Dedicated Archicad Development Team Specifically for Low Rise Residential Architecture

[mthd]

Reading the current roadmap for what’s coming next. It’s definitely heavily loaded towards MEP development. GS development of Archicad is moving ahead like a freight train with MEP and Engineering receiving the main focus in the near future. 

Wouldn't it be better for a GS dedicated team to be specifically working on an Archicad for low rise residential buildings without the complicated MEP ? Why not have an Archicad for commercial buildings and one for industrial buildings and one for low rise residential buildings ? When you specialise your product and target it towards these three specific industries you get a clearer view of what to work on for each version of the product. Right now it looks like a one size fits all approach with nothing being specifically tailored to each industries special needs.

I might have to look at other options because this freight train ain’t stopping for anybody. Especially a little ant on a railroad track like me putting his hand up and saying “hang on what about us” ? I think I better get out of the way and jump off the track before the freight train squishes me.

Thank you GS for your product that has helped me in my specific business both in the past and now but I might have to keep my options open for the future.

[DGSketcher]

I agree with you and given the route GS are taking they need to start building in a degree of scalability. As processing gets more powerful there is a reasonable argument for full integration, but they are also loosing sight of the basics. It's no good extending upwards if the foundations are crumbling to use a building metaphor. There is a clue in the name, ArchiCAD is a Computer Aided Drawing / Design tool. If the basic CAD workflows are running smoothly, (they aren't!), then you can look at expanding modelling capability for other disciplines who will also rely on those CAD basics. But the various discipline tools also need to be introduced in a way that suits the end user. If I don't need a Structural Analytic Model then there should be a way to make that stuff disappear, I might want to take advantage of basic MEP for drainage & ventilation etc until a consultant steps in to complete the design, so let me turn on those essential tools. Or at the extreme, you may have a fully integrated design practice that will use everything GS offers, but again if the appointed designer in the office is only interested in the structural aspect, why would they want to navigate an interface full of furniture and plumbing options? 

There is a possibility I haven't fully grasped Graphisoft's intentions and the route they are taking is one of collaboration with AllPlan and DDS etc, but if that is the case why is the Architectural side of AC taking such a big hit to generate data exchange options?

[4dProof]

it's been a long standing request to finish development of past features... it comes up in a lot of my circles and has been mentioned at a lot of meetings with the development teams/management I've had the pleasure of sitting in on over the years.
yeah, I think there are probably a few AC users who are psyched about structural analytics and MEP tools. But maybe it's just trying to catch up with Revit MEP and Revit Structures?
I'd MUCH rather see building materials work between all tools all the time. Or have the project info more flexible and versatile. Or have properties and classifications more intuitive (needing to learn XML basics just to get some quantities out of "expressions" is a non-starter for most of my clients). Or simply have a more stable platform that didn't crash on me 2-10x per day! Or have ootb doors and windows that didn't require cycling through massive libraries just to find out you need to custom build/script or defer to a third party option (ie cadimage). Or have a stair/railing tool that worked for more than 30-50% of the projects I've been involved in. Or... or... or...
Honestly, there are probably 1000 tiny almost indiscernible updates and features that could be completed/expanded and make a new release. But AFAIK, even the engineers who use AC aren't using the structural analytical features, nor do they seem to have plans to.

For my part in working on low-rise residential projects, I think AC has what it takes to get the job done, and then some. But there is always room for improvement. And I agree 100%, structural analysis and MEP routing are not useful tools for those of us not using an integrated design approach on a steel high rise type project!

[Pato99]

TBH I like having the options to expand on what we do, that's what we pay CI the big bucks for. 

But we also pay them the big bucks to work on our requests, that amazingly many other residential builders have the same gripe over. I don't agree the program should be split up, as a res builder we still do the odd warehouse or low rise commercial. I do believe there should be a voice for both. 

It would be nice if they could give us an explanation of why our requests are not important to them or simply a feature request pool where we as the userbase can collective choose what they spend their non-big picture new release wow time on.

It sucks that all the feature requests are in a database somewhere and people have to ask the same questions over and over again in forums, meetings, emails, calls... I've been in a team environment with AC since V10 and small requests from back then are still not fulfilled.

Show us the list CI, let us pick. v28 the peoples release! But nah, they'll probably get on the AI hype train for the next release instead.  

[mthd]

Ideally a development team that looks uniquely from the perspective of those three different industries mentioned above can see specific things in Archicad that need further development. Of course all their findings could go towards improving the whole program.

If I am developing a 3D model of a building for rendering, I need to look at it from different angles to see what I need to adjust to make the 3D model look more correct. When you take a fresh look from the perspective of the low rise residential user, you can see specific things that need to be improved or added to the program to make it function better.

It seem that the focus now is from the perspective of 3D engineering and MEP modelling and somehow our needs are only being addressed by what happens to be useful across the full spectrum. I think it would be a mistake to think that Archicad has low rise residential architecture fully covered by focusing on those other industries mentioned above.