groups?
April 24, 2011
Let’s start with the basics and get a bit more complex. 1. The enable/suspend groups button should always be visible. If the button looks like the image below, then groups are enabled. Otherwise they are suspended. 2. It’s a good idea to have shortcuts for enable/suspend groups, group, and ungroup. This is what I use: command+G: group option+G: enable/suspend groups command+option+G: ungroup 3. When groups are enabled, you move the
Virtual Visible Views Project
March 27, 2011
In the ArchiCAD LinkedIn group, Michael Scarmack, AIA, recently started gauging interest in a global experiment using the ArchiCAD BIMserver that he’d like to conduct. There’s a lot of excitement about this grassroots project and I think it will lead to some big things. What things? I don’t know. But it is entrepreneurial experimentation and group collaboration like this that will bring our industry into the future and prevent our
Your 7 Day Window to Register for the Best Practices Course Just Started
March 3, 2011
If you use ArchiCAD and have the internet, you probably know about Eric Bobrow’s Best Practices Course. I talked a bit about it in this earlier blog post. Since that post, I’ve heard a lot of good things about the course and Eric has also posted more free videos. Registration has opened up and will stay open until the 9th of March. Looks like a great course and a very
Backup! Seriously. Backup.
February 13, 2011
How often do you back up your files? Daily? You better. Anything longer is a wrong answer. Here’s Part One of why: My brother is in IT; when I was younger he excitedly told me about a new server he’d installed. It had 7 drives in parallel. You could rip one out of the server while it was on and no data was lost. It needed to be set up
Eric Bobrow wants to make you Better
February 10, 2011
Many of you have probably heard of Eric Bobrow. He’s the guy behind ArchiCAD Master Template. Eric was a major Graphisoft reseller for 21 years and is now focused on improving our ArchiCAD skills. Eric has put together a new online training course on the most effective methods for working in ArchiCAD. In a recent article, AECBytes Tips and Tricks #56, he goes over his 7 Keys to Best Practices
Black & White Hidden Line Renderings
January 19, 2011
I like adding 3D views of the major facades on my cover sheets. I first did this about 3 years ago using the sketch rendering engine. I knew it was a good move when in a client meeting we hardly left the cover sheet while discussing the exterior of the house. I use 11_Tech_Pencil and turn down all the noise settings to zero. It makes a nice black and white
Shop Drawings, an intermediate solution
November 19, 2010
Many years ago when I was an intern at Gensler in Houston, one of my jobs was transferring redlines on shop drawings. The lead architect marked up the original and then I made 5 copies by hand. Some shop drawings came across my desk today and I had a thought. At SALA, I’ve set up pen #20 to always print red (more on that later). What if I dropped a
Benchmarking and the Endless Path of Improvement
July 18, 2010
Below is an excerpt from a draft of a document I’m putting together for my role as CAD / BIM Manager at SALA Architects: Competencies: Outside of the office standards, users will not learn or use the program in an identical manner. As a result, tiers of users are differentiated by having competency in a certain quantity of skills within the program, rather than specific requirements. The intent is that