ArchiCAD is dying

[Bruce]

I know that's a controversial subject line, but I believe it's true. Not because I want it to be, but because Autodesk is an advancing monster; ArchiCAD firms are switching to Revit, and Revit-based firms are buying ArchiCAD firms...and switching them to Revit.

ArchiCAD is a great program, but if it keeps going the way it is, I fear it will gradually dwindle until it's finally gone. On a level playing field, it comes out more or less even with Revit (I have done a detailed analysis that has been vetted by Revit experts) - but it's not a level playing field.

In my opinion, Graphisoft needs to do a handful of things to even the odds (yes, I will compare to Revit, as that's the main competition):

1. Rebrand & revamp the UI: CAD is an obsolete term. Even though ArchiCAD was BIM way before the term was even coined, I think the "CAD" in the name does it a disservice. Also, the user interface is old and tired. Should it go to the ribbon? No way. Should it be brought into the 21st century? Absolutely - there are plenty of excellent examples out there. Blender, a free 3D program, is undergoing its second UI redesign in about 5 years. If Blender can do it, Graphisoft can.

2. Introduce type-based elements. At the moment, pretty much everything is instance based. If you place 100 doors 900mm wide throughout the project, you have to select and change every single instance (this is an example, so please don't tell me the workarounds - that misses the point). Essentially, this is extending the attributes database to other objects. This makes project-wide changes so much more consistent, with no fear of missing an element.

3. Easier creation of parametric custom content: A beginner user in Revit can create a basic parametric object by using geometry and dimensions. It is intuitive and accessible. This does have its limits, but GDL is completely inaccessible to any but the advanced user with a programming mind...something architects and drafties generally don't have - otherwise they'd be programmers. A mix of the two would be extremely powerful - maybe an interface similar to Visual Basic, or Grasshopper? Not only for 3D elements, but also for 2D labels.

4. Better labelling & keynote tools: At the moment it's one label per element per view. What if I want to tag more than the ID? What about material, thickness, height etc. Revit is excellent in this regard, and also in the ability to create your label format as specific as you please. Key notes are also critical.

These are only four key improvements that I think are critical. There are many others that I could list, but this post is already too long. I say the above not to criticise ArchiCAD, but to try and help (misguided however it may be).

I could be wrong - I would be happy to be wrong...but the Autodesk monster is advancing...

These changes should be done the Graphisoft way: not to match what Revit does, but to equal and better it.

[Anonymous]

Rick wrote:
Miki Woodie: "My 2 cents....it's used only in residential construction (houses not high risers though)..." You are incorrect here.AC is being used to model high rises by many firms. I am currently modeling an luxury high rise apartment and is does a better job than Revit. IFC exchange by Graphisoft is superior to Revit's IFC file transfer ability. BIM modeling is being done by the MEP subs and is required by the builder and building owner. Everything is working fine, conflict resolution is being handled by the builder using our files saved as 3D dwg files, so IFC isn't being implemented yet, but will be in the future of the project.

Rick - since I left residential architecture and moved to the commercial construction (8years) I have not once got any model from any architect made in Architect. And we have offices in 7 markets (Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Milwaukee, Phoenix and San Antonio) and building in basically in all. From Small library to a billion dollar stadium. We are working with most of the large architects. Maybe few we have not yet. And I have never, not even once got to the project where architect was using Archicad. We typically do not work on residential high risers. Maybe in this market Archicad is used more often.

[Anonymous]

And just for clarification - I do use Archicad quite a lot. I do believe that it is much better designers tool, but the models from designers are getting much better this days. I can't convince anyone this day that it will be faster to remodel it in Archicad.

[Anonymous]

Maybe that's another marketing tactic,a la apple.

Sell mac or pc with Archicad included at a kicck ass discounted price.

It's worth a try.

[Anonymous]

Dying! No. It all comes back to Productivity Efficiency in the commercial world, this could indicate the shift from AC to Revit Architecture at present? Yes the link between AutoCAD and its line of products plays a fairly big part. So if ArchiCAD comes out with a super fast efficient productivity version that links well with engineers the flow in the future may go in the other direction. It may even require a line of more products to do this, maybe an ArchiCAD EngiCAD product in the future or a similar line of industry specific products?

[TMA_80]

That's what the Graphisoft Revit plugins were meant for...

[Eduardo Rolon]

TMA_80 wrote:
That's what the Graphisoft Revit plugins were meant for...

…are for…?

[TMA_80]

Actually, are for.

But I would be interested to know how things are in practice .

[Anonymous]

TMA_80 wrote:
That's what the Graphisoft Revit plugins were meant for...

Yes but I am thinking of a native Graphisoft Engineering Program. The AEC industry big 3 need to be covered for easy work flow. ArchiCAD had direct workings with VICO software for the constuction industry if this is still the case all we need is a MEP modeler that does engineering calculations directly from an ArchiCAD model and that is better than what Autodesk are offering at the moment. Then Graphisoft can ACE them with a 3 in 1 pakckage for the Commercial side of town in a well priced compete package solution? It all needs to be marketed together and everyone needs to know about it as well so that everyone in the world thinks of ArchiCAD instead of Autocad. We all know that ArchiCAD is better suited for Architects than Revit. Developers and Builders want it done asap and Architects want to OCD over the design phase before they hand over the final draft.

We must feel the need for speed or we will get left behind?

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to get the name of this thread changed to something like:

Personal Concerns about the future of Archicad



Got to be honest, sick of seeing that unduly negative thread title.

[Laszlo Nagy]

zeropointreference wrote:
Is it possible to get the name of this thread changed to something like:

Personal Concerns about the future of Archicad



Got to be honest, sick of seeing that unduly negative thread title.

zeropointreference,

I share your view about the unduly negativity and rather sensationalistic title of the thread but as a Moderator I have to stick to the notion that members are entitled to their opinions and as long as they communicate it in a civilized manner, it should not be moderated.
So that makes me not want to change the title. If anyone reads the thread they will see that there is really nothing by the original poster that would support this claim.
Also, if people research the topic they will see that Graphisoft is doing fine, ArchiCAD is doing fine, maybe it is not the market leader in the US, but it is in many other parts of the world.
For example, just during the BIMcloud launch event in Tokyo about 2 weeks ago it was mentioned that 4 out of the 5 largest architectural firms in Japan use ArchiCAD, and only 1 uses Revit. And those 5 do 80% of desing work in Japan.