Global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc. releases its fourth update to the Vectorworks 2026 product line, expanding its data-driven workflow capabilities to help designers plan, document, and visualize projects with greater precision and efficiency at every stage of delivery. This update introduces intelligent phasing tools, enhanced embodied carbon analysis, and a real-time rendering integration with fellow Nemetschek Group brand Maxon, strengthening how teams manage project evolution, measure environmental impact, and communicate design intent.
“Vectorworks 2026 Update 4 reflects our ongoing commitment to empowering designers with smarter, more efficient tools,” said Vectorworks Vice President of Product Development Hugues Tsafak. “From the first iteration of phasing, supporting various project types and sizes, to enhanced sustainability dashboards and Maxon Redshift for Archviz, this release leverages our strength in data management to help designers plan, document, and visualize projects more accurately and sustainably. We remain committed to evolving these tools to meet the growing demands of modern design.”
High-quality rendering has traditionally been a time-consuming process, often requiring disconnected workflows and repeated exports between modeling and visualization tools. With Vectorworks 2026 Update 4, that process becomes significantly more seamless through Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks — making Vectorworks the first design platform to offer this level of direct, live integration with Maxon Redshift for Archviz rendering technology.
Available as a standalone product from Maxon, designers with a Redshift license can now access the integration directly within the Vectorworks design environment with Update 4, allowing them to send active scenes to the Redshift Visualizer and immediately generate high-fidelity, real-time renderings. Unlike traditional export-based workflows, the Redshift Visualizer maintains live synchronization with the Vectorworks model. Geometry, lighting, cameras, and scene updates remain aligned between both environments, eliminating repetitive exports and reducing the risk of outdated visuals during presentations or design reviews, giving designers a faster, more reliable visualization workflow that supports both creative exploration and client communication.
Renovation and multi-phase projects now represent a significant share of work across the AEC industry, yet documenting existing building site conditions has historically required manual work and file duplication.
Now, Vectorworks 2026 Update 4 introduces a comprehensive Phasing system that embeds a time-based dimension directly into your BIM model. Assigning defined status conditions — including existing, new, demolished, relocated, or temporary — allows teams to track how projects progress across multiple stages accurately.
Integrated with Vectorworks’ powerful data management capabilities and leveraging Data Visualization, Phasing automatically controls object visibility and graphic representation across design layers and viewports. A dedicated Demolition tool further streamlines the process, improving documentation accuracy while eliminating redundant class and layer management.
As adaptive reuse and infill redevelopment become central to sustainable project delivery, clear renovation documentation is critical. Simplifying phased workflows within a unified environment means teams can reduce risk, improve coordination, and align projects with sustainability strategies focused on adaptation rather than replacement.
As sustainability expectations intensify across the AEC industry, early-stage embodied carbon analysis has become critical. It often involves manual setup, inconsistent material categorization, and complex unit conversions that slow evaluation.
Update 4 advances the Vectorworks Embodied Carbon Calculator (VECC) in the Sustainability Dashboard by aligning predefined Concept and Planning categories with recognized frameworks, including RICS guidelines. Automated quantity aggregation and support for enhanced mixed-unit management streamline material analysis and strengthen standards-aligned reporting from concept through detailed design.
Embedding carbon intelligence directly into data-driven workflows means teams can assess impact earlier, compare design alternatives with greater clarity, and more readily integrate sustainability into everyday decision-making.
Beyond its flagship capabilities, Vectorworks 2026 Update 4 introduces a series of discipline-specific refinements designed to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and documentation reliability across architecture, landscape, and entertainment workflows.
For AEC professionals, improved Class and Layer search functionality enables faster, more reliable navigation within complex files. The Linear Material tool now includes world-based parameters for stucco and plaster, allowing users to define exact Variation Length and Thickness for scale-accurate surface detailing in sections, producing realistic results without additional manual adjustments.
For landscape architects and designers, the Hedgerow tool is now fully integrated into the styled Landscape Area object, enabling more efficient, precise planting design. Designers can create complex staggered rows, visualize individual plants, and generate data-rich planting plans while maintaining accurate, easily material schedules using styled objects.
