It is very difficult to gauge the impact of AI and Machine Learning (ML) on any specific AEC discipline. It’s made even harder when the applications that claim to be AI are in fact several different computing automation strategies compiled together, with AI contributing the least. This will remain the case for a long time as developers of automation tools will use the best / fastest computational strategies for the right problem, and AI may well not be the centre or main contributor to the magic you will see before your eyes. However, it will increasingly come into the mix.

We first talked with Augmenta in October 2022. At the time, the company didn’t have a shipping product but was making noises about the automation of building systems such as mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP). Many of the team, based in Toronto, Canada, were ex Autodesk-developers who were responsible for the generative design code that was impressively applied to Autodesk’s manufacturing-focused CAD tools – Fusion and Inventor. They had big ideas as to how generative design could be applied in AEC but couldn’t find any takers within that Autodesk division, so set up Augmenta and started working on the problem of building services.

I dream of wires

Augmenta has ‘shipped’ its first cloud product, aimed at wiring up electrical components in BIM models. The software is currently limited to USA projects, as the team has coded in US standards first. It automates the routing and coordination of conduit systems across an entire building, through multiple floors based on user-defined rules, with the specification of device and panel locations, no-go zones and run schedules.

When the BIM (Revit) model is uploaded, Augmenta wires up all the electrical components, puts holes through walls for conduit, models everything in 3D, and provides an estimated cost. It’s possible to run several strategies at once and compare the price difference. Typically, this would take an expert days or weeks. Augmenta does it in hours.

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Once the electrical design is completed this can be exported to Revit for editing, detailing and clash detection. As the solution is in the cloud, development is ongoing and will eventually expand out to other countries.

Augmenta is simultaneously working on its auto-plumbing application which may come out this time next year. It will be possible to run a solve for both wiring and plumbing simultaneously. Eventually, when MEP is ready, Augmenta could do the whole lot in one pass. However, obviously the results need to be checked by a professional and perhaps altered for reasons not yet built into Augmenta’s system.

Augmenta is one of the poster children for BIM 2.0. These expert systems, which are coming to assist professionals, rapidly crush specification and detail design times. HighArc is another example that has built an automated house detail designer and drawing production system for American residential house builders.

If you extrapolate what these applications can do today, ten years into the future, you should be able to realise that the AEC design space is going to look very different. The levels of industry knowledge that will be built into ‘intelligent’ software will mean smaller teams will become highly productive, with automation perhaps completing 90% or more of each discipline’s detail work.

Add in ten years development of conceptual AI design tools, autodrawings, digital fabrication strategies and we have to consider very different tech stacks and team skills within AEC. From an initial concept, it could be hours or minutes to get a fully detailed model, with drawings and costings.

Thoughts from the team

To coincide with the launch of the new product we had a wide-ranging talk with Francesco Iorio, CEO, Aaron Szymanski, co-founder and head of product, and Matthew Hernandez, VP of Growth.

Iorio spoke at AEC Magazine’s NXT DEV conference in 2023 (watch his presentation) and was part of our mainstage demonstration in 2024 showing a non-Revit BIM workflow (watch the presentation).

AEC Magazine: Why did you start with electrical?

Iorio: Electrical is actually the hardest from a technical perspective. It may be easier in the sense that electricity doesn’t fight gravity like water but other than that, from a purely computational geometric perspective, it’s by far the hardest because electrical systems are made from conduits.

The number of parts that need modelling are even ten times what you need for MEP. We aren’t aiming to output a diagram or a high-level conceptual model. We want to output everything, something that’s constructible. We generate miles of raceway in one shot. This isn’t an assistant, it’s an automated system.

To do plumbing we will have to consider pressure, easiest transitions. You need to consider pressure drops, differentials and we would have to do some simulation. And of course, you must think about slopes for drains, which are a constraint.

MEP, in terms of geometry and topology, is much easier if you think about it. There are these giant ducts that take up a lot of space but essentially with mechanical it’s all about performance. You need to think about flow rates, take into consideration thermal losses, noise, vibration. It’s something that would apply computational fluid dynamics too.”

AEC: What kind of benefit will Augmenta offer electrical engineers and Revit workflows?

Szymanski: At the moment we’re not producing 100% perfect designs. There’s still the need for human cleanup involved at the detail level. The system might add an extra bend here and there, and there could be a self-collision somewhere.

We’re tracking all this and reducing the incident of errors over time. Today we will get you that initial population, will get you from a model that has nothing, to something that has 80% and customers are going to have to clean up that model themselves. Over time the amount of human intervention will reduce. We kind of think of ourselves as like a self-driving car startup, trying to reduce the amount of human intervention.

We have a broad scope for electrical, we cover a lot of the details like supports and couplings and we will eventually detail that functionality providing a full BoM. We can wire up a small hospital in just three hours – that’s the whole design – and eventually we’ll get to the point where there’s effectively no clean up. That means zero to fully detailed BoM, fully coordinated, ready to build in just a couple of hours.

AEC: What data does Augmenta need to start modelling electrical systems?

Szymanski: Basically, there are three main inputs: Revit model with just the most basic setup in terms of electrical equipment, the conduit run schedule, which defines your ‘tos an froms’ and what you want to run between that equipment, along with the design rules.

We really want to be able to get to the point where it’s just requirements, just tell us how many lights are in the building, tell us what sort of loads are in different parts of the building, [then] we’ll place the panels, we’ll pick the equipment for you, we’ll route everything and coordinate everything.

Once we have the mechanical and plumbing, we just run all that concurrently, so you have a full MEP system, that’s fully designed and coordinated, just based off high-level requirements. We’re moving upstream.

Today the way that the industry works is by prioritising some systems over others, so mechanical has top priority, like ducting over plumbing. Ducting has priority over pressure piping and those together have priority over electrical, because electrical can go up down around etc. So electrical is effectively just routing around in whatever space it can find. It’s why we started there because we can solve that problem for them, without anyone having to be aware they’re using a radically new way of designing their systems. Once we get into mechanical and plumbing, we’re going to build those out all at the same time and at once solve the same problem in three or four hours.

We understand that iteration is an important part of the process and must support that feedback loop. Our system means you can go through two full iterations of the entire building in a day as opposed to that happening over the course of months. Now [at the moment] with each iteration it’s a whole rebuild, going from scratch every time which we know is not ideal, so we’re looking at user-defined iteration, whether users can lock parts of the design and keep everything else unlocked for the next iteration. But we want to be able for this to happen automatically. Every user might load in a new background model and the outcome is that everything is the same except for one duct. Our software should recognise that and assume everything else is optimal.”

AEC: We suspect that the makers of conduit, MEP and plumbing might be interested in Augmenta specifying their products?

Szymanski: We’re talking to the main providers of conduit, and there’s a bunch of conversations we’re having on that topic. The most straightforward interest is that they want to be included in our default library, they want to be in that end BoM.”

AEC: How will you sell Augmenta? Is it a SaaS service, on demand?

Szymanski: We have two ways to get to market at the moment. The first is we’re offering design services through a partnership with ENG. ENG is the largest big modelling firm in the United States. We are now running our software on their entire pipeline, so they are still kind of the front end from a consulting model. With the back end of it we do the solution generation, make the user models and do the final editing on top of them and deliver those to our customers, but we’re not expanding that right now.
We have been using our software long enough to have actually built buildings. Our first was an elementary school in Michigan, we have another school where construction kicks off soon too. We are just building a flywheel for ourselves, where we’re running on as many live projects as we can, learning and building a product to produce real value for the industry.

AEC: How does Augmenta use AI/ML?

Szymanski: We use a combination of methods; our solution generation pipeline combines machine learning and various algorithmics methods in different parts. Right now, from a machine learning perspective we’re training primarily not on customer sites or in customer models, but on our own models. So, for example, when we generate a design, we generate a number of designs, a user picks one of those and we record that preference. We start to learn what is a higher quality design and what is a lower quality design, and then obviously there’s where those additional edits are made.

We learn from those edits as well and all this is about driving internally a higher quality score reducing the amount of human intervention. So, there’s a machine learning component that’s really about fine-tuning our internal weights and biases to produce higher quality results. The other thing we are using machine learning for is site interpretation. We’re not training on customer sites, but we’re really interested in using machine learning to interpret the sites to understand what’s a bathroom, what’s an elevator shaft, so we’re starting to extract that context data sites so that there’s less and less human setup required at the front end.

The biggest challenge we face, and it’s no surprise at all, is how messy Revit models are. They are so inconsistently modelled; people are not using the right elements and categories correctly. It’s no surprise to anyone I know in the industry, but it causes a massive headache when you’re trying to programmatically make sense of that site.

We’ve done a pretty good job of that but there are still specific things that need to be defined like firewalls, as we shouldn’t be cutting through them.

AEC: To come out with a good solution for a design, you really need to make sure you have a good quality BIM model to start with. From talking with others, the rather random nature of quality and precision in architect’s BIM models is a problem.

Hernandez: Unfortunately, too many people don’t see the value in model fidelity or use the best practices and that’s pervasive in the industry. We see the way of changing this is by making people incredibly more efficient than they are today by automating and optimising the design.

