Product Review: GRAPHISOFT BIMx Docs for iPad and iPhone

Framing the Invention

A notable component about the origins of BIM, with respect to 2D CAD, is the ‘virtual building’ concept. The industry invented BIM when it intellectually moved from an electronic drafting mode or way of thinking to a 3D model of the building (in the computer) mode or way of thinking.

Interestingly, GRAPHISOFT’S new BIMx Docs seems to relive the very story of this transformation each time the user utilizes the software. Due to its innovative Hyper-Model technology, the user can literally experience traveling from the world of 2D paper-based drawings to the virtual building itself. The net effect is endearing, engaging and transformative. Moreover, it seems totally appropriate and unsurprising that the author of this software experience–and I believe the word ‘experience’ is apt here–is none other than GRAPHISOFT, the company that invented the ‘virtual building’ concept to begin with.

We would be remiss, if we didn’t state right from the beginning, that we think BIMx Docs is a significant software invention–at least in respect to those inventions applicable to the AEC software industry. It deftly brings together a coherence of previous inventions–2D CAD, 3D models, hyper-links and rendered animation–into a coherent software user-experience (UX).

A Quick Summary of BIMx Docs

We are going to review BIMx Docs in detail in this article. But we want to acquaint the user with this technology via a video, as BIMx Docs is an application you need to see first hand to truly understand and appreciate it.

In a nutshell, BIMx Docs takes what was BIMx–the excellent interactive BIM modeling viewer–and combines it with 2D document navigation. Previously, the market seemed to present BIM users with two options. Carry an app on your iPad to hold, manage and navigate/view your PDF or other 2D format drawings and use another second app to view your 3D BIM models. But BIMx Docs doesn’t just combine the two functions, it integrates them into a seamless experience that enables the user to take an iPad out into the field, for example, and go between drawings and model and vice versa all day long. (see the video below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze3y6dqqsXs

Upon showing BIMx Docs to a colleague familiar with BIM, they asked what I thought the total value was of BIMx Docs. It is a fair and reasonable question. After all, if we look at the varying degrees of BIM–that is the “N-degrees” of BIM–we could fairly note that BIMx Docs does not add or serve any new dimension to the BIM process. That is, it does not focus on time (4D), cost (5D) nor project life-cycle (6D) information. And that is perfectly acceptable.

GRAPHISOFT recognizes, rightly so, that the original degrees of BIM (2D/3D integrated with building information) has many innovation levels to go as it continues to play itself out over new and expanded workflows due to broader industry technologies like the cloud and mobile.

Mobile in particular cannot be underestimated. It is arguably the biggest transformation and economic accelerator in AEC workflows at the moment. Being able to bring your BIM model with you to the job site or client location is clearly valuable–especially on a light-weight mobile device like the iPad. Being able to have both the model and the corresponding 2D drawings with you on that same device increases the value. Being able to have them interactively merged into the same software experience brings an incalculable benefit.

How do you calculate the delight a client may have in understanding their project once viewed under BIMx Docs? How can you ever calculate the value of a tool that fosters insight acquisition? And tools that foster new ways of looking at relationships of things always generate valuable insight.

next page: How it Works: BIMx Docs

How it Works: BIMx Docs

In a nutshell, BIMx Docs works by publishing a BIMx file from within ArchiCAD 17. You must have the latest version of ArchiCAD to publish BIMx Docs files. Also, you must update your ArchiCAD 17 installation, as BIMx Docs was announced after ArchiCAD 17’s introduction.

Once this has been done you are ready to commence producing BIMx Docs ready materials. Now under the File menu a new Publish BIMx Hyper-model option is visible. (see image 02). You can also access the BIMx hyper-model publishing features under Publisher. One aspect that may not be clear from the introduction videos of BIMx Docs is that all kinds of drawing and information data brought into layouts in Publisher are also available in BIMx Docs, not just the native ArchiCAD information. This means info from external sources.

Also before you try to produce a BIMx Docs file you need to make sure your ArchiCAD drawings are properly structured. This means you utilize ArchiCAD’s built in section and elevation marker tools to generate your views of the BIM model. You also need to update your views properly after you have installed the BIMx update to ArchiCAD 17. If you create new projects after this update has been installed, you do not need to worry about this step.

There are two methods of publishing BIMx Docs files. One process updates the files to the GRAPHISOFT BIMx transfer site (website). The other process targets the output to your local drive or network drive. In the latter case, you can then email the BIMx Docs file as an attachment and then open it up on mobile devices.

