In-Depth: Looking at ArchiCAD 13 with Delta Server Technology

Several weeks ago I got a chance to see Graphisoft’s upcoming ArchiCAD 13 with its new breakthrough Graphisoft BIM Server technology. What makes this software update so significant is what it does to allow teams to work so much more affectively, remotely if need be and with better integrated communication and teamwork management. And it does this with Graphisoft’s new Delta Server Technology.

Of course such a breakthrough approach is not to be unexpected coming from the Hungarians at Graphisoft. Additionally, such innovation should not be a surprise coming from a longtime Mac programming stalwart either. This company, Graphisoft, has been punching above its weight-class in the architectural CAD world since its founding in 1982 and is widely recognized as the leader in the 3D virtual building concept now commonly understood as BIM (building information modeling).

The Big Revolution: Staying on the Bullet Train

This is about teamwork collaboration, and the big news here is that unlike its existing self (version 12 for instance) or its largest rivals, ArchiCAD 13’s new teamwork functionality doesn’t ask you to do something as archaic as pick up the telephone in the middle of your all-electronic, computerized process, in order to collaborate affectively…the way things should work.

Not that telephones are all that “oh-so 20th century” but rather that the computer software is telling you to leave the realm of the computer–telling you to move to a different device entirely to make a phone call, to communicate–to finish the process you started on the computer.

It’s a little like taking a high-speed bullet train from Paris to Rome and then transfering onto a bus from Rome to Milan only to get back onto a high-speed bullet train to travel from Milan back to Paris.

In other BIM programs you literally are asked to make a phone call in order to communicate the part of allowing others on the team to know you would like to make a “borrow” request, to ask them to release elements for you to work on, and to complete that loop of communication. That is assuming they are not standing right next to you, which in today’s globalized world means many key members of our teams are not.

Today’s social-media generation expects the communication processes to be built into their collaborative software applications, expects them to be instantaneous and rapid. ArchiCAD 13’s built-in messaging makes the BIM leader feel completely one with the era of social media. ArchiCAD 13 feels completely modern from the point of view of what is possible today. And this inherent flexibility in ArchiCAD 13 with BIM Server provides a big leap in productivity for teams. (see image 00)

Working Remotely via BIM Server

Graphisoft’s new BIM Server is a powerful RDBMS (relational-database management system) that the company has developed entirely internally. The actual database core system is licensed by a third party. It is powerful, says Graphisoft, and it was chosen because it offered the company an industrial strength database engine that worked on both Mac and Windows. We asked what database engine was licensed but the company isn’t talking just yet.

The BIM Server technology is referred to as Delta Server™ because it actually just focuses on updating the database based on the differences or “deltas” in the model data between clients and the BIM Server. Instead of a 100 MB sync of an entire model the BIM server focuses on syncing deltas that typically may range about 100 kilobytes or 1000 times smaller than the whole BIM model.

Accessing the BIM Server is easy from remote locations. You simply type in an IP address and login. A fast home, hotel or remote office broadband Internet connection is all you really need to work effectively with the BIM Server. You are still working and saving your changes locally within ArchiCAD 13 on your own machine. What happens is you update the model when you initiate synchronization by the send and receive commands or by reserving and releasing elements.

Akos Pfemeter said the company had the option to allow automatic synchronization to occur at all times creating a real-time but very busy and potentially disturbing BIM workflow. Especially over a LAN the issue wasn’t one of “can the BIMServer technology keep up” with the real-time effects of a team working together on a single model but rather what would the user see and feel in the workflow?

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.

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)

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.

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.