. . . About Sunn-Starr Architectural . . .

Sunn-Starr Architectural, Inc. (SSA) was founded in 1984 and later incorporated in 1992 with one important goal in mind :  To provide affordable 3D Modeling and Animation Services to Architects, Interior Designers and Developers.

In the process of establishing this service, SSA quickly found out that the technology of the day was deeply rooted in the Unix environment and by most standards, more costly to Architects and Interior Designers than they were willing to spend.

The existing CADD programs for the PC at the time were in their infancy and AutoCad was just beginning to emerge as the front runner.  Programs such as Arris from Sigma Design on Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics workstations were not cheap.  Most systems were starting at $100,000 per seat !

It became obvious at the time that only the finest and most prestigious firms (or the most profitable in any case) would have the wisdom and the deep pockets to afford these high-end systems.  And we of course, working as highly paid CADD Consultants, were more than happy to tag along for the ride.

Who could complain about being given a small network of expensive Unix workstations and the title of "CADD Director" . . . What a learning experience ! . . . To be able to sketch your ideas in 3-D on a computer at 1280 x 1024 resolution . . . with 16.8 million colors . . . To then transform this into a Design Development Presentation, complete with computer renderings, walk-throughs and fly-through animations . . And finally, to effortlessly convert these elaborate 3-D models into drawings used to produce complete sets of accurate and readable Construction Documents . . . All at a time when everyone else was trying to figure out what on earth a PC could be used for . . . Who could ask for more?

Well, as privileged and elite as we all felt in those days, here at SSA, we still wanted one more thing :  To make all of this affordable to the smaller AEC firms out there.  Imagine our surprise when we encountered resistance to the idea.   "Too expensive for us to purchase" and "Too difficult to learn" was typical, but by far the worst response was "Our firm has decided to wait a few more years to see where this technology is going".  Consequently, most small Architectural firms decided not to stick their necks out as their larger competitors went about establishing their own custom main-frame systems and in-house standards.  Fortunately, as always, there were some notable exceptions to the rule.  A few courageous and avant-garde firms will surely come to mind.  Firms which have long since reaped the benefits of being first in their class to implement this important technology.

Congratulations for reading this far and welcome to the present.  SSA has finally achieved what it set out to accomplish so many years ago.  With the arrival of capable and affordable Windows and Unix-based workstations from such outstanding hardware and operating system providers as Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, Micron, and IBM . . . combined with the latest software offerings from Microsoft, AutoDesk, Accurender and Lightscape to name a few . . . we are finally able to make the following amazing and well anticipated statement :

To preview the importance of logical and well organized standards to the successful integration of these various elements, please read-on.  We promise to keep it short and to the point as clear testimony to the basic premise of our effort . . . Standards that are simple and easy to understand . . . Standards that are intuitive, easy to figure out and easy to remember . . . Standards which are now available for your own in-house customization or for you to begin using as is . . . Standards which are designed to make any firm immediately more efficient and profitable than ever before . . . But most importantly, standards which are now made affordable to you by one of the most thoroughly researched AEC standards firms on the web.

Sunn-Starr Architectural, Inc. is committed to evolving these standards to their highest level possible.  This web site will continue to present the latest and greatest of these developments as they become available.  We sincerely hope that these standards will make a significant difference in the way you go about organizing your own standards.  Please do not forget to contact us and let us know how it goes.  Thank you for your participation in this process and best wishes to all you CADD Operators and aspiring CADD Directors out there searching for answers and inspiration.  May all of your plans and wishes come true.

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