big in Japan

Graphisoft big in Japan

Graphisoft held a key customer conference in Kobe, Japan, to launch ArchiCAD 21 and to highlight increasing BIM usage in the Pacific Rim. Martyn Day attended to hear the latest on the software, processes, collaboration and to drink a little sake.

Three years ago, Graphisoft held between BIM and construction models, lets when there is a data connection. a similar conference in Tokyo, identifying that more work needs to be The link with McNeel Rhino Japan, which highlighted the done by all vendors to better connect Grasshopper is going from strength to company’s decision to focus on both parts of the process. This will be strength. With each successive release of Asia as a place for BIM growth. That deci- done also through other Nemetschek ArchiCAD, Graphisoft is refining and sion was a calculated one as these mar- products such as Solibri and Bluebeam. deepening the ability to computationally kets are culturally distinct from the west ArchiCAD is intended to be the master control ArchiCAD’s BIM elements. and have their own processes and work- model, defining everything to LOD300, The alliance between McNeel and flows. While Autodesk was dominating with associated 2D drawings and non- Graphisoft will see Rhino/Grasshopper with Revit in other geographies, Asia was graphic construction data. We can expect with ArchiCAD operating as a pre-design a tougher market to break as off-the-shelf much tighter / seamless integration with combination, allying the easy script generBIM modelling tools are less fit for pur- products which Nemetschek has ation of Grasshopper with the powerful pose. Graphisoft was willing to work with acquired to serve the design and building modelling of ArchiCAD components. 50% large firms to incorporate their require- industries. Graphisoft’s Asian clients of existing ArchiCAD large customers use ments and react to requests for solutions. appear to be driving this development. Rhino and Grasshopper in their design

At the time this was seen as a risky On the business front, Graphisoft mix. This integration is also winning new strategy, as the BIM market was hot in the appears to be to doing well, with custom- fans in competitors’ installed bases and West but sluggish in Asia and there was a ers spread throughout Europe, Asia, and will lead to ArchiCAD being used by a danger that a focus on one market could pervert development of the core product ‘‘ The outstanding feature is the complete whole new set of users. Várkonyi also told the press that this link to Rhino for existing users. Three years on, it’s clear that this was a gamble worth taking reworking of the stair creation tool. I’ve never seen such a powerful BIM component will not only be at the start of the design process but will also remain connected and the additional input has generation tool and it’s very easy to use. for downstream changes. not impacted development of ArchiCAD - only contributed to help drive the application to deliv- North America. In Asia, usage has gone ’’ For now, it can work with walls, parametric elements and stories. In the future the API integraer even more value for modellers and from 17% to 42% in a year, with 55% of tion will get extremely deep between especially in the quality of the 2D output. revenue coming from new customers. By these two products, with Grasshopper

At the time, Graphisoft’s CEO, Viktor my estimates, Graphisoft has doubled in being able to access GDL objects and Várkonyi, explained that another danger 3 years. The company is benefitting from design optimisation loops. was to overcommit to providing capabili- the increase in the appetite for BIM. However, Várkonyi sees the next big ty and to under deliver. Especially in One of ArchiCAD’s biggest strengths challenge of the BIM market to be really Japan, this was culturally unacceptable. over Revit is its ability to handle large all about workflow, concluding: “Those Firms which have done this in the past models without becoming unwieldy. In who have the best workflow win”. have found themselves shut out of the many demonstrations throughout the BIMcloud adoption has been slow but it’s market as reputations matter. conference this was clearly shown, in one a step change in the way clients connect

Software firms are typically not the instance an ArchiCAD customer loaded a their offices and teams and has required best at delivering on their promises, as 14GB hospital model into the BIMcloud firms to rethink their set-up. Using they are pulled in many directions by with 40 people accessing it simultane- BIMcloud Manager with BIMcloud global customers. I’m glad to see that, ously. On that note, Graphisoft has stated Servers enables a flexible mix of deploythree years on, Graphisoft’s reputation is it will create an API for BIMcloud, allow- ments but has required Graphisoft to intact and ArchiCAD usage is starting to ing other firms to access the BIM model. work towards improved integration with spread across the region, with customers Mobile devices are much more memo- its own suite of add-on applications to from China, Singapore and Australia pre- ry-limited than desktop machines, which make is more seamless. senting at the Kobe event. restricts Graphisoft’s BIM model sharing application BIMx. To get around this, the ArchiCAD 21 Viktor Várkonyi next version of BIMx will enable stream- The latest release of ArchiCAD is a bit Várkonyi sees ArchiCAD as essentially a ing, so there will be no limit to the models more eclectic than previous themed design tool and recognises the gap which can be shown on phones and tab- releases but I’m not going to hold that

against Graphisoft. The main and outstanding feature is the complete reworking of the stair creation tool. I’ve never seen such a powerful BIM component generation tool and it’s very easy to use.

Prior to going to Japan, I sat in on an hour session in London that just covered what the stair tool can do! If you want to design something funky, complex, curvy, highly customised with a hand rail, this is your program. The software will even check how ergonomic it is, to get the optimal design.

