For almost twenty years the AEC software world was centred around Autodesk Revit and its definition and workflow of BIM. The concept was to ideate, model detail designs and create all the necessary drawings in one monolithic platform.

But software typically has a lifespan, where it needs to be rewritten or rearchitected (for OS changes, new hardware, and to clean-up years of bloat).

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Following open letters from customers concerned at the lack of Revit development Autodesk explained that it was not going to rewrite Revit for the desktop, but instead would develop a next generation AEC design environment on the cloud, branded Forma (N.B. Carl Christensen, the Autodesk VP in charge of delivering Forma, will be presenting at NXT BLD on June 11).

This gap between Revit and what will come next has presented an opportunity for new software developers to rethink BIM and its underlying technologies, to bring the AEC design software into the 21st Century. Investors have become equally excited and NXT BLD and NXT DEV will provide a unique forum for multiple startups—Snaptrude, Motif, Qonic and Arcol—to present new commercial BIM 2.0 products, with more firms in stealth, probably in the audience!

While the velocity of the startups is impressive, we need to temper expectations by pointing out that competing against established desktop BIM applications, which are 20+ years old, will take years (and millions of dollars). Over the coming years, expect to see these tools become more feature comparative.

While BIM 2.0 shifts the focus away from producing drawings, there’s no escaping their continued importance to the AEC industry. That’s why there’s also a big focus on autodrawings, as this AI-powered technology promises to massively reduce the time spent doing the mundane boring work. Autodrawings could also mean fewer licences of BIM software are required. Both Snaptrude and Qonic have developments here. However, it’s quite possible that autodrawings and AI will become cloud services that don’t need to be in an all encompassing BIM platform.

At NXT BLD / DEV you can meet and engage with all these firms, plus many more individuals innovating in the AEC space, such as Antonio González Viegas of ThatOpenCompany and Dalai Felinto of Blender bringing the benefits of impressive Open Source tools to our industry. We hope that you will join us.

NXT BLD 2025
London
11 June 2025
www.nxtbld.com

NXT DEV 2025
London
12 June 2025
www.nxtdev.build

Arcol

Based in New York, Arcol is headed up by Irishman, Paul O’Carroll, who brings a games development background to BIM and 3D. One of the earliest to profile its approach as ‘Figma for BIM’, the company has attracted investors such as chief executives of both Procore and Figma.

Arcol has focussed heavily on concept design for its initial offering, enabling live in-context modelling with building metrics and data extraction and collaboration built-in. The software supports complex geometry, an easy to learn UI, board creation for presentations (which can be shared by just sending a link), live plans and sheets. It integrates with Revit, SketchUp and Excel. Reports are highly visual and Arcol see it as a replacement for PDF as well. The solution is aimed at architects, developers, general contractors and owners. Arcol will be officially shipping by the time of NXT BLD.

Motif

Motif is headed up by former joint CEO of Autodesk, Amar Hanspal, who has assembled the old gang to finish off a task he started in 2016 – the rewriting of Revit as a cloud application.

Motif is also pitched as Figma for BIM and is backed by Alphabet (Google) with a sizeable war chest. In stealth for the last two years, the company has been working with signature architects to learn what a BIM 2.0 application should be able to do – the idea being that by catering to the most demanding customers, the software should benefit everyone.

The company has just launched its first version but recognises the journey will take many years. The feature set of version 1 lends itself to design review and client presentations, taking aim at Miro, but with some Speckle and Omniverse like capabilities.

Qonic 

The origins of Ghent-based Qonic go back to TriForma, a BIM system which co-founder Erik de Keyser created and licensed to Bentley Systems. de Keyser then created BricsCAD and Bricsys – a DWG and formative BIM tool, which was later sold to Hexagon.

Many of the Bricsys team then started up Qonic, a cloud-based BIM 2.0 competitor which initially (and uniquely) focuses on the model and data interface between architecture and construction. Qonic can load huge Revit models and lets users fly through them with butter smooth refresh rates on the desktop or mobile. The program also has powerful solid modelling core for geometry edits, as well as supporting IFC component labelling. The initial release is exceptionally easy to use to see, manipulate and filter BIM data, as a CDE on steroids. The team is working on architectural tools, smart drawings and a range of features to expand capabilities.

Snaptrude

Snaptrude has the accolade of being the first BIM 2.0 startup that AEC Magazine discovered. CEO Altaf Ganihar was first to demonstrate cloud-based collaborative working on Revit models and has gone on to raise $21m in VC funding.