Entertainment workflows continue to evolve in Vectorworks 2026 Update 4, with refinements to Spotlight numbering and device management tools. Visual directional previews and an Exclude field help prevent labeling errors before documentation is finalized, while the unified Device tool streamlines placement, editing, and tagging in a single interface. New Cable tool insertion modes further enhance efficiency by enabling one-click cable type switching during full-show design.
This update is now available for all currently released English-language versions of Vectorworks 2026 and is immediately accessible to subscription and Vectorworks Service Select customers. To install, select “Check for Updates” from the Vectorworks menu (Mac) or the Help menu (Windows). Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks, which powers the new live rendering integration in Update 4, is available as a standalone product from Maxon and can be purchased either through Vectorworks or Maxon. To use Redshift for Vectorworks, customers must create a Maxon account and purchase a Redshift subscription. A 14-day free trial is available from Maxon, and students can access special pricing through Maxon’s student program. For more information on Maxon Redshift for Archviz, visit maxon.net/archviz.
To explore the latest features, start a free 7-day trial of Vectorworks Design Suite. For a comprehensive list of enhancements, visit the Tech Bulletin, and review the Public Roadmap to stay informed about upcoming developments and provide feedback on future features.
About Vectorworks
Exceptional design demands exceptional tools - a platform built to deliver absolute creative expression and maximum efficiency. Vectorworks believe your design software should offer the freedom to follow your imagination wherever it may lead you, to seamlessly share your vision at any phase, and to easily interpret the information needed to make the smartest decisions every time.
If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more.
If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.
Global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc., part of the Nemetschek Group, is thrilled to announce it has acquired Morpholio, developer of the award-winning Morpholio Trace, Morpholio Board, and Morpholio Journal apps for iPad and iPhone. This marks a significant step forward in a shared mission to empower architects, interior designers, and other creative professionals with intuitive, customer-led tools that support the entire design process, from early concepts and sketching through documentation and delivery.
The acquisition formalizes a relationship that has grown over years of collaboration between the Vectorworks and Morpholio teams, including work to advance connectivity between Morpholio apps and Vectorworks Cloud Services. By joining forces as one team, Vectorworks and Morpholio unite complementary strengths: powerful, design-centric BIM and CAD on the desktop with intuitive mobile sketching, mark-up, moodboarding, and journaling on Apple devices.
"We are thrilled to welcome Morpholio to the Vectorworks portfolio," said Vectorworks CEO Jason Pletcher. "Morpholio shares our belief that software should enhance designers’ creativity, not hinder it. By combining Vectorworks' CAD and BIM platform with Morpholio's expertise in mobile sketching and presentation, we are strengthening our foundation and expanding what our tools can do together, so customers gain even more freedom, confidence, and creative control in their workflows."
The founders and team members of Morpholio, architects and designers with a strong passion for creativity and quality design, will join the Vectorworks team. With Vectorworks' resources, scale, and commitment to innovation, the Morpholio apps will advance even more rapidly, evolving and expanding as a strategic, fully supported part of the Vectorworks product lineup, so designers experience continuous improvements and new capabilities in the tools they already love.
“This partnership allows us to put the best of mobile together with the best of desktop and create opportunities for designers to bring the unique magic of drawing to more parts of their process,” said Morpholio Co-Founder Mark Collins. “In the years ahead, we see an opportunity to support a richer design experience where sketches, markups, BIM, and AI work seamlessly together. That’s how we unlock new creative superpowers without losing the soul of design.”
Building on existing AI capabilities in Vectorworks, Morpholio brings additional production-ready AI features and a clear roadmap for human-driven AI workflows in sketching, moodboarding, and presentation.
Morpholio Trace is widely regarded as an all-in-one drawing and design app for architects and designers, offering scale-aware sketching, layers, markup, and presentation-ready imagery that pair naturally with Vectorworks models and drawings. Morpholio Board serves interior designers and stylists with powerful moodboarding, product curation, and presentation tools that turn inspiration into polished client-ready deliverables. Morpholio Journal provides a flexible digital sketchbook and notebook, giving designers a place to capture ideas, notes, and visuals anywhere, then bring that thinking back into their broader project workflows.
“Over the past decade, the iPad and Apple Pencil have sparked a creative renaissance for architects and designers,” said Morpholio Co-Founder Anna Kenoff. “Morpholio was founded with the vision to help define that era. While that has been an incredible beginning, we’re now ready to lead the design industry into its next creative technology revolution.”
