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SWEETS IS ONLY SUPPORTING BIM FOR REVIT


JohnS

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I was at Sweets.com looking for some products and noticed that they are developing BIM products but only for REVIT. What is the deal with that?? I thought that there was going to be a universal library based upon the IFC standard! If the industry is going to support REVIT only we are doomed in developing BIM for our clients.

Any thoughts?

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One thought.

As a consumer of the products of McGraw-Hill, you should make your voice heard. Write to them. Write to the AIA. Post on other forums (e.g. AIA forums, LinkedIn groups or even better, the CSI-BIM forum). Let them know that vendor bias in no longer acceptable.

We've been trying to advocate directly to the Building Products industry (there are other players than just McGraw-Hill)to support a true open standard (.ifc) instead of feeding everyone a vendor-specific format (.rvt) all over again (.dwg was first). Instead of trying to support more than one 2D and 3D format, they could help the entire AECO industry immensely by doing the hard work and getting involved in setting the specifications for object/product .ifc files.

"Off the record" they and other companies have stated that supporting .rvt makes better business sense since they feel it is the "dominant standard", so they can't possibly lose by supporting a single platform BIM instead of a true open BIM.

Tell them (McGraw-Hill, ARCAT, CSI, AIA) you thinks it sucks.

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Jeff,

I have written them several weeks ago, with no reply back. Unfortunately I think the train has left the station on McGraw-Hill. VW will need to develop a method (software) which will allow us to import those products into VW easily and effectively. This will become a more significant issue in the future as the industry starts to demand BIM solutions for projects. I don't want to use Autodesk products, but maybe forced to by the need to have BIM objects in Building models.

I suspect Autodesk pushed this hard with McGraw Hill early on knowing that they could dominate the market with REVIT they way they did with AutoCad by getting the dominate players in the industry to support their format exclusively.

Perhaps VW and other companies should collaborate and pull funds to develop a conversion software for REVIT objects into IFC objects.

John

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I have been checking out Reed Construction Data's SmartBIM services, and they are hurting the case for open source BIM files even more, with its Revit-only service:

http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/bim/smartbim/

And AIA.org has a banner declaring them as "Strategic Partners with Autodesk" (http://www.aia.org/about/partners/index.htm), which gives Autodesk more direct access to AIA member resources.

I am sure that NNA, Bentley and Graphisoft do not need to have all of the BIM services tailored for Revit and only Revit.

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John and Bob,

It is good that you have voiced your concerns. Don't let up the pressure. As members, you have a stake in what the organization does (especially considering the dues they twist our arms to pay!).

Look at gaining support for your concerns, among your peers, at local and state chapters, as well.

I think that for the AIA to change direction, a grassroots campaign is necessary to show them the way and see the light of supporting open standard based BIM and not a single company over all others.

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Jeffrey is spot on. If we all sit around waiting for someone else to fight the battle for us then we will get what we deserve.

Each and everyone of us needs to do our little bit to ensure that our professional organisation's do work to ensure that there is an open BIM standard that allows users a choice of which program to use.

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Users should also lobby the vendors asking for content in Vw and/or IFC format.

The thing is, architects don't buy construction materials.

And refusing to specify products due to lack of Vectorworks support...well that's just not professional.

Then again, I'm not so wild about crusades in the first place.

Edited by brudgers
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I suspect that we're entering a new era where the big player now offers the state of the art product and that small players, like Vectorworks, are going to have a much tougher go at it.

I have already found that my clients expect some level of energy analysis in their buildings. They bring up Ecotect.

BIM makes it much more difficult to be outside the eco system. The network effect here is paramount. You need off-the-shelf pieces that work and that's what Revit has to offer. I dislike Autodesk but I think here in the USA, the writing is on the wall.

I am using Vectorworks 2009 but if I can all of this great stuff in Revit that makes my life easier and my process better, then I am going to do it in order to stay competitive.

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Regardless, I would be surprised if you were using Sweets.

I generally use ARCAT to browse for product manufacturers. ARCAT generally points me to the company's website, and indicates whether or not I can get their details and specs. The details are usually DWGs or PDFs - both of which can be easily imported into Vw Architect -- I'm not sure that Revit can import PDFs, but it can import DWFs.

Edited by Bob-H
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Autodesk has products for sophisticated sitework and civil engineering and support for an open standard.

I'm sure it does, but that is totally irrelevant in the context of VW Architect and architects in general. As is the fact that there are similar products for Microstation. Architects do not have use to and buy sophisticated civil engineering programs. Many client bodies, however, require the site as a part of the IFC-model.

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I'm sure it does, but that is totally irrelevant in the context of VW Architect and architects in general. As is the fact that there are similar products for Microstation. Architects do not have use to and buy sophisticated civil engineering programs. Many client bodies, however, require the site as a part of the IFC-model.

Yes, and many don't, and some require it in other formats.

Regardless, if as you say Civil Software is not a direct concern of VW architects and architects in general, why would the issue of how the site model winds up within the BIM specification be an architect's concern either?

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Oh dear.

The Architect of course determines the 3D-geometry of the site, including the overall parameters of the grading and all facets of landscaping (including hardscaping, retaining walls etc.).

The Engineer then goes and determines the substructure and the like.

I'm curious to learn more about client bodies that require buildings in one format and the site in another! Or clients who require buildings in LandXML-format. Pray tell!

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Here there are many clients who do not care about the BIM model.

In such circumstances if one exists it is for the benefit of the design or the construction.

Litigation colors our world.

Digitial data often comes with disclaimers.

Paper documents remain the primary instruments of service for most projects.

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First post of 2010 -- I wonder if the movie of the same title will come true.

Civil design IS important for BIM, if you have a basement level, and need to connect it to the sanitary sewer system. And everything flows down hill.

Also, BIM has some connection to green building standards like LEED, which extends outside of the building and on to the site, for things like on-site retention of storm water from the roof. So that the 'I" in BIM should supply basic things like roof area, and the amount of storm drainage.

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