Exploring BIMx Docs Hyper-Models

In order to begin you must download the free GRAPHISOFT BIMx app on the App Store or the BIMx Docs app. There are two different apps. If you already have BIMx on your iOS device you can update it through the in-app purchase feature so you can view full BIMx Docs projects. There are a few options for pricing, including one where you purchase a full price version–49.99.USD–and have unlimited project accessibility through the app, or another where you pay 4.99.USD per project to view.

In either case, GRAPHISOFT is comparing the cost of the app to the cost of printing out construction sets in its marketing messaging. And from that logic, the question to purchase BIMx Docs becomes a “no brainer” if you are presently an ArchiCAD user and presently carry your plans on your iPad with a different app.

When you open up BIMx Docs on your iPad, iPad mini, or other supported iOS device, you are presented with a clean user interface and a view of your project model. Inside BIMx Docs you can view several models you have loaded into the app and contain on your iPad. You can also view the BIMx Model Transfer Site–the website where you can obtain other BIMx models. (see image 03). You must have an account and login to view those models however.

Your starting point inside BIMx Docs can vary. You can choose to view the 3D model right away or navigate and view the 2D documents. If you start with the model the initial model view is the one you setup in ArchiCAD 17 specifically for this purpose.

Hyper-model Technology

GRAPHISOFT’S Hyper-model technology is innovative as a first use. It is roughly similar to how one navigates the Web by clicking on blue hyper links. These markers have blue arrows but they also sit over a blue “drawing sheet” icon as well, suggesting the meaning of the link. (see images 04)

If you navigate to a drawing from a 3D view you have two options. A target window pops up showing a small view of the 2D plan, section or elevation document you can navigate to with an Open or Show in 3D link option. If you wish to just see the 2D document straight away, select Open. If you wish to see the 2D document in combination with the 3D BIM model and where that 2D document integrates or impacts the model (e.g.: cuts through a model) select Show in 3D. (see image 04)

Now that you are in one of the ArchiCAD 2D published views in BIMx Docs, you will notice circular blue hyper links. (like in the center of image 04). Clicking this link will take you to another “target popup window” and give you the same two choices as before: Open or Show in 3D. (see image 04). Clicking Show in 3D will create a smooth animation transition to the BIM model at that section plane (cut) and overlay the 2D drawing at that plane as well. The net result is a stunning display of GRAPHISOFT’s Hyper-model technology. (see image 05-06)

next page: Exploring 3D Views

Exploring 3D Views

The ability to be taken to a BIM model’s location related to a drawing has many practical purposes beyond the gee-whiz snazzy UI-UX. Sometimes builders and clients don’t understand the depth of a particular sectional view. You might be describing how shallow a stair hall is (or isn’t) as compared to adjacent spaces. Or maybe you want to talk about the depth of an element like a column.

So what do you do?

You navigate from a 2D section to the BIM model and then highlight the drawing overlay. It turns green and a popup menu appears. (see image 06). You can cut the model here, open the 2D section view again or hide this overlay. You can also drag slide this drawing overlay and position it somewhere else in the model. Again the three options are available; you can now cut the model at that new point in space.

From this sectional 3D BIM view the user can also navigate back to the 2D sectional documents. Then from there you can explore and open up the floor plans. Each floor level gets a blue hyper link circle. Again, the same process of having a target window pops up and in that window a preview of the 2D document appears with the options to Open or Show in 3D.

Exploring your 2D Documents

When you are inside a 2D document view you can pinch zoom in and out. BIMx Docs is very fast. While performing this operation a percentage of zoom popup window appears. There is also a Navigation key plan box in the upper left corner. A blue overlay communicates where you are in the 2D document in terms of zoom level. When zoomed way in this blue rectangle gets smaller, of course. You can click on it and drag it around the pan the drawing. (see image 07)

The menu bar contains very simple icons. Some are standard iOS 7 icons, like the one that gets you home to the project index. Exploring the user interface is fun because it is very consistent and logical and invites engagement. GRAPHISOFT did a first-class job with the UI in general.

