{"id":56981,"date":"2025-08-09T13:25:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T13:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/56981\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T13:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T13:25:14","slug":"we-asked-our-instagram-followers-for-their-perfect-architecture-work-setup-heres-what-they-said-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/56981\/","title":{"rendered":"We asked our Instagram followers for their perfect architecture work setup. Here\u2019s what they said | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following our previous edition<\/a> on the perfect architecture office, we used our second This or That<\/a> challenge to ask our audience over on Archinect\u2019s Instagram<\/a> to design their perfect digital workflow<\/a>. Having gained a broad overview of our audience\u2019s preferences for their work environment, we wanted to zoom in more to find out exactly what tools, both hardware and software, architects today have implemented into their workspace.<\/p>\n

Followers weighed in on nine key considerations, from drawing software to monitor setup, each time offering a choice between two options we often come across in our discussions with firms in the U.S. and beyond.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Related on Archinect: On the Importance of Feedback: How Architects and Designers Can Improve Office Culture<\/a>. Image credit:\u00a0Pexels user ThirdmanOur Instagram followers prefer Windows over Mac and Microsoft over Google<\/p>\n

Our Instagram followers have a clear answer to one of the most enduring debates in the computing world: Windows or Mac. A full 83% of followers told us they prefer Windows operating systems, with only 17% opting for Mac. This is perhaps unsurprising when considering that several software applications, particularly selected Autodesk programs, are native to Windows.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the firm\u2019s underlying administration and file hosting platforms, users were slightly more evenly balanced. When asked, 69% of followers use Microsoft 365 as their cloud-based computing, productivity, and collaboration suite. By contrast, 31% of users are supported by Google Workspace.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Related on Archinect: An architect\u2019s advice on boosting creativity in hybrid workplaces<\/a>. Image credit:\u00a0Alvin HuangOur Instagram followers are split on laptops and desktops, but not on monitors<\/p>\n

When it comes to their main hardware device of choice, Instagram followers produced the first 50\/50 split of our series, with an even number of designers preferring laptops and desktops. The divide may be a signal of a split between fixed office environments with dedicated workstations in established firms, and remote, flexible, or hybrid setups from nimble firms that value mobility. Meanwhile, students answering our poll may have tended towards laptops, while professionals in the office tended towards desktops.<\/p>\n

On the question of a monitor setup, our Instagram followers were more definitive. A full 75% of designers prefer two monitors at their workstation, as opposed to only 25% who would opt for a single, ultra-wide monitor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a>Related on Archinect: The fundamental ‘BIM mismatch’ between architects and contractors discussed at Harvard roundtable<\/a>.\u00a0Image credit: AutodeskOur Instagram followers barely chose BIM, but clearly chose Autodesk\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the topic of digitally producing architectural drawings, our Instagram followers are closely divided between modelling through BIM and drafting through CAD, with 54% prioritizing BIM and 46% choosing CAD. The popularity of both systems may be explained by varying scales of work performed by architects, with larger, complex projects involving multiple consultants preferring BIM, and smaller-scale projects with a less demanding drawing package lending themselves to CAD\u2019s relative simplicity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regardless of BIM or CAD, our followers were more unanimous in their software manufacturer, with 85% using Autodesk and 15% using Graphisoft, suggesting a dominance in Autodesk\u2019s Revit and AutoCAD over Graphisoft\u2019s Archicad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a>Related on Archinect: Doing creative work when we are obsessed with checking our phones<\/a>For drawings, sketches, and books, our Instagram followers prefer paper over screens<\/p>\n

In addition to targeted questions on digital hardware and software, our poll sought clarity on where architects were practicing digital adoption, and where they still preferred physical and manual processes. We found that despite the heavily digitized nature of architecture offices, architects still value engaging with their work away from screens.<\/p>\n

For instance, 68% of our followers still prefer to view printed plans over the 32% who prefer to view plans on a screen. Meanwhile, 78% still use a sketchbook and pen to express and chronicle ideas, as opposed to 22% who use a tablet and pen. Finally, 79% of followers prefer physical books in the office, over the 21% who prefer to maintain an e-library.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Did our Instagram followers make the right call? Let us know your thoughts on the decisions in the comments below, as well as more thoughts on the design of your ideal digital and manual workspace setup. Also,\u00a0follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for more\u00a0This or That\u00a0challenges soon!<\/p>\n

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