The New York-based company seeks to be a one stop shop for conceptual, detailed design and drawing production, while linking to all the common tools – Revit, SketchUp, AutoCAD, Rhino, as well as Nemetschek’s Archicad. Snaptrude currently offers the widest range of BIM 2.0 features from concept to AI renderings and drawings and looks as if it will probably be first with feature parity to Revit for Architecture, with plans to also support MEP and structural. With the biggest development team in the BIM 2.0 space the company is moving at pace to deliver on its aims. The company is soon to announce a range of major new features.

Main image caption: Antonio González Viegas, CEO of That Open Company, the creator of free and open technology that helps AECO software firms and practitioners create their own AECO software, will be speaking at NXT DEV again this year.

The post Future BIM voices at NXT BLD / DEV appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Breaking the compromise in digital project delivery
Erik de Keyser, co-founder, Qonic

For years, the AECO industry has struggled between big ambitions and everyday challenges. While many envision a future of smooth, high-performing digital project delivery, most professionals are stuck with tools that fall short — locked into compromises that waste time, money, and creativity.

Qonic wasn’t intended to be a better version of what came before. We started by asking: what if we could remove the compromises entirely?

Find this article plus many more in the March / April 2025 Edition of AEC Magazine

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The industry’s impasse

In recent years, the AECO industry has clearly voiced what’s holding back the future of digital project delivery. Open letters and software specs have highlighted the challenges and hopes for change. However, new tools merely put a fresh coat of paint on old problems, making minor improvements without addressing core inefficiencies.
Qonic was founded on the belief that patching old systems isn’t enough. The AECO industry needs a complete reset, a chance to rethink what’s possible and achieve new levels of efficiency.

Every day, designers, engineers, and constructors lose valuable time waiting for data, fighting interoperability issues, and over-investing in hardware that underperforms.

Teams fragment their information across multiple files and tools, sacrificing collaboration and clarity in the process.

At Qonic, we asked a simple question: what if we could start over? What if we could remove the bottlenecks of outdated tools and workflows, giving professionals back control? It’s not about adapting to legacy constraints, it’s about eliminating them altogether.

An evolution, not a revolution

Qonic started from a blank sheet, totally free from any legacy constraints. However, change is hard, and the industry has been through this before. The shift from hand- drawn lines to object-based modelling took years. Qonic understands that real change has to be as smooth as it is significant.

That’s why Qonic doesn’t just offer a clean slate, it offers a clear path forward. Its foundation is built on solid modelling and data handling that surpasses existing solutions while remaining accessible to existing workflows. Legacy models can be upgraded instantly and large 3D models that once took minutes to open now stream seamlessly.

The core principles of Qonic

We are guided by three core principles we believe will shape a better way forward:

• 3D solid modelling without limits
• Open and flexible interoperability
• Cloud-first collaboration

3D solid modelling without limits

One area ripe for change is 3D modelling. While many tools focus on early-stage conceptual design, Qonic delivers end-to-end capability, robust, high-performance solid modelling that works for the entire lifecycle of a project.
Traditionally, professionals have had to choose between flexibility and precision: free- form modelling tools for creative design or object-based modelling tools built for intelligent, data-rich models. At Qonic, we believe it is possible to combine the best of both worlds. Qonic is developing a unified modelling environment where designers can nimbly navigate between the two approaches:

Direct modelling: Users can push and pull the geometry freely, ensuring full accuracy and flexibility, not forcing you to adapt to the limitations of the software. Complex geometry? No problem. NURBS and solids are at the core, ensuring precision from concept through construction.

Intelligent modelling tools: With so-called automated modelling ‘procedures’, you streamline the development of real-life building systems. Combined with manufacturer details stored in structured libraries as components, Qonic enables high-detail 3D modelling with advanced automation.

Open and flexible interoperability

Qonic speaks the language of today’s most widely used design tools:

• Native import of Rhino and SketchUp models.
• Seamlessly handling Revit import and export.
• For structural, MEP, and other disciplines, full IFC support

But integration is just the start. Qonic transforms traditional file-based workflows into a database-driven approach. Instead of monolithic files, each BIM model becomes a dynamic collection of assemblies, subassemblies, and individual parts, where geometry and data are intrinsically linked and easily accessible.
For Qonic, openness also means the possibility to distribute this geometry and data using Application Programming Interfaces (API), and free it from monolithic BIM silos.

Taking a platform approach, Qonic empowers users to build custom workflows tailored to their specific needs, while maintaining full control over their data.

