Hilditch Architect

30 St. Lawrence Street, Toronto
Affordable housing for previously homeless people
First new social housing in Ontario since 1995

Hilditch Architect was established in 1985, and when we acquired our first Mac Plus in 1986, we knew that soon we would be wanting to make use of computers for more than administrative work. When Apple released the Mac II in 1988, we made the leap, and after extensive research, bought PowerDraw.

It's now more than a decade later, and I've long viewed the combination of PowerCADD and the Macintosh as one of our strategic advantages over colleagues using PCs.

We are a small firm, currently five people. We don't have a dedicated drafting department; most of us expect to use a range of tools in a given day. The transparency of use of PowerCADD on the Mac has meant that someone who may not touch PowerCADD on a frequent basis next can still be productive, and not stymied by a complicated interface.

Over the years, we have used a range of 3D software packages, but it continues to be the creation of 2D design and contract documents that is the foundation of our communications with our clients, contractors and the public. For that work, from my experience, PowerCADD is unparalleled. Ease of use, speed, and virtually bullet-proof stability have improved the quality and quantity of our work. Using Wildtools has extended our reach even further.

While one expects that a CAD package will deliver the goods for creation of technical drawings, one of the joys of PowerCADD has been its versatility for other tasks. It's been a great asset in the production of presentation drawings, and we've even used it from time to time as an adjunct in the digital video and website creation work that we do.

Steve Hilditch

Steve Hilditch

Steve Hilditch lives in Toronto, where he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1979. Telephone: (416) 977-7877 x21 Email: steve@hilditch-architect.com Website: www.hilditch-architect.com

30 St. Lawrence Street prior to occupancy February 2000

More drawings by Hilditch Architect

Site Plan for a golf course-based community