When you control the design, you control virtually all the downstream workflows, even to the level of construction and constructability. We don’t want to just speed people up – that’s just one benefit – we literally want to transform the construction industry and change the 25 years of no productivity gains that has plagued our industry for many reasons.

When you control the design, which is essentially the data from which everything else flows, you unlock advances in estimation, in procurement, in construction in safety on the job site, because you can prefabricate more. We are partnering with people who model well, are into prefabrication, and are willing to spend time to use our innovative tool fully so they’re the ones who are going to become more efficient. We already know there’s a huge labour shortage gap in construction, let alone to get into BIM VDC.”

AEC: When people think of AI in AEC, they tend to think of Midjourney. How is Augmenta different?

Hernandez: Right now, customers are saving about 60% but that’s just literally the tip of the iceberg. We’re working on some incredibly hard challenges – geometry, clashes coordination, path choosing, all in 3D. This is very different to the LLMs of text-to-render.

And a lot of the solutions that are built for construction today only address the symptoms not the problem. Ultimately, multidisciplinary firms using this technology will be able to estimate within a percent, which is incredible, which makes that available to the rest of construction – lowest carbon emissions, embodied carbon lowers construction costs etc.

Business model

All this automation could transform the way AEC firms work, but it also has a huge potential impact on software firms. To date, software firms have charged per user per licence, or token-based systems for usage estimated over years. Automation systems are going to remove the need for many licences of software that firms rely on today. And yes, while others will say there will be new jobs, the correlation between automation and smaller design teams, and fewer licences is going to have real consequences in future decades. We asked how software firms like Augmenta are reinventing the software business model?

Hernandez: Our product is still very, very early. It’s not our goal to go out and sell a bunch of SaaS licences. The pricing model that we use is to measure as closely as we can how much value customers are getting out of our software. For example, like the 60% increase in speed, with routing, modelling, coordination and then we take a small percentage of that as a fee. So as our scope increases, our fee will increase, but we would still be leaving the user, whether that’s a services firm, an engineering firm, or contractor with 90% of the value that we create.

Conclusion

Augmenta is a fascinating addition to the design landscape and the team is taking on some very big challenges – not just by discipline, but by country; not just attacking incumbent systems and workflows, but by having to trial new business models.
We hope the team’s opinions have stirred some thoughts and ideas of your own, as to what is coming down the pipeline for this industry with automation. The key takeaway seems to be that for the AEC industry to fully reap the downstream benefits of these advancements, it must significantly improve the quality of its BIM models.

The post Augmenta’s productivity promise appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Graphisoft is part of the Nemetschek Group, which comprises thirteen AEC related brands, three of which are BIM modellers.

While the brands are individually strong, it’s taken a while for Nemetschek to realise that together they can represent a connected ecosystem solution for the whole AEC industry. This has resulted in a change of strategy, with growing interconnected workflows and now brand separated teams working together on company-wide technology innovation.

Graphisoft, which has Archicad as its flagship BIM platform, is set to become a major beneficiary of Nemetschek’s new pan-brand accelerated development.

I’ve always felt it was in Graphisoft’s DNA to be a ‘secret squirrel’ when it came to talking about new technology, beyond the current release. On this trip to the HQ in Budapest, I finally realised why.

Jump to section on AI / ML and legacy code

Unlike most other developers in the industry, which have already transitioned to subscription-based sales, Graphisoft has been some way behind the curve into moving into that business model. This has meant that every release needed to perform and appeal to customers. The company’s marketing and focus needed to be on the latest release and the benefits of that yearly update, not on features that were still years away. The net result was we only got only vague insight into the future roadmap.

In 2023, Graphisoft took a significant step forward by beginning to circulate comprehensive product roadmaps for Archicad, BIMcloud, BIMx, and DDScad (MEP – mechanical, electrical, plumbing). These roadmaps categorised the status of various features as ‘under research’, ‘in progress’, ‘coming soon’, and ‘delivered’.

Graphisoft also introduced a Technology Preview Program, to share and experiment with forthcoming features, so users can have input on the development and evolution of Archicad.

This year, we were invited to play with a range of augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that are still in the experimental phase, sparking discussions about the transformative potential of AI within the AEC sector.

The transition to a subscription model has evidently fostered a more open dialogue from Graphisoft’s product managers, who now appear more inclined to speculate on the future trajectory and capabilities of BIM 2.0, as well as the broader applications of technology across the AEC market.

This is indeed an opportune moment for AEC technology developers, as the landscape is ripe with possibilities for the creation of innovative solutions. The shift towards a subscription model potentially enhances customer engagement, and also allows for a more agile response to market demands and technological advancements. As Graphisoft continues to evolve and adapt to the changing dynamics of the industry, the potential for collaboration and integration among the various Nemetschek brands will likely yield significant benefits for architects and other professionals within the AEC sector.

The strategic realignment within the Nemetschek Group, coupled with Graphisoft’s newfound transparency regarding its product roadmap, heralds an exciting chapter for the company. Graphisoft is fostering a future where technology not only enhances customer’s design capabilities but also fosters a more interconnected and collaborative approach to building and construction. The journey ahead promises to be filled with opportunities for growth, innovation, and the advancement of our profession.

Graphisoft 2024 lineup

Graphisoft’s core product, Archicad, is now in its 28^th revision. For an opener, this year’s update offers a substantial 30% improvement in performance and the development team is impressed with Apple’s new ‘system on a chip’ silicon-based systems. Asked if Graphisoft would support the ARM version of Windows, it seemed the company had the software compilers and were working towards future support for Archicad on ARM.

There are the usual UI tweaks, like a new home page start point on launch. Improved model exchange support through IFC, RFA and RVT for Revit. New support for Information Delivery Specification (IDS) format – a protocol for enabling the construction sector to establish and validate BIM specifications, leading to the automation of quality assurance checks and categorisation. Graphisoft has also added support for BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) 3.0.

Advanced distance arrows / guides give excellent measurement feedback when moving and positioning to relative geometry. Roof openings can be created quicker and more consistently in an expanded Opening Tool. There’s a flexible global library,

‘Keynotes’ debut in Archicad 28, to enable a database-driven documentation system that integrates specifications and legends. This is streamlined by automating annotations, eliminating the manual workarounds that were previously required for maintaining consistency across project documentation sets.

Architects face a common challenge when presenting multiple design concepts to clients. The process typically requires many hours to manually create different versions of the same project. Archicad’s new Design Options delivers a new workflow within a single project file. Users can create variations for a whole building or focus just on specific areas. Different façade treatments or interior layouts are good examples. These alternatives work independently, allowing for smooth 2D and 3D views and are compatible with annotations, sections, and elevations. It’s possible to merge, duplicate, or rearrange options within the workflow. This is a very powerful technique, and one that is used in the more advanced mechanical CAD tools. It reduces the need to start multiple project files to develop different options.

Archicad has improved Rhino-Grasshopper connection which supports the latest version of Rhino. It offers increased speed with a built-in parametric hotlink capability, where Archicad geometry becomes hotlinks in Grasshopper – enabling capabilities such as laying out of buildings. Beam and column support has also been extended.

The Archicad AI Visualizer, which was originally desktop-based, now runs in the cloud, which means it doesn’t have to be installed, and users don’t need powerful local GPUs. The software takes Archicad designs and uses AI to generate photorealistic images based on text prompts. To change a material, the user simply alters the text prompt and the image is regenerated.

Graphisoft still has strong links with Chaos Group and its Enscape renderer too for more traditional viz output. The new Chaos AI Enhancer is also accessible to Archicad users, delivering exceptionally smooth daylight shadows. In fact, there are no shortages of rendering tech, as there is also Graphisoft’s stablemate, Maxon, which offers Redshift and Cinema 4D too.

There’s a new LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) analysis capability provided by third party developer One Click, to give fast feedback on lifecycle assessments and life cycle costing of their various design options.

Point cloud has been improved with the inclusion of a ‘Lite’ layer of functionality from third-party developer, BIMmTool, aimed at assisting renovation and refurbishment projects within Archicad. It means Archicad can now handle larger data sets, leading to faster workflow. To maintain speed while handling dense point clouds, the software displays distant point clouds at lower resolution.

Users that want even more power can upgrade to the full version from BIMmTool, which supports the direct import of common point cloud formats, such as Leica, Faro, Riegl and others. Thanks to multiprocessing support and sampling, BIMmTool supports large scan projects easily, while the Pointcloud switcher allows precise control over point cloud display in Archicad views. The full version also provides a suite of tools for modelling off point clouds, as well as analysis for deviation of reality vs BIM.

Archicad also offers improved integration with its sister Nemetschek brands, including Solibri for design checking / validation and Bluebeam for PDF-based collaboration.

DDScad for MEP

In June 2022, Graphisoft merged with its sister company, DDScad, adding the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) expertise of DDS to its BIM platform. This was a major step forward to producing a like for like multi-disciplinary BIM system to compete with Revit. Unfortunately, the Archicad brand obfuscates the fact that the BIM tool is more than just about architecture. It now offers MEP, as well as structural, through other Nemetschek brands. The integration work is significant and Graphisoft maintains DDScad as a standalone product for its significant European installed base.