Collaboration without constraints

Qonic’s cloud-first platform was built to simplify how teams work together, no matter their location or role:

Effortless collaboration: Projects scale smoothly without friction, and unlimited team members can securely access the data they need.

Granular permissions: Fine-grained access controls ensure the right people have the right access at the right time, maintaining both security and control while enabling seamless collaboration.

Integrated conflict resolution: Built-in conflict resolution ensures that design and execution remain in perfect sync. Complete project histories and versioning allow teams to trace their steps and move forward with confidence.

Streamlined coordination: With built-in workflows for clash detection and issue management, Qonic enables teams to discover, discuss, and resolve coordination issues effortlessly, without disrupting workflows.

A new standard, not just another tool

Qonic isn’t aiming to be “Revit 2.0” or the next evolution of yesterday’s ideas. It’s about helping the industry rethink how digital project delivery can work when freed from unnecessary compromises. It represents a fundamental shift in digital project delivery, one that gives designers, engineers, and constructors the tools they’ve always needed.

By combining solid modelling, open interoperability and cloud collaboration, Qonic aims to make it easier for architects and contractors to model designs and deliver project outcomes (reports, drawings, etc.) with unparalleled accuracy, flexibility, detail, and intelligence.

And this is just the beginning. The structured, data-rich models created in Qonic provide a solid foundation for AI and machine learning. As models accumulate detailed geometry and information, machine learning algorithms analyse patterns, optimise workflows, and automate repetitive tasks. We are already delivering today our neural network capable to recognise 3D geometry and add missing classification information.

Our future roadmap

Qonic isn’t just solving today’s challenges — it’s building a foundation for the future of digital project delivery. Qonic is an agile, forward-thinking team, from both industry and with prior AEC tool development experience. We’re completely self-funded, built by industry experts, and free from investor or shareholder pressure to release an incomplete product.

With rapid development cycles and a commitment to redefining AECO software, Qonic continues to push boundaries, from automated drawing generation to a model quality hub. For those ready to leave compromise behind, Qonic isn’t just a platform. It’s an invitation to rethink what’s possible in digital project delivery.

Read more opinions

The startups

Breaking the compromise in digital project delivery
Erik de Keyser, co-founder, Qonic

Beyond Buzzwords: the real future of BIM
Paul O’Carrol, CEO, Arcol

Beyond Legacy Thinking
Altaf Ganihar, founder and CEO, Snaptrude

BIM 2.0: why it’s time to reinvent the tools that power the built world
Amar Hanspal, CEO, Motif

The established players

Embracing AI and Boosting Sustainability Across Project Lifecycles
Daniel Csillag, CEO, Graphisoft

AI: Our Generation’s Paradigm Shift
Tom Kurke, VP, Ecosystems & Venture, Bentley Systems

The Future of BIM: Harnessing the Power of Data
Amy Bunszel, executive VP of AEC Solutions, Autodesk

Unlocking the Future of BIM with Interoperability
Mark Schwartz, SVP, Trimble

Design transformed: 2025 predictions from Vectorworks
Dr. Biplab Sarkar, CEO, Vectorworks

The post Rebuilding BIM: Qonic appeared first on AEC Magazine.

These are epic times for an industry that has grown to rely on digital tools. Never before have there been so many new developers looking to advance the AEC market, focusing on areas ranging from conceptual and detail design to fabrication and operation.

Having previously kept a relatively low profile, Qonic has just announced its open beta programme. This will expose some of the initial capability of its cloudbased, solid modelling BIM tool. If you don’t know Qonic, the team behind this new start-up is pretty much the same group that previously managed Bricsys, creator of the DWG drawing and modelling solution BricsCAD, which was sold to Hexagon in 2018.

Former Bricsys CEO Erik de Keyser used to be an architect himself, before he got into software development. His first BIM modeller was TriForma, which Bentley Systems took over. BricsCAD was originally an AutoCAD clone, but expanded to become way more than that – in essence, an ACIS solids-based BIM tool, which featured innovative AI.

After the sale of Bricsys, de Keyser started work on a third-generation BIM tool, along with long-term colleagues Tiemen Strobbe, Mark Van Den Bergh and Sander Scheiris. This time, faced with no AutoCAD constraint, and with little requirement to concern themselves with supporting legacy technology, the team was able to start with a blank sheet of paper. And after two years of stealth development, Qonic is ready to open up its creation and allow the industry to try out its base functionality. And I have to admit that it’s very impressive.

Development directions

Before diving into Qonic’s product, it’s worth addressing the software development process. From a number of conversations I’ve had recently, it seems that many people assume that when a new BIM modeller comes to market, it should be capable of replacing mature products like Revit or Archicad from the start. This simply isn’t the case.

