ALLPLAN, one of the leading AEC technology brands used globally, launched the 2025 versions of its comprehensive suite of tools for building and infrastructure design, engineering, and construction at an online launch event a few weeks ago. In addition to its flagship BIM application (see Allplan 2024: AECbytes Review), ALLPLAN’s portfolio includes the dedicated structural engineering applications, FRILO and SCIA, that merged with ALLPLAN earlier this year; SDS2, a dedicated solution for steel detailing; ALLPLAN Precast, a dedicated application for precast structures; ALLPLAN Civil, a new product that expands the capabilities of the earlier ALLPLAN Bridge application to include tools for designing roads, tunnels, dams, railways, retaining walls, and other structures; and ALLPLAN Cloud, which adds several new cloud services as well as expands the capabilities of its model-management and collaboration application, BIMPLUS.
The launch event covered a lot of ground, with extensive demos of the new features and enhancements of the products as well as discussions with the product teams on the strategic vision and thinking guiding the development. The event also featured several ALLPLAN users sharing their perspective and insights on the products they use and the new features. Some of their work is showcased in Figure 1.
The highlights of the launch event, including the key product updates and user insights that were shared, are captured in this article.
There are several enhancements in ALLPLAN 2025 that are applicable to users from all disciplines. These include navigation improvements allowing for easier rotation, zooming, and orientation in both 3D and 2D modeling spaces; a new document management system that retains the flexibility of the ALLPLAN model structure while removing the size limitation with more efficient data handling, allowing project sizes to be unlimited; the ability to manage non-graphical data with a new Information Palette that can be used to display, compare, validate and change objects and the associated attributes quickly and easily (Figure 2); a Smart Catalog Editor to manage material and object databases; support for new standard IDS (Information Delivery Specification) by buildingSMART with rule-based attribute sets; and an updated Xref Manager for better management of referenced documents.
ALLPLAN has also significantly expanded its cloud capabilities in the 2025 release with several new services for team collaboration and integrated design-to-build workflows. A standalone Model Viewer for viewing IFC files is now available, allowing more people to work easily with models, even if the models were created using other BIM applications. ALLPLAN’s BIM coordination platform, BIMPLUS, which allows users from around the world to work directly on the same ALLPLAN project, now includes an Overlay Manager which can bring drawing data and model data together in one environment, providing greater design clarity (Figure 3).
Additional new cloud services include a connection to Bluebeam, allowing users to bring 2D documentation and markups created in Bluebeam into ALLPLAN; an updated AutoConverter tool, which can directly create structural analysis models from design models (Figure 4); and AI-based visualization, which can take a model view from ALLPLAN and render it conceptually or in more detail, allowing users to rapidly explore, capture, and express ideas (Figure 5).
Enhancements in ALLPLAN 2025 specific to architecture include advanced connections for architectural components, with enhanced creation of joints for curved structures, including multilayer walls, beams, and other components; support for the modeling of multilayer slabs; significant improvements for the modeling of stairs, including support for country-specific standards, adjustable run line position and additional direct object modification capabilities, independent landing settings, and single-click generation of stair railings (Figure 6); a new tool for faster modeling of suspended ceilings, including the creation of ceiling fixtures and the coordination of building services such as lighting, smoke detectors, and ventilation systems; and a new tool for creating door and window objects more efficiently and in greater detail, with additional functionality for modeling revolving doors and double casement windows and doors.
For structural engineering, design, and detailing, the AutoConverter tool shown earlier in Figure 4 which automatically converts physical models to structural analytical models is one of the key updates. With the ability to handle curved elements, it can now be used to reduce model rebuilding and manual model manipulation for architecturally challenging structures as well. Other engineering-specific enhancements in ALLPLAN 2025 include the continued integration between the merged applications, ALLPLAN, FRILO, and SCIA, to improve the collaboration between structural engineers and detailers on projects; the release of a next-generation finite element solver in SCIA Engineer which speeds up structural analysis calculations significantly; and several improvements in reinforcement modeling including automated reinforcement placement, which makes it easier to detail cast-in-place concrete for any kind of structure, including freeform shapes (Figure 7).
On the infrastructure front, the new ALLPLAN Civil product expands the capabilities of the earlier ALLPLAN Bridge application to include tools for designing roads, tunnels, dams, railways, retaining walls, and all other types of civil structures in addition to bridges. It includes all the required modeling, detailing, and analyzing capabilities for infrastructure, including those of SCIA Engineer. Additional updates include rapid modeling of intersections and enhanced handling of Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) for road design (Figure 8); a new parametric reinforcement modeling approach for civil structures that automatically creates reinforcement that can be checked for code compliance; and a new design-to-build workflow for precast girder bridges.
