About

Kristian (CADSwift's founder) originally entered the building design realm through the Architecture and Environmental Design course at the University of Canberra. However, after two years Kristian decided to put studies on hold to obtain more real world knowledge by working in the industry.

Within his first year in the field Kristian had taught himself ArchiCAD and was already much faster than the experienced ArchiCAD users around him. His deeper understanding of the program meant that he was relied upon for maintaining and developing ArchiCAD systems in his very first role in the industry.

Upon relocating to Perth, Kristian sort work in a larger firm where he would have the opportunity to experience many aspects of the industry in an attempt to determine which path to take. He soon realized that he was still a far superior ArchiCAD user than all around him. Kristian's speed and accuracy was so that it allowed him time to complete his own daily duties while also delving more into the inner workings of ArchiCAD in an attempt to optimize it use. It was during this time that Kristian found his calling in the scripting of GDL parametric library parts for ArchiCAD.

Kristian's background seems to have been set up perfectly for GDL scripting. His mother was the mathematician of the family and passed this skill directly to her children. Kristian won awards for mathematics while at school and was always in the top math’s class right through to his final years. Kristian's father and older brother are both highly respected computer programmers with a knack for being able to teach themselves new programming languages at a glance. This ability was also passed on to Kristian. Combining mental prowess in these two fields is suited perfectly to GDL scripting which is a mathematical programming language.

After receiving some basic training in GDL from a member of 3D Edge in Perth, Kristian began teaching himself all the nuances of the language. GDL scripting at its peak is a very well organized series of geometric equations with various levels of variables. He discovered, to his surprise, that creating detailed and highly intelligent parametric GDL objects, while giving him a headache on most occasions, also brought a great deal of satisfaction.

After proving his worth in Perth, Kristian decided to move to Brisbane in an attempt to obtain a position as an ArchiCAD Manager and Developer for a highly respected Architecture firm. Kristian was determined to work for Cottee Parker Architects and knocked back several offers in waiting. The call finally came and at the end of the job interview Kristian was hired, mainly for his abilities with GDL.

The move to secure a position with CPA proved crucial in Kristian’s development. He assisted in developing the impeccable CPA ArchiCAD template which combined all disciplines within the office into the one template. This gave Kristian even greater knowledge in regards to exploiting ArchiCAD's full potential. CPA also relied on Kristian to develop a series of intelligent parametric GDL library parts.This continually enhanced Kristian's skill in GDL scripting.

Being a small town boy at heart, one year in the big smoke was all Kristian could bear. Combined with the fact that although the ArchiCAD development opportunities he was getting with CPA were beneficial, they were still only, at best, 50% of his work for the company; his speed still made him far too useful as a documenter for CPA to utilize him only as a developer. This prompted Kristian to move from Brisbane back to a small coastal town. When Kristian discussed this with Robert Cottee, Rob asked him to continue doing the ArchiCAD development work for CPA from wherever he planned to move to. Obviously Kristian jump at the opportunity and for the next two years he worked as a remote ArchiCAD manager and developer for CPA.

The role was offered to Kristian due to the high regard for the ArchiCAD development work he was doing for CPA. The respect and understanding for the work Kristian was doing with CPA mainly stemmed from the influence of CPA's I.T./CAD Manager; Steve Harris, who not only supported but also mentored Kristian during his time with CPA.

For a few words from Steve click on the Reference button at the bottom of the page.

Two solid years of GDL scripting was a great opportunity to learn exactly what is possible with ArchiCAD library parts. It also helped Kristian to isolate the best scripting methods to ensure the parts created are of the highest standard.

When Kristian's role with CPA was terminated in October 2008 due to the financial crisis, he was forced to sort work elsewhere. During the time since then Kristian has realized that the majority of companies using ArchiCAD are only using it to a small percentage of its potential; sadly, many use it as little more than an electronic 2D drawing tool. This has prompted Kristian to pool all his knowledge to provide companies with the tools and knowledge they need to exploit ArchiCAD to its full potential.

Since 2008 Kristian has built Templates and Library parts for several companies and is now making these advanced tools available to all.

VIEW REFERENCE - click to download