While it’s not hard to find podcasts and videos in which featured participants find it incredulous that they would replace their current BIM system with a start-up offering (which at best may rival SketchUp), developing a professional design software system can take many years. Decades, in fact.

Established systems in use today are typically products underpinned by fifteen to twenty years of hard effort. That’s what enables them to offer a wide range of capabilities and still have the flexibility to deal with edge-case situations requested by customers.

New BIM 2.0 start-ups, by contrast, mostly began this journey two or three years ago. And because most have chosen the cloud as their platform, developers have not only needed to build the core functionality and model logic, but also wrestle with creating a performant platform for delivery to browsers and desktops.

Qonic has a granular database (‘atomised’ at the component level), with a modern, clean interface. You can import IFCs or RVT models, and it breaks these down to a component-based database

On its journey to becoming a Revit competitor, or indeed a rival to any other established product, any new product will at an early stage resemble a concept tool, a SketchUp competitor, or a collaboration-based common data environment (CDE). It will most probably lack complex curved forms. It may offer limited drawing or documentation functions. These initial offerings are entry level, a skeleton with just the basics of what will eventually be developed on top. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

That leaves start-up leaders trying to figure out what it is they actually want to build on top. Arcol, for example, is targeting conceptual designers. Snaptrude is looking to gain traction in Revit collaboration. Qonic is initially focusing on construction BIM, and specifically, quantity estimation and scheduling. In short, they all have different angles — but in order to shape their tools to meet industry needs, they require users to download their early-stage products, try them out and offer feedback that will shape further development.

In the case of Qonic, “Our first target firms are contractors, to enrich existing BIM models,” explains Tiemen Strobbe. “But that’s definitely not the end goal. We will start by building architectural modelling tools, but it’s just a matter of setting priorities. We want to grow step by step. The first focus is now on enriching existing models but it’s our goal to add architectural modelling tools like wall creation tools, window creation tools, we already are working on it.”

Introducing Qonic beta

Qonic’s long-term goal is to create a platform where cooperating on design and building projects doesn’t mean starting from scratch each time a project advances between project players.

All too often, BIM models get recreated due to lack of trust between collaborators, or they are created to perform specific tasks at different stages in AEC processes. Qonic has been developed to reduce this need for multiple BIM models, and in the process, to drive efficiency.

Qonic is a cloud-based modelling application. It runs on Windows, MacOS, web browsers, Android, and iOS. It has a granular database (‘atomised’ at the component level), with a modern, clean interface. It’s available to everyone with a cloud connection. You can import IFCs or RVT models, and it breaks these down to a component-based database. It doesn’t need a separate model manager, because revision management is built in and users can view the entire change history of a model.

Even though BIM models are typically large, Qonic’s display and manipulation of large datasets is highly performant, irrespective of complexity. In the past, De Keyser utilised a solid modelling engine for both Triforma (Parasolid) and BricsCAD (ACIS), so it comes as no surprise that Qonic has followed this same path. This means it can support complex geometry and NURBS curves/surfaces and offers precision material reporting by volume. The aim here is that users can focus on geometry element assemblies, while the product also enables them to position different wall or layer combinations over a single-length wall.

As our first set of modelling tools are aimed at enriching existing models, there are no conceptual modelling tools, there are no create wall tools, there are no create slab tools. The intent is to start from an existing imported IFC model, and then enrich it through editing to make it ready for quantity take-off – Tiemen Strobbe, Qonic

This initial beta is not the commercial release. That is expected in early 2024. For now, the beta focuses on design coordination, supporting existing IFC or RVT design models and enriching them with extra numeric and geometrical data. This might include detailing missing properties, adjusting inconsistent attributes and allowing walls and slabs to be split and made into assemblies with separate components.

The underlying ideas here are to improve imported IFC or RVT models so they can be used for accurate quantity take-off; to add classification codes and material information from universal libraries; and to calculate precise quantities based on multiple measurement standards.

A design coordination workflow would start by a user importing an IFC or RVT into the Qonic environment. They would then go through the model, looking for missing information and poorly labelled components, and eliminate attribute inconsistencies (such as missing fire ratings, for example) and improve the quality of the overall model for downstream use.

While most architectural BIM tools take no heed of how core components (such as slabs) are manufactured on site, Qonic offers tools to make assemblies and better tailor a BIM model for use in construction. In this sense, it is a little like Solibri, in its ability to identify quality issues. Solibri, however, just generates a report. In Qonic, by contrast, the user can actually make necessary changes to the model, which are reflected in the version history for all to see.