DDScad is an advanced MEP solution which designs ductwork specifications with flow rate optimisation, with an easy-to-use browser-based system to visualise routes. It also delivers streamlined cable tray and piping workflows and real-time size optimisation, based on flow requirements.

Customers want to buy into a technology firm that has a vision and can show velocity of innovation. BIM software needs to deliver considerably more productivity to users and I don’t get the feeling Graphisoft is resting on its laurels

New for this year, there are enhancements to photovoltaic system design, busbar trunking design and modelling and generic workflow improvements, specifically allowing electrical engineers and architects to exchange models easily. Lighting design also gets updated with an improved DIAlux-evo electrical connection, for planning, calculation and visualisation of lighting. Dial is the company which develops DIAlux-evo in Germany and is available free of charge in 26 languages.

BIMcloud for collaboration

Graphisoft’s cloud-based data platform, BIMcloud, for architects, engineers, and constructors enables real-time collaboration on projects. BIMcloud has 13 regional data centres worldwide through Graphisoft’s partnership with Google Cloud Platform.

While BIMcloud was slow to gain adoption, like all cloud collaboration tools it has started to get traction post COVID, with remote working and distributed teams growing and fears of cloud subsiding. This year, multi-factor authentication is being added to build in more security and Graphisoft is offering it as a turnkey service.

BIMx for presentations

Graphisoft’s collaboration and presentation tool, BIMx, now supports antialiasing, leading to better quality model edge definition. The new release also provides feature unification across all supported platforms, mobile, web and desktop – macOS, Safari, Windows, Firefox, IOS, Android, Chrome and others.

There are more controls to filter visibility options to enable the viewing of design options, renovations and structure. This is easy to use and an incredibly effective visual aid when showing clients.

BIMx now supports the Apple Vision Pro, although since the announcement Apple has paused production of the high-resolution headset, and rumours are that work on the second generation has been suspended. We hope this work progresses once Apple figures out the way ahead.

Autodesk Nemetschek API deal

In April this year, Nemetschek and Autodesk signed an agreement to advance and open interoperable workflows between their products. This was great news and included the exchange of software, API developer access and for Nemetschek to access Autodesk Platform Services APS (formerly Forge). This lowered the bar of entry for Nemetschek to connect Bluebeam, BIMcloud and BIMplus to Autodesk Forma, Autodesk Fusion, Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) and design products.

While it’s still early days, it was interesting to discuss the opportunities this might present to Graphisoft. It’s possible that Graphisoft could develop tools that rely on APS, which essentially is Autodesk’s modularised services, like viewing tools, file translation, design automation, and even access to the new granular data and geometry feeds from Autodesk Docs, which were launched this year.

Co-opetition is a strange new world as AEC firms open up, but it was encouraging to hear that Graphisoft’s team were aiming to make use of this agreement in building connected AEC workflows, trying to remove the historic silos.

Architecture tour

During the CAD conference in Budapest, Graphisoft organised a notable architectural excursion to refresh our minds away from BIM software discussions. The destination was Napraforgó utca (Sunflower Street), situated near the intriguingly named ‘Devil’s Trench’, a significant modernist development. The estate comprises 22 structures commissioned for the 1930 International Architecture Congress.

The project featured 18 distinguished architects, including Henrik Böhm, József Fischer, Alfréd Hajós, Ármin Hegedűs, Lajos Kozma, and Farkas Molnár. This remarkable collection of Bauhaus-style modernist villas remains predominantly residential, with one property, formerly the house of an opera singer, on Bajza utca functioning as a public museum.

From seeing the original photographs, the estate was clearly built near the northern outskirts of the Buda side of the city, but since then the urban sprawl of a nation’s capital city has somewhat swallowed it up.  If you are in Budapest, and a fan of modernism, it’s well worth the trip.

Conclusion

It’s incredible how broad the Graphisoft software and services portfolio has grown – now catering to architects, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, sustainability experts, construction specialists, and arch viz experts, extending out to surveyors, and then customers with BIMx. With each release, the span of software development grows.

This release also sees Graphisoft do something else it has not been so good at in the past – working with third parties. Bringing in BIMmTool and One Click LCA, this enables ‘lite’ layers of functionality to be integrated, exposing their customers to third party tools which build on the functionality provided, adding extra levels and layers to Archicad’s capabilities.

Graphisoft will convert to selling only new subscription licences from 2026 which is a sure-fire way to rile up the base as inevitably the cost of ownership goes up. This can be assuaged to a degree by offering more value and much longer low-cost subscription deals. The messy bit with subscription is time and price inflation – compound inflation eventually adds up to make an expensive solution and software providers fall foul with even their in-house product champions. However, maybe in ten years, AI will mean that eventual seat sales of software may have to make way for a new value-based pricing model.

It’s interesting how attitudes are changing in the software development community. While I am not a massive fan of subscription for many reasons, there is one positive thing that is coming from it and that is open product development. It’s no longer about selling the next release and trying to get as much of the base to buy in to this year’s features. We have moved decisively to open development, where customers get a much longer view of where software development teams have been going.

Customers want to buy into a technology firm that has a vision and can show velocity of innovation. BIM software needs to deliver considerably more productivity to users and for the first time in 20 plus years there are some new kids on the block. I don’t get the feeling Graphisoft is resting on its laurels, and that sentiment now spans the whole Nemetschek Group.

AI / ML and legacy code

In a CAD world full of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), it will be obvious to see that there is not a lot of innovative AI shipping with Archicad currently. The most notable component was this year’s inclusion of the AI Visualiser tool, but this was released in a world of exploding AI visualisation tools, which basically all do the same thing – harness ChatGPT with and AI renderer (Stable Diffusion), using BIM geometry as the seed. EvolveLab was first to market with Veras in December 2022.

AI Visualiser was a rapidly developed tool, which started off as an in-house AI experiment that progressed rapidly and gave impressive results so the decision was made to release it.

I talked with Màrton Kiss, Graphisoft CPO and Sylwester Pawluk, senior director of product management about AI, pre-Archicad 28 launch, back in September 2024. At the event we had plenty more time to further our conversations and talk about the future application of AI.

Both Nemetschek and its brands are all active in developing AI features and new products and this is being managed centrally by an AI group at Nemetschek. We will see discreet AI applied within Nemetschek’s brands, jointly developed technology between different brand developers and possibly new products emerge in their own right from Nemetsheck.

The Graphisoft product team is certainly not short on ideas. Our conversations ranged from automated detail modelling, 2D to 3D BIM, 3D BIM to 2D drawings, mass transcription of architectural catalogues to 3D BIM components, scan a room direct to AR, auto routing of MEP, auto modelling of MEP, automatic structural design based on architectural BIM modelling, modelling with intelligent massing rooms which automatically generate Level 300 detail models.

All of these topics are being considered or are in some form of being actively researched. Depending on how well they go, they could end up on the Archicad roadmap or be taken up within the Nemetschek Group as they could benefit all brands.

It is of course possible that the AI technology is deemed so game changing that it is kept in stealth until unleashed. With the industry seeing so many cloud-based ‘wannaBIM’ start-ups and the future battle for the AEC design authoring tool for the next decade.

Talking with Pawluk, who was previously at GE Healthcare / GE Avionics and Google, you can’t help but get excited about the potential applications for AI within the whole product suite. But with this new change of pace in development, it’s important not to break the existing product and still deliver reliable code.

We know internally the company has engaged in a multi-year project to rewrite and modernise Archicad’s core underlying code, removing the legacy. Called the Adaptive-Hybrid Framework (AHF), that program is being led by Zsolt Kerecsen, Graphisoft’s CTO. Essentially Archicad’s core has to become modular, extensible, support cloud and desktop as native, and be ready to deliver quarterly feature updates and AI, ML / neural net-based capabilities.  In fact, some of this work has already been done as two of this year’s features utilised the AHF – Design Options and Keynotes.

The BIM competitive landscape

With so much happening in the world of BIM, with all the upstarts and new developers, it’s worth spending a little time understanding the competitive landscape.

Autodesk is the 800 lb industry gorilla and Revit is its global leading BIM tool for others to beat. However, since the ‘Open letters to Autodesk’ (A tale of two open letters), Autodesk was pressed to go on record to say that there will be no new ‘next generation’ desktop version of Revit. The company has since launched Autodesk Forma, a next generation cloud-based AEC platform, on which it plans to develop industry tools, spanning design, simulation and fabrication workflows.

Autodesk is currently still developing new features for Revit but these seem to be ones which don’t need the developers to go into the guts of the programme for major software architectural rewrites.

The challenge is to somehow build a bridge between Revit and Forma and eventually deliver next generation BIM with a cloud-based datacentric workflow, incorporating desktop Revit and somehow reversing it into cloud-centric workflows and tools. This process could take anywhere from 5 to 10 years to complete.

