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Akos Pfemeter said Graphisoft made the decision to not allow automatic syncing because of ease of use and quality of workflow. In the end the user in ArchiCAD 13 chooses manually or semi-manually to sync with the BIM Server. Semi-manually happens when you request to reserve something that someone else controls. When that happens that element may come in (to your machine) updated from what you saw depending on whether or not that user had manually updated it recently.
Virtual Office and Creating Large Virtual Teams
With ArchiCAD 13 and its new TeamCenter 2 and BIM Server it is very easy for solo-practitioners to join teams and offices remotely and contribute as specialists or just team members. Also, solo architects can form and create “virtual offices” or larger teams for competitions or projects with other solo architects. To make this happen you just need to choose who will run the BIM Server (likely based on who has the fastest Internet connection with a static IP address).
Interestingly, Graphisoft could choose to work with Apple in the future and utilize its MobileMe capabilities so that users could gain the Back-to-my Mac functionality to help resolve dynamic IP addresses. Many solo architects do not have static IPs so setting up a BIM server this way may be more challenging.
02 - Granting Access. From this screen shot you can see how you ask for ownership of elements via the Ownership Request window. Study this screen closely to see the palettes on the right that show users participating on this BIM model, what colors have been assigned to them, and the Send & Receive command button and the instant messaging built into the bottom of the palette.
The ability to view colors to allow you to know who has what and to make requests for control of elements is one of the most delightful aspects to ArchiCAD 13. It is intuitive, simple and obvious. And it provides the architect with a granular way of graphically viewing who has control over what elements. (see images 02 – 03)
Color not only designates if an element is free or not but if not free who has control over it. Plus the colors can be customized making this system very flexible. You could imagine using a certain type of color or range of colors to designate types of staff, teams or specialists.
Going 64-bit: But Where is the Mac Version?
ArchiCAD 13 is still the only BIM application to truly take advantage of the latest multicore processors (like Intel’s) and multiprocessing architectures in general. Now they have introduced 64-bit support for Windows, just behind what Autodesk has recently done for the latest version of Revit 2010. This makes both these BIM leaders more or less on the cutting edge with performance initiatives relative to hardware architectures. Because of the multicore support ArchiCAD 13 is still a bit ahead.
The company is still working on the 64-bit version for the Mac. The issue is Graphisoft’s coding work to move to 64-bit on the Mac is much more substantial than it was for Windows because of legacy “carbon’ code in ArchiCAD. Like most large and older Mac applications (think Adobe Photoshop for instance) those applications were entirely written and evolved under Apple’s pre-OS X API system, which in the OS X world is referred to as Carbon. Cocoa is Apple’s modern and purpose built for OS X API system.
Graphisoft is working on rewriting the last remaining elements of ArchiCAD’s code base from Carbon to Cocoa, which when done will leave the company on a superior footing for future work on the Mac. Cocoa is very modern. Akos Pfemeter, Director of Global Marketing at Graphisoft, said the update for 64-bit Mac support is coming after the release of version 13. There is no exact time table however.
Other Improvements in ArchiCAD 13
While the new BIM Server technology is the big news in this release ArchiCAD 13 has many smaller but significant updates and improvements. At the top of the list here are features such as custom slab-roof edges (see image below). This greatly aids the process of modeling wherein the use of canted walls meet up with slabs. (see image 03)
03 - Roof edge tool has been changed to allow for easy determination of sloped angled edges that coordinate nicely with canted walls and curtain walls.
Another useful new capability is the new “soft” insulation features which allows the dynamic views of insulation in 3D that ArchiCAD users have been asking for. And the new oriented views capabilities work to swing around diagonal wings in building plans to orthogonal orientation making editing and working more natural. This feature is similar to what was introduced in sister CAD product Vectorworks a few releases back. It will be a very welcomed feature in ArchiCAD 13.
Other typical improvements include better and more up-to-date Autodesk AutoCAD DWG file support, import/export options, and performance tuning in the software in general.
Running ArchiCAD 13
ArchiCAD 13 with its new integrated BIM Server with Delta Server Technology can run on any computer that runs ArchiCAD 13. In other words, you do not need any special type of computer to run the BIM Server portion of ArchiCAD 13.
Each license of ArchiCAD 13 includes the BIM Server and the new Project Manager module that helps support teamwork functionality related to the new expanded capabilities due to the BIM Server.
Akos Pfemeter, Director of Global Marketing, told us that if you are operating a BIM Server for a large office or with multiple offices, it is a good idea to buy a powerful computer but there are no special requirements in terms of what is necessary. “For very large practices they may wish to divide up the work loads by running multiple BIM Servers,” he remarked.
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From within the LAN or out across the Internet you identify the Graphisoft BIM Server by its IP address. The BIM Server must be visible to the outside world through a company’s firewall so there is a specific port that must be opened. Other than that, Graphisoft BIM Server is straight forward to run.