With Morpholio now part of the Vectorworks product lineup, customers will gain a more seamless bridge between ideation and execution, enabling them to sketch, iterate, and communicate on mobile devices while staying closely connected to their Vectorworks design files and documentation. The combination reinforces Vectorworks’ dedication to design freedom and delivering tools that are thoughtfully created for the way designers truly think and work.
For existing Morpholio users, day-to-day use of the apps remains unchanged, and customers can continue to subscribe to Morpholio Trace, Board, and Journal through the Apple App Store. Vectorworks also plans to introduce new offerings designed for larger offices collaborating across devices in Morpholio Trace and Board.
“As part of the Nemetschek Group, Vectorworks’ acquisition of Morpholio is an important step in our strategy to deliver intelligent, connected, open solutions for customers across AEC brands,” said Sunil Pandita, Chief Division Officer Planning & Design, and CEO of Allplan. “Over time, we see a strong potential to expand Morpholio’s mobile sketching and presentation capabilities available to designers working in a multitude of Nemetschek applications, so more of our customers can benefit from cognitive, richer, and cohesive workflows from concept through construction.”
As Vectorworks and Morpholio move forward as one team, customers can expect ongoing investment in the Morpholio app portfolio, deeper integrations with Vectorworks products, and an expanding ecosystem of tools that honor the craft of design while unlocking new efficiencies and limitless design possibilities.
“I believe strongly that joining forces is not an additive operation—it’s a multiplier,” said Morpholio Co-Founder Toru Hasegawa. “Vectorworks and Morpholio coming together is not simply a sum of capabilities, but the start of a multidimensional expansion of initiatives, reach, and long-term value.”
Global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc., reveals its 2026 industry trend insights, outlining the key forces set to define the architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture and design, and live events industries. The trends reflect input from global practice, industry commitments on climate and biodiversity, and Vectorworks’ own research into how designers are evolving their workflows.
“As we look to 2026, the firms that will lead are the ones turning industry change into daily practice,” said Vectorworks Senior Product Marketing Manager Eric Gilbey, PLA. “From embodied carbon tracking to AI-assisted design and immersive live experiences, these trends represent real opportunities for designers to elevate performance and impact.”
For architects, the 2026 trends emphasize the convergence of BIM, AI, and sustainable design analysis as the new baseline for competitive practice. Survey data from the Vectorworks AEC Trends Report indicate strong BIM adoption and a clear recognition that data-rich models deliver a measurable return on investment through improved coordination and visualization. Architects are also looking ahead to increased use of digital twins, AR/VR, and open interoperability to extend value across the entire building lifecycle.
At the same time, the outlook emphasizes adaptive reuse, natural materials, and biodiversity-aware design as key responses to climate commitments, such as the AIA 2030 Commitment and RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge.
For interior designers, Vectorworks’ 2026 perspective highlights the growing expectation that interior projects contribute meaningfully to carbon reduction and occupant well-being, not just aesthetics. Building on this shift, the trends point to flexible, shape-shifting spaces, holistic sustainability, and embodied carbon calculation as defining themes for the year ahead. Designers are being asked to make commercial and residential spaces work harder, supporting multiple modes including collaboration, focused work, living, and wellness within the same footprint.
For landscape architecture, the 2026 trends are anchored in climate responsibility, with national and international action plans setting a new bar for emissions reduction, biodiversity, and long-term ecological performance. Updated frameworks from organizations such as ASLA are driving firms to revisit materials, water strategies, and project management practices through a climate and equity lens.
Insights note accelerating focus on biodiversity, native planting, water-sensitive design, and emerging uses of sensors and drone-based data to monitor performance and urban heat.
In live entertainment and events, the 2026 trends showcase a sector defined by immersive technology, AI-enabled workflows, and rising expectations around sustainability and audience impact. Designers are leaning into LED-based environments, energy-efficient lighting, and GIS-informed site planning to create experiences that are visually powerful, operationally efficient, and easier to manage at scale.
Alongside this, the trends emphasize climate-conscious logistics, community impact, and audience-driven, hyper-personalized experiences as defining measures of success for live events in 2026 and beyond.
