Project Quantum: the future of BIM?

In an exclusive interview, Martyn Day speaks to Autodesk chief software architect Jim Awe about the company’s vision of the next generation of BIM tools.

Revit turns 17 years old this year. Its heritage dates back still further, to an older system called Sonata. This makes it a senior citizen in the software world. On the plus side, it enjoys a significant pedigree. On the negative side, most software companies feel that most code has, at best, a tenyear lifespan.

So it’s no surprise that, for years, there have been hints that Autodesk was working on a successor to Revit, perhaps cloudbased, to match the company’s vision of software as a service and the web delivery of all its products.

With the arrival of Autodesk Fusion in 2012, the company took a fresh approach to product design for the manufacturing market – cloud-based with a new user interface, powerful new constraints-solving and, importantly, a platform-independent approach, in a sharp break from delivering only Windows-based applications. The aim was to replace Inventor, and more specifically, to take aim at the market-leading SolidWorks application owned by Dassault Systèmes, a company that was by then also hinting at a nextgeneration solution.

When software companies move to a new generation of applications, there are in general two ways to go. First, they can start afresh and not burden themselves with the constraints of supporting previous methodologies (see, for example, Autodesk Fusion.) The benefit of this approach is that the vendor is liberated from older applications and can freely begin introducing cutting-edge tools and processes. Customers of earlier products, however, may not be so happy.

Second, they can maintain the front end and rework all aspects of the code in the background (as seen with Bentley MicroStation). This is like changing a tyre at 90 miles an hour and means replacing components as and when possible, while cloning operations and processes.

But when it comes to the next generation of BIM tools, it seems that there are new options open to software developers with the deployment of web infrastructure – a ‘third way’ to go in this challenge.

Looking at the development of Fusion, we initially wondered if Revit would get the same treatment as Fusion, albeit in very different market conditions. In manufacturing, where Fusion is targeted, Autodesk was the underdog. In AEC, Revit has been in full flow, with mass adoption across all of Autodesk’s core geographies.

Looking for answers, I spoke with Autodesk CEO Carl Bass back in 2015. At that time, he told me that work was underway to renew the Revit code and that it would probably be Fusion-like – but with all the work the company had done to componentise core software services (DWG, document management, rendering, point cloud and so on) in the cloud, this would take a lot less time than we might guess. In other words, much of the work had already been done.

Fast-forward to 2016 Then came further clues, during an Autodesk University 2016 keynote given by Autodesk’s senior vice president of products Amar Hanspal. On stage, he started to talk about an exciting project, admitting that the question of whether he should discuss the early-stage project on stage at all had been the topic of hot debate internally at the company.

Its code name, he revealed, was Project Quantum. According to Hanspal, it was about “evolving the way BIM works, in the era of the cloud, by providing a common data environment.” Its aim, he continued, was to tackle issues that arise because AEC is a federated process, with data stored in many silos, often unconnected and often unavailable when needed.

Project Quantum, he said, would connect ‘workspaces’, by breaking down the monolithic nature of typical AEC solutions, enabling data and logic to be any-

where on the network and available, on which displays their own view of the research effort to try and figure out how demand, in the right application for the world; while Uber has a central system we can implement some of these new task at hand. These workspaces would be displaying a bird’s-eye view of its control concepts, given the change in the technolbased on professional definitions, ena- and communications network. The beau- ogy landscape.” bling architects, structural engineers, ty is that nobody explicitly sends data MEP professionals, fabricators and con- around the system,” he said. The implications for Revit tractors access to the tools they need. Awe added that, by delivering special- While high-level strategising to solve some

In this respect, Project Quantum repre- ised, targeted applications, instead of huge, of the AEC industry’s horrific data jams sents a fundamental shift of mindset at monolithic programmes, Autodesk can sounds great in principle, Awe’s words still Autodesk in developing products for avoid trying to serve too many people with left me pondering what all this means for AEC and was not what we were expect- applications overloaded with functionality. Revit, given its status as probably the biging to hear. On the face of it, it’s not about In the BIM world, collaborative workflows gest data monolith in the BIM process. rewriting or regenerating Revit, but is a and sharing are still way too cumbersome. While Revit has always been developed much broader vision that aims to tackle “We want apps that offer the right level as one application, for most of its history, collaboration and workflow. of knowledge for the task and can share three versions have been sold, for archi-

On stage at Autodesk University 2016, that information seamlessly in the sys- tecture, structural and MEP. The funcHanspal presented, as an example, the tem,” he said. “Today, there’s a lot of man- tions from these three disciplines have modification of a curtain wall. He demon- ual effort and a lot of noise. There is a lot since been rolled into one product. Now, strated an architect updating their model of oversharing of information that no one it seems as if the Quantum vision of the in a workspace, while showing how an really needs or cares about!” future might lead back, once again, to difengineer had a different workspace with To get to this view of the process, ferent tools and views for different discimore relevant tools for their role in the Autodesk has chosen to ponder high-level plines. task and a fabricator had yet another strategies. Awe commented, “The key con- So what did Awe have to say about Revit? workspace, containing design drawings sideration is how to get data to flow “Revit is still a major player in the ecosysof the curtain wall. In other words, three smoothly in two directions throughout the tem. It’s just we have trouble getting Revit different professionals, with three differ- ecosystem. In one direction, you have the to cover the entire landscape. Consider site ent workspaces, containing different continuum of design / make / use as you design: we are never going to put all the views and tools — but all relating to the consider a system from concept to fabrica- Infraworks features into Revit or vice same project. In this way, Quantum isn’t really a design tool as such, but ‘‘ The Quantum approach is a completely versa. There is just a limit as to what one application can do within an ecosystem. an enabling platform, a common data environment, almost a cloud-based Babel fish. fresh look, not just at underlying point tools, but also the process of joining up “Revit will still be a major player, although it will morph a little bit to work within that eco-

