Campbell Yule

Author: Campbell

  • 1991 – ArchiCAD beginnings

    Murray was convinced there was a great market opportunity in New Zealand for the right Architectural Design system. Due to the high price of Sonata Murray started investigating alternatives and had seen ArchiCAD at a number of trade-shows in the late 80’s while still in the UK.

    Around late 1990 early 1991 Murray sent a letter to Gabor Bojar – the founder of GRAPHISOFT the developer of ArchiCAD in Budapest Hungary – making the case for Murray/Cadimage to become the New Zealand Distributor.

    Around the same time Andrew Ecker (who is based in Christchurch) had been sourcing ArchiCAD from the Australian distributors and had sold licenses to three practices – two of which remain customers to this day.

    Murrays first request was declined by Gabor, with an explanation along the lines of ‘we have a distributor in Australia so contact them and see if you can become a reseller.’

    Murray is definitely not one to give up at the first hurdle, so he tried again. This time however he included a geography lesson. He indicated to Gabor that Sydney, Australia is as far away from Auckland, New Zealand as Madrid is from Spain and explained there were a number of distributors across Europe.

    This second proposal was accepted and Cadimage became the Exclusive Distributor for ArchiCAD in New Zealand. This did rock the boat a little with Andrew Ecker, however, Murray very quickly took on Andrew as the reseller for the South Island.

    From what I understand Murray had to agree to sell 10 licenses in his first year which was initially a a daunting expectation. 

    Early on Murray was unsure about selling ArchiCAD as while at $12,500 it was cheaper than Sonata it was still a lot of money for an architect to spend (I’d say invest but not everyone sees it that way). Therefore, Cadimage also had a 2d based Cad system for around $3,500. Murray quickly found that architects understood the concept of the 3D Virtual Building System and would either jump straight in or at least delay purchasing until they could commit to ArchiCAD – they didn’t see why they would move to a 2d system. 

    To help cash flow the licenses for customers Murray also offered payment via post-dated cheques, generally this was 1/3 on delivery, 1/3 one month later and the final 1/3 after 2 months. Murray was supported by generous payment terms from GRAPHISOFT meaning he’d received all payments by the time he needed to pay GRAPHISOFT. In more extreme cases Murray would take 5 cheques over a 4-month period.

    As history shows however 10 licenses was only the start and the first year saw the target achieved. The following year (1992) over 100 licenses were sold and the beginnings of a strong New Zealand ArchiCAD base started to take shape.

    Until 1994 ArchiCAD was an Apple based product only and somewhere along the way Cadimage became an Apple Reseller and also sold HP Plotters. At this early stage this hardware was essential and allowed Cadimage to offer complete turnkey solutions as the majority of these early ArchiCAD customers were switching from the drawing board.

    As a side note, ArchiCAD in New Zealand has built a significant market share and is one of the top markets for ArchiCAD worldwide. When I was asked why I think we were successful I also answered with what appears at first a counter intuitive answer – ‘we were behind’

    As you read above when prospects were presented with the option of 2d or 3d the 3d system was the obvious answer. Architects always think in 3d. So, when they considered moving from the drawing board to ‘cad’ they saw 3d as the most sensible option. Other markets like the US and Australia were well ahead of NZ and started moving to computers in the 80’s and those who adopted computers for their business simply upgraded from a draughting board to a 2d computer draughting software – similar to moving from handwriting to using a typewriter. 

    When New Zealand architects began computerising in the 90’s Cadimage and ArchiCAD were there and 3d just made sense and we benefited from having virtually the only 3d solution at the time.

  • 1989 – Founding

    Cadimage Solutions Limited (as it was originally known) was established by Murray and Sue Pearson on 16th October 1989. The company was incorporated prior to their return to NZ – with their 4-year-old daughter Jo – after an extended OE that had seen them leave New Zealand for the UK in 1979.

    Murray is a NZCD qualified draughtsman who worked for a number of architectural practices in the UK and got involved in the early days of what is now known most commonly as Building Information Modelling, or BIM.

    Murray has many stories to tell of the different computers and systems in these very early days of CAD. One of the first systems was RUCAPs and he later was a tester for Jonathan Ingram as he developed the Sonata Building Design Software. They only had one workstation so Jonathan would spend all day coding, and then in the evening Murray would set about ‘testing’ (read: breaking) the new code.

    On return to New Zealand Murray continued his use of Sonata to great 3D visuals for a number of New Zealand industries and projects including, DB Breweries, Mobil Oil and the Wellington Wastewater Treatment Plant.

    While by today’s standards the renderings produced show their age, they were cutting edge at the time and allowed companies to visualise their project in advance and use the images to help tell stories regarding different location options, or different construction strategies.

    In parallel with these projects Murray was also trying to sell Sonata to New Zealand Architects. However, with a price tag around $100,000 for the Software and the Silicon Graphics Workstation it was a tough sell.