Nemetschek has three core BIM brands – Archicad, Allplan and Vectorworks. None of these tools are cloud-first, all are desktop with cloud extensions, but increasingly cloud-connected. With Autodesk choosing a difficult path of spinning multiple plates, maintaining the old version and workflow while fleshing out the new, there is an opportunity for Archicad, with focused development, to become a real multidisciplinary competitor for Revit. However, legacy software is sticky and proprietary formats and hard-earned skillsets inhibit momentum to change.

But looking ahead, in 2027 / 2028 Autodesk’s two-for-one perpetual to subscription deal runs out. Many firms will be facing paying around £10,000 per seat for their next 3-year deal for half their seats (which they have enjoyed for gratis for the last eight years) to be renewed as an AEC collections. Added to this, their current deals on historic seats, which were heavily discounted through dealers will also need renewing. And now Autodesk has taken over the sales process, customers won’t have access to dealers who previously cut their own margins for a sale.

The net result will be a potential combined double whammy – buying 50% new licences together with the cost increase to existing licences. This is, of course, assuming that Autodesk won’t try and do something to soften the blow, which it may well do as there are three years to go.

Of course, all of this may present a huge opportunity for competitive AEC software firms like Graphisoft that can provide an alternative means to model and document their projects with significant budget savings. Customers will face some tough budgetary and tech stack decisions over the next five years. It’s safe to say that even with so many start-ups aiming for a slice of the BIM market, Revit and Archicad will still offer the deepest, most mature BIM feature sets.

Archicad Collaborate

In March 2023, Graphisoft offered the Archicad Collaborate subscription-based, value bundle for power users. This combined Archicad, BIMcloud as a service (no IT overhead), Graphisoft Learn courses and materials, Redshift renderer by Maxon, PARAM-O object design tool, Library Part Maker and Python API for a single discount subscription fee.

The 2024 Collaborate offering is intended to replace its Software Service Agreement (SSA) / Forward (FWD) subscription program, and includes Archicad, BIMx Pro, BIMx model transfers (private storage, password protection, embedding), Redshift, Surface Catalogue (500+), Pythion API, PARAM-O, Library Part Maker, Technical support, Graphisoft Learn, Emergency licences (replace lost or stolen keys), and Archicad Design Checker (powered by Solibri).

Collaborate is essentially the full Graphisoft tech stack and enables centralised project management with real time synchronisation across all connected devices and team members. There’s built in version control, logging and tracking all iterations, and there are quality checking and conflict resolution tools. Designs can be shared with team members and clients, sent for markup and annotation. Tasks can be assigned and tracked. Access is controlled based on roles.

BIM data is stored securely in the cloud and distributed across multiple platforms. The cloud server provides automatic back-up and utilises the power of the cloud, freeing up local machines for other tasks.

From 2026 Archicad will be available for purchase only via subscription. The bundle options appear to be Archicad Collaborate now or Archicad Studio in 2025. We suspect the individual products will remain as subscription items on the menu.

Main image: Archicad’s new Design Options allows users to create variations of a building within a single file

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Trimble gave attendees of its annual Trimble Dimensions user conference an inside look at the company’s latest initiatives to incorporate AI into AEC workflows, including visualisation, reality capture, project management and takeoff.

For visualisation, SketchUp Diffusion [Labs] is a generative AI-powered tool, available as part of the SketchUp Labs public beta program, that allows architects and designers to generate visualisations in seconds based on the active SketchUp viewport and a natural language text prompt or preset style.

Learn more about Diffusion models in this guide for AEC professionals).

For project management, ProjectSight includes a new drawing import feature that uses AI to read and extract critical drawing information for improved project visualisation.

For takeoff, Trimble LiveCount uses new AI functionality to automatically detect and count thousands of symbols on construction drawings with a view to saving contractors from hours of manual, repetitive and time-consuming tasks.

Trimble LiveCount includes the ability to automatically detect and count different types of receptacles and switches — the most common electrical items on drawings, helping electrical contractors create estimates faster, easier and more accurately.

Trimble LiveCount AI functionality is available in the Trimble Accubid Anywhere (named user) and Hosted Accubid Classic Estimating Essentials subscriptions.

Meanwhile, Trimble has announced that SketchUp has surpassed one million active subscribers.

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Graphisoft enjoys a solid reputation for delivering consistent value with every annual release. This year is no exception, with the Hungary-based developer of BIM software (part of the Nemetschek group) unveiling useful enhancements to its core Archicad, BIMcloud and BIMx programmes for design, collaboration and project management, respectively.

Let’s start with design. Archicad is a tool that has historically done well with architecture firms, having successfully carved out a dual Apple/Windows niche for itself. Since last year’s release, Graphisoft has been on a mission to significantly expand the programme’s feature set, adding a raft of MEP capabilities enabled by integration with fellow Nemetschek stablemate, DDScad.

With this year’s Archicad 27, the company continues its journey to empower architects with better tools and deliver strong capabilities for multidisciplinary teams, both in MEP and structural workflows.

This presents a direct challenge to competitor Autodesk Revit, the market’s 800-pound gorilla, which has always benefited from offering a broad, multidisciplinary feature set.

Graphisoft’s decision to fold in DDScad functionality and build strong links to Nemetschek’s Frilo, Risa and Scia brands will broaden Archicad’s appeal and enable the package to compete feature by feature with Revit. It’s a significant industry play.

With each new release, Archicad is becoming more than just ‘Archi’, and will be better able to compete with Revit as a desktop BIM tool with cloud capabilities.

Meanwhile, Autodesk appears to be slowing development of Revit as it transitions to a new cloud-based platform called Forma.

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As it stands, DDScad now lives a dual existence, both as a standalone product and as a part of Archicad. Graphisoft executives say that they are committed to DDScad’s existing customer base and its product development roadmap, even as they work to broaden its appeal for a more BIM-focused audience.

The latest version of DDScad introduces access to out-of-the-box manufacturer data, intended to simplify the MEP design process. New product data technology enhances the openBIM capabilities of the product, giving engineers greater freedom and flexibility when it comes to design. And DDScad in Archicad brings new intelligence as MEP piping is laid out and size changes are required.

There have also been updates to Archicad’s Structural Analytical Model, designed to enable seamless collaboration between different disciplines for efficient project execution and more successful outcomes. A new manual adjustment feature helps users to achieve a continuous structural-analytical model on complex projects.

As a design progresses, there are critical points in the process where important decisions need to be made and, often, some variances need to be trialled. Typically, Archicad users would respond to these needs by creating new layers, using hotlinks, or requiring a current copy of the model to be created, on which experiments could be carried out. That’s not very efficient and, frankly, highlights the fact that the software hasn’t been built to address these critical points.

In response, Archicad 27 now offers a Design Options feature. This enables architects and multidisciplinary teams to efficiently evaluate and communicate a range of design options to clients, hopefully reducing the time required to find the best alternatives. In the mechanical CAD (MCAD) world, this Design Options approach is known as branching and merging, and it’s really powerful. As an example, take a look at PTC Onshape, where branching and merging supports the quick iteration of ideas and brings the best of these back into the design.

For now, Design Options represents Archicad’s first take on this capability, and it’s got some way to go yet. But what’s offered here is a solid foundation for further refinement of the idea. Graphisoft executives, incidentally, claim that Archicad is the first BIM tool to offer this kind of capability. In fact, it’s been included in Revit since version 6 (which dates back to 2003), although not many users may be aware of it.

AI visualisation

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic in this marketplace for a few years now and Graphisoft is one of the first to add sprinkles of AI to its core design tool. My feeling is that these were added late in the day, bearing in mind the lack of product information available beyond a quick demo. But essentially, what the company has developed is its own version of Veras (read this AEC Magazine article), an AI-based renderer for BIM models created in Revit – but, of course, Graphisoft’s version is aimed specifically at Archicad users.

The problem with bare-bones conceptual image generators and ChatGPT text descriptions is that they are hard to control and don’t always deliver consistency. But by using a BIM model as a constraint, you can focus the power of an AI renderer to automatically generate all sorts of architectural treatments to a proposed building. And without having to become a rendering nerd, a user can harness AI to get new inspiration when it comes to environments, materials and styles, delivered in the form of photorealistic output.

AI visualisation is part of the product roadmap that Graphisoft released last year. Historically, the company has tended towards a secret squirrel approach, revealing new features only on a year-to-year basis. But with the trend towards subscription-based licensing, and in order to satisfy a customer base that increasingly demands open dialogue with vendors, the company has outlined some broad ‘buckets’ into which it will pour its development efforts.

AI is clearly going to be one of the biggest of these buckets. The company’s product roadmap clearly states that it will look at, “the use of AI and machine learning to assist designers, allowing them to focus on the creative and value-adding aspects of their profession.” The examples the company gives of AI-assisted tasks include “design optimisation, sustainability, documentation, and automation of other time-consuming tasks.”

