One of the most difficult challenges for me as a designer of office buildings is staying competitive on bids to design while also being able to offer something creative: there is a reason it has become cliché that office buildings and office parks are the wasteland that have sealed the fate of modern architecture far more than the disastrous failure of Pruitt-Igoe. Being creative with design usually comes at the expense of time spent designing (for a bid) and then the time required to plan, purchase, and oversee a more complicated project. Thankfully for more creative, out-of-the box designers like myself – designers who pride themselves on not just creating beautiful and functional interior spaces but also considering exterior aesthetics – the curtain wall system is adaptable to take on shape in the form of dramatic slopes and a variety of different glasses that can be used alone or in conjunction with others to create a more attractive architectural product.

Whereas with standard CAD and planning tools getting the curtain wall detail I want for my clients’ buildings is a royal pain in the you-know-what, I recently discovered a suite of tools for those who design and construct in glass that make sure that my creativity is within the parameters of functionality. Because all of the software interfaces, objects can be specified precisely for glass and metal cutters and designs can be checked for their thermal properties so that adjustments to facades, materials, or orientation can be made to accommodate the building’s specific environment. This makes the transitions between conception, design, planning, and construction far more seamless than with normal tools since CAD objects do not to be specially ‘translated’ for cutters, materials sheets are compiled along with the design, and labor can be easily calculated based on standard construction practices to give a much more accurate assessment of cost for a client to work with in negotiations with builders.

Being able to add curtain wall detail within the confines of a defined curtain wall system of construction allows me to really add the value of my creativity to the design project, which has translated into a greater success rate on pitches, and the money I have saved my clients through my superior ability to estimate cost with this software has generated even more demand for my bids. The Athena product in particular has given me a cost-effective way to breathe a CAD life into my dreams for my clients, and I highly suggest it to designers who want a way to be at once creative, organized, and practical – all at the same time.