Bentley, Autodesk, Graphisoft and Nemetschek (all four AEC-BIM players) will have larger booths at the show. We have formal visits planned with three of these companies and one of them (can’t say just yet) is planning on introducing a new software product that will work in tandem with its main AEC offerings.

ArchiCAD 16 of course was just announced and we are still working on our Product In-Depth feature, which should be out around the time of the event. We look forward to seeing live product demonstrations more fully and that can help us round-out our understanding of this big update for Graphisoft.

While there are some interesting smaller companies at attendance this year we are sad to see that are actually less software companies planning to exhibit than the last time we were at AIA two years ago. Clearly the economy has hit the industry quite hard this year. We don’t see the formZ folks who are  regulars and are also nearby. We also do not see the Rhino folks there as well. In a prior show Robert McNeal and Co. had a very larger booth and were showcasing smaller third-party add-on developers for Rhino at the show. Perhaps there will be some last-minute changes?

Luxology’s modo has made great strides in the AEC market and we would appreciate saying modo shown at AIA as well as companies like Abvent and many of the SketchUp rendering add-on developers. Google will be at the show and we are assuming SketchUp will be shown despite it being acquired recently.

We look forward to producing these reports in the new few days and learning about what is new.

The source shared this news with one of our fellow associate editors at approximately the same time as AIA National about a year ago. My fellow editor said, “this might be really big!” Clearly he was excited.

Crowded BIM Market?

One thing that came to my mind immediately was, does the market have room for yet another BIM tool? That’s what I was wondering a year ago.

And I’m still wondering… but here we are and even SolidWorks has entered the world of AEC 3D tools. Perhaps there is more room than we imagine? But I understand that it may not be a whole new competing BIM tool in the classic sense but a tool that operates in the BIM space, complimenting other BIM tools. And that would be consistent with the structure of the BIM transformation in general.

Here We Go

So we are trying our best to secure an arrangement to learn more about this new BIM software offering that is lurking in the software labs somewhere. So here is what we currently know.

Will the new mysterious software be in the BIM space? Yes. Will the new software tool be web-based? Yes. What platforms will the new software support? All of them. Will it support iOS for tablets like the iPad for instance? Yes.

This isn’t much to chew on. We know. We don’t know for example the scale of the tool. What types of problems it addresses. Or how it might interact with other BIM tools. As you can see we don’t know much yet. But we know from the source that they believe this tool is very important and the BIM market needs it.

I hate mysteries like this. I’m dying to know what this new tool is. Hopefully, we will all find out soon enough.

The iPad of course!

Well…not precisely Apple’s popular tablet computer but the way in which developers and businesses are discovering that FileMaker’s database software tools offer them amazing ways to utilize the iPad (and the iPhone too) within industries with field-based services–particularly Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC).

FileMaker Number One in World

While many people know of database software companies like Oracle what few people realize is that Apple’s database software subsidiary, FileMaker, is a worldwide leader. FileMaker is the number one database software on the Mac OS X platform, the number one cross-platform (Mac/Windows) database software, and the number one database software on tablet computers worldwide. It is also the number two database software worldwide on the Windows platform, behind Microsoft’s own Access. The company actually sells more copies of FileMaker Pro on the Windows platform.

From this combined perspective FileMaker is number one in the world.

It has long been the case that FileMaker Pro has been a popular workgroup database tool within the AEC industry, particularly popular with architectural practices because the database tool offers programming simplicity, graphical presentation flexibility and excellence, and works seamlessly with both Windows and Mac computers.

(Architosh conducted an AEC industry software use report in 2002 and found that FileMaker Pro was the dominant database used by all AEC firms in the study with 20 or more employees, capturing nearly 70 percent usage. All firms over 20 employees in the study used a database application. Click here to learn more.)

A Sweet Spot for AEC

While FileMaker is used by most AEC firms, the big news these days is that the company’s FileMaker Go, an Apple iOS application running on both iPad and iPhone, plays a unique story for mobile application development. And with the iPad device being heavily adopted by AEC professionals–particularly on the construction and facilities side–the merger of iPad and FileMaker and FileMaker Go is hitting a sweet spot for these field-based industries.

01 - FileMaker Go offers simple iOS development as an option, enabling rapid application development for mobile solutions on Apple's iPad and iPhone platforms. The quality of the interface capability is very high, as can be seen here.

Both architects and engineers are bringing iPads onto the construction site to tote their drawings and 3D models around with them. Contractors are using the iPad as a drawings and specifications storage device, as well as using it for field-conditions tracking and document markup. And now from the suppliers side of the equation AEC manufacturers are using iPads armed with mobile databases to solve particular data-heavy workflow needs in the field, better servicing the design-building delivery cycle.