Explore the full collection of 2026 industry trends in the Vectorworks Newsroom, including insights for architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and design, and entertainment professionals.
Experience how these trends come to life in practice with a free trial of Vectorworks Design Suite.
As an interior designer, the story your materials tell should flow effortlessly from lifelike 3D renderings to clear, construction-ready 2D documentation. That’s where Vectorworks Architect and its hybrid drawing environment shine. Its features for texture alignment are designed to streamline both your creative and technical processes, saving time and adding confidence that what you envision is what gets built.
Vectorworks Architect equips you with three powerful features for matching visualization and documentation needs: - Per-Face Texture Mapping - Surface Hatching Synced with Textures - Attribute Mapping Tool
Want to show multiple finishes on a single piece of furniture? Need a statement wall that pops with several materials? Per-Face Texture Mapping gives you complete flexibility.
You can use the texturing tool in Apply to Face mode or simply drag and drop a texture with a shortcut key to apply it to any face of a 3D solid. This approach is perfect for custom joinery, feature walls, and furniture that calls for more than one finish.
A quick tip: when you select a texture in the Object Info palette (OIP), Vectorworks Architect rotates the view to the face you’re mapping. This speeds up precise placement, especially with complex objects. While mapping works at the face level of solid objects, another approach for hybrid objects (like walls) is to assign textures by component. This way, each component has its own texture or hatch and can be overwritten in a similar way as per-face texturing, making it easier to iterate across the entire project.
You can carry the impact created by your 3D work through to your 2D drawings using linked Surface Hatches. These maintain visual fidelity and reduce costly on-site misunderstandings. In the Resource Manager, just edit your texture and assign its corresponding hatch pattern, then make sure Surface Hatches are enabled in Viewport settings.
This connects the dots; your hatch-filled plans and interior elevations now actually match the materials in your renderings. For a smoother construction process, try creating or selecting distinctive hatches for each finish. This helps contractors and clients alike quickly understand your design intention.
It’s not enough for finishes to be present in your construction documentation. They need to look exactly right. The Attribute Mapping tool gives you direct, dynamic control so you can scale, drag, or rotate any applied texture until it aligns perfectly with your vision. Just select the tool from the Basic palette, click on your textured surface, and adjust using the intuitive handles.
This workflow isn’t just for refining stretched or misaligned textures on custom objects. If you change your design later, say, resizing a built-in storage unit, it’s easy to adjust texture alignment so the material’s grain or pattern direction stays consistent. The tool even works on 2D objects that use an image fill, which keeps your renderings and technical drawings polished and professional.
Leveraging all three of these features means you can reduce manual workarounds and stop bouncing between different software for 3D and 2D representations. The result? You spend more time exploring materials and focusing on your clients’ needs, with a lot less time troubleshooting technicalities.
Ultimately, seamless texture alignment means stunning visuals, clearer drawings, and smoother project delivery from concept all the way through construction.
That’s less time worrying about “how,” and more time delighting clients with “wow.”
That’s right. Vectorworks 2026 is here, meaning you can drive your interior designs even further with insightful workflows, advanced Depth Cueing, intuitive Worksheet Slicing, and more.
Global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc., is set to launch its most forward-thinking software version yet: Vectorworks 2026. Engineered to elevate every step of the design process, Vectorworks 2026, which builds on the provider’s “design-first” philosophy, is fueled by the evolving needs of designers today and informed by the challenges of tomorrow. This release delivers powerful automation, customizable features, and real-time sustainability intelligence, helping designers transform creative thinking into results that matter most for their business, clients, and our planet.
"At Vectorworks, we believe that creativity should drive business results, not be hindered by software limitations," said Vectorworks CEO Jason Pletcher. "Designers are ambitious, and Vectorworks 2026 offers the tools to transform their big ideas into reality. Our latest version allows designers to work more efficiently, break free from busywork, automate manual processes, and unleash their design freedom, so their best work can move forward."
Focusing on balancing creative exploration and technical accuracy, this release enables designers to streamline documentation, collaborate across disciplines, and meet environmental targets—all within a single, integrated platform, eliminating the headache of transferring files between programs to get work done.
