Hi Ted,
Based on your input it seems 2D capabilities of DataCAD suffices almost all of your needs. That seems to be the case for most if not all Architects on this forum. As per this article 20% architects solely use 2D capabilities, 30% use mainly 2D and some 3D functionality -
https://www.theengineeringdesign.com/2d-architectural-drafting-is-not-dead/Blackbee3D (
https://blackbee3d.com/) or BIMSmith (
https://market.bimsmith.com/) might not offer much value to architectural firms content with 2D capabilities.
However larger Architectural firms who leverage 3D for renderings, interior decoration, digital renderings for marketing and sales will find such services more useful.
There is already significant effort to take it even further with 4D (3D + Internet of Things (IoT)) data visualizations. For example Research Project Dasher (
https://www.autodeskresearch.com/projects/dasher) or Simulation Hub's Autonomous HVAC CFD (
https://www.simulationhub.com/blog/the- ... s-hvac-cfd). However, those solutions make sense for larger projects and large firms who are working on a construction project with a much wider scope.
As adoption of such tools becomes more prevalent in coming years, I believe Architectural CAD models will need to convey more information than 2D representation. Architectural CAD models will be repurposed for use-cases which were non-existent just a few years ago. For example, superimposition of IoT Data from various sensors for building monitoring for efficient energy usage, HVAC/CFD Analysis, 3D printing.