ChiefArchitect

In 1998, as Chief Architect began ramping up training services to include video and classroom resources, we found and embraced Mike Nuess into our company family. If you have spent any time building your skills while watching training videos, it is likely that that you've encountered Mike's voice with his calm and reliable countenance and thorough explanations. He has been a long-time institution in our small corner of the software world and one that will be greatly missed but easily remembered. We all lost Mike on Sunday, June 13, 2021. Mike played many roles as part of our family. He was the 'voice' of Chief Architect's training videos for many years; he also regularly contributed as a classroom trainer, feature presenter, and one-on-one expert at trade-show events and company functions. He mastered the program and offered insights to help make it better for us all. Mike's knowledge in the building industry goes much, much deeper than design software. His passion for sustainable practices fueled the pursuit, publication, and creation of projects that aimed to fulfill these values. You can learn from his findings in a legacy of information that he created on his website: https://www.teleologics.org/ Those of us who worked with Mike will miss a man who was kind, thoughtful, and intentional, who stopped in for easy chats and soft chuckles, and who was always interested in sharing, teaching, and bettering his world. Those who didn't meet Mike will benefit from his past teachings and the future sharings of his insights and works. Please join us in pausing for a moment to remember Mike Nuess. From all of us at Chief Architect, we want to say: Thank you, Mike! We are grateful for what you have given us and let us carry away with us as we grow. You will be missed, Sir.

Chief Architect X13 Beta is now available to existing Chief Architect customers with SSA valid through June 29, 2021. Log into your digital locker to find the download and install it today! View the full list of new features: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/whats-new/ Watch an overview video of new features: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/5513/what-s-new-in-x13-full-list.html

Our Next Contest is Kitchen/Bath and Interiors! Share one of your Kitchen/Bath and Interior Designs for a chance to win Chief Gear. Use any Chief Architect software product to create your original design. You have the chance to win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in this contest. Discover how to enter and more through our blog: https://chiefarchitectblog.com/design-contest-kitchen-bath-interiors/ The entry deadline is June 18.

The results are in! Congratulations to our 3 winners in the Remodel/Additions Design Contest. 1st Place – Javier Montenegro of DSGN Smith Studio 2nd Place – Rodante Bernabe of R. H. Bernabe Enterprises 3rd Place – Jorge Arreola of Greymark Construction Company View all of the great submissions: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=ChiefArchitect&set=a.4671056596256889 We enjoyed viewing everyone’s design and want to thank you all for sharing with us and our community! Varying prize packages will be awarded.

Rendering Techniques & Best Practices — Vector, Watercolor, Clay, Others — Free Live Webinar Thursday, June 17, 2021, at 12:00 PM PDT Chief Architect offers nine different rendering techniques that range from artistic to realistic. In this session, we'll review the various techniques and how to adjust the settings. With the new clay rendering technique, we'll explore the different options to create unique render views absent of specific materials — allowing you to focus on the space and not material selections. One of our design professionals will be hosting this session, covering the following outline, and taking your live questions. 3D rendering technique (filter) settings Clay rendering options — ray trace and how to define a color using layers Line drawing over rendering to add definition Render configuration tips Sign Up!

Real-Time Ray Tracing — Setup & Optimization — Free Live Webinar Thursday, June 10, 2021, at 12:00 PM PDT 3D rendering is what most clients want and need to visualize your designs, right? This session will cover how to create the best possible renderings with real‑time ray tracing. With a completely new rendering engine in Chief Architect X13, you can get photorealistic results in seconds. One of our design professionals will be hosting this session, covering the following outline, and taking your live questions. What kind of computer do I need? How to setup real‑time ray tracing Lighting, sun and backdrop configuration Settings for interior and exterior scenes Download the Sample Plan(s) Watch the Recap

What's New in Chief Architect X13 — Free Live Webinar Thursday, June 3, 2021, at 12:00 PM PDT Many great new features are coming in Chief Architect X13 — real‑time ray trace rendering, walkthrough previews, dimensioning to cabinet faces and openings, cabinet face item reveal control, 3D solid editing, and construction lines for a grid layout. This session will provide an overview of what's new in X13. One of our design professionals will be hosting this session, covering the following outline, and taking your live questions. Productivity features like 3D shape editing Design features with pattern control for tile offsets Building construction features with updated framing control Presentation features with the new rendering and real‑time ray tracing Drafting & project management features like wall elevations for vaulted ceilings Watch the Recap

Our Next Contest is Remodel/Additions! Share one of your Remodel/Addition Designs for a chance to win Chief Gear. Use any Chief Architect software product to create your original design. You have the chance to win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in this contest. Discover how to enter and more through our blog: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/blog/design-contest-remodel-addition/ The entry deadline is May 14.

The results are in! Congratulations to our 3 winners in the Kitchen, Bath, and Interiors Design Contest. 1st Place – Nick Spokes 2nd Place – Ruth Jones 3rd Place – Michael Norpell of Michael Norpell Wall To Wall View all of the great submissions: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=ChiefArchitect&set=a.4583425205020029 We enjoyed viewing everyone’s design and want to thank you all for sharing with us and our community! Varying prize packages will be awarded.