“As our first set of modelling tools are aimed at enriching existing models, there are no conceptual modelling tools, there are no create wall tools, there are no create slab tools,” says Strobbe. “The intent is to start from an existing imported IFC model, and then enrich it through editing to make it ready for quantity take-off.”

Similarly, for quantity take-off, the user starts by importing an IFC or RVT model, then applies classification codes and material information drawn from projectwide libraries to components such as acoustic panels. They can then calculate the quantities of materials needed and export.

The workflows highlighted above may seem a far cry from what can be supported by a full BIM tool — but you get a good feeling when it comes to the high fidelity of the imported BIM data, not to mention some of the tools on offer here. The beta shows how great geometry editing and creation is in Qonic, and it’s not too great a leap to imagine it as a powerful authoring tool in future.

But in terms of importing, does Qonic rely on defined pre-spaces in the BIM model? “We do some automatic detection of spaces on the fly. We try to detect geometrically connected walls, automatically finding all the connected walls and adding them to a layer, instead of individually having to do that one by one,” answers Strobbe.

“In the future, we will also look at spaces. If they exist, then we can use spaces to also find connections between other elements and do more. You can also start querying the models in terms of spaces; for example, ‘Give me all the details for all the office spaces in the building’, and these kinds of queries will be possible. It’s not yet in this beta version, but on the roadmap. When a Revit or IFC model is updated, Qonic will just import what has changed, maintaining Qonic embellishments, but this is not currently in the beta release.”

Find this article plus many more in the November / December 2023 Edition of AEC Magazine

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Conclusion

Qonic is very impressive in all respects and this beta more than whets the whistle. Data fidelity is great. The look and feel of a rendered 3D environment feels crisp and architectural. And, and as you zoom in, it really does get down to construction-level details. In fact, Qonic already feels like some of the established mechanical CAD applications, like Solidworks or Catia.

The user interface is really simple; it’s easy to understand and it gives a great feeling of connection between objects and their attached metadata. This makes Qonic accessible and useful, not just for specialists and Revit experts but also participants from the wider AEC community, such as quantity surveyors, project engineers, property owners and so on. In other words, folks who don’t typically live in BIM systems.

I’m particularly fascinated by Qonic’s ability to take in architectural BIM and add construction-level details and store these for quick embellishment. This points to a future Qonic BIM system that could go from conceptual to fabrication level, spanning a chasm that no other BIM software firm has yet managed to bridge.

One of the core founding concepts of Qonic was that it is IFC-centric. This means that, in time, should users ever want to move to different software, any data they create will be stored and retrievable in an open format.

As development has progressed, native support for RVT and a Revit plug-in makes sense. De Keyser explains that while Europe is very much on board with IFC, the US market is locked into RVT. With this Revit plug-in, all Revit metadata — properties, buildings, storeys, materials — get imported, too.

Qonic is currently working with architectural firms, but the majority of its current beta testers are contractors from all over the world, principally Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US.

Qonic gets full marks for supporting curved geometry in its first beta release — that’s probably a first among the current batch of BIM 2.0 start-ups. There’s one caveat, however: questions remain around 2D drawing/documentation. Qonic has not focused on that at all and instead suggests using BricsCAD or a DWG editor. This is a potential weakness if the system is to be creating models that require documentation, even if only for contractual reasons. With AI and drawing automation in development, this might well become a non-issue in future. But for now, it’s an omission that users may well question.

Getting to grips with the Qonic beta

Qonic’s beta software is available now and comes with a sample project and model.

Users have full access to the dashboard where they can upload their own models, set up access rights and permissions and share models. Current limitations mean that modelling modifications will not be saved and will be reset on reload. For now, users must use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browsers on a desktop machine and the mobile version is not ready yet. The Revit plug-in installer is not yet available, either, but will be made available as the beta develops.

BIM 2.0 at AEC Magazine’s NXT DEV and NXT BLD

At AEC Magazine, our goal is to keep you up to date with the latest action in the emerging BIM 2.0 market.

All the major players – Snaptrude, Arcol, Augmenta, SWAPP, Hypar, Skema and Qonic – attended our NXT BLD and NXT DEV conferences. events in June 2023.

Delegates were able to see presentations given by executives from most of these companies. AEC Magazine readers can now watch them on-demand. In many cases, they represent the first public demonstrations of what these companies are working on.

Likewise, Qonic CEO Erik de Keyser’s presentation on his software-development journey is not to be missed.

