In November, Robert McNeel & Associates released the fifth version of Rhinoceros (Rhino), a 3-D-modeling program for Windows. Rhino, which began as a program for naval design 20 years ago, gained a foothold among architecture students and young designers in the early 2000s by offering a low-cost and intuitive platform. That user base has grown substantially in recent years with the introduction of Grasshopper, a computational design plug-in that allows designers to code visually. Today those students have moved into practice, but much of what made Rhino attractive has been retained in this new version, including its affordable price: $995 ($195 for students).
Rhino 5 has several noteworthy improvements for architects. Since the release of the last version, in 2007, the software has been rebuilt for 64-bit processing, allowing users to work with larger models. Other enhancements include a tabbed toolbar layout, work-session capabilities, and better layer and block management. It also features improved drafting tools, which allow designers to hatch, annotate, dimension, convert 3-D models to 2-D drawings, and create page layouts—all from a single toolbar. A new clipping plane and view options aid drafting, allowing for the creation of sections and plans that can be viewed with various line and shading displays.
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