Customer Success Story

Autodesk Revit

Alchemy Architects is a four person,Johannesburg practice that was established twoyears ago by Amândio Castanheira, whointroduced Autodesk Revit to the firm in 2005,after losing a prestigious project to a much largerpractice.

“I discovered that Autodesk Revit gave them theadvantage of being able to turn around conceptsmuch faster than we could,” says Amândio. “Thatwas when I started working with the Autodeskreseller, Cadplan, to introduce Autodesk Revitto Alchemy Architects.”

Now, after having used the software for a year,he believes it has gone a long way to levellingthe competitive playing field.

“As a small firm, we can produce concepts justas quickly as a practice with 10 staff members,or more. Design ability and skill, rather thanfinancial or human resources, is the differentiatornow.”

“Autodesk Revit has levelled the playing field, helpingus to compete with the larger practices. Ourcompetitive edge has been further enhanced by ourincreased productivity.”

Amândio CastanheiraArchitect,Alchemy ArchitectsJohannesburg

Levelling the competitiveplaying field

Using Autodesk Revit, Alchemy Architects has developedbrand architecture for several South African projects,including the soon-to-be-launched kopi-k@t outlets, anetwork of high tech business service centres.

In addition to contributing to its competitiveadvantage, the accelerated speed at which thefirm now explores and develops concepts hashelped to significantly boost productivity. Theproduction of technical documentation fromthe conceptual model is simplified withelevations, sections and the co-ordination ofall floor plans being handled by Autodesk Revit.

“Based on the increased number of proposalswe’re generating, without additional staff atthe practice, I’d estimate that Autodesk Revithas increased productivity by about 200%.”

Amândio, who has extensive experiencedeveloping corporate architecture for leadingbrands in the motor vehicle sector, saysAutodesk Revit has come into its own in hisdevelopment of brand architecture for diverseprojects.

Alchemy Architects

Autodesk (Africa), Block 12, Central Office Park, 257 Jean Avenue, Centurion, Pretoria, GautengTel: +27 (0) 12 664 8115, e-mail: geo-south-africa@autodesk.com, web address: www.autodesk.co.za

For kopi-k@t, a network of high tech businessservice centres, Alchemy Architects used thesoftware for the development of the conceptand its presentation to the client.

Amândio was briefed to develop interior andexterior corporate architecture that wouldcommunicate the brand identity of the outlets.The design had to be adapted to differentlocations – from stand-alone outlets toapplication in a shopping centre environment.

“Autodesk Revit enabled us to explore differentoptions, while keeping an eye on the budget.”

The interior was divided into zones for use bystaff and customers, and employing thecorporate colours of orange and silver, plenty ofglass, high gloss finishes and steel, he createda minimalist look that conveyed the efficientdelivery of technology-driven services.

The point of departure of the overall design wasthe functional, easy to manufacture barrel vaultroof that ran the length of the building. Amândioused the software to ‘peel back’ the roof overthe entrance, creating the negative of the roofshape. The positive and negative werejuxtaposed to great effect.

Autodesk Revit enabled him to develop an eyecatching exterior architecture with a bold roofthat has become the kopi-k@t icon, during theday and at night.

Glassing the entrance all the way to the roofcreated a defined entrance portal that doublesas the main signage pylon for the facility.

“One week after our initial brief, we made ourfirst conceptual presentation. It was anoutstanding success and certainly sold theconcept to the client,” says Amândio.

The first outlet opens in Edenvale, east ofJohannesburg, in mid 2006.

For the Vodacom Golf Village, a joint project byVodacom and the Proshop, Amândio developedan identity for a new network of family orientatedgolf driving ranges.

“We wanted more than a rudimentary, ‘bucketof balls’ type of facility. So, we kept the sportingcontext, while creating a homely feel for thewhole family in a design concept we called‘residential sport’,” says Amândio.

He came up with a look, which utilised naturalmaterials, such as flush carpeting and woodenpanelling, normally found in a residentialenvironment. Scaling down the architecture andinterior also helped to create the warm feelingof home.

Amândio also had to adapt the design so that itcould be applied to seven branded VodacomGolf Village facilities around the country, withoutcompromising the overall brand concept. Allthe sites were architecturally unique and thedesign had to be adapted to each facility, withoutchanging the structure of the existing buildings.

“This is where Autodesk Revit was so powerful,”says Amândio. “It allowed me to explore andtest design options on each facility, beforecommitting to the final design of a palette ofelements, including items such as the VodacomGolf Village reception desk.”

The Vodacom Golf Village at Gilloolys, northeast of Johannesburg, is the first venue beingdeveloped and is scheduled for completiontowards the end of 2006.