NXT BLD (Next Build) explores emerging technologies for the built environment, beyond BIM 1.0.

NXT DEV is where design IT directors, venture capitalists and developers meet to discuss the needs of the AEC industry, in conversations that cover everything from granular data to pricing models.

Next year’s NXT BLD and NXT DEV events will take place at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London from 25-26 June 2024.

The post Qonic beta: Construction BIM appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Anyone who has used a computer understands that all data is typically stored in files. In the world of CAD and BIM, design data is stored in the proprietary file format of each software developer. These are typically DWG for AutoCAD, RVT for Revit, 3DM for Rhino, PLN for Archicad etc.

Drawings and models have been intrinsically linked with the files in which they are contained, needing management, protection, and archiving – locally or in the cloud. The new thinking around collaborative design is that we should be working in a centralised database instead, and have access to shared design information, at a more granular level. Qonic Atom IFC is a gift to the industry to accelerate that way of working.

Regular readers of AEC magazine, or attendees of our last two NXT BLD conferences in London will hopefully have seen the presentations from Greg Schleusner, HOK’s principal / director of design technology, on how BIM workflows don’t fit the way the industry works and how we need to build a data bridge to connect all the key data silos of information that we create in the design tools we use.

Watch Schleusner’s 2021 and 2022 presentations below.

To a large extent, this work has already been done in the Media and Entertainment industry with the USD format which connects all users and their tools. USD contains geometry, materials and lighting and means scenes can be easily shared amongst users of different applications. Schleusner envisages that, for now, something similar could be done with IFC which supports more BIMspecific data than USD.

To get over the ‘it’s just a bunch of files’ issues, the idea was to break down BIM models into their components and broadcast them to a central repository (this could be local or in the cloud). As each component (wall, door, window, etc.) is added to the design in Revit / Archicad / Vectorworks, Blender BIM (choose your poison), it is broadcast to the repository. This will create an IFC data lake for the BIM design data.

Here, it’s worth pointing out that other tools like Speckle Systems and IFC.JS are contributing open-based tools which operate in this Common Data Environment (CDE) ecosystem.

The benefits of this ‘data lake’ concept are manifold – the design is no longer only stored in a proprietary file format, IFC components can be selected and shared as work packages with other users and sent individually (vs sending the whole model), users who subscribe to IFC components can be notified when they have been updated and, when the data is out, it will be possible to run applications directly off this common data, as opposed to having to write them for individual design tools.

Using IFC as a core schema already opens up the potential to wire up the existing ecosystem. However, there is one small problem. How do developers ‘atomise’ their BIM data? It’s that issue which Belgian BIM software startup Qonic has addressed and is giving away to the industry as Atom IFC.

Qonic Atom IFC

Qonic Atom IFC is an open-source tool, available on github. It will ‘atomise’ (split) monolithic BIM data into bi-directional streams of BIM components. It can be used to split or recombine IFC and contains the ability to track and log changes to each component as a design evolves.

For his NXT BLD 2022 presentation Greg Schleusner used the early beta of the Atom IFC toolkit to write an integration for Revit. He demonstrated Revit dynamically sending atomised IFC data to another Revit user in real time. When he edited his model, the elements impacted in the other Revit session almost instantly, enabling new ways of working.

With Qonic Atom IFC available as open source code, all it would take is for vendors to write an integration to add this capability. But, as Schleusner demonstrated, it’s something that anyone with basic API knowledge could do themselves, so this doesn’t ultimately have to come from the software developers but can be retrofitted by knowledgeable individuals using tools already included.

Who does this help?

AEC Magazine asked Qonic why it decided to open source an important part of its forthcoming BIM solution (which we explore in this AEC Magazine article).

Co-founder, Erik de Keyser explained, “Our point of view is that we need this capability anyway. If we were the only one to do this, we would then have to convince the whole market, and that’s very difficult. We also think that if we didn’t do it, in six months to two years someone would push the same idea into the market. So, we preferred to deliver a technology that we know really works well.

The next revolution requires a ‘fit for purpose’ core data schema, on top of which both old and new BIM tools can co-exist, protecting investment in current tools, while enabling new, more open ecosystems to grow

“We are using the same technology in our own product, but Qonic will bring additional capability to the modelling and the management sides of BIM data. So there’s a lot of functionality that we will deliver on top of Atom IFC, but it is beneficial for us to give away something that everybody can use, because it immediately opens the market.”