Please let us know if you have any questions about features, pricing or purchase options. You can contact us in sales at 208-292-3400 or email sales@chiefarchitect.com. Kind regards, Derek Pedersen Chief Architect Software

Roofs: 1.5 Story, Multiple Roof Pitches — Free Live Webinar Thursday, April 15, 2021, at 12:00 PM PDT Story and a half roofs can be a great way to take advantage of creating additional living space in attics. The 1.5 story roofs have been a very popular style in the US northeast and are gaining popularity as more people remodel. Learn the steps to create these roofs and multiple pitch roofs to vary the roofline. One of our design professionals will be hosting this session, covering the following outline, and taking your live questions. Steps to create a 1.5 story How to accurately position the roof Creating & adding knee walls Multiple roof pitches Download the Project file: Farmhouse Roof - Start-Finish.zip Watch the Recap!

Roof Tools: Tips & Tricks Thursday, April 1, 2021, at 12:00 PM PDT Roofs can be one of the more complex components of a house—designing them should not be. We'll review how Chief Architect's roof tools can create any style of roof. If you are adjusting or manually creating roofs, especially for remodel projects, projecting the roof intersection points can save you a lot of time. In this session, we will look at the tips and techniques to save time to create the perfect roof. One of our design professionals will be hosting this session, covering the following outline, and taking your live questions. Automatic roof tools Manually editing & drawing roofs Roof styles: shed, nested gables & barrels The-Roof.zip Bachelor-View-Roof-Challenge.zip Watch the Recap!

Our Next Contest is Residential! Share one of your Residential Designs for a chance to win Chief Gear. Use any Chief Architect software product to create your original design. You have the chance to win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in this contest. Discover how to enter and more through our blog: https://chiefarchitectblog.com/design-contest-residential/ The entry deadline is April 16.

The results are in! Congratulations to our 3 winners in the Kitchen, Bath, and Interiors Design Contest. 1st Place – Tasnim Said 2nd Place – Justin Brey of Justin B Designs 3rd Place – Nidhi Shrivastava View all of the great submissions: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=ChiefArchitect&set=a.4502796333082917 We enjoyed viewing everyone’s design and want to thank you all for sharing with us and our community! Varying prize packages will be awarded.

Our Next Contest is Kitchen, Bath, and Interiors! Share one of your Kitchen, Bath, or Interior Designs for a chance to win Chief Gear. Use any Chief Architect software product to create your original design. You have the chance to win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in this contest. Discover how to enter and more through our blog: https://chiefarchitectblog.com/design-contest-kitchen-bath-interiors/ The entry deadline is March 19.

Hello, Thank you for the question. We have an in depth blog article with tips on buying a computer to run Chief Architect that you may find helpful. Below is a link to the article and feel free to contact us if you need any assistance at 208-292-3400 or email sales@chiefarchitect.com. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/blog/computer-for-design-and-gaming/ Kind regards, Derek Pedersen Chief Architect Software

Hello, Thank you for the question about the Trousdale sample plan. You can download this plan from our website and open it in a Chief Architect product. You are free to use the plan as inspiration for your own project. This house was used on the product packaging for one of our Home Designer products. A full plan set was not created for this sample and it was created by Chief Architect staff from a stock photograph. The best we can do to help you is provide you with the sample plan so that you can open it in one of our products. A zip file of this plan is attached to this post and I have attached an image so you can see what the floor plan looks like. I hope this helps. Kind regards, Derek Pedersen Chief Architect Software trousdale (2).zip

Stair Details & Cross-sections For Headroom — Free Live Webinar Thursday, March 25, 2021, at 12:00 PM PDT Building codes require headroom clearance and landing spaces for stairs. Learn how to quickly create a cross‑section and dimension for your construction drawings. In addition, you may need to show stair details in a floor plan view. This session will help with time‑saving tips for your stair details. One of our design professionals will be hosting this session, covering the following outline, and taking your live questions. Stair cross‑sections and dimensioning Stair details in a plan view Creating and using stair CAD details Download the project file: Stair-Detail-Webinar.zip Watch the Recap!

Answers to frequently asked sales questions are available at https://www.chiefarchitect.com/software-subscription/

Tray and Custom Shaped Ceilings & What's Coming Next — Free Live Webinar Thursday, February 18, 2021, at 12:00 PM PST Ceilings can greatly change the look and feel of a room. This session will review the automatic and manual tray ceiling tools to create unique and custom ceilings. Finally, we'll cover creating a ceiling plan for your layout and construction documents. One of our design professionals will be hosting this session, covering the following outline, and taking your live questions. Using the automatic tray ceiling tool Creating manual tray ceilings Saved plan views and layer sets for ceilings Creating a ceiling layout page Download the project file: Trey Ceiling.plan Watch the video

We are excited to be announcing the Design of the Year Contest winners for 2020! Chief Architect holds a monthly design contest every year. There are 3 categories: Kitchen/Bath and Interiors, Residential, and Remodel/Additions. Each monthly winner is entered into the Design of the Year Contest, and our Facebook community votes for their favorite. Kitchen/Bath and Interiors Grand Prize Winner – Giuseppe Rispoli of Rispoli Design and Build, LLC Residential Grand Prize Winner – Michael Burt Remodel/Additions Grand Prize Winner – Jorge Arreola of Greymark Construction Co. Thank you so much to everyone who participated this year. We enjoy seeing your work and love seeing what you can do with Chief Architect, and thank you to everyone who voted on our Facebook page. We couldn’t do it without you!