Vectorworks 2026 encourages design freedom through smarter technology, focusing on optimizing major everyday workflows across multiple industries. Automated Depth Cueing of linework for elevations, sections, and 3D views enhances the legibility of your drawings by manipulating how objects appear based on how far away they are. This allows designers to achieve professional-looking depth and clarity in their drawings instantly, without adjustments, enhancing both the technical and creative aspects of their project work. Additionally, a new intuitive Worksheet interface that allows slicing and linking will provide speedier, complete page layout control of large reports.
The latest version offers designers improved access to emerging technologies that enhance their everyday workflows. Vectorworks Cloud Services now integrates seamlessly with the Vectorworks desktop application, providing a direct connection to the Vectorworks Cloud computing platform. This enhancement enables users to leverage the immense computing power of the Vectorworks Cloud for resource-intensive tasks without needing to leave the desktop application. Customers can stay synchronized, productive, and focused on their projects while taking advantage of the powerful capabilities offered by cloud computing.
Vectorworks is dedicated to continuously increasing the value of its subscriptions. As part of this commitment, Vectorworks 2026 introduces the File Health Checker palette, available exclusively to subscription customers. This new tool helps keep files in optimal condition and ensures that projects run smoothly and efficiently, especially when integrating files from external sources. Additionally, subscription customers will benefit from uninterrupted productivity thanks to Vectorworks Cloud processing for Revit imports. The Cloud manages large Revit file imports from consultants and collaborators in the background, allowing projects to progress smoothly and efficiently.
“Vectorworks 2026 brings thoughtfully refined solutions across all our industry sectors, streamlining routine tasks and allowing your focus to remain on realizing your creative vision,” said Vectorworks Vice President of Product Development Hugues Tsafak. “With enhanced automation and intelligent design documentation capabilities, Vectorworks 2026 helps you work smarter, faster, and with greater confidence—enabling you to deliver outstanding results every time."
The new version also highlights Vectorworks’ commitment to the built environment across architecture and landscape by delivering smarter, more sustainable, and more-connected tools to support informed design decisions and environmental accountability. The new Sustainability Dashboard combines several sustainability-focused tools into a centralized, easy-to-access dashboard with real-time monitoring, tracking, and reporting of your project’s compliance targets, including Embodied Carbon calculations, Biodiversity Net Gain, Urban Greening, and SITES Biomass metrics.
Additionally, improvements to the Massing Model tool allow for the planning of mixed-use buildings with custom floor heights and usage data during early-stage planning for even greater flexibility.
Building on its history of continuous development and a foundation of trusted tools, Vectorworks 2026 emboldens architects to explore new frontiers in design with a software that meets the ever-changing needs of the industry without compromising creativity. With the introduction of the advanced Door and Window Assemblies tool, modeling complex, combined architectural openings is fast, smart, and intuitive. With the addition of this feature, architects will enjoy real-time, interactive editing, flexible layouts, and detailed reporting that enables creative freedom, speed, and construction realism.
For designers in the landscape industry, Vectorworks 2026 focuses on a unified workflow for creative planting plans. This includes a new Plant Style Manager that can instantly build, manage, and customize the Plant Style library with continually expanding content, batch editing, seamless web data import from nursery partners, spreadsheet import, flexible plant placement and editing tools, and a streamlined content structure. This unified system saves you hours, keeps your plant data accurate and project-ready, and lets you focus on creative planting design.
With version 2026, you’ll also be able to create regulation-ready Existing Tree models that integrate effortlessly with your landscape projects. Plus, you can design and edit flexible Grade Objects along with Data Tag labeling for faster, clearer site plans. With input that matches the real-world result every time, you can confidently set Hardscape pathway offsets.
Vectorworks 2026 continues Vectorworks’ ongoing dedication to accelerating entertainment and live event professionals’ workflows with an added emphasis on quality. Designers can unleash their creativity with the new LED Video Wall tool, which streamlines the design and creation of any shape of LED wall, from basic straight to complex curves and three-dimensional forms, at any angle. Complete with intuitive drawing tools and instant reports for fully documented installations, this new tool enables professionals to deliver creative and fully documented installations with ease.