It is also worth noting that Graphisoft has doubled down on its work with Enscape, the real-time visualisation software, to build a more streamlined connector. It’s now possible to map any Archicad object to any high-poly Enscape asset, giving users the best of both worlds. Enscape is also now available for the Mac OS platform and is available for Subscription, Forward and SSA users.
There is also new native support in Archicad for the import/export of industry-standard FBX files to augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) applications, with smart meshing on hand to generate models that deliver the best performance.

Other enhancements in Archicad 27 focus on project manageability, with additions to the attribute management workflow. Architects can now organise more attributes by folders to improve design team efficiency. The upgrade also includes new productivity tools, such as distance guides for placing elements. This aims to make the design process more enjoyable and intuitive for architects who might be transitioning from other platforms. Version 27 now supports RFA and RVT Geometry Exchange with Revit 2024 and is equipped with the IFC4 file import and export certification.

There’s also the new, intelligent Archicad Tracker, which includes its own calculator, allowing users to multiply, divide, add or subtract functions directly from the Tracker.

The new GDL Editor, meanwhile, delivers easier navigation, thanks to syntax highlights, which are shortcuts for editing commands. These improvements make it harder to create poorly written GDL. GDL Editor also supports dark mode.

BIMcloud and BIMx

Moving on to collaboration, let’s look at BIMcloud. This cloud-based solution enables real-time collaboration between team members, which comes in handy on large projects or for teams whose members work in different locations, which these days, is most teams.

The latest updates focus on enhancing security, a crucial concern for design firms in a digital age. Multi-factor authentication has been introduced to ensure data protection and secure access to shared projects. It’s also great that BIMcloud is available for both private and public cloud configurations.

In project management, the latest updates to presentation and coordination app BIMx bridge the gaps that often exist between design studios, client offices and construction sites. There are some new issue reporting capabilities, which aim to reduce the time it takes to resolve problems discovered on construction sites or during project coordination meetings.

Architects, clients, and construction teams can now communicate and address issues more effectively, leading to smoother project execution and improved overall quality.

Here, it’s worth mentioning that Graphisoft now offers a subscription-based bundle for small firms, Archicad Collaborate. This includes Archicad, BIMx and also BIMcloud SaaS, with BIMcloud SaaS included as part of the Archicad subscription price. That’s an unusual step in this market, where Autodesk and others charge additional fees for cloud services, but one that lowers the barrier to entry for small firms. From a look at the price list, it seems that Archicad Collaborate costs pretty much the same as a standard Archicad subscription licence, making the former a no-brainer for firms that opt for a subscription approach.

Conclusion

It’s clear that Graphisoft is doing a lot of reconfiguring, rearchitecting and remodelling when it comes to its most popular products. That may have been the case before – perhaps the company was just more covert about it. But I suspect it’s a proactive response by Nemetschek and Graphisoft to a rapidly changing market, one in which opportunities are opening up. In order to make the most of them, Archicad needs capabilities, cloud extensions and bundles that give it more appeal in an uncertain BIM landscape.
When it comes to AI, Graphisoft presents a timely reminder that it’s not necessarily going to be third-party developers or miracle start-ups that will disrupt the market, but perhaps established incumbents. Graphisoft, Autodesk, Bentley and others are all looking for ways to incorporate AI features in ways that complement their existing toolsets, often with a view to delivering productivity benefits, or new ways to experiment with ideas.

It will be interesting to see if, in the future, they choose to disrupt themselves, as AI becomes increasingly capable of delivering true automated drawings. After all, that’s one of the core tenets of BIM; but it might also result in fewer seats of BIM and CAD software being needed by customers.

While Autodesk is clearly going down the ‘cloud is everything’ route and will take time to cross that chasm, Graphisoft is wedded to a more flexible vision of the future, in which users can access their data in whatever way makes sense: desktop, cloud, on-premise, off-premise, Windows Intel, Apple Mac and even Windows ARM in the future. In other words, it’s all about giving customers options. That’s clearly going to involve a lot of code-juggling for the vendor, but it’s also a clear differentiator for Graphisoft.

Looking ahead with Márton Kiss of Graphisoft

In Budapest, AEC Magazine got the opportunity to sit down with Márton Kiss, vice president of product success at Graphisoft, to discuss aspects of this latest release and the company’s future product development plans.

As we pointed out to him, it seems as if Graphisoft has moved away from delivering ‘big theme’ releases (for example, focusing on retrofit), in favour of more iterative development of software features. But is that actually the case, from his perspective?

“Last year, we unveiled our public roadmap. This has been super useful for us, because whenever we visit a client, right away they have the roadmap there, and they can tell us this feature is irrelevant for them or not,” he said.

That process brings with it a lot of customer intelligence regarding what the user base considers important or not. Take, for example, search capabilities: “Putting the right search in the right place can be a huge productivity benefit for daily users,” he said.

“Once you have a major solution, these ‘big bang’ features that we cook internally might take us off track compared to where the industry is going. It’s far better to have a dialogue, because everybody utilises new innovations in different ways, and we really need to see that pattern. While we, and most software companies, have the means to collect that usage, human conversations always give us qualitative input for our development story,” he continued.

“From a Graphisoft side, I think we will do more of these micro roadmaps of functionality with close iteration, because that’s really solving the problems of our users. In the background, obviously, as new technology comes in, then the big bang approach to adding functionality has a role.”

For example, the AI trend is about looking for a silver capability out there, he said. “In this release, we have AI rendering, and the focus was to first of all get this framework into Archicad, so that we can connect an AI conceptual rendering engine. In our case, we opted for Stable Diffusion, but there are many. Once we get it out there, we will see where people take this.”

With AI under discussion everywhere, one of the main concerns often raised is where the technology could cross over, going from simply being an aid to taking control of complete portions of the workflow. The most obvious area in which this could happen is AI drawings.

While BIM’s initial reason for existence was to automate drawings production, it seems that most people in the industry were dissatisfied with the quality of automated output. So, while BIM increased the speed of documentation, it also increased the number of documents and the amount of editing needed for manual drawings, which kind of broke the link with the model.

AI promises to fix drawing layout and production in the not-too-distant future, with many firms working on it, and some attempting to include modelling as well, such as Swapp.

But how does Kiss envisage AI documentation redefining industry workflows? “I’m with you that it’s going to reshape roles. Modelling, documentation — for any mundane task or any repetitive task, technologically, you can build an AI to do that, so long as there is proper training data,” he responded.

“But while you may have AI-generated outputs, how do you control the quality? After all, you are liable for this! So maybe the architecture and the designer roles will shift focus to early modelling concepts, steering decisions that are inputted to the AI tools. While lots will be generated automatically, then the role will be proofing and checking quality, to make sure everything is right. I think this is going to also apply to construction, because it’s the weakest point in the whole building industry and you need to quality-check the real world against the design documents.”

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BrainBox AI, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, has launched the Autonomous Decarbonisation solution suite, which it describes as an end-to-end sustainability platform for commercial and retail real estate portfolio owners.

The decarbonisation solution is designed to directly address the 38% of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted annually by commercial buildings by measuring, reducing, and offsetting them, thereby supporting building owners in their journeys to net zero and carbon neutrality.

“Your building is currently emitting 30% more GHG emissions than it should. That stat is scary but solvable” comments BrainBox AI CEO Sam Ramadori.“Our new solution suite not only grants commercial and retail real estate owners the capability to measure their emissions, but autonomously implements optimisation strategies that can reduce emissions by up to 40%. Our award-winning AI technology pinpoints and addresses both operational and environmental inefficiencies in buildings in real time.”

This software uses deep learning, cloud computing and custom algorithms. It can be used to generate a ‘full scope 1 & 2, audit grade GHG assessment’ powered by the building’s data and trusted emissions factors to help identify operational inefficiencies. In addition, individual building analysis compares a building’s energy usage intensity (EUI) to other comparable buildings with a view to demonstrating energy and emissions reduction potential.

BrainBox AI’s autonomous AI-tech can also be layered onto existing heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. According to the company, it learns, modulates, and optimises building HVAC systems, resulting in a reduction of operational carbon emissions by up to 40% and a decrease in energy costs by up to 25%.

The software can also access ‘high quality carbon credits’ through a voluntary market. The virtual marketplace supports multiple types of options like carbon-capture technology, nature-based solutions, and renewable energy projects.

“What we are hearing from our customers and the market is that measurement without action is not nearly enough to get us where we need to be” said Omar Tabba, Chief Product Officer at BrainBox AI. “With this new product category, not only can we autonomously reduce carbon emissions using our AI technology, but we can also offer the tools to accurately and precisely measure where operational optimisation can take place and offer clients a solution to explore and take part in the voluntary carbon markets – all in one platform.”

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FineHVAC software from 4M was used in the design the HVAC system for the Qatar Foundation Stadium, one of the host venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The piping and air-duct installations serve the free space under the stands of the “Diamond in the Desert” sports complex, comprising an air-conditioned area of 55,000m2 structured in four levels.

One of the considerations for the design was that many of the existing spaces are to be reconstructed into a mall complex as soon as the World Cup is over.

