Dear All,
Quantity and Cost estimation from ArchiCAD (Compared with Cigraph’ s Archiquant add-on and Vicco Office).
I do not know estimation practices fellow ArchiCAD users are using. But I, in our country expect quantity and cost estimates of components required in elements and objects (walls, beams, etcetera along with GDL Objects). The reason is rates of components vary with elements at various locations.
I would expect volume of wood, number of hardware pieces, area of glass and number of carpenters along with respective costs when estimating a wooden door. (* “Cigraph’ s Archiquant” add-on can do this)
I have tried to search this solution to my problem of detailed component level cost estimation for more than one and half decade from Graphisoft, user-forums, my software dealers, and many others.
This is about finding quantity and cost estimation through ArchiCAD, without any success.
Cigraph and its CEO Istvan Toth gave me some relief for what I had wanted. However, Cigraph has collapsed and hence I am back to the square one.
“ArchiCAD calculation module” of ArchiCAD has not changed for one and half decade and I do not think any practice depends on it for its failure to calculate from all the properties like the width height volumes surfaces parameters in elements and gdl objects. The report format of the same is worst, and no one can program it to a desired format.
The question remains if there is any solution to detailed cost estimation which will give quantity and cost estimates of components from the ArchiCAD model.
In India this is very much required.
In India we grossly depend on “schedule of rates” prepared by government departments, and they are a good database and that they are backed by analysis of component quantities of the listed items of buildings.
Many software companies in India and abroad have created software that link building elements like walls, beams columns to the database items of the district schedule of rates from Revit. But it is sad that no one has developed such linking which Cigraph provided.
Now with the end of Cigraph, future of above-described estimation in detail from ArchiCAD faces a dead wall.
Someone from Graphisoft -Hong Kong office suggested me a software but that to had linking to Autodesk products only.
I remember Graphisoft had prepared a 6D estimation module sometime in 2006 which I presume was handed over to Vicco. Does it work with ArchiCAD in the original way? But I presume it is extremely expensive and hence un-affordable to small practices like ours. What is opinion of the fellow architects?
In short, Will someone guide me so that I can generate detailed quantity and cost estimates either from ArchiCAD or any other third-party software makers who can link data of ArchiCAD?
Architect Narendra Suryavanshi-ArchiCAD User, Designer and Owner