Professionals can increase their efficiency with more complex and realistic sidearms. A dedicated sidearm object and insertion tool, combined with smart clamp and equipment rigging, saves time and boosts design accuracy. Version 2026 also includes workflow quality improvements to the Bridle, Device Database, Shared Reports, and Showcase features. A new MVR-xchange Protocol eliminates the need for manual file transfers, allowing customers to commit and receive MVR files instantly with any connected application in the same network group, streamlining collaboration and reducing workflow interruptions.
High-calibre presentations and layouts of your interior designs are crucial to winning projects. In a competitive industry, how you communicate your vision can make all the difference when pitching to clients, assembling a portfolio, and collaborating.
In this article, you’ll learn about five features in Vectorworks Architect that improve the quality of your interior design presentation layouts. Vectorworks Architect has all the tools you need within a single design software — there’s no back and forth needed between design software like SketchUp and AutoCAD to other programs like Photoshop, InDesign, etc.
Guides in Vectorworks Architect offer your layouts structure by helping align drawings and text elements for structure and consistency.
Guides allow you to create custom underlay grid types such as baseline, column, modular, manuscript, and composition grids help maintain alignment of your images, text, and technical drawings. These formatting elements ultimately polish up your presentation layouts and guide a client’s attention for better readability.
Importantly, your Guides can also be saved as a part of a template for future presentations, saving time and standardizing the quality of your presentation layouts.
Title blocks in Vectorworks are vital elements placed on sheet layers to automatically display important project details like the project name, drawing title, sheet number, revision history, and company branding.
Use the Title Block Border tool to place a title block on a sheet layer, choosing from pre-made styles or creating a custom design.
Beyond automation, title blocks enhance the professionalism of your presentation and reinforce your brand identity for clients.
Editing images in your layout presentations with the Edit Crop command is another great way to highlight the important elements of your interior designs.
With this feature, you can remove unwanted portions from images, focus attention on specific areas, and prepare your images for more polished presentations.
Within the Edit Crop mode, you’re able to use any closed 2D object to define the crop area — whether it be a rectangle, circle, or polyline.
Image Effects can boost your presentations, as well, helping your design images have greater depth and visual interest without having to leave Vectorworks Architect.
A black and white filter, for example, can create an emotional impact with a dramatic contrast between light and shadow.
Click here to watch a video that dives further into Image Effects.
Lastly, you should consider the use of colour in your presentation layouts. Vectorworks Architect supports CMYK, RGB, HSV, HEX, Pantone, and paint manufacturer colour options — helping you create cohesive color palettes and visual harmony. These colours can be customized to fit any branding, office standard, or personal preference.
There’s also a direct integration with NCS Colour, a Gold Partner in the Vectorworks Partner Network, at your disposal.
NCS+ Pro subscription simplifies your colour selection processes by allowing you to select, find, and fine-tune the selected colour directly in your Vectorworks design environment. You can explore over 2000 colours in the NCS colour library and easily adjust the hue or the nuance of the colour to find the perfect colour for your presentation layouts.
Global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc., will host its global Design Days again, inviting architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture and design professionals to these worldwide networking and educational events. Customers can connect with peers, explore emerging industry trends, and get a firsthand look at the latest features in Vectorworks 2026, launching September 2025.
“Design Days are about fostering a global community where designers can exchange bold ideas, explore cutting-edge tools, and shape the future of design,” said Vectorworks Senior Product Marketing Director Rubina Siddiqui, Assoc. AIA. “This year, we look forward to highlighting powerful updates and features that help architects, interior designers, and landscape professionals design more sustainably and creatively.”
Along with networking opportunities, attendees will hear success stories from industry peers and gain insights from Vectorworks senior leadership on the future of design and technology, including highlights from the Public Roadmap.
Vectorworks Design Days 2025 schedule: • Design Day London: October 14, 2025 • Design Day Vancouver: October 30, 2025 • Design Day Tokyo: December 5, 2025 (Architecture only) • Design Day Sydney: May 2026
Registration is free for each Design Day event. Prospective attendees can secure their spot through the registration page.
This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a contemporary ski house design by 2024 SBID Awards Finalist, McLeod Bovell.
