Big-picture "ArchiCAD in the USA" questions

[Billy Earnest]

I have a couple of big-picture "ArchiCAD in the USA" questions for members of this group:
1. Who are the LARGEST Architectural Firms in the USA who use ArchiCAD? Any on the California Coast? To clarify: Companies that have 10 or more active/working ArchiCAD users doing design & production.
2. Do you know any USA Structural Engineering Firms who are actually working in ArchiCAD?
Thanks,
Billy Earnest
bearnest65@gmail.com
Asheville, NC

[Bricklyne Clarence]

It was always my experience that ArchiCAD was actually more prevalent in usage in the West Coast (both in California and the Pacific Northwest), than in most other places in the US.

It's been some time since I lived and worked there (almost a decade, in L.A.) but from what I recall, you could find quite a few small-to-mid size firms using it in quite a few projects - even back then during the throes of the 2008 recession.
I'm not nearly as certain for engineering firms since that arena seems to be Revit Structural and AutoCAD country.

Your best bet will probably be to get in touch with a Graphisoft reseller, or resellers since they usually have lists of clients they sell to.
Alternatively if you know of any actual Archicad user, check and see if they are in local user-groups since that's another way that people and firms tend to network.

[Billy Earnest]

Thanks for your input. Yes, I’ve already done all of that. I’ve met wIth several West Coast companies in person...the Graphisoft staff don’t give out info. I’m having to dig for info. like a detective. What I’m learning is this: there are NOT as many larger firms using ArchiCAD as we all seem to think.

[Anonymous]

Most firms - thanks in large part to the AIA's overt endorsement of one type of computer aided drafting system (Autocad) many years ago - have opted for Autodesks's Revit. We didn't because we operate a multi-platform environment (macOS and Windows 10) and ARCHICAD is - for us - a better tool in our computational design ecosystem. Autodesk are pouring huge funds into marketing but it doesn't mean that their products are better. A more open systems approach provided by Graphisoft makes a lot more business sense for the work we do. We can send IFC files to fabricators and consultants without any problem even though they may be operating with products like Revit, Microstation, Vectorworks or Cadwork.

We also like the fact that our IT overhead costs associated with macOS are next to nothing by comparison to the costs of keeping an all Windows environment up and running. That's our experience. Others may of course have different experiences resulting from doing different kinds of work and having a different business model.

Phil Allsopp
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