Introduction
Autodesk® Architectural Desktop Release 3 is a very complex program, but it is relatively easy to learn and the best way is to experiment. So do these simple exercises and then go out on your own. Countless users have discovered tricks and methods that the software's developers never imagined the program could do.

If you have been seeing the term "CAAD" (computer-aided architectural design) lately, it's because "CAD" no longer captures what software can do. AutoCAD Architectural Desktop software offers powerful CAD capabilities and at least three significant building-design tools:

• The Mass Elements system
• The Space Planning system
• ObjectARX®, which implements "intelligent" objects to create a building model

For this tutorial, we'll look only at Mass Elements.

Getting Started
You can access Mass Elements in three ways:

• From the Mass Elements toolbar
• By selecting Concept >Mass Elements >Add Mass Elements from the main menu toolbar
• By right-clicking in any viewport and, when the contextual menu appears, selecting Concept >Mass Elements >Add Mass Element (the program makes great use of contextual menus, which are tied to the objects)

Now let's complete the following exercise using Mass Elements.

1. Start a new drawing using an Aec [imperial] massing template.

2. Activate the Mass Elements toolbar; see Figure 1.

• Right-click in any empty space in the upper toolbar (1).
• Select ARCARCHX from the contextual menu (2).
• Select Mass Elements (3).

Figure 1: Activate toolbars by right-clicking in any empty toolbar area.
(click on image to enlarge)

3. After the Mass Elements toolbar appears, place it at the top of the screen.

4. Select the Mass-Group tab at the bottom of your work area, and select the left viewport.

5. Select the Box icon from the Mass Elements toolbar, which opens the Add Mass Element dialog box; see Figure 2.

Figure 2: The new push-pin option helps save screen real-estate by minimizing automatically when not in use.

6. Place a 10'x10'x10' Box Mass Element in the viewport, and press Enter twice.

7. Select the box shape and right-click.

8. Select Element Modify from the contextual menu that appears. The Modify Mass Element dialog box then appears.

9. Change the Width setting to 80', the Depth to 40', and Height to 9', then press OK.

10. Change the viewport from Isometric (default) to Front view.

11. Select the Array icon, and create a Rectangular Array with the settings shown in Figure 3. Change the viewport back to SW Isometric view.

Figure 3: Use the Array command to create multiple floors.

You should now have an 80' x 40' four-story building (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Array provides a quick way to create a four-story building.

Figure 5: Using grips, you can easily adjust each box.

12. Select the Polar button, select the top box in the four-story model, activate the box's grips, and move it towards the rear of the four-story model.

13. The command line now reads STRETCH. Enter 20' on the command line, and press Enter.

14. Move down one box, and repeat the process, moving it back 10'. Don't change the third box.

15. Select the bottom box, and move it back 10' as well.

You should now have the form shown in Figure 5.

16. Select all the boxes and right-click.

17. Select the Object Viewer from the contextual menu.

18. In the Object Viewer, press the Gouraud Shaded icon, and the Perspective icon. Also make sure that you select the SW Isometric View from the drop- down list (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: Use the Object Viewer to quickly visualize your Mass Model.

Conclusion
You have created a simple mass model, but they can become very complex. When you have the mass model you desire, you can use Autodesk Architectural Desktop Release 3 to quickly convert it into contract documents.

Next month we'll take this technique further.