Head of Product at Qonic, Tiemen Strobbe, added, “The initial idea of Qonic is that you bring in an IFC file, and you add further detail to the model and you will have an enhanced IFC file as an output. During the process of enhancing the IFC file, things will change in the model. Designers will send you new designs and, if each time you had to re-import the entire thing and send across 100 – 200 MB IFC files, that’s not really a collaborative workflow.

“For us, it’s in our benefit to have a system like Atom IFC, where you can send across small chunks of the model, just the objects that change and merge it into the rest of the model. We needed to support this kind of workflow, and we feel it needs to be open.”

By making Atom IFC open source, Qonic accepts that its development will be not just down to its team but will be driven in many new directions by the community. Strobbe explains, “Everybody can contribute changes and can merge these changes into the main code stream, or opt to keep them separate. Sometimes people branch off the code stream for their local use, and that’s fine, they don’t have to send their changes to us, or they can choose to contribute to the open Atom IFC code. These can be merged to the main code stream. If we make changes, if we make optimisations, we will push them to this open repository too. Basically, anybody who knows C Sharp can contribute to this to this library.”

Conclusion

Over the last few years, AEC Magazine has been examining what comes next for BIM. There are growing demands from users for a new generation of tools which are not primarily designed for the production of drawings, which all current BIM tools have been.

Mature BIM customers want tools more capable of meeting their modelling needs, together with built-in collaboration capabilities for a disconnected industry. While the concentration of this has been on demanding brand-new tools, we are rapidly coming to the conclusion that the next revolution requires a ‘fit for purpose’ core data schema, on top of which both old and new BIM tools can coexist, protecting investment in current tools, while enabling new, more open ecosystems to grow. Qonic’s generosity has potentially kick-started this journey and IFC looks set to be amongst the first BIM data formats to embrace entity-based file transactions.

Greg Schlusener has launched a website where his views and developments in this area can be seen, together with some explanation videos of the concepts he is working on.

Atom IFC features

• The Atom IFC library is open-source, available under an MIT licence, and will remain so forever. C# library with IFC classes and read/write support.
• Combine IFC objects from different files, while correctly handling all the corresponding relationships, attributes, and properties.
• Merge partial IFC files per building storey.
• Keep track of how many objects have been added, changed, and removed during merge.

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In AEC Magazine over the last few years, we have looked at how BIM modellers were originally devel oped to automatically produce drawings, and therefore provide productivity savings. In isolation, in a utopia, this has been the case so long as you don’t edit them in a 2D drawing application like AutoCAD, as changes to the model will need to be manually edited again.

The idea of a single building model, on which all companies would collaborate has not come to fruition, with the standard practice being multiple models created by multiple project participants for different purposes.

Qonic isn’t like anything I’ve seen before. It seeks to address common problems that affect everyone in the industry for which there are no real solutions other than remodelling, re-drawing

This has led to the need for Common Data Environments (CDEs), complex file management and much duplicated effort. It also extends into fabrication, where detailed 1:1 models and drawings are created.

All these issues combined have left many in the industry pondering what comes next. And with a new generation of design tools, what functionality and capabilities will we need?

The flow of data from concept design to fabricated building is interrupted many times. Somehow, we need a system that can talk openly throughout the design and construction process.

The re-start-up

Startup Qonic is developing what it promises to be a unique take on ‘upscaling’ BIM, while taking it to the next level of accuracy, both in geometry and depth of data.

Based in Ghent, Belgium, there are a few familiar faces to be seen at its HQ. The co-founders – Erik De Keyser, Mark Van Den Bergh, Tiemen Strobbe , Tjerk Gauderis and Sander Scheiris – are all formerly from Bricsys (developer of BricsCAD). In some ways calling Qonic a start-up is a misnomer, as the group has worked together as a team for many years. This is a re-start-up and it has already grown to twenty people.

De Keyser has a long history in AEC software. He was an architect, got into software development, developed TriForma, which was licensed to Bentley Systems, and when that deal soured he formed Bricsys to develop BricsCAD, an AutoCAD clone that eventually outgrew that constraint and became a complete development platform for BIM, manufacturing and civil design in itself – all based on DWG. Finally, in 2018, De Keyser sold Bricsys to Hexagon and after spending a short amount of time there, he left.

Now free of BricsCAD, as well as the constraint of developing with a DWG envelope, the team has been able to start anew on a fresh, contemporary BIM engine. De Keyser has always used solid modelling in his applications to define 3D geometry – TriForma used Parasolid, BricsCAD used ACIS and now Qonic features a top secret new lightweight kernel of origins unknown, which has direct modelling capabilities and can handle NURBS.