Next page: Case Study – Looking at AEC Manufacturer Johnson Controls

Live Buildings can accept and integrate with DraftSight by Dassault, the free AutoCAD clone that was recently released for both Mac and Windows platforms. Dassault Systemes originally demoed the technology behind this product last year but it was at SolidWorks World 2011 this year that the technology came into shape as Live Buildings. It is still not available but the company is working on it and says it will be released later this year.

01 - At SolidWorks World 2011 the company demoed SolidWorks Live Buildings, a new online Web-based 3D software product for the AEC industry aimed at architects.

SolidWorks World is an event typically very outside of our scope of vision as the Windows-centric product is has never seemed destined to come to the Mac platform. However, things keep changing quickly in the CAD space relative to Apple and the Mac and this is yet another possible new design tool available for design professionals on the Mac platform.

We will definitely be following this development in detail as the year progresses. Deelip Menenzes over at his blog stated that the product will work on the Mac online just like other platforms.

You can learn a bit more at this post and here. The YouTube video can be watched here. See Live Buildings in action.

What makes Rform special is that it essentially operates like a true Web 2.0 application, very much in the style and philosophy of popular 37signals web-app, Basecamp. However, unlike Basecamp, which is industry non-specific, Rform is made especially for architects and general contractors.

Make no bones about it, Rform represents the future of software applications. Based on the SaaS model (software as a service), Rform offers its users/clients an unmatched and specific application for the administration of construction contracts during the design-build-deliver cycle.

Background – My Brother is an Architect

I spoke with Paul Lopes, designer of Rform and asked him how they came up with the idea for the application and he said: “My brother is an architect. And he always wanted something like this. So his company and my [web] company teamed up to create what is Rform today.”

“We wanted to create something that was simple,” said Paul Lopes, “to develop something that is very straightforward…so you just work instead of manage the system that produces the work.”  What was created is a very elegant web application that works across multiple platforms, including smartphones with advanced desktop-grade Web browsers like Apple’s iPhone.

Rform – How it Works

Rform is a web-based application that streamlines the creation of construction contract administration documents and increases the speed at which these documents are created, reviewed, approved and eventually archived.

At the heart of the CA Phase (construction administration phase) are RFIs, COs and Certificates for Payment. Change Directives, Supplemental Instructions, Request for Information, Change Orders, and Proposed Change Orders are all handled via a series of forms created by Rform. And an added feature that makes Rform really unique is that as costs for Change Orders are approved they are automatically carried over onto the Certificates for Payment and tracked there. The Submittals module is very useful to architects and contractors where they can electronically manage the shop drawing process via a Shop Drawing Submittal module in Rform.

Rform also features a built-in mini FTP site where team members can upload files for other members to review or print.  And finally the key component to managing a project through CA is the Schedule of Values, which Rform manages. Paul Lopes walked us through the details of how Rforms works. Let’s take a look. (see image 01)

01-The List of Projects Interface in Rform - a new Web-based application for architects and contractors.

The main logged-in interface for Rform brings you and your team to a Projects window. Unless you are the account manager you will only see projects listed to which you have been assigned. If you are an Account Manager–typically someone within your company–you will have access to all projects and full privileges to their working settings.

Version 5.1

Building on version 5.0, released late last year, with support for Windows Vista, XP and Mac OS X, version 5.1 introduces powerful new tools for spatial coordination. There is a big difference between collision detection and spatial coordination. While there are quite a few tools for finding interferences, there is a real requirement for a tool like Solibri Model Checker v5.1, where the focus is on improving design quality by checking for compliance with owner specifications, and efficiently and effectively managing any issues that are identified. This version includes excellent tools for those tasks, as well as a very powerful, comprehensive and customizable Spatial Coordination Report capability.

This release also extends BIM to a broader audience with support for open standards. Jonathan Widney, CEO of Solibri LLC (the US headquarters of Solibri) states that “this release is very significant as it confirms Solibri’s commitment to open standards by extending access to those who don’t currently have the ability to generate Industry Foundation Class (IFC) files.”

“We are committed to IFC files and believe they provide the most information rich environment,” said Widney. “At the same time, there are some trades that have yet to migrate to applications that can export a high quality IFC file.”

In order to actively promote an inclusive process, Solibri Model Checker v5.1 is able to import DWG as well as IFC files. Once the DWG files are loaded, it is possible to conduct a full range of model checking activities, using both file types. “Once the power of the IFC files is better understood,” said Widney, “it will result in a greater sense of urgency for the balance of the subcontractor community to make the move to IFC-supported authoring applications.”

With these advances Solibri is positioning its product as the bridge between the design and construction sides of the AEC industry. Solibri Model Checker v5.1 can help the entire AEC industry by supporting a more productive BIM process delivering higher quality design and construction.

Imagine an updated version of this machine in all aluminum.