To meet the demands of the increasing prefabrication trend in the AEC industry, ALLPLAN has a dedicated Precast application for concrete, and a steel detailing and fabrication solution, SDS2, for steel. Both of these have been enhanced in the new release. ALLPLAN Precast has improved support for mesh welding systems, which have become an essential component in the modern precast manufacturing process; easier reinforcement design for freeform shaped precast elements; an enhanced Precast Data Validator, which checks to ensure that all important aspects are considered when detailing precast elements (Figure 9); and improved handling of textures in views and sections for consistent output. SDS2 has several improvements for prefabrication including automated connection design, detailed shop drawings and material lists, and seamless integration with fabrication management and shop machines.
Enhancements in ALLPLAN 2025 for construction include an updated excavation modeler that allow users to create soil layers and individual reports for smaller excavations. In addition, formwork planning has been improved with a new graphical user interface that allows users to select and deselect available elements for formwork, the ability to automatically assign formwork wall elements, and support for the Peri Maximo formwork system (Figure 10). The enhancements in BIMPLUS that were described in the previous section, including the Bluebeam integration and Overlay Manager, are also very helpful in coordination during construction for creating and resolving issues (Figure 11)
One of the user perspectives at the launch event was presented by Hakan Özkan from LUDES Architekten – Ingenieure, a leading German planning firm specializing in complex healthcare construction projects (Figure 12), with operating theatres, intensive care units, emergency rooms and helicopter landing pads, as well as research facilities and laboratory buildings. The use of ALLPLAN not only provides LUDES with the flexibility and efficiency that are critical in such large projects (Figure 13), it also facilitates the structured display and management of the objects in the models, which can be over 10,000 to 20,000. ALLPLAN allows the creation of complex components such as customized facades, and the firm also relies extensively on BIMPLUS and the Solibri integration for coordination and collaboration with project partners.
A detailed description of the use of ALLPLAN for the entire workflow of a construction project using OpenBIM, ranging from architectural design to reinforcement detailing was provided by Gianmarco Baldini of the firm, Baldinistudio, which is located in Eastern Europe and provides consulting services to architecture and engineering firms on BIM, design, analysis, and documentation. The project, which was developed in collaboration with a leading Croation architect, was started in Archicad and imported into the ALLPLAN product family via ALLPLAN Cloud, from where it was accessed by ALLPLAN, BIMPLUS, and SCIA Engineering for further design development, engineering, and detailing (Figure 14). A crucial part of the workflow on the project was the use of Autoconverter, which sits on top of the BIMPLUS cloud platform, to automatically convert the 3D model to an analytical model for seamless import to SCIA Engineer (Figure 15).
Additional user insights were provided by Pietro Massai, who specializes in BIM for architectural preservation and urban development, and who finds the integration of GIS data with point clouds enabled by ALLPLAN by the GIS Connector and the Scalypso plug-in respectively, critical to his work on heritage renovation projects (Figure 16); Ulla Staeblein from Staeblein Architekten described how her firm uses the new BIMPLUS Overlay Manager for BIM coordination and improved communication with their clients and planning partners (Figure 17); and Joao Carvalho from the QUADRANTE Group, a global consulting engineering firm that specializes in large infrastructure projects, described how ALLPLAN Bridge is used for the full lifecycle of precast girder bridges at his firm (Figure 18)
The launch event also featured Ciprian Popa, founder of the firm, Structural Class Design, which helps ALLPLAN and SCIA users improve their usage of the software by creating custom parametric objects with PythonParts, SmartParts or visual scripting, along with optimizing models, creating parametric calculation models, and developing custom checks for structural analysis. He showed some amazing projects that his firm has worked on in Bucharest in Romania that were made possible by the integrated use of ALLPLAN and SCIA, including the Revolution Square tram station which has a Calatrava-inspired canopy (Figure 19) and the Berceni Arena ice hockey stadium (Figure 20).
In addition to the vast array of enhancements and new features as well as a fascinating look at several customer projects, the ALLPLAN 2024 launch event served to highlight the tremendous expansion of the ALLPLAN product family that now includes, in addition to its flagship BIM application, the structural engineering applications FRILO and SCIA, SDS2 for steel detailing, ALLPLAN Precast, ALLPLAN Civil, and a wide range of cloud services under ALLPLAN Cloud including the powerful collaboration application, BIMPLUS.
There was much to learn at the event for users of all disciplines in the AEC industry, going all the way from design to detailing to construction. The highlights captured here are just the tip of the iceberg — the entire launch event can be seen at https://www.allplan.com/launch-event-2025/.
Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor of AECbytes. She has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and consults and writes on AEC technology. She can be reached at lachmi@aecbytes.com.
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