How Low Hammond Rowe Found Massive Efficiency Gains by Switching to Vectorworks Architect

Christopher Rowe has been described as a “tinkerer” — he’s passionate about getting the most out of his design tool and has a particular fondness for exploring and mastering the finer details of a design software.

Of late, the journey of this tinkerer-principal has entered a new trajectory: introducing Vectorworks Architect to the team at Low Hammond Rowe for improved design coordination and efficiency.

Watch this video about a conversation we had with Rowe and other members of the firm, including principals Paul Hammond and Jackson Low. Below the video you’ll find more information about the firm, what it’s like switching AutoCAD users to Vectorworks, details about the firm’s journey into building information modeling (BIM), and a holistic look at how Vectorworks is helping to transform the firm’s business.

Low Hammond Rowe is an award-winning Canadian architecture firm that was founded in 1985. Based in Victoria, the firm has completed a wide range of projects, from small residential renovations to large mixed-use developments.

Low Hammond Rowe is committed to creating buildings that are environmentally responsible and that improve the quality of life for their occupants. The firm's award-winning work can be explored via their online portfolio, which contains many high-res pictures of both models and constructed buildings.

When it comes to design software, Rowe knows that efficiency is key. That's why he introduced Vectorworks Architect to the office. With Vectorworks Architect, designers can create 3D models, quickly generate accurate 2D drawings, and easily coordinate with other members of the design team.

Introducing a new software program is bound to cause a bit of friction regarding ongoing business operation — most firms can’t financially justify placing normal work on hold to transition their workflows. Still, the story of Low Hammond Rowe is a compelling one for firms looking to upgrade their processes.

Architects at the firm have been using programs like AutoCAD and SketchUp for a long time. This knowledge isn’t lost in learning Vectorworks — anyone who’s experienced in CAD won’t have a hard time getting accustomed to Vectorworks, Rowe explained, making the transition process much more manageable than you might think.

“I've been using Vectorworks for decades now,” Rowe said. “I'm still learning things, and I’m still learning how not to do things. But it's very approachable. I think a new user can produce something that's pretty good looking without too much effort.”

This is a huge draw to the managing partners, whose support is crucial when it comes to further implementing Vectorworks throughout the design team.

“Paul and Jackson are both AutoCAD users from way back. I think what’s persuaded them to get into Vectorworks is just its ability to be a little more fluid as a design tool, particularly in the early stages,” Rowe said.

Paul Hammond and Jackson Low are realizing the efficiencies offered by using Vectorworks and how they can be leveraged to grow the business.

“The tipping point for a more concerted switch to Vectorworks was the frustration of my two partners with the results they were getting from other software,” Rowe said. “They were looking at what I was doing, say, for developing permit drawings, and saying, ‘Why can't we get that from our other tools?’ And I said, ‘Well, it's easy!’”

And in truth, the two managing partners couldn’t be happier with the direction they’re taking by using Vectorworks as their design and BIM tool.

“Our construction documents should look as good as our design documents,” said Jackson Low. “Chris was showing us how those things worked in Vectorworks and it intrigued us because you could go seamlessly from one to the other. The documents look good, and they give the information that we need to give.”

BIM is all about using smart tools to create a model coordinated with documents, which benefits both the design and construction phases of a project. BIM allows architects to identify potential problems early on and fix them before they become too costly, and also makes it possible to take measurements and generate construction documents directly from the model. As a result, BIM can save a considerable amount of time and effort during the design process.

“We have a $70 million mixed-use project in downtown Vancouver. That was done in Vectorworks from start to finish. That, believe it or not, was our first full Vectorworks BIM project,” Rowe said.

The architects at Low Hammond Rowe have found that BIM helps them to collaborate better with other members of the design team. By using BIM, they can create more accurate and coordinated documents, which ultimately leads to a smoother construction process.

“BIM really helps me to be able to go into the model as a principal, even though I'm not actively working on the model, but be able to navigate around, to be able to redline, to be able to find what's going on,” Rowe said. “That kind of situational awareness is very important to me, and I can't provide that with other tools.”

Efficiency is king. The more work you can do — and do well, it must be said — the more business you can bring in for your firm.

But as we all know, there’s a learning curve to being more efficient. Low Hammond Rowe knows this well and are doing everything in their power to maximize the potential of Vectorworks.

“One of the things we've done and that we continue to do after every project is upgrade our templates,” Rowe said. “We go through our class list, we go through our templates and our libraries, and we weed out the stuff that was causing confusion or was giving us poor results, making it easier for new users to understand how our classing system works.”

This method gives the firm the opportunity to be in constant dialogue about the effectiveness of their workflows. Over time, the firm’s design process will become more streamlined and efficient as they dive further into what Vectorworks can do. As others have said, Vectorworks is a tool to grow into, rather than a tool to grow out of.

Learn more about Low Hammond Rowe.

Learn more about Vectorworks Architect.