Designed for a family of avid skiers, Crisscross Ski House affords the convenience of ski-in/ski-out access to the nearby mountain while providing a hotel-like experience for the occupants when they are not on the slopes. The architecture and interiors of the house reference its immediate geological context and British Columbia’s regional building traditions. Copper tones in the site’s exposed bedrock is reflected in the material palette of woods and metals. Massive stacked timber elements—reminiscent of the area’s ubiquitous timber trestle bridges and log cabins—delineate interior spaces, imparting the feeling of being in a rural retreat.
Category: CGI & Visualisation
Design Practice: McLeod Bovell
Project Title: Crisscross Ski House
Project Location: Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada
Design Practice Location: Vancouver, Canada
The clients—two brothers—are avid skiers who love heli-skiing in particular. They wanted a house that would have the convenience of ski-in/ski-out access while providing a resort-like experience when they are not on the slopes. The architecture and interiors of the house reinterpret the immediate geological context and British Columbia’s regional building traditions. Copper veins in the site’s exposed bedrock are reflected in the interior and exterior material palettes. Massive stacked timber elements—reminiscent of the area’s ubiquitous wood trestle bridges and log cabins—delineate interior spaces and impart the feeling of a rural retreat.
Because the house is set along a densely forested mountain ridge overlooking a river valley, the building spreads itself along the north-south contours of the steep site. Upper and main floors “twist” about the centre to form intersecting volumes that are alternately roofs overhangs and floors. These cantilevered roofs create porches at both ends of the house: a covered entry from the helicopter landing / ski-in access terrace at the south, and a sheltered terrace surrounded by trees at the north. Similarly, the main floor rotates relative to the basement below to provide cover at the garage door and entry to the mudroom. Nestled on a hill 23 meters above the bottom of the driveway, we considered the building’s appearance from this unusually low vantage point on vehicular approach. The wood soffits—as they reveal themselves from below—read as the 5th elevation. The formal articulation of twisting floors and roofs in plan generates spaces that are legible from the low viewing angle. This plan rotation helps minimize the building’s massing, varying the perception of vertical surfaces from different perspectives. As a result, the massing of the building appears as a series of single storey volumes whose projections and recesses create visual interest.
One of the biggest challenges—which is actually a recurring aspect in much of our prior work—was designing a house on steep terrain while at the same time respecting the site's existing natural topographic and climatic conditions. We tried to position the house so that mature trees were all retained; the existing contours and rock faces were respected to eliminate blasting; and creeks, water outflows, snow accumulation, and snow melt were properly considered.
The highlight of this project is its unique program and amazing location. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to design a house "in the round" where all parts of the house can engage with the landscape in such an immediate way. This house is able to have an intimate relationship with the forested mountain on which it perches.
Due to the long timelines between initial design and photographing the built project, we submit conceptual designs into awards to share our work with the others sooner.
Being an Award Finalist is crucial for our business as it gives potential clients, especially those new to British Columbia, confidence in our ability to undertake holistic residential projects on complex natural sites.
Questions answered by Lisa Bovell and Matt McLeod, Principals at McLeod Bovell.
We hope you feel inspired by this week's design!
If you missed the last instalment of Project of the Week, featuring a timeless family kitchen design by Snug Kitchens, click here to read it.
Planted Community is proud to announce a new partnership with global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks to launch Design for Regeneration, an exciting UK-wide student design competition seeking to champion the next generation of regenerative designers.
Undergraduate students from across the country are invited to submit work for the Design for Regeneration competition, which reimagines the built and natural world through regenerative design.
The competition is open to students studying architecture, interior and landscape design, furniture, product and industrial design. The winner will receive a £1,000 cash prize, a one-year subscription to Vectorworks Design Suite, and a two-night stay in Planted’s luxury off-grid cabin at River Cottage, Axminster.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Vectorworks on Design for Regeneration, a competition that will showcase the very best in emerging British design talent,” said Planted co-founder Deborah Spencer. “It provides a vital platform for young creatives to demonstrate how regenerative thinking can shape a healthier, more sustainable future.”
“We are committed to nurturing new approaches that centre nature and sustainability at the heart of design, helping to safeguard the planet for future generations.”
Projects will be judged on creativity, innovation, material choices, aesthetics, and crucially clear regenerative intent. The panel will look for designs that not only minimise harm to natural ecosystems, also actively contribute to their restoration and renewal.