• All aluminum updated version of the original Macintosh – The product would be a “limited edition” run modern Mac redone that had a full blown emulator of all the classic software available on the original Mac. Part collector’s item, part novelty, part modern computer, such a machine would enable you run the old classic stuff side by side with the modern environment of OS X. Original Macs are collectors items; a special aluminum version would be both a homage to the Mac’s beginnings and to its current success and shiny future! How much could such a machine really fetch?  It depends on the size of the limited run. A 100k limited run might see machines fly off the shelf at very high prices, while a larger limited run at reasonable prices could see it become a “must have” Mac darling for macolytes around the globe. 
• New Mac Pro Ultra -  A dream power machine that would represent the “state-of-the-art” in technical capabilities possible. For starters it wouldn’t ship until Snow Leopard because it would need Grand Central and OpenCL. It would be the fastest computer in the world and hold that title for more than a year. Why? Because the PA Semi guys crafted an amazing energy efficient, multi-core processor based on the Power Architecture for which they hold unique expertise and capability. It would feature not four but eight (8) multi-core processors and run so cool you would think Apple found a way to pack the North Pole into it. It would feature multiple Nvidia Quadro GPU’s (making it the ultimate OpenCL dream machine) and it would come with new multi-touch capable monitors that could be positioned for touch-based drawing and input functionalities or run in conventional stand-up mode. Every engineer, scientist and architect would drool and lust for one. And though very expensive…they would sell like hot cakes! 
• New Mac touch – Back to a more Earth-based dream scenario, what Apple very well might introduce at Macworld Expo this January is the Mac touch. We have written about it here. The multi-touch patents that keep coming up in expanded and more elaborate form are, we think, somehow connected to the very existence of this machine. The Mac touch would be Apple’s answer to the rapid rise in the popularity of Netbooks. It would be very affordable. It would be multi-touch based but have a keyboard like an iPhone has a keyboard. It would make a wonderful media entertainment machine and work beautifully in ruggedized mode for specific industries like medicine and AEC (architecture/engineering/construction). We think the Mac touch has serious legs in verticals that need touch-based computing but today are poorly served by a clunky and worrisome Windows OS infrastructure. They would be much better served by OS X and Apple’s future. 

The Quadra had a special feeling to it. It was the ultimate Macintosh...wouldn't a new ultimate Mac be fitting for a Silver Anniversary?

 

One of the top CAD related Web sites in the world, Architosh (www.architosh.com) is a top brand in the world of online Mac news information. Since 1999 Architosh has won awards and constant praise for its singular focus and energy related to all things Mac CAD and 3D. An unflagging supporter of Apple and its Mac platform, Architosh has constantly advocated for the use of the Mac OS X platform in technical creative markets like Architecture, Engineering, Industrial Design and Animation. A highly regarded resource, Architosh is one of only a few publications referenced from Apple’s own corporate Web sites worldwide. A consistent collector and analyzer of market information, and publisher of market reports and market data, Architosh is listed along with ZDNet and InfoWorld as a Macintosh Market Data resource. 

The New Architosh

The new online magazine has been refocused on 14 key categories in the market spheres of CAD (computer-aided design) and 3D. No longer conceived as primarily concerned with Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), the new Architosh will address both old and new areas such as Game Design, MCAD, Medical and Science 3D, Animation, Visualization and the iPhone as a visual platform. 

Conceived both internally and by the Web development firm, Crowd Favorite, the new Architosh is built on a modern Web 2.0 platform. The new magazine features a robust way of exploring the 14 Mac CAD and 3D categories, allowing readers to subscribe by RSS to only those categories they are interested in following. 

“As Apple grows and expands it was important that the new Architosh address a larger editorial target area, signifying that we intend to fully cover all areas and fields within Mac CAD and 3D,” says Architosh founder and publisher, Anthony Frausto-Robledo. “This includes fields like Game Design as well as the emerging iPhone platform as a tool for visual 3D computing.” Architosh will still remain the industry’s best resource for all things related to Mac in the world of Architecture, expressed in its namesake. 

“Architosh is ‘the authority’ on architectural design technology in the Mac universe. I can’t imagine writing about Mac-related architecture news without knowing what Anthony and the team at Architosh have to say on the subject,” says Randall S. Newton, Editor-in-Chief, AECNews.com. 

Esteemed industry expert, Jerry Laiserin, contributing editor to Architectural Record and Cadalyst, notes Architosh as one of only ten CAD publications online he finds worth reading — calling editor, Anthony Frausto-Robledo, “doggedly determined.” 