As you explore the various ways of looking through your 2D documents from the main index list you get a color preview of your 2D document. An interface prompt clues you to tap on it to open the 2D view. (image 08)

The icons on the right of the menu enable zooming and Favorites as well as History and Relevants. You can add Favorite views and they retain their zoom level. This means you can create “favorites” to particular details or sections or views on a 2D document and get there fast with the click of a button. This is great for setting up favorites of views you may want to talk about in a field meeting, for example. And these include 3D model views. (image 09)

Walk-Thru and Rendering Modes

BIMx Docs carries over the excellent BIM model navigation from its predecessor app, BIMx. In the view below I started outside the building and then, utilizing its gravity-based walk-thru technology, walked into the building (you can go through doors, not walls) and up the stair. Finding myself on the balcony I could back up and not fall off the building because BIMx technology treats you like a real person. In walk thru mode you may see blue 2D document icons. You can click on them to visit the same target window as noted earlier. (see image 10)

When you publish your BIMx Docs files from ArchiCAD 17 you set the level of rendering quality. You have an OpenGL-oriented rendered view or an Global Illumination rendered view. From within BIMx Docs you can also view the model rendering mode in Hidden Line, Simple Shading, Metal and “Stored in Model” options. (see image 12 below) That last case is determined when you output your model from ArchiCAD 17. There is also stereo 3D viewing. And there is the ability to query objects in the BIM model as well during 3D viewing.  (see image 11 below)

Closing Comments

BIMx Docs isn’t flawless. But boy is it darn close! There are minor details of the app that can be improved. While I like the Favorites feature I wish I could name them. I could imagine having dozens of Favorites and possibly organizing them by my own naming system. And I might want to search through those Favorites as well. The only differentiator that is given on your Favorites as you review them in your Favorites List is the thumbnail for the favorite you have saved of a model or the thumbnail for a particular 2D document. Size and location of the blue overlay box representing your zoom level and location on the 2D document is also a differentiator, but in my view it can be hard to see because the blue is so transparent.

In our tests models BIMx Docs was quite fast and we were using it on an Apple iPad mini–not the most powerful iPad available. In the future we’d love to push this app with a tremendously huge model and see how it performs. It was a pleasant surprise to learn about the various rendering mode options like Hidden Line, and Metal. These add to the fun of using this app and exploring your building designs. Notice the lighting in the view below…quite stunning visually. (see image 13)

This article started by mentioning the history of the “virtual building” concept and the significance of the inventive UI/UX experience in BIMx Docs.  The engaging way in which the user experiences the relationship between BIM as a ‘virtual building’ paradigm and the age-old concept of 2D drawings could not be better implemented in this product.  A powerful software foundation has been laid by the Budapest-based innovator.

Recommendation

After spending some time with this product, we wonder if GRAPHISOFT will attempt to roll this type of experience into its main desktop product ArchiCAD. Certainly some of that decision rest with the underlying operating systems, their APIs and graphical systems of displaying data and visual information. And a part of it may rest with its users and what they say about using BIMx Docs. Architects in general don’t need to be visually told how BIM models generate drawings or where drawings come from.

On the other hand, such a visual system makes tremendous sense for stakeholders of building design and development that are outside the design team. Engineers, contractors, specialists and of course clients gain tremendous understanding from seeing interdependencies between forms and spaces and how they relate to the 2D data we call drawings. And the vast majority of construction elements are still built from drawings.

For architects using ArchiCAD today BIMx Docs is a product that deserves your attention. It not only seamlessly extends the innovation you are already fond of and putting to good use on the desktop, it delivers a stunning new way to experience the very product you work on every day. —- ANTHONY FRAUSTO-ROBLEDO AIA, LEED AP. 

Pros: BIMx Docs integrates the experience of BIM model viewing with the ability to carry, navigate and view your entire project 2D documentation, all within the palm of your hand and in a beautifully crafted and engaging dynamic user-interface; delivers immediate value for visualization of ArchiCAD BIM models with multiple rendering styles, including walk-thru mode navigation and model entity query capabilities; BIMx Docs also fosters exploration of the spatial qualities of BIM models for clients and other stakeholders beyond the architecture and interiors team, thereby fostering client/stakeholder project engagement. Lastly, BIMx Docs eliminates the need for architects to continuously print out large sets of drawings to take to the job site or to client meetings, thereby saving money and time. BIMx Docs can access BIMx packages through the GRAPHISOFT Cloud, Dropbox, iTunes or email. 

Cons: There are very few if any cons about using BIMx Docs for its intended purposes. This is a 2D/3D mobile BIM app and doesn’t focus on or pretend to address 4D, 5D or other n-D BIM information or processes. 

Advice: For every serious ArchiCAD user out there we would encourage you to investigate BIMx Docs on an iPad near you soon. It not only visually demonstrates possible futures across more computing platforms but can save you time, effort and money now when it comes to printing and lugging around drawings. 

Cost: BIMx is free from the Apple iTunes Store. BIMx Docs on a per project basis starts at 4.99.USD. For 49.95.USD BIMx Docs provides unlimited project/model access. 

 

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