For more information on ArchiCAD 13 we encourage you to visit Graphisoft’s home page here or our news report on the release of the product.
Reader Comments
The least you’d think we could expect from a “longtime Mac programming stalwart” is a proper Mac interface.
I’m not sure what constitutes a “proper Mac interface” these days? That is a good question itself. If you refer to the “classic Mac interface” I would argue that ArchiCAD 13 has many conforming elements. If you are talking about modern Apple application interfaces (like Aperture, iPhoto, iTunes, etc, then there is a problem as to what exactly constitutes the essence of a proper modern Mac interface…because they vary more than the old classic Mac interfaces did with each other.
Listen, I use ArchiCAD every day and like the software very much. But making a claim like, “Accessing the BIM Server is easy from remote locations”, with no supporting evidence is a disservice to your readers and leaves you looking like a fanboy rather than a reviewer. I suggest you look at Graphisoft’s own wiki article on the subject http://www.archicadwiki.com/Teamwork/BimServerRemoteConnection and ask yourself if it sounds easy.
Likewise the comment, “Graphisoft could choose to work with Apple in the future and utilize its MobileMe capabilities so that users could gain the Back-to-my Mac functionality to help resolve dynamic IP addresses”, is little more than wishful thinking. Show me (please!) where Graphisoft has taken advantage of Apple’s superior technology and I might believe your claim. Reality is it’s Mac-based ArchiCAD users that wait in vain for parity on basic features like SketchUp import.
Make no mistake, this is a breakthrough product, but it’s very much v1 and still needs work.
Best Regards,
Geoff Briggs
P.S. I’m not posting this because I like to be negative. I have a lot of respect for the guys in Budapest. I just want BIM that really works and vendors that develop for Mac to go beyond mere porting. I could level the same criticisms on Adobe. Just look at Acrobat Pro.
[…] Today I had the opportunity to watch one of the first webinars from Graphisoft introducing some of the new features in Archicad 13. As mentioned in a recent post, this latest version “will introduce the Graphisoft BIM Server” which will “run an all-new, highly optimized and highly granular relational-database.” The one-hour webinar was not nearly enough time to review all the new features, but I was able to get a glimpse into some of the new Teamwork 2.0 functionality. (A more in-depth article covering the so-called “Delta Server” can be found on Architosh.) […]
Geoff,
Thanks for posting your feedback. While I will abstain from defending my reporting of the announcement, I do acknowledge your concerns. If ArchiCAD 13 is installed correctly and a BIM server is setup somewhere in the world and you know its IP address the process of connecting to it should be straight forward.
More importantly, it should be clarified that ArchiCAD for the Mac is no “port” of the version for Windows. The program’s legacy is on the Mac and the code base, from what I have been told, bears witness to that. Over the last several years Graphisoft has had to contend with the fact that most of their Mac code base is written for Apple’s legacy Carbon APIs (application programming interfaces) rather than newer and more modern Cocoa APIs.
Our article(s) point this out in regard to the Mac version NOT being 64-bit yet. The company has been re-writing Carbon code to Cocoa…a big process in itself as Adobe would attest.
anthony:
IMHO christiaan is totally right – AC needs a huge UI overhaul. especially on the Mac. it still bears a set of dubious ‘windowze’ icons, an overly complicated procedural chain of command, a very lame library panel, a bit useless curtain wall tool, no terrain integration, no free form modeler, the forced option of a ray tracer with fake radiosity, a HW key and a price tag of $4500…
the BIM server is wonderful, but there are quite a few more urgent points to bring the app into the 2nd decade of the 21st century, besides attempting to attract large firms… cool, functional and professional UI/graphic design would be a good staring point 😉
as for cocoa – it has been around for a while – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_(API); converting to it on time is perhaps a matter of smart development…
There is no doubt much that can be done with the UI in ArchiCAD. Many of the CAD and 3D stalwarts in the Mac world have OS 9 era user interface designs…that is why I asked the question about “proper” UI.
UI design is tricky business. If developers can continue to follow Apple’s lead more that can help; and if developers can seriously invest resources in properly testing out UI ideas that do not stem from Apple’s UI guidelines that too can help.
Some of the cooler and more functional UI designs I’ve seen recently are in apps like modo, Cinema 4D and Apple’s Aperture and its many other pro apps. Thanks for the wonderful feedback in this post. 🙂
[…] on the biggest thing to hit ArchiCAD since Teamwork … Teamwork 2 – an Architosh Indepth and various ArchiCAD-Talk discussions here, here […]
[…] Today I had the opportunity to watch one of the first webinars from Graphisoft introducing some of the new features in Archicad 13. As mentioned in a recent post, this latest version “will introduce the Graphisoft BIM Server” which will “run an all-new, highly optimized and highly granular relational-database.” The one-hour webinar was not nearly enough time to review all the new features, but I was able to get a glimpse into some of the new Teamwork 2.0 functionality. (A more in-depth article covering the so-called “Delta Server” can be found on Architosh.) […]
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