The HVAC design was carried out by GKA engineers on behalf of SALFO & Associates SA. Acccording to 4M, FineHVAC was selected for three reasons: a) smart ΒΙΜ modelling of the HVAC installations, b) automatic generation of the final drawings and calculation reports, and c) accuracy in calculations, complying with the latest international standards (Ashrae, EN, BS and others).

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Nemetschek, which is the parent company of Graphisoft, owns many construction-related brands – Solibri, Allplan and Bluebeam to name but a few. Unlike other AEC software firms, it has always tended to keep its brands as separate units, each with their own CEO, promoting each solution. In the industry this went against the standard flow, with others integrating into suites or single solutions.

Nemetschek had seemed to be holding out – until this year that is, when it decided to take its DDScad MEP product and fold it into the Graphisoft company. This means Archicad will become multi-discipline and more of a feature-for-feature competitor to Autodesk Revit.

This is a significant moment for Graphisoft. From now on, Archicad competes as a single building model tool, which can handle all core AEC design activities – Architecture and MEP – under its own brand, then through Nemetschek’s other brands for structural (Scia, Risa, Frilo). The pace of this development and convergence seems to be accelerating. All the while, its main competitor – Autodesk Revit – despite some renewed development work, looks moribund.

The only issue that belies all this work is probably the name of Graphisoft’s software, as ‘Archi’ is ever more a misleading pigeonhole. One could argue that Architecture is the foundation design-to-detail phase, upon which all other tasks rely. Maybe it’s new name should be ‘Not just Archicad’!

Talking of product development velocity, despite Archicad’s apparent age (Graphisoft started in 1982), the code base has been constantly evolving and, in more recent years, the company has taken to completely rewriting core tools and carrying out large ports to new operating systems. While available on Apple MacOS and Windows (the first Windows version was released in 1993), this latest version will be the first version reworked to make the most out of Apple’s new CPU design and flavour of operating system, apparently giving significant speed boosts. This is all part of a major rejuvenation effort by the development team.

A new phrase that comes with this release is the ‘Graphisoft Ecosystem’, which is a definition of how the company’s product offerings are changing. For decades, Graphisoft has sold one product, Archicad, but as the range of services and products expand, Archicad becomes more of a platform technology for cloud apps, training, enhanced support (Graphisoft Forward) and its own vertical applications, such as the new DDScad for MEP which is being ported to be native to Archicad.

Archicad 26

The tag line of this year’s release is ‘Stay focused, design more’. This means the focus of development has been on tools that help architects stay in their creative flow. Doing boring and repetitive tasks breaks the creative process of design, so the development team looked at workflows that could benefit from automation and fine tuning.

There are a number of key design areas addressed in this release:

Manageability

As projects get larger and more complex, managing and producing attribute data with better structure and hierarchy within Archicad’s folder structure can smooth the workflow. Navigation search has been added so if you are looking for an item in any of your ‘project map’, ‘view map’, ‘layout book’ or ‘publisher sets’, Navigator will help find them without manually searching through folders.

Design intent improvements

One of the most impressive additions to Archicad 26 is the ability to create custom parametric object libraries without scripting. This makes the creation of smart objects (doors, windows) as simple as modelling. No GDL knowledge is required. In Archicad 25, a detailed, highly-parametric kitchen cabinet library was added. Based on user feedback, this has been further improved, making them more customisable and compliant with local design standards. I think both these features are built on top of the PARAM-O engine added in Archicad 24.

In some situations, documenting openings in complex geometry required workarounds. Openings now have surface override options, so they can be properly documented.

Documentation

It’s now possible to import selected pages from a multi-page PDF document into Archicad 26 sessions. The Autotext feature in master layouts automatically updates title blocks, such as master layout name, height, drawing number and level dimensions. It’s possible to set the dimension origin by default in favourites. Graphic overrides for non-visible data (using colours and fills) support multiple user-defined rules.

Visualisation

In the last three releases, visualisation has seen some huge improvements and Graphisoft has been negotiating some great deals – first with Epic Games (Twinmotion) and then Enscape, giving years of free access.

In Archicad 26, Graphisoft has updated its surface catalogue with new surface content to visualise designs better with two other renderers, Cinerender and Redshift.

BIMx, Graphisoft’s highly popular model sharing technology, available on iOS and Android and desktop viewer, gets ‘levelled-up’, bringing the feature sets of each platform to the same standard.

Cloud

Graphisoft’s BIMcloud capability, available as a service, has been enhanced to support greater capacity (+100K files), with no file size limit per project. File version history has also been improved.

Everest technology, added in Archicad 22, provided a new data pipeline technology allowing architects and structural engineers to seamlessly work together, passing data on demand between Archicad and Nemetschek’s structural analysis tools. Customers who used the technology, reported seeing 30% time savings when working with structural analytical workflows.

Now Everest technology has been updated to allow multi-segmented analytical elements, such as beams or columns, to be more precisely represented in the analytical model. These can be exported to SAF – the Structural Analysis Format files. SAF files are also smoother and faster to produce. There is also a new capability to automatically ‘live load’ models for structural engineers.

Sustainability isn’t just a hot topic; it’s become a legal and essential building design constraint. Archicad 26 includes accurate building lifecycle analysis and sustainability tools, derived from a new library of material data, to produce valuable design insight reports.

MEP

This is a multi-year project as Graphisoft and DDScad continue the integration process. It’s going to be a phased approach, ending in tight integration. The first task was to establish the same look and feel, then fine tune their IFC exchange. This release sees Graphisoft connect DDScad to BIMx and BIMcloud. Over time the products will be become seamlessly integrated. There is also a huge amount of work to build in local MEP standards from around the world. Again, a process that will take a while to do.

Conclusion

There has been a trend in recent years of Archicad development of addressing existing functionality in the most used features – design, collaboration, visualisation and documentation. Version 26 continues in the same vein, addressing customer requests across all of its capabilities. However, the fundamental change is to think of Archicad as a platform technology for services and vertical applications.

The addition of a completely new MEP development team, with an established mature product is really going to be a major leap forward in capability. The question will be how much of this capability is included in the core Archicad, and how much will need to be purchased separately? It seems that DDScad’s features are not going to be poured into Archicad and given away for free, but will be sold as maybe a flavour or Archicad. It’s still too early to tell and Graphisoft is both integrating and reaching out to MEP users to help it figure out its go to market strategy.

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When it comes to telling the world about new capabilities developed for Archicad, Graphisoft has traditionally done this once a year, at the launch event of the latest release.

Other than for beta testers, the focus of Archicad development is usually a surprise. This year we had something very different. We were treated to not just a whole new release, but also four roadmaps of focus areas spanning 2022 to 2025.

The change probably has a lot to do with CEO, Huw Roberts, who has been steadily making changes to the way Graphisoft communicates and goes to market. There is also the fact that there is industry concern about the development futures of Archicad’s biggest competitor, Revit, and the fact that Archicad is undergoing significant software architecture changes to better prepare it for tomorrow’s hybrid computing requirements, as well as broader, more multi-disciplinary vertical developments. This is the start of a metamorphosis.

Multilane roadmap

If we have ever seen an Archicad roadmap before, it would have been for one product. Now that core Archicad is going to be the host to multiple verticals, and the offerings will be expanded through additional products and services, this means multiple roadmaps.

Zsolt Kerecsen, vice president of product development and Shesh Gorur, vice president of product success took us through the various roadmaps.

The key areas focus are:

• Architecture: which covers design, document, visualise and collaborate.
• Multi-Disciplinary Design: featuring OpenBIM, integrated design and DDScad (Graphisoft’s MEP solution).
• Design Team Collaboration: including BIMcloud, BIMx, OpenBIM & BCF, and CDE connections.
• Productive Ecosystem: which is the support services – Graphisoft Forward, Graphisoft Learn and Graphisoft Community.

Graphisoft gave us a roadmap for each area of focus. Starting with Architecture in 2022, the company will focus on providing well-connected BIM workflows. This will include addressing issues with OpenBIM and easy information exchange.

In 2023, the key topic area for Architecture, will be integrated BIM data systems, expanding shared models, integrated design and data reservation. In 2024, development of integrated user experiences will look to create shared capabilities, align interfaces and offer simplified training. The final road map date is 2025 in which Graphisoft will address integrated enterprise management, looking at shared resources, multitiered management and orchestrated administration.

The upcoming capability highlights for architecture include dynamic design editing tools, design options and variants system, an attribute management system, reflected ceiling plans, design stage level of detail, and an analytic integration system.

For the building systems category, 2022 brings us easier information exchange, BIMcloud integration and the DDScad viewer. 2023 will focus on integrated data and workflows facilitating common data models, integrated workflows and broader geographic reach. 2024 addresses integrated user experiences, interface consistency, shared capabilities as well as simplifying training. 2025 delivers on integrated enterprise management, which will support the multi-tier management system, orchestrated administration and global reach.

Graphisoft believes the cloud should be used for what it’s best for and customers should not be forced to make compromises

Design Team Collaboration in 2022 will focus on OpenBIM and easy information exchange. 2023 will bring Team to Team collaboration, with cross discipline integration, dynamic hyper model publishing and additional CDE connectivity. 2024’s theme is Dynamic Teams Management with enhancements to shared capabilities, aligned interfaces and dynamic CDE integration. 2025’s focus is Managed Enterprises and will further support multi-tiered management and orchestrated administration.