This adherence to solid modelling is not unique (Vectorworks is also powered by Parasolid) but it’s exceptionally important to one of the vertical niches to which Qonic wants to appeal – those working with estimates of quantities.

As the majority of BIM models are inaccurately modelled, taking quantities off them has always been a problem and would lead to more work than was originally intended.

In a Qonic model, concrete volumes, for instance, will be accurate and details will be modelled and intelligently applied throughout a model at 1:1 accuracy. Qonic’s role is about beefing up the bits of BIM models that support downstream processes to alleviate the pressure on remodelling by sorting the problems earlier on in the golden thread.

Hybrid BIM

One of the key aims that this industry needs to address in the next five years is how design information flows from architect to fabricator.

Currently all BIM systems have been developed for a traditional workflow. And while there has been considerable investment in skills and software, for architects, MEP engineers and some structural engineers, the contractual endresults get squashed down to 2D drawings in PDF format.

As firms look to benefit from digital fabrication and off-site construction, Qonic looks to play a role as an intermediary system capable of understanding and absorbing traditional BIM files, at various levels of detail, together with highly accurate solid representations of parts to be manufactured, or materials to be procured for construction.

The development team is committed to utilising open standards and the demonstration we saw in Ghent, was heavily biased towards importing IFC models and displaying them in Qonic’s cloudbased viewer.

Many people are unaware that IFC now has the capability to capture and display high resolution geometry. Qonic parses the IFC and generates a solid model version of the data. This can be from one IFC or multiple contributed models.

Even when launching a multi-gigabyte dataset, it was very fast to move about the model and access the underlying BIM data. And this is still alpha code. The team has utilised streaming games technology to ensure that geometry closer to the point of view is full definition, while model data that is far away is rendered in lower detail. As one moves around the model it’s possible to see a slight shimmering of distant geometry, as the software streams in additional detail as it gets closer to the field of view.

Models are stored locally and shared via the cloud, the initial transaction taking the longest time and, from there on in, only the changes are sent. It’s possible to work offline and synchronise on demand, with the system tracking changes and keeping the history of edits.

Devil in the details

Viewing is the basic functionality. Qonic aims to drastically reduce errors by taking the strain out of performing tedious tasks which are error prone – tasks such as manually placing lintels for a specific type of window across an entire model.

If the window varies in size, then Qonic comes with a library of detailed parts which will find and replace the low detail windows in the model and adjust the lintel for each one. This will also apply to details such as sills, roof caps, interior finishes, wall composition for all spaces in the building. If using a spaces designation – e.g. for a hospital design – then the correct room fit out can be applied, or fire doors detailed. This is aimed at turbo charging the process of adding in details to benefit all stakeholders.

All this means Qonic can be used as a tool to collate data from different systems, at different levels of detail. It benefits from automated detail generation throughout components. And because IFC is at the very heart of it, it can be exported and brought into any other IFC compatible applications. This is a lot more than your typical common data environment application. This is a design refinement tool.

The viewing app is very impressive, and comes with several smart filters to quickly isolate and see IFC classified groups, such as columns, beams, MEP etc. Every element contains material layers, so complex filters could be set to find columns made of a certain material. This works very much like hash tags and is very easy to use.

The level of detail that its database can hold demonstrates that it’s exceptionally performant. To model to this level of detail would kill any of today’s BIM systems

Qonic is cloud-based enabling collaboration, which here means sharing designs with colleagues and teams, or having access in the field. The viewer can be accessed on a web browser, on a mobile phone or on desktop. Having said that, some capabilities will be reserved for the desktop version, requiring local processing power for modelling etc.

Conclusion

Qonic isn’t like anything I’ve seen before. It seeks to address common problems that affect everyone in the industry for which there are no real solutions other than remodelling, redrawing. The level of detail that its database can hold demonstrates that it’s exceptionally performant.

To model to this level of detail would kill any of today’s BIM systems. This is the benefit of being able to start from scratch with a clean sheet and being able to use the latest technologies.

The team is adamant that it will keep the system open, with commitment to IFC at the core, together with APIs for open access.

Unfortunately, the application will not be out in beta until later this year. However, if you like what you’ve read here and are interested, the team have invited firms to get in touch by reaching out to them via LinkedIn.

Finally, one for the details folks – the name Qonic originates from a Ghent conical sweet delicacy, the Cuberdon. Unfortunately, the cone domain wasn’t available, which introduced the need for some creative thinking.

Main image caption: Qonic uses a scalable cloud infrastructure for the heavy calculations, with little chunks of information streamed when required. (LG’s North American headquarters, designed by HOK).

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