Graphisoft always picks a customer’s project to appear on the box and this year’s is the Charles Perkins Centre, Sydney, Australia by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp studio (fjmtstudio.com). The amazing organic staircase says it all really.

Graphisoft made a lot of noise about this being the first real application of Artificial Intelligence in a BIM application, using a predictive algorithm to assist in the designing of complex and standard stair casing. As the designer creates the staircase the system also warns if any design may infringe on local standards. The system can suggest alternatives and out of thousands of possible options, suggests four that will work.

IFC files can now be placed The organic staircase 21 in the next edition of AEC as hotlinks into projects as reference content. IFC referof the Charles Perkins Centre, Sydney, Australia by Francis-Jones Morehen Magazine. ence content can be filtered by Thorp studio Customer presentations categories, such as Structural Over the two days of the conor MEP, or by element selection. IFC ference, the stage was dominated by a model content can be updated from the wide range of customer presentations linked source file and if the link is bro- from the likes of: LWK & Partners, HDR | ken, elements within the IFC can be edit- Rice Daubney, Surbana Jurong, FJMT, ed as regular ArchiCAD elements. Kajima Corp, GS E&C and John

In the past, ArchiCAD only allowed a Robertson Architects. fixed set of Element Classifications. In The striking similarity was the toolsets version 21, it’s not possible to classify ele- that these firms were deploying in addiments to match any national or company- tion to ArchiCAD: Solibri, Rhino / standard classification system. Grasshopper, Bluebeam and even dRofus Classifications can be transferred (planning and data management applicabetween projects via XML file format. tion owned by Nemetschek).

The CineRender engine by MAXON During my previous trip to Tokyo, (also owned by Nemetschek) has been three years ago, I noted that each firm updated. The latest version introduces had a distinctly different approach to Light Mapping and Secondary GI meth- their internal BIM design process and ods for more realistic, yet fast rendering. also used various product mixes. Three Expect Lens distortion, reflectance years later and the toolsets are standardenhancements and more shading modes. ising and products like Solibri (also

Collision Detection is now a standard recently acquired by Nemetschek) seem part of the feature set. There have also to have become the de facto standard been enhancements to doors, windows, model checking software both for interlabels, curtain walls, IFC publishing and nal and external checking of complex sections and elevations. BIM data. As these firms which operate

We will have a full review of ArchiCAD in the Pacific Rim work together more

and establish working practices they are connecting up their tool sets and processes at quite an impressive pace.

Looking back to Europe and the Americas, while the UK is the most advanced in demanding BIM deliverables and processes, this has taken a long time and is still far from perfect. While the West spends a lot of time codifying and developing standards, China, Japan and Singapore are making considerable strides to move to BIM with less general reticence.

Conclusion Sometimes small decisions in software product design can make huge differences to their appeal to customers. From what I can see, Graphisoft has made two decisions which have ignited growth of sales and which also appeal to those who had perhaps been understood to have already made their BIM tool choice. A focus on Asia and a decision to not develop but to partner and integrate McNeel’s Grasshopper have proven to be pivotal.

With Bentley having GC (Generative Components), Autodesk developing Dynamo, Graphisoft could have thrown valuable resources at creating its own programmatic design lan- The new stair creation products in markets which guage and integrated it deep into ArchiCAD. But it would tool in ArchiCAD 21 uses predictive design algorithms to validate will not guarantee high volume return. Graphisoft’s size only have appealed to existing thousands of stair designs and approach to customers customers and would have means that delivering more required years of work to get anywhere tailored solutions and functionality is near the complexity of the competition. less of an arduous task. Understanding

Computational Design is still only used that Japanese clients are demanding and by a small proportion of designers and that they expect to get what’s been this would have been a major investment. agreed is a serious commitment. By teaming up with McNeel, Graphisoft From the numbers Graphisoft is quottaps into an army of young architects and ing, it’s surfing on a wave of BIM adoption designers, immediately sparks interest in and is benefiting from the respect the firm leading Architectural firms and makes the and its employees pay to their Japanese job one of software integration through customers. It’s amazing to meet so many APIs, as opposed to reinventing the wheel. Hungarians that can speak Japanese! At

Rhino and Grasshopper are big in one of the events even the Hungarian Japan, but they are also big in London, ambassador appeared and gave an New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, English and Japanese address, with an Barcelona and the Nordics. From release obvious sense of pride that here was an to release the level of integration is deliv- small Hungarian software firm that doing ering on Graphisoft’s promise and this is so well in such a complex market. getting the company in through the doors ArchiCAD 21 is yet again another sigof mature Revit customers that want to nificant addition to the product feature use Grasshopper with BIM components set and I say in all honesty, it’s worth and love the idea they can spin huge buying a copy just to create funky stairs models within 16GB of RAM. in any mature BIM process, there’s noth-

Large American corporates selling vol- ing on the market quite like it. ume product are a lot less likely to tailor ■ graphisoft.com