In more depth, users will see multiple CDE integrations, including BIM 360, BIM+, Aconex, and Projectwise etc.

Finally, under the Productive Ecosystems banner in 2022 this will enhance the Graphisoft Forward community and Graphisoft Learn (for support and learning). In 2023, under Administrative Simplicity, there will be licencing enhancements, upgrade enhancements and third party expansions. . In 2024 the company will deliver ‘instant upgrades’, enterprise licensing and resource management systems. 2025’s release will offer multi-tiered management and orchestrated administration.

A new licence system will deliver better file format persistence, automated migration, an expanded third party programme, resource deployment and access management capabilities, plus an additional courseware community and consulting to add value.

Adaptive Frameworks

While some vendors think that everything will be centralised on the cloud, Graphisoft has a different prediction. It believes that customers will use a mix of devices throughout the day. It also believes that sometimes it could make more sense to work on the desktop, sometimes in the cloud, and even using both. To better prepare Archicad for this hybrid way of working, Graphisoft has started rearchitecting Archicad’s technology stack.

The foundation layer, which Graphisoft calls the microkernel, fulfils basic tasks such as log in, loading, licence management and security. On top of this is the general BIM authoring layer, into which the individual vertical discipline applications will plug-in. Graphisoft envisages the following verticals: Architectural, Mechanical, Plumbing, Structural, Electrical and others. In addition to this, Archicad will define internal services, external services, as well as plug-ins, which can be called on by the general BIM authoring layer or the vertical discipline layers.

Users will be able to decide if they want to run some processing locally or in cloud services. Archicad will be eminently ‘integratable’ and will be able to take advantage of cloud services, desktop plug-ins, as well as add-on libraries and customisations. Being able to choose to process online or offline will be unique in the industry and aims to offer the most flexible architecture for all users needs.

This work will also mean that when disruptive technologies come along, Graphisoft has multiple entry points to add in new capabilities – in-house, third party, or acquired, such as augmented reality, AI, blockchain, algorithmic design, generative design, robotic process automation, through API, desktop or cloud services.

Cloud BIM?

While having dinner on the final night of our stay in Budapest, the conversation turned to cloud and if the future is ultimately all online. We were fortunate to have Zsolt Kerecsen on our table, who explained why a pure cloud play was not on the cards at Graphisoft. The first issue Kerecsen raised was the security issues that arose from using modern browsers. He felt they were too much of a security risk and a weak entry point.

The next key issue was one of performance, just getting acceptable lag times was difficult enough and software developers with high graphics loads were building thick clients because the cost of using cloud GPU was punitive and nobody would pay that premium. The cloud should be used for what it’s best for and customers should not be forced to make compromises. This view flies in the face of developers like Jon Hirschtick (General Manager of Onshape, one of the leading mechanical CAD SaaS cloud applications and original founder of Solidworks).

But it is true, when it comes to true cloud-based graphics-intensive applications like CAD – exceptional examples are few and far between. None of the cloud-based CAD applications lead on market share from desktop apps.

Conclusion

There have been a number of new hires at Graphisoft, notably Ron Close VP marketing (ex Solidworks and Shapr3D). This has given Graphisoft some industry experience from more competitive and corporate markets. From conversations at the event, these appointments appear to have brought more purpose and focus into taking on the competition that I have been used to.

That, combined with the new possibilities that DDScad would bring the multi-disciplinary go to market, meant it felt like a different, emboldened Graphisoft.

It was perhaps predictable that Graphisoft would come up with a different solution to tomorrow’s complexities. The truth is, while some computer scientists in software companies feel the cloud is the destination for all software and services, customers aren’t clamouring to move lock, stock and barrel to the cloud.

Graphisoft is happy to play it cool and architect its product to be as flexible and extensible as possible. We really look forward to seeing a demonstration of this when implemented, opting for local or cloud processing on the same data.

Graphisoft at 40

After the Second World War, the Soviet Union incorporated Hungary into the communist bloc, which placed it behind the iron curtain. This limited trade opportunities and access to IT equipment. Despite this handicap, Gábor Bojár set up a private company when it was first made legal, and officially launched Graphisoft in 1982. It had started developing a CAD system which would eventually become Archicad, while assisting in the installation of a new nuclear power plant.

Recruiting the best programming talent from local universities, Graphisoft set about creating modelling software with access to limited processing power and memory, a constraint which made the team get the most out of low power machines. With the launch of the Apple Lisa, the company managed to port its code and Bojár went to a trade show in Germany in 1984 and met Steve Jobs. Impressed with the work they had done, Jobs gave computers and financial help to Graphisoft and agreed to distribute their software globally. The first official version of Archicad came out in 1987.

In 1996, Bojár decided to build Graphisoft’s own HQ and bought an area of land on the banks of the Danube. The company moved there in 1998 and even built housing accommodation for visiting programmers, as the company was recruiting all over eastern Europe. Since then, Graphisoft Park has seen Microsoft, Apple, SAP, Canon and many other firms take up residency.

In 2007, German design software company Nemetschek Group acquired 54% of shares of Graphisoft for around $68 million. As is the way with Nemetschek, Graphisoft operates independently as a business unit, alongside other firms such as Solibri, Bluebeam and Vectorworks.

While Graphisoft did not invent 3D modelling for architecture, or what has since become known as BIM (see BDS, RUCAPS, Sonata, Reflex), it is undoubtedly the longest running, commercially available BIM application on the market. It precedes the introduction of Revit by 13 years (Revit was acquired by Autodesk in 2002 for $130 million).

Since Bojár, the company has been run by Ray Small from 2002-2003 (Gartner), Dominic Gallello from 2003-2009 (ex-Autodesk), Viktor Várkonyi from 2009-2019 (a Graphisoft employee from 1992) and is currently run by Huw Roberts (formerly of Bentley Systems).

To celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary, Bojár, Várkonyi and Roberts were on hand to host a garden party at Graphisoft Park, mixing press and employees in the warm Budapest summer sun. The mainstage presentation from the founder, past CEO and current, looked through historic photographs and moments in the company’s history and they were there to, of course, cut the birthday cake. The night finished with an amazing drone display over the park.

Q&A with Huw Roberts, CEO of Graphisoft

Question: Archicad is going to become a multi-disciplinary platform. How does that contrast with the name Archicad?

Huw Roberts: Our approach is that we recognise that what our customers have always done for all of our 40 years, is work in teams, alongside other professionals doing related work. Architects working with structural, mechanical, electrical, interiors, all sorts of disciplines. We have, through our OpenBIM approach, had great workflows and connectivity to all of them. And we’re still committed to that. We also recognise that there are aspects where that integration can really benefit from a short-cycle integration in the workflow.

When we introduced integrated design two years ago, we showed how that can affect the structural discipline. There are elements in a building that are part of the design process of more than one discipline. So, a column is of interest to an architect because it’s there, in the space, and the architect needs to know where it is. It’s also of interest to a structural engineer, because it’s holding up the floor upstairs. Both disciplines need to interact with that model element. But they care about different aspects of it. The architect doesn’t really care about the forces inside; he does, but he doesn’t deal with them. The structural engineer doesn’t really care about what colour is painted. Rather than have two separate columns that are in two different workflows in two different systems, why not share that model element and deal with the aspects of it in real time as you do your own work in a shared integrated experience? That’s the essence of our integrated design technology and approach.

With DDScad, MEP and beyond into other disciplines, our ambition, goal and plan – as you’ll see on the roadmap – is to have that same approach across all disciplines. Because a light has electrical power, that also generates heat that affects air conditioning. That also has an architectural component about it and is the right kind of light in the room, etc. We want to support that multidisciplinary workflow, team and technology approach and we have some technology architecture that will help us do that.

DDScad is not in Archicad. It’s in Graphisoft and will increasingly share a technology platform with Archicad. However, it’s a separate thing. In fact, DDScad is actually a modular collection of things you can buy, depending on what your company does, and what your role is. I think the technology answer doesn’t have to match up with the ‘productising’ answer. The interesting part for us is that there’s full flexibility for both.

Question: There seems to be a kind of a differential, starting to be seen with the cloud in BIM. Autodesk is going to move its applications and the data to a cloud. Users will store their data in the cloud and access their apps through thin or thick clients. Graphisoft seems to be pursuing a data centric approach where you are putting DDScad models and Archicad models in BIMcloud, but you’re still keeping the desktop application idea where you are still using the software locally.

Huw Roberts: We’re saying that there are arguments for almost any combination you can think of – separating the application from the data, from the workflow and from the connections, between workflows, between data sources. It’s a very complex puzzle. Our approach generally is we want to have the data and the computing and the interface, be where it needs to be for what you’re doing, and we designed it in a way that we can actually present it to you on your desktop, or in the cloud, or have things on the desktop that are actually doing some things by talking to and leveraging services in the cloud.

