UK BIM Standard launches - forgets that ArchiCAD exists

[Anonymous]

So today I read that the AEC (UK) Standards Committee today announced the Phase 1 release of its new BIM Standard documents with accompanying content libraries, however ...

A number of content libraries are currently being prepared for use by companies and individuals to aid in the implementation of a BIM-enabled workflow and standards based on AEC (UK) guidelines and best practices. Initially this includes Autodesk Revit and Bentley Building products. Expanded as and when further involvement is possible... Content libraries will be made available through the aec-uk.org website.

Where is Graphisoft when these kinds of things are being discussed??

(if you are not signed up on Linkedin you can see the original blog post here)

[owen]

No surprises there ... Graphisoft appears to be abandoning the UK market to Autodesk / Bentley. I know its a tough market there with very strongly entrenched players and practices, but they seem to be losing what little ground they had.

I emailed someone from the BIM standards committee back when they announced they were developing this draft and raised the Bentley/Autodesk bent it had ... their response was Graphisoft had shown no interest in participating in the standards development, nor had any major UK firms using ArchiCAD (are there many?)

anyway- it should be fairly platform neutral to be a good standard, but we will have to see (not read it yet)

cheers,

os

[Bricklyne Clarence]

owen wrote:
No surprises there ... Graphisoft appears to be abandoning the UK market to Autodesk / Bentley. I know its a tough market there with very strongly entrenched players and practices, but they seem to be losing what little ground they had.

I emailed someone from the BIM standards committee back when they announced they were developing this draft and raised the Bentley/Autodesk bent it had ... their response was Graphisoft had shown no interest in participating in the standards development, nor had any major UK firms using ArchiCAD (are there many?)

anyway- it should be fairly platform neutral to be a good standard, but we will have to see (not read it yet)

cheers,

os

Wow, first the US and North America in general. Next, they seem to be giving up on the UK - what next? the rest of continental Europe except for Hungary?

One can rest assured that they are already losing ground (if not already lost) in China and the rest of greater Asia outside of Australia and New Zealand.

What boggles the mind is not so much the fact that they are losing ground (Autodesk, after all, a behemoth of a massive company with lots of global reach, and Bentley with their Engineering expertise are not that far behind), but rather just how listlessly, Graphisoft seem to be giving up without even the hint of a struggle. They were given the opportunity and they expressed no interest in participating? Just sad.

No wonder it's difficult to get ArchiCAD-centric Industry-standard content (AEC library parts and objects, templates, etc) from major manufacturers, and third-party developers (ala Autodesk's I-drop .dwg and .rvt downloadable objects from manufacturers). After all why should they invest (waste) any of their resources developing content for ArchiCAD users when Graphisoft themselves seem so disinterested as in the case with this BIM standards committee thing. I bet you Autodesk and Bentley jumped at the opportunity with both feet first to be at the head of the table in building the roads that will determine how UK architects using BIM practice their craft.

As I said before, pretty darn sad.

[Anonymous]

Very sad indeed - so it turns out that Autodesk and Bentley should be congratulated.

And now a request - if there is anyone who would like to get involved and give some AC input please contact Nigel Davies - you can find his details HERE

(if you are signed up with Linkedin he is also HERE)

[owen]

Bricklyne wrote:
They [Graphisoft] were given the opportunity and they expressed no interest in participating? Just sad.

Although this was from Nigel himself, you should take it with a grain of salt considering the entire committee is made up of CAD Managers from major Autodesk / Bentley users, or consultants (like Nigel) who make their money from Autodesk/Bentley products. And fair enough, these are people who should be on the committee - they certainly have the resources and experience behind them. But where are the other players?

Regardless of wether it is true or not, Graphisoft needs to be on the ball with these things or ArchiCAD will not be acknowledged. Graphisoft can trumpet how good ArchiCAD is with Interoperability (IFC, etc etc) all they want, but if AC itself just isnt being recognized as a legitimate BIM application by the various industry bodies then it will not matter.

Here is an example of where this is headed unless Graphisoft actively engages with the industry, and supports its users to do the same:

Indiana University Requires BIM .. and when they say BIM they really mean Revit

I wonder if Graphisoft realizes how much of a problem this is going to be in the future. Exporting DWG's to meet client requirements is already tough enough with ArchiCAD.

Exporting a complying Revit model is imposssible. It is a locked-up proprietary format that only Revit can handle.

You can see where that is heading...

[Bricklyne Clarence]

owen wrote:
......

Exporting a complying Revit model is imposssible. It is a locked-up proprietary format that only Revit can handle.

You can see where that is heading...

......not to mention why it is (or was) that Autodesk refused to back IFC when the rest of the Industry thought it would be the future of BIM interoperability.

Also, let's not forget their ongoing efforts (since AutoCAD v2007) to make an Autodesk exclusive DWG format accessible only through Autodesk products.
A bit slow on this front, since this would hurt them more than it would actually help them. DWG format is far more pervasive and widely used with non-Autodesk products that to go full hog with this strategy would be equivalent to them locking themselves (or rather their customers) out of an Industry standard (which they ironically started and fronted.

I wouldn't put it past them, in any case - after all, isn't that part of the reason why they abandoned .3ds format (in addition to its lack of robustness and limitations as a transfer format for 3D information) and instead developed and are now focusing their attention on the .FBX format (which, tellingly, ArchiCAD still cannot export to)

BIM on the other hand is a whole other story, since there isn't a clear0cut market leader or Industry standard between the 3 major players. And although they are making a major push with Revit and .RVT formats, you can clearly see why it would make sense for them not to support a neutral Industrywide-fronted standard like IFC, if they are not the ones in the driving seat.

Regardless, Graphisoft's reluctance to participate in any of these kinds of things only serve to further marginalize their software and it's users. Eventually may be forced to have ArchiCAD be able to export some psuedo-RVT format just to allow their customers to be able to comply with local building regulations. That would be really laughable.

[KeesW]

Any response from Graphisoft?
PLEASE!!!

[KeesW]

Any response from Graphisoft? That was Saturday and it is now Monday.

No response.

They really don't give a stuff. Whilst its many (but declining?) loyal users keep feeding them with their subscriptions, Graphisoft continues to ignore the larger market. I'd like to hear them explain their marketing strategy.

[Bricklyne Clarence]

KeesW wrote:
Any response from Graphisoft? That was Saturday and it is now Monday.

No response.

They really don't give a stuff. Whilst its many (but declining?) loyal users keep feeding them with their subscriptions, Graphisoft continues to ignore the larger market. I'd like to hear them explain their marketing strategy.

Good luck with that.

And from what I can see, as long as a good number of their smaller-client user-base are more or less locked in with subscription, their (unofficial-official) marketing strategy is that they are going after the Big clients (If AC12 and AC13 are anything to go by) and they can afford to ignore the rest.

Seriously, when was the last time GS used these forums to directly address user concerns? It basically just exists as a conduit for them to dispense Hotfixes, and give users the illusion that they have a role to play in the development of the program (Wishlists - Ha!).

Like I said, good luck with hearing back from them.

[Anonymous]

Forgive me for my naivety / stupidity, but these 'BIM standards' just seem to be a layer naming and model naming guide? Why do Graphisoft need to be involved?

What would be included in these 'content libraries' that they mention? How would they help to 'implement a BIM-enabled workflow'? How are these any different to the libraries included in ArchiCAD at the moment?

Looking at the list of people involved in the committee, I can't see anyone directly from Autodesk or Bentley. Why are we bothered about Graphisofts non-participation?

(Slightly off-topic, but I'm curious how these layer naming standards are going to be implemented in Revit as I thought it didn't use layers?)