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ArchiCAD 14 Eases Model Sharing and Updating between Architects and Engineers

Latest version of BIM solution supports open design collaboration and boosts productivity and Teamwork 2.0 functionality.

With the introduction of ArchiCAD 13 last year and its new BIM Server and Teamwork 2.0 file-management technologies, Graphisoft changed the game of shared building information modeling (BIM) for architects. The recently launched ArchiCAD 14 further improves the BIM workflow by facilitating collaboration and data exchange between architects and engineers, helping the company realize its goal of providing best-in-class open design collaboration, said Akos Pfemeter, Graphisoft's director of global marketing. "ArchiCAD 13 has been a great success in the market. ArchiCAD 14 finishes what we started," he stated.

Miklós Szövényi-Lux, vice-president of product management at Graphisoft, said, "With ArchiCAD 14, Graphisoft helps designers realize the true potential of model-based collaboration by turning simple file compatibility between architectural and engineering software into intelligent workflow solutions for industry-first open design collaboration."

The new version of the PC- and Mac-based modeler also offers a number of improvements designed to increase productivity and support work in a team environment.

Open Design Collaboration

So you want to share data seamlessly for review by your structural or MEP engineer, for model coordination, or for code checking and analysis in any mainstream software solution — then just as easily import model changes back to your design? New features in ArchiCAD 14 aim to support just that.
 
ArchiCAD, an IFC solution, has always supported open exchange of data, including AutoCAD and 3D architectural data of nearly any origin. ArchiCAD 14 turns IFC technology into full-fledged workflow solutions, enabling collaboration regardless of the engineer's discipline or the name and version of the application used, according to Graphisoft. This broadens designers' options for integrated project delivery (IPD), resulting in faster delivered projects and significantly fewer coordination errors.
   
Architects using ArchiCAD 14 can prepare a model to pass to a structural engineer that maintains only those structures that are load bearing, for example, such as the concrete core of a wall. If for instance an object such as a drop ceiling was modeled using the slab tool, the user can reclassify that element and easily change IFC status for refined model mapping. To save a model in IFC format, users select from a list of predefined translators for common CAD solutions, or they can use translators of their own. ArchiCAD product manager Tibor Szolnoki called this "translation with one click."

When a model arrives back from the structural engineer, the architect can use the new Detect IFC Model Changes wizard in ArchiCAD 14 to identify the proposed engineering changes and decide which to accept. 

 
New model coordination functionality in ArchiCAD 14 allows the architect to easily review and accept engineering changes in the building model environment.
 

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