You’ll see in the product approach. If you’re designing an architectural building, you’re not doing that on a phone, or an iPad. If you’re doing anything real, you’ve probably got two giant monitors in front of you and you’re immersing yourself where you’ve got an Oculus headset on. You’re going to need heavy local computing power to deal with that. But you’re probably integrating data from all over the place. Yes, you’re going to want to talk to the cloud and you may want to process something in that workflow that could use massive computing in the cloud, to run that process, but you’re experiencing it here on your desktop. So why not have your desktop talk to the cloud to do that thing?

That doesn’t mean you need to take everything to the cloud, just the one thing that you’re dealing with. Our approach is a very hybrid approach, to leverage the cloud, to extend your experience, and leverage a mobile device to provide another interface point into the experience and leverage the technologies to be present in the right place at the right time.

Graphisoft has no plans for Archicad as a SaaS, but definitely plans on leveraging the power of SaaS to extend and enhance Archicad. But we have no plans to lock up the data or the experience in a proprietary way in that ecosystem. We’re still fully committed to OpenBIM, which was implied in the first part of your question.

Question: What AI and machine learning initiatives do you have

Huw Roberts: You’ll see some hints in our demos, but I don’t really want to let too many cats out of the bag too soon, as they say. I think what’s interesting is not necessarily the examples, it’s the approach to leveraging that technology. As we are part of the Nemetschek group, we have been investing in AI research and some start-ups, which have been great sources for us to learn and grow from. AI, machine learning, generative tools, sustainability, specialised analysis tools – there’s a whole bunch of technologies out there that we could take multiple paths on how we use them. We could have our own AI, connect it and build it in and have it tightly tied to certain functions, like having AI make stairs for you. Or we could have our system connect to APIs that are out there on the cloud to do something. What we want to do is make sure that we have the flexibility in our software to pick each of those paths at the right time for the right function. We don’t want to build it in so that we lock in and limit flexibility for how we use it, or how it progresses or which other system you’re connecting to. We want to make sure we have the right technology interface so that we can plug that technology – and not just AI but any technology – into our platform and ecosystem as quickly, with predictable impact and as minimal risk on existing code as we can.

Graphisoft has no plans for Archicad as a SaaS, but definitely plans on leveraging the power of SaaS to extend and enhance Archicad. But we have no plans to lock up the data or the experience in a proprietary way

Huw Roberts, CEO of Graphisoft

Question: You haven’t mentioned digital twins once? Are you avoiding buzzwords or did I miss it?

Huw Roberts: I am not a big buzzword fan although sometimes we have to use them as a shortcut. I think the digital twin idea is a fantastic direction for this industry. Again, at Graphisoft and Nemetschek, we are heavily investing in what this means and how we can do things for this.

There is a lot of digital twin ‘washing’ going on. In order to have a digital twin, you need the digital. A robust, intelligent, informed model to connect to the live systems and sensors and controls and, and all the other things. Our part in that equation is to make sure that we make that and that we are building this digital version which is robust and as connectable as possible. That means data architecture, it means APIs, it means connectors, it means protocols support, and we’re already in a very strong place. We have a really great set of APIs and a bunch of different languages, we have a very strong and robust data architecture.

We are extending that with a new approach to our attributes and data management in Archicad 26 and this is where the ‘digital’ gets the twins up with something real. Our role is to focus on that. Now in the Nemetschek Group, we span the whole lifecycle of buildings, and we have a great sister company called Spacewell. They are very much focused on the operational part of the building, like how do you tie sensors and systems from the real world into this universe? We work with and have a great integration. But there’s multiple sides to the issue, our responsibility and our commitment, and our focus is on how we make sure we have that digital container, and system and protocols to support that.

Question: What kind of speed benefit can people expect to get from Mac silicon version of Archicad?

Huw Roberts: Obviously Graphisoft is well known for being Macintosh friendly, and multi-operating system. There has been a significant change in the hardware side, on the Apple front with the M1 and now M2 and Ultra Apple Silicon processors. We have done a lot of work in re-architecting Archicad to make the most of these things.

I don’t [know] offhand but yes, speed and performance is a big, big improvement with the new Mac hardware. We have the new Apple silicon support going into what we call a preview release in about two weeks. We expect the commercial availability that in Q4 of this year.

Question: Can you elaborate on your CDE strategy?

Huw Roberts: CDE is one of those buzzword terms, that means different things to different people. But as a Common Data Environment, there are a bunch of systems out there that architects, engineers, construction companies use to manage the information in the workflow of their projects, and they come from a whole bunch of vendors. Some are model centric, some are drawing centric, some are workflow centric, some are leaning towards construction, some are leaning towards an affiliation with a certain product. We see that the best path for our users is a great collaborative and information management platform, BIM Cloud. We look to connect BIM Cloud to as many CDEs that are out there. Because the reality is, regardless of what we do, our customers are going to find themselves in work environments where they must connect to all of these CDEs, either to just exchange information or because that’s what’s dictated by the owner, or their business partners.

Our strategy is to support that reality that they will all coexist. Just like OpenBIM, we must be open in our connectivity to all of them. Now we can add extra value of our own within our BIM Cloud and collaboration and support for our part of the ecosystem. We want to be able to offer some of those into some of these other broader ecosystem places. We’ve got a great sister company in Bluebeam, that has a lot of capability that we also integrate well with. It’s really a very open strategy. We don’t want to make a complete general CDE – that’s not in our business plans – but we want to support our customers in managing and getting the most out of their collaboration and information in all of these contexts.

Question: Your biggest competitor killed perpetual licences and enforced subscription. You run a model which you offer, subscription or perpetual. Could you go on the record as saying that you will never enforce customers into a particular business of subscription or perpetual?

Huw Roberts: Our view is that if you look at Graphisoft, everything we do, we recognise that choice and options are critical. Subscription is the largest growing part of our business and there’s a lot of demand and a lot of reasons why subscription is a good thing, but perpetual offers value in having the equity of your software. My mother told me to never say never but we have no plans, no expectations of forcing a business model change on to our customers.

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Arloid Automation, based in London, Dubai and Singapore, is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help reduce energy consumption in buildings. The company’s technology optimises the performance of existing building management and HVAC systems by learning what is required for optimum comfort and efficiency.

Arloid builds a ‘Digital Twin’ that takes into account construction materials, occupancy rates, pollution levels, past, present and predicted weather data, and thermal zones.

Once the digital model is complete the AI can begin to learn. Arloid.ai gathers live data on the correct responses to an array of changing conditions and occupancy levels. It runs 300,000 iterations to calibrate the model and learn about the building’s thermal behaviour. Optimum settings can then be found for each microzone to reduce energy, coolant and carbon emissions. According to Arloid, savings of up to 30% can be seen in just 60 days.

Arloid Automation is looking to remove the financial barriers for its service by implementing the process with no upfront costs. Instead, a fee is agreed from the resultant savings and if there are no savings then there is no fee.

Arloid.ai uses Deep Reinforcement Learning to automatically manage the operation of HVAC systems in a wide range of buildings via a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN). It then makes decisions based on reinforcement behaviour and real-time data to provide faster optimisation and better HVAC performance.

By controlling each HVAC device in the system and dividing the building into distinct heating and cooling micro-zones, arloid.ai is designed to provide more control of the environment and better user comfort.

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CYPE has enhanced the OpenBIM workflow for the 2022 release of its AEC software with improvements to its cloud-based BIMserver.center platform and the optimisation of IFC file exchange.

Additionally, the Spanish company has enhanced its 3D architectural modelling solutions and incorporated national and international codes.

According to CYPE, its BIMserver.center platform is being used on a daily basis by almost 95,000 professionals from 180 different countries, 18,500 of which have joined in the first six months of this year.

In terms of its design software, most of the new developements centre on CYPE Architecture.

Updates include the creation of direct links to other programs, the export of the BIM model’s information to other applications such as Open BIM Memorias CTE, the improvement in the editing of the geometry of the project elements and the graphic improvement in the representation of vegetation.

According to the company, one of the key benefits to the software is its versatility in architectural modelling ‘without geometric restrictions’, which allows for models to be prepared for carrying out HVAC analyses, bills of quantities, collision analysis, extraction of plans and graphic documentation, as well as the generation of technical specifications.

The 2022 version of CYPE also marks the launch of a new, free program for defining the initial conditions of a project site.

Open BIM Site is designed to establish the geographical location of the models, manage different types of maps, enter topographical surfaces and add elements to the site environment, such as plots of land and buildings.

According to Carlos Fernández, CYPE’s technical director, the new application will solve one of the major problems and drawbacks that professionals have when it comes to sharing the coordinates of a project, “It allows several native models to be maintained in different programmes, each with their own coordinate system, and [which] can be georeferenced separately, maintaining a federated model of each one.

“This way there is no need to reflect this change of coordinates in the different models, nor to overload the models of the different disciplines.”

According to CYPE, the ability to have this geographic information in a visual and attractive form also gives technicians greater decision-making capacity and more options when studying site alternatives for client projects.

The post CYPE focuses on OpenBIM for 2022 release appeared first on AEC Magazine.