AECbytes Blog

This review explores the improvements in the latest release of Autodesk’s BIM application for architectural design, including the new mental ray rendering engine, expanded library of predefined materials, new navigation tools, color fills in sections, macros that users can write to access the Revit API, and many others.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/review/2008/RevitArch2009.html

This review looks at the many enhancements in the new release of AutoCAD Architecture, the AutoCAD-based design and documentation software for architects, including the updated user interface, sophisticated navigation modes, streamlined workflows, and significant AEC object improvements related to walls, spaces, and multiline attributes.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/review/2008/AutoCADArch2009.html

This review explores the architecture-specific module of the new version of Allplan, Nemetschek’s flagship object-oriented CAD application, that has now been enhanced and rebranded for BIM.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/review/2008/AllplanBIMArch.html

In this Viewpoint article, Paul Seletsky, Sr. Mgr. of Digital Design, SOM New York, reflects on the impact of digital technology on architectural practice, and shares some of the ideas behind the Digital Design Ecosystem, a joint initiative between Georgia Tech, Square One Ecotect, Gehry Technologies and SOM, that uses advanced computation to impart tacit and explicit experience into the earliest stages of conceptual exploration.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2008/issue_37.html

This article takes a look at SITEOPS, an application that applies sophisticated optimization technology to the design and development of a building site. Land developers and civil engineers can provide a set of parameters, and SITEOPS will deliver 3 to 5 site designs in DWG format within 24 to 48 hours, providing the optimal layout, grading and storm water drainage options with accurate and detailed cost estimates.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/buildingthefuture/2008/SITEOPS.html

Co-authored by a team of academics including Youngjin Yoo of Temple University and Richard J. Boland and Kalle Lyytinen of Case Western Reserve University, this article describes their NSF sponsored research on several major projects by Frank Gehry in which his firm used CATIA to model the complex geometry of their buildings and how that has influenced the way he works with owners, contractors, subcontractors, engineers and fabricators. It also includes a call for AEC firms to participate in their follow-up study, which is also being funded by the NSF, to track the broader set of information technologies that are increasingly used in AEC projects and to identify their consequences.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2008/issue_36.html

This Viewpoint article by Chuck Eastman, Paul Teicholz, Rafael Sacks and Kathleen Liston offers a perspective on emerging positions such as BIM Specialist, BIM Champion, BIM Administrator, 4D Specialist, and Manager of Virtual Design and Construction and suggests their roles and responsibilities at the corporate and project levels within owner organizations and the AEC firms that serve them.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2008/issue_35.html

This article captures the highlights of some of the key technology solutions for construction that were on display at the recent World of Concrete show, including Vico’s Virtual Construction Software, Project Document Manager jointly developed by McGraw-Hill Construction and ReproMAX, Quest Estimator from Maxwell Systems, Bluebeam’s PDF Revu application, and SolidBuilder, a BIM solution for contractors that is customized for residential design.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/newsletter/2008/issue_33.html

In this Viewpoint article, Dominic Gallello, CEO of Graphisoft, discusses the new professional role that is emerging in the AEC industry, the “BIM Manager.” He argues that the BIM Manager is not just a nice-to-have but rather a fundamental member of a model-based design process, and discusses various aspects of this role, including the need for non-linear thinking, multi-disciplinary thinking, and other qualifications.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2008/issue_34.html

This article explores some of the technologies that are being developed at Autodesk Labs, including Project Draw, a web-based vector drawing application, Content Search, a web service that allows search of generic or manufacturer-specific building products and associated design content, multi-touch navigation of 3D models on a large screen display, and others.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/buildingthefuture/2008/AutodeskLabs.html