In this Archicad User Group Meeting, South Africa - July 2024, hosted by TotalCAD Solution Centre, presenter Francois Swanepoel shows local Archicad users that Unlocking Precise Cost Estimation in Archicad is possible & not that complex to achieve. Here Francois uses the "Archicad SA Open Tewmplate" made available by Arcdre' Steynberg as a free & lean, base Archicad template for everyone to use & customize to their own needs.

​Also download the demo files that he uses in this live meeting (links below).

​To learn more about these workflows & solutions, read more at the buttons below.

In this Archicad User-Group Meeting, South Africa - June 2022, hosted by TotalCAD Solution Centre, presenters Francois & Hendrik Swanepoel shows how they use Archicad in their complete Scan2BIM workflows to create As-Built 3D Models in Archicad from digital LiDAR surveys & Point Cloud files of existing buildings & structures.

​To learn more about these workflows & solutions, read more at the buttons below.

In this video interview hosted by Eric Bobrow (Archicad Master), his guest, Francois Swanepoel shows several live Archicad project files. In this User Group Session, he shows the unique aspects and challenges of these projects and how he used Archicad's capabilities to communicate the designs & document these projects for approval & construction.

To learn more about these workflows & solutions, read more at the buttons below.

Yes we have to keep asking questions, but they need to be the correct questions. Questions that would lead us to forever doing better today than we did yesterday. ​

There is so much valuable information and insights to the benefit of all AECO stakeholders (Architecture, Engineering, Construction & Operators Industry). Download and read the full report. 

Even the The annual NBS National BIM Report published 10 May 2018 by The NBS is extremely helpful as it gives us insight into achievements and challenges of the AEC industry after BIM Mandate in UK.

If we take careful note of these lessons learned, the future of BIM for the AEC Industry in South Africa and Africa as a whole looks rather bright and we can proceed in our BIM Adoption with confidence. That is, if we as an industry are willing to do what it takes to get to that "better place" for us all...

I still remember this 2016 report on the South African BIM Survey of our local industry by Vaughan Harris (Executive Director to the BIM Institute) and are curious to see how the 2018 data would change the outlook of BIM adoption in South Africa for 2019.

No matter in what field of the AEC Industry we work or where our products or services fits into a project lifecycle. We all have to find the answer to this key question: "which software will be the best CAD/BIM tool for the job I have to do"

But is this the correct question to ask? Well let's see if we can find some answers that would make some real sense.

The video topic aims to do 2 things: 1. compare Revit & ArchiCAD and 2. answer the question "Which is Better?"
My short answer is:

1. Revit & ArchiCAD are similar but also very different software. But their differences actually make it impossible to compare "apples-to-apples" (if we are honest with ourselves). They are not made to be or do the same.
2. Better at what? Both Revit & ArchiCAD are better at some things and not so good at other things. They were made to be different for reasons guided by their makers. Software is a "take-it-or-leave-it" kind of deal. Unless you want to hack into it (which would be illegal) or develop your own legal AIP. [again: choices]...

Life, work, play, is about choices: 
Even in choosing software, we have to honestly consider both the objective (facts only) perspective and the subjective (personal opinion / emotional) perspective.

Both Autodesk Revit and GRAPHISOFT ARCHICAD are well capable software with functionality to design, document, specify, visualize, schedule & manage data and collaborate with on projects of all sizes and complexity. Choosing one that suits your specific requirements is still something you must do, so due effort will be required. But that is not the end all.
​
The nature of any software (not only BIM capable software) is that 1. it is created / designed to deliver SPECIFIC functionality to whoever uses it, in a SPECIFIC way and 2. it is bound to evolve and change. We can not really change the way it was designed in the first place (unless we hack into it, which would be illegal). For the general user (beginner, intermediate or advanced) the software offers an interface to the functionality and we have to learn to understand how it works so that we can get the most from it. It's a matter of "take-it-or-leave-it", the choice is open to each individual or company. Most professional software vendors even offer "API" Application programming interface for those to build their own custom functionality on top of the standard software. ​

Software is just tools, so is our knowledge of and practical skills in a field, our time and other resources available to us.

So I say each of us have to choose what works best for what we have to do today / tomorrow. There is no correct or wrong answers here. Whatever you choose for whatever reason or purpose, that would be the correct choice, FOR YOU (or your company or project). 

If for some reason you made an error in judgement at that time or new software versions brought changes to how you must work, you could simply adjust along the way. Again you would have a choice in this instance and you will learn valuable lessons along the way. You will improve by experience and your choices will deliver better, more efficient results for your desired outcome. 

In my view there is a MUCH MORE IMPORTANT question/s we should be asking ourselves: 

• what is the best I can do / offer with the software / tools I currently have? and
• what or how should I, my tools or offering change to become better and offer more value?

To me, this will contribute more to the value I create in a field and this (among other aspects) means that I will continually aim and grow to become a master of any tool my job / project requires for it's best outcome.

