Colours on surfaces in MEP Designer

[Thomas Nymann]

We currently advertising, and getting clients for MEP designer. I just realized together with our first MEP client, that textures and surfaces are reduced to “white” Client is flagging this as an issue as it will be hard to tell the buidling parts, and componets from each other when hotlinking an IFC model.

I understand If photorealistic renderings with textures should be leaved out of MEP designer, but maybe Surfaces could be still maintain their “Surface colour” and not be reduced to "only white"?

Imagine routing through an all white (Architural) Mass, without beeing able to tell the difference between concrete slabs, and soft insultation ! - At least visually...

I´m simply just reffering to our client who sees this as a possible reason, not to invest in MEP designer 😞

Cheers

Thomas

[Laszlo Nagy]

Can you also post a screenshot so it is easier to see how the hotlinked IFC looks like in Archicad?

By the way, if you open the IFC file in a free IFC Model Viewer, are the colors there and they are lost in Archicad, or they are not there even in the IFC file?

[Thomas Nymann]

Hi Lazlo.

The issue is the MEP engineer working in MEP designer, and finding it limiting not to be able to the difference in the components visually, as they are all white!

Below is a screenshot, showing MEP Deisgner (left) and AC 29 (right) with the same IFC added as a Hotlink.  This, however is just a very simple demo project..

[Barry Kelly]

Isn't MEP Designer just for designing the MEP elements?

The Architectural model is not what you are focussing on.

I found this in the MEP Designer help file.

Barry.

[Thomas Nymann]

You´re absolutely right Barry.

However, when adding an Architectural /Constructural IFC inte MEP Designer, it is very hard to tell the difference between the Building Materials...

So, as our client stated; Where can I place the ducts, where can i mount the piping for the sprinkler, and in what space can I place my cable carrier...

Piping could be placed inside the wall in the insulation layer, but what layer is that?

The Buidling Material Air (if added as a skin in a Composite) could also just be shown with a white Surface, so where to fit the ducts above the ceiling. (see my picture above)

I know a lot of this could taken care of in a BIM protocol, but in many cases reality is far from that organized... 

Bottomline: Our potential MEP Designer clients are flagging the issue, that most likely this will be a drawback, when collaborating with other BIM consultants...

Hope my point makes sense! 🙂

[petitatelier]

Hello,

I would like to share our experience with MEP Modeler (MEP Designer) and openly address critical issues that render this product completely unusable for standard MEP engineering work in real-world practice.

We purchased this software as part of a trial aimed at connecting architects, MEP engineers, and electrical specialists on a shared cloud platform via BIMcloud (Teamwork). Instead of buying full Archicad licenses for MEP specialists—who do not need modules like visualization—the standalone MEP Modeler seemed like an economically and operationally ideal tool. While BIMcloud itself works seamlessly, the functional cutbacks and rendering bugs in MEP Modeler completely block live cloud collaboration.

Here are the main critical issues preventing effective 2D and 3D coordination:

1. Inability to distinguish load-bearing structures: MEP engineers cannot visually differentiate load-bearing structures (columns, beams, structural walls) from non-bearing elements or insulation layers. Since MEP routes cannot pass through structural members, this inability to identify load-bearing elements visually is a complete roadblock to work.
2. Broken graphic overrides and renovation filters: Graphic overrides in MEP Modeler generally do not function. On renovation projects, it is impossible to color-code project phases (e.g., new elements in red, demolished elements in green)—MEP engineers see everything as a uniform gray model and cannot distinguish between existing and proposed elements.
3. Unclear 3D visualization ("amorphous blob"): In the 3D view, there is no visual distinction between architectural structures and MEP elements. The model appears as an undifferentiated, single-color blob, making spatial 3D coordination of MEP routes in shafts and tight spaces—where 3D visualization is an absolute necessity—virtually impossible.

Conclusion: We purchased this license primarily to test the product before a planned rollout across a larger number of licenses for our external partners and MEP specialists. Based on our practical evaluation, we must conclude that the application in its current state is completely unusable for standard MEP engineering work. We strongly advise our partners against purchasing MEP Modeler, and we will not invest further in this software solution until Graphisoft addresses these critical issues.