How Computers Have Changed the Way of Designing Homes

Introduction
The Real Estate Industry is one of the industry where computers and computer aided design (CAD) is changing the way we design houses.

In the earlier days the use of CAD in the real estate industry was limited to only a handful of tech savvy people and those companies who had a technical person as their staff. This person was highly skilled and used to prepare construction documents using CAD programs such as AutoCAD. 3D modeling was used but only occasionally.

The home design industry is witnessing a see change. With the advancement of the CAD software which has now become very user friendly, it is gradually recieving wide acceptence.

Virtual Construction of the Home
With the help of the new improved version of CAD tool a virtual three-dimensional model is being created that contains very useful tool which can be used not only for visualization of the house but also for manufacturing purposes.

This technology enables one to visualize and walk through the home in 3D, giving minute details of how the home will appear even before the start of the construction process. The advantage here is that the homeowner gets a clear understanding of how the home is going to look like after completion leaving no scope of misunderstanding.Moreover, modern technology allows 3D building models to carry with it behavior, rather than just the appearance of the element. Software developers now give their objects relationships with each other. An example of this would be the moving of a window in a framed wall which causes the stud framing to update and re-apply itself, using a defined set of rules that associate spacing and sizing options.

Technology for the consumer retail market
Purchasing a high-end CAD system is not required. Instead one can utilize object-oriented technology in the building industry. Discuss the matter with your local business supply or stationary store and you may end up finding 10 different examples of "design your own home" or "landscaping" software.

A best-known example is 3D Home Design Suite by Broderbund and is one of the leading publishers of home and landscape design. This program enables the user to quickly and quite easily design his/her own home, virtually including the interior and create a photo-realistic rendering in minutes. This design can then be exported via DXF to AutoCAD or other CAD packages for the creation of professional working drawings.These user friendly packages enables even a novice person create a sellable designs that may almost be compared to those found in real-estate sales offices.

CAD Technology used in Residential Sales Offices.
The Real Estate Industry revolves around the sale of the home and in the earlier days model homes or expensive artist's renderings had to be created.Models and digital renderings are now quickly replaced by images created with the help of software packages like CAD.It also enables the businesses to clearly communicate the business messege to their client.

Technology for the Manufactured Home Industry
The manufactured home industry may be segregated under three catagories: Modular, Panelized and HUD. Computer technology can no doubt benefit this industry more than any other because of the large degree of automation available. These types of manufactures now have the ability to attach large amounts of data to their model homes ranging from the exact cut lists and wall panel diagram information, to a complete bill of materials that link to a purchase ordering system and estimating package.

KML Homes in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, is one of the best example of new age manufacturing plant that now a dayy are using design software to automate their panelized process. Focussing on a light-gauge steel framing system, they currently receive custom plans from Architects electronically (usually in AutoCAD format) and convert them to create a 3D AutoCAD model using a third party add-on product. Once the model is created, KML can now completely frame the walls, floors and roofs and divide them into an efficient panelizing system. This panel data is then electronically transferred to the production floor, where the panels are assembled and shipped to site where they are assembled onto a waiting foundation.

KML estimates that within the past eight months, they have increased productivity by 100% and future implementation will increase that by another 60%.

Conclusion
From the above discussion we get a clear understanding of how computers have changed, and are continuing to change the way we design houses, ranging from the consumer retail market, real-estate offices, to the manufactured home industry.