    Cadimage is very much the traditional NZ start-up with Sue and Murray owning $50 shares each and saving every penny as they established the business. They originally had a small office in Three Lamps/Ponsonby and then moved to a purpose-built home office on the North Shore. Sue helped with a lot of the admin and it wasn’t unusual for Sue to jump in a car in Friday night rush-hour to deliver a new image to a client – again saving money by not using a courier!

  • Temple of Monte Grisa

    We were in Trieste last week for a long weekend and while out walking around the waterfront I caught site of something interesting on the Ridgeline.

    Taking a look at the map (on my phone) I discovered the Sanctuary Monte Grisa.

     it is a most conspicuous landmark, seen by many, visited by few

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Monte_Grisa

    Before leaving for home we decided to be some of the few and took a detour up behind the city to discover this enormous concrete building set 300m above the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

    It is monumental both inside and out, and for someone who loves concrete as a building material it was great to see a highly geometric structure mixing off-the-form finished concrete and glass.

    I just had to use black and white for some of the photos to show the nature of the forms.

  • BIMobject

    I’m back in Malmo as I begin a contract with BIMobject. I think this is my fourth visit over the years and I expect over the next few months I will make a few more. Its mid-spring so the days are already lengthening

    BIMobject are embarking on a number of new initiatives and I’m involved to help teach the team about recurring revenue business models and explore opportunities across the BIMobject technology landscape.

    It’s been great reconnecting with Ben who I first met at a GRAPHISOFT conference back in 2001. While Ben is Australian he has been living in Sweden the whole time I’ve known him.

    I haven’t brought my running shoes this visit but based on what I can see out from the window of my hotel room I’ll have to bring them when I next visit.

    There are a number of new buildings since I first visited including the University of Malmo which is right across from my hotel.

  • Brunel Building

    I have been visiting the UK for over a decade and with the Heathrow Express connection I frequently stay around Paddington.

    During our recent visit I came across a new additional to the Paddington Basin – the Brunel Building.

    The Brunel Building takes both its name and its inspiration from the renowned and influential Victorian civil engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Surrounded by his rich industrial engineering legacy, including Paddington Station, the building is a flamboyant expression of engineering, with its exposed structure and services.

    https://www.arup.com/projects/brunel-building

    It truly is a stunning addition to the skyline and the exposed steel skeleton is detailed very carefully creating a great reference to the works on Brunel a century before.

  • Japan and Singapore

    This week I’ve been on the road working on the GRAPHISOFT Salesforce implementation and meeting with our Teams in Japan and Singapore.

    This is my third visit to both (or maybe I’ve been to Singapore a couple of times more??) and as always it was great to get out and about.

    The photo from the plane is the closest I’ve come to seeing Mt Fuji up close but one day we plan to visit for sure.

  • Minneapolis

    I’m in Minneapolis – one of the twin cities – to present at the Graphisoft North America Team Meeting.

    Following the release earlier this year of ArchiCAD Subscription it is chance to share results, talk about new initiatives and share ideas on how to improve our processes.

    Its my first visit to the American Mid-west and the industrial heritage of the city is clearly visible.

  • North America Subscription

    I’ve been working at GRAPHISOFT for over a year now and it is great to see the launch of ArchiCAD Subscription for the North American markets.

    This is one of the major projects I have been working on since taking up my role here in Budapest.

    Following on from both the success and learnings from introducing ArchiCAD Subscription in New Zealand we’ve developed a comprehensive Webshop and Subscription Offering.

    Unlike other vendors we believe in offering customers choice and to that end the Subscription Licensing is not a replacement for our perpetual licenses but rather another purchase option.

    As we round in New Zealand a certain portion of the market will finds the month to month payments far more affordable and we’ve also introduced an annual option which is cheaper then the monthly option.

  • APPC Chengdu

    I’m in Chengdu for the GRAPHISOFT Asia Pacific Partners Conference which I’ve attended for the last few years. This is the first time I’ve spent time in China beyond passing through an airport.

    Chengdu is the capital of the Chinese province of Sichuan and its been an interesting visit to date (I passed on eating brain at one of the social events).

    As with a lot of cities the are contrasts everywhere you walk. Walking in one direction and I’m in a domestic styled hopping mall where all the shops are in two storey buildings that look more like houses. Walking in the other direction and the quality of life is a lot different.

    I’m doing a presentation regarding pricing – which generally isn’t most people’s favourite topic but fingers crossed it goes well.

  • Zaha in Rome

    I first visited a building by Zaha Hadid a few years ago when I was in Seoul.

    During our trip to Rome we pulled out the map and made our way to the MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Art.

    The irony of the visit was we simply went to see, explore and experience the building and we didn’t check out any of the exhibitions – maybe next time!

    The concrete exterior forms are in stark contrast to the sweeping black and white internal stair ways and walkways that connect all the amazing spaces. While I managed some great photographs, you need to physically visit to really feel these grand spaces.