@WhiteMan I've used a lot of software the years and I find myself (only very recently) with ArchiCAD as my core tool - why? - whether I am entering a competition or designing a kitchen extension I need to have
intelligent data that I can push in different directions - to visualisation, to construction drawings, to consultants etc. By
intelligent
I mean, for example a door that knows it is a door and can respond dynamically to what it is touching like wall, in 3 dimensions and with all the BIM implications.
For me the focus is on workflow - so I also use other software packages
- Cinema 4D (recently) for modeling and rendering that ArchiCAD could not achieve (their connection isn't perfect but I live in hope)
SolidThinking - which is a very powerful NURBS modeler, more like Alias Studio than Rhino (which owen mentions above)
and ArchiCAD add-ons like Cadmimage design suite and landscape suite,
... but at the end of the day most of my work is done in 'core' ArchiCAD
You raised the issue of Digital Project, which is built on
CATIA, which was developed for the automotive and aeronautics industries. It is no accident that as architecture becomes more like 'double curvature' industrial design that ID tools are being adopted. This is relevant if industrial-like processes are the main focus - like a Bilbao. Where architecture has BIM, industrial design has PLM - and I see them getting closer and closer in the future.
Stepping back a bit, just remember that when you leave architecture school you need to get a job - where most firms will not be whizz bang NURBS modelers; and if you work on your own sooner rather than later you will probably start with modest projects that will have no use for digital project and the like - but will benefit greatly by the use of intelligent BIM like ArchiCAD - as I have found
Good luck and keep exploring
You can also have a look at an old blog post of mine
New directions for young architects: TECHNOLOGY