As a leading platform for sustainable design, Planted connects people, businesses, and ideas through events, content and collaborations that promote nature-based solutions and regenerative practices.
Deborah Spencer, whose career began at New Designers held at the Business Design Centre and who later founded the award-winning designjunction before co-founding Planted will lead a distinguished judging panel. The panel includes fellow Planted co-founder and former Sunday Times journalist Sam Peters, biophilic design expert Oliver Heath, and River Cottage CEO Stewart Dodd.
Entries must be submitted by Wednesday 31 July 2025. Finalists will be announced in early September, with winners revealed at the Vectorworks Design Day conference at the Royal College of Physicians in London on Tuesday 14 October 2025.
“At Vectorworks, we believe the future of design lies in regenerative thinking that not only respects but actively restores our natural world,” said Tyler French, Vectorworks Academic Marketing Manager.
“We’re proud to support Design for Regeneration in partnership with Planted, a leading platform for sustainable design that shares our commitment to driving positive change. Together, we aim to empower the next generation of designers with the tools to shape a more regenerative built environment.”
Students can enter by submitting their project via the official competition entry form, available at: www.planted-community.co.uk/vectorworkscompetition
Submissions must include: - A short project description (max 300 words) outlining the regenerative intent - Supporting visuals (drawings, renders, models created in Vectorworks) - A brief biography and course/university details
All entries must be received by midnight on Wednesday 31 July 2025.
CAD blocks — known as “symbols” in Vectorworks Architect — play a crucial role in modern interior design workflows, providing reusable, pre-drawn elements that streamline the design process. These standardised components help you maintain consistency, improve efficiency, and reduce repetitive work.
Continue reading to explore the significance of CAD blocks, their role in BIM workflows, and how you can maximise their potential through symbols.
CAD blocks are pre-drawn objects in design software that provide 2D and/or 3D representations of design elements such as furniture, appliances, and more.
CAD blocks streamline the drafting process by saving time and eliminating repetitive drawing tasks, allowing you to focus on creativity and problem-solving. They also promote organisation and standardisation, helping ensure consistency across projects while reducing the likelihood of errors such as misaligned furniture layouts, inconsistent fixture placements, or incorrect scale proportions. Additionally, CAD blocks provide flexibility through customisation to suit specific project needs, whether by adjusting dimensions, materials, or configurations. This adaptability makes CAD blocks useful for maintaining precision and design intent throughout interior design projects.
Symbols in Vectorworks Architect are classified into the following: - 2D symbols - Used for plan graphics and schematics. - 3D symbols - Used for modelling and visualisation. - Hybrid symbols - Combine both 2D and 3D components for better BIM integration.
A key feature that enhances your efficiency with symbols is the Generate 2D from 3D command, which automatically creates plan graphics from 3D models, saving time and providing better control over symbol detail. With greater control over detail, you then have more options for different graphic outputs at different scale drawings.
Concerning graphics, you can also take advantage of various graphic tools, such as drop shadows, gradients, and custom pen attributes, to enhance the visualization and presentation quality of your symbols. You can also import images as a resource, which can be attached to your symbols to customise and enhance your branding.
Additional data can correspond with your Vectorworks symbols via an attached Record Format. Within these, you can specify things like what department in the store a piece of furniture may be in, the manufacturer, and more.
By maintaining a well-organised and properly scaled symbol library, you’ll have consistency across projects and enriched, imported CAD blocks with additional data, improving their functionality within a BIM environment.
You can build bespoke custom symbols from scratch in Vectorworks Architect or simply choose from a rich library of pre-built symbols from recognised brands like Knoll, Geiger, and Herman Miller. Then, using the Resource Manager, you can improve your BIM workflow by adding relevant information to items such as doors, cabinets, and chairs, ensuring they comply with industry standards.
Brands like Starbucks EMEA leverage symbols to standardise their design processes and accelerate workflows. By creating a well-organised library of reusable symbols, they can design consistently across their retail spaces worldwide. Watch the full customer story.
Join SBID
Find out more about our flexible membership structure.
By subscribing, you agree to be added to SBID’s mailing list. As an industry’s standard bearer organisation, we strive to bring you the most up to date news and access to exclusive industry content through our various newsletters.
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
I accept the SBID Terms of Use