Being a BIM Consultants with practical project expertise & insight on the implementation of both Revit and ARCHICAD (+other BIM/CAD tools), I have seen what a challenge it could be for most users to make sense of the wide variety of info to consider in their decisions about moving their businesses forward. ​

In the end it always comes back to each individual / company taking the bold step and make a decision on how, when and where to start and JUST GO FOR IT. Make your best possible choice and live with the consequence.
It will be ok. Especially if you have help or are willing to ask for help. You do not need to do this all by yourself. There are people you can trust to give you honest answers that is in your best interest and not in their's.

It is important to remember that this is a journey for all of us, not a destination. One specific tool will never solve all our future problems or satisfy our or our client's needs. The only thing that is certain is that things will keep changing and we will have to adapt to all the changes and the challenges we face in work and life. ​

Note: For the purpose of this article, the table above is:

• merely show that both Revit & ARCHICAD provides functionality to participate in all typical project phases, 
• an extreme simplification and no reflection of exact what these both two software are capable of, 
• also does not consider how each software enables different roles of people taking part in the process of a BIM Project.
• and that both Revit & ARCHICAD must be properly considered in the full ecosystems they are or will be part of.

For people that are serious about finding answers about moving from 2D to BIM and to choose between Revit or ARCHICAD, at least there are enough feedback from active users of both Revit and ARCHICAD readily accessible. From all that you can get a good overview of what working with these are like in an active workflow. That is if you are willing to spend the time listening, watching, reading and sifting through it all. Most people do not have the time or patience to actually do that. 

To make the decision about "Revit or ARCHICAD?" or "2D CAD or 3D BIM?" we all have 2 routes we could take to get to answers on these matters:
1. low level research:

• go by our gut feel, 
• just run a trail and get started or 
• ask a buddy

2. consider all the factors that could affect your business:

• cost (long & short term)
• software functionality
• hardware requirements (impacts on startup and future cost)
• usability & performance
• initial training and continued learning
• setup, templates and office standards
• collaboration & co-ordination of project drawings & data
• access to effective local and high level tech support (in-house, consultancy & vendor)
• possible client / project specific requirements
• future business growth objectives
• needed changes to the business / workflows and resources to address the new technologies

(the business and work of being an AEC Professional has changed a lot in the past 10-15 years!)

In closing I want to leave you with this: No matter what you choose, the faster you can start the journey to switch to full BIM workflow, the faster you can learn from the process and adjust to reach your objective for success.

We would love to also help you to navigate BIM to the best benefit of your design practice and projects.

Real estate has always been a solid investment, and the development of it has therefor enabled the construction industry to become an important contributor to the GDP. By establishing proper Building Lifecycle Management (BLM) practices, the investment can be protected and grown.

The risks during the design, construction and management phases, stem mostly from a lack of efficient communication and management of data. Examples include:

• Incomplete data during design phase leads to incomplete data during construction, which leads to incomplete data during maintenance.
• Lack of national legislation and standards keeping up with the development of the industry.
• Unrealistic project timelines not allowing the team to thoroughly investigate the design.
• Inefficient co-ordination between the different disciplines lead to on-site corrections and costly downtime during construction.

Collaboration is key to the successful completion of building projects. Our task is to assist the design, construction and operation team to optimize the project deliverables. To this end we believe that the OPEN BIM concept best suits our clients, because of it’s nature to create a working environment with little or no restrictions.

We are a full-service company and offer our clients the following services:
> consultBIM - Optimize your workflows and guide you through the development of your company’s BIM strategy.
> designBIM - BIM Design Projects - ​fuse Architecture - Technologies - Best Practice from Design to Construction.
> trainBIM - Sharpen your skills. We teach you how to properly use the tools via various training methods.
> BIM2fusedVR - Virtual Reality & 3D Render Studio. For a full immersive experiences of Building Design.
> BIMxpo - We create a virtual expo of your real-life expo event.
> supportBIM - Meet your deadlines. We guide and support you online via your supportBIM account.
> supportLINE - By default our services are provided online, requiring suitable internet connectivity tools in place.
> supportSITE - You can obtain our on-site assistance by purchasing a supportSITE package.
> buyBIM - Purchase your toolkit. We assist you to ensure that you purchase value for money BIM tools.
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Our Specialties:
Practical BIM Implementation, BIM Standards & Protocols, BIM Software supply, ArchiCAD Templates, BIM Cloud Teamwork, ArchiCAD Certified Training, BIM Best Practice, ArchiCAD Tech Support, BIMxpo | Virtual Expo, BIM Data for Manufacturer, BIM Workshops & Webinars

Make contact with us via our website for more info about how we can help you with your projects.

"Len Lye was a famous kinetic artist. The Len Lye Centre is dedicated to his work and is New Zealand’s first single-artist museum. Here we look at how building information modelling (BIM) helped to deliver this impressive facility. For more by The B1M subscribe now" - http://ow.ly/GxW7y

"Images courtesy of the Len Lye Centre and Govett Brewster Art Gallery, Patterson Associates, Patrick Reynolds, Grant Sheehan, Sam Hartnett, Gregory Young, Davor Popadich and Leith Robertson. Principal software used: GRAPHISOFT ARCHICAD, GRAPHISOFT BIMx, Revit Structures and Revit MEP."