Architosh is read by more than 150,000 readers per year in over 130 countries worldwide. A truly global site, only 41% of all readers are within the United States, while the UK, Canada and Australia account for 16% of all readers. “Architosh’s global popularity reflects the hard fact that Apple is more successful and popular in the AEC industries outside the United States,” says Anthony Frausto-Robledo, “while the company is generally more popular within the United States within the overall computer market. This tells me that the top software players serving the AEC markets in the US appear to be ignoring the Mac despite popular demand while their European and Asian colleagues strategically choose to support the Mac despite a smaller overall popular demand.”

With its new Web site structure, Architosh will be reinvigorated to support the growing Mac base of technical and creative professionals worldwide. 

About Architosh

BritasMedia’s publishing mission with the Architosh Web site is to serve a worldwide audience of Macintosh-based CAD and 3D professionals and students working within multiple fields and industries including: Animation, Architecture, Computer-Aided Industrial Design (CAID), Construction, Engineering, Game Design, MCAD (Mechanical Computer-Aided Design), PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), Medical, Science and Visualization. 

Media Contact

To learn more about Architosh please read our About page at: http://architosh.com/about/

Architosh can be reached via email at: info@architosh.com. To learn more about the online magazine you can request a free media kit at: mediakit@architosh.com.

At the event then Gehry Technologies CEO, Malcolm Davies, PhD, made a series of interesting statements during his otherwise very good presentation. This of course made the presentation all the more memorable. In discussing the industry’s difficulty in adopting a BIM methodology, Davies said that he felt BIM tools were still too difficult to use and could be made much easier. He cited, to many people’s surprise, Apple’s iPod as an example of power and ease of use, and how the company revolutionized the digital music experience. He expressed that such a transformation needed to take place with BIM software.

That idea was tantalizing — do to BIM what Apple had done to digital music. Yet even more interesting was Davies’ comment about Gehry and Steve Jobs being friends (or the intimation that they were friends) and the intimation that there had been some discussion about what Jobs needed to do was to buy Frank Gehry’s company and revolutionize BIM.

That idea that Apple buy Gehry Technologies and revolutionize the way architects and engineers design and develop building designs was very thought provoking, on several levels. Firstly, if any company could revolutionize the user interface of what a BIM (building information modeling) tool should really look like it was Apple. Apple is the one company with the deepest talent and history of making ground-breaking user interfaces. The types of UI’s that are game changers.

Secondly, Apple already has the experience in buying very highend professional software tools and streamlining them and bringing them back to market at radically lower price points, thereby quickly establishing momentum and leadership in specific software sectors. Apple has already done this in film, sound and effects software.

Thirdly, Apple is all about forward-looking technology and BIM is perfectly avant-garde enough for Apple. Richard Kerris (former Sr. Director of Worldwide Developer Relations) , who is no longer with Apple but was very much responsible for getting Alias’ Maya on the Mac platform, once told me that Apple (meaning Steve Jobs) wasn’t interested in markets that were already established, they were interested in “the next revolution,” akin to the desktop publishing revolution that helped cement the Mac in the history of computing in the first place. If you look at the history of the company’s recent hits that isn’t entirely so but the general theory and strategy still holds.

This is why BIM, green design and eco-oriented technology tools — together as a next revolution — are perfectly suited for Apple’s touch.

However, as much as the idea of Gehry Technologies and Appletogether sounds really cool perhaps this is not the best direction Apple could take if it so desired to aggressively enter the architecture and BIM markets. Perhaps a smarter acquisition might be Nemetschek of Germany which due to several acquisitions in the past few years has rounded out nicely as a formidable software powerhouse in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) markets.

Apple’s vast $19.4 billion and growing cash assets, its increasingly enterprise worthiness, its recent PA Semi acquisition and stellar software prowess all bode well for it to enter a market that is tangent to its other professional markets (which architecture is). On top of that, Apple is already 2-3 times more popular in architecture than it is in the general computing market.

Tomorrow we’ll look more closely at Nemetschek AG and Apple.

Got Feedback? Email me.

AEC Software wants to know. If you are using FastTrack Schedule on a green project, the company wants to hear your story. You can enter a contest and win an iPod Touch with a new Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger. Contest runs from now until January 18, 2008.

Marketcircle’s Daylite 3.6 application is now Mac OS X Leopard compatible. The update is free and utilizes Apple’s Sync Services to bring Daylite contacts, appointments, tasks and reminders to iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, Palm and Windows Mobile devices.

Turtle News

Epic Games has made Illuminate Labs an Integrated Partners Program member. 3D World magazine gaveTurtle 4.1 major praise for its cool new features, especially for gaming artists. And recently the company showed off at MIGS in Montreal and GDC in Lyon, France.

Live Virtual Set Authoring Tool

NewTek has recently released LiveSet Generator™ for LightWave 3D, its 3d animation suite product. The product is a free plugin for LightWave v9 that facilitates the authoring of computer generated virtual sets. To learn more go here.