For those of you who, like me, digital design-to-fabrication system. Revit may give up the were originally hoping for a long-overdue, next-generation replacement of Revit, capable of modelling tion. In the other direction, you have all ’’ capabilities of certain building elements to another app, but Revit will still be a major player in a larger models, faster, all this may come as the major systems of the building that Quantum world. This is not a replacesomething of a disappointment. have to coordinate with each other ment for Revit and it’s not Revit in a

However, the Quantum approach is the (Structure, Facade, Site, MEP, etc.). We browser.” result of a completely fresh look, not just don’t need one giant database for all the One of the reasons Revit has suffered is at underlying point tools, but also at the data if we have interconnectedness down to the architecture of its database process of joining up digital design-to- between databases. If you look at Google and its tendency to bloat. In my past confabrication. Revit will benefit from this Maps for instance, it presents the data as if versations with Autodesk, a source has approach and it’s one we believe will ena- it’s all in one place, but it isn’t, it’s from dif- admitted that, since Revit was acquired ble rapid future development. ferent services from all over the network.” and not developed in-house, this has been

In order to get a bigger picture of the A holistic approach to managing pro- somewhat out of Autodesk’s control. Had implications of Quantum, AEC jects is perhaps not new, as demonstrated the company had a choice, Revit’s architecMagazine talked with Jim Awe, chief by extranet product such as Primavera ture might have looked very different — software architect at Autodesk and also and many others. However, as Autodesk and that’s just the case for desktops. When to Jim Lynch, vice president of the com- also creates the core authoring applica- it comes to a cloud-based, next-generation pany’s building products group. tions, the company feels it is well-placed world, it’s just not fit for purpose. to offer levels of integration and connec- “That’s true,” Awe acknowledged. He So what is Quantum? tivity not seen before, if it can break free then showed me a demo of one of Jim Awe, an Autodesk veteran, first set from its own product silos. Quantum’s core capabilities. In a single out to explain the methodology behind Awe explained, “We have this incredi- screen, there were four distinct applicaQuantum. “The simplest way to try and ble portfolio of products that Autodesk tion views displayed, one of which was understand what we’re trying to accom- has built or acquired over the years, and Revit. Every time model data was added plish is an analogy with Uber. We’re try- we haven’t been able to utilise all the IP into Revit, it appeared instantly in the ing to have a data-centric approach to a as much as we would have liked, because three other applications. So Quantum enaprocess. Uber has its data displayed functionality is isolated in apps which bles information-sharing with other envisimultaneously in many different places: don’t talk to each other in a file-based, ronments in real time. This is not a case, the customer has their mobile app to call desktop world. The cloud changes that by the way, of translating the Revit file and the driver; the driver also has an app dramatically. Project Quantum is a heavy then propagating it. Instead, Revit con-

stantly ‘transmits’ geometry and property set data, via Quantum, to other applications that are tuned in, without laborious file-based data exchange. “The opportunity here is for Revit to handle large chunks of the modelling still, but communicate in real-time with other applications, and users who may be watching or participating in the design process,” said Awe. “As we now have multiple applications coordinated, we could have for instance, FormIt which has a different database and a different way of working, but it can watch out for Revit’s property set data, which is part of Project Quantum.

“The beauty of the system is that we don’t have to take the data away and translate it into some other format. Export a file, move the file somewhere else, it really does knock down the interoperability barriers of collaboration.

Revit survives intact In other words, with Quantum, Revit survives intact and evolves at the dawn of Autodesk’s next-generation BIM solution. However, there are indicators as to how Revit will morph in the future with Quantum capabilities.

One of Revit’s Achilles’ heels is the size to which models grow and the performance issues that this growth can trigger. In many ways, this is caused by customers building ever-larger and more detailed models — plus a fair bit of bad practice when it comes to failing to break models down. However, it’s also true that Revit requires the most RAM, fastest SSDs and processors of any of the BIM systems that AEC Magazine reviews.

Quantum is set to bring new life to Revit by taking the load off the local database. Awe explained that, by using mixed geometric representation, combining hybrid full-detail and dumb components, Autodesk has achieved pretty large reductions in local file sizes. Sending whole models anywhere, meanwhile, will no longer be required.

“If you’re in an application that requires a high level of detail — for instance, if the data is for fabricating the panels and components — what actually gets sent back to Revit is not at the same level of detail. Revit would receive a display mesh that’s the right size and looks about right, which can be displayed in context for the architect to see how it looks.

“If the architect did want to see the panel in all its manufactured glory, then they could double-click the panel and see the manufacturer’s information. If you try to model every single part in Revit to a fabrication level of detail, you will undoubtedly slow it down as it’s overwhelmed with data.”

Taking the load off Revit will be a major boost for all users and, on its own, may well be a driving force for firms that build big, multi-storey buildings. The Quantum idea is that there would be a small number of large applications generating design content, with a large number of web-based applications taking these outputs and performing tasks, such as rendering, analysis, takeoffs and so on.

At the moment, a whole model needs to be loaded and then filtered in a subtractive and protracted process; through Quantum, the filtering can happen before anything is loaded. And should you want to see everything, you can load it all in a coordinated view, like Navisworks.

One of the benefits of writing Autodesk Fusion from scratch was that Autodesk could finally offer applications outside of Windows. As Fusion can run purely in a browser, it can run on anything, even an iPad — but Autodesk has also delivered a Mac-native version, a long-held wish for Revit customers.

Unfortunately, Revit is staying as it is, a desktop Windows application — and that means only available on Windows. However, all new Quantum applications developed have been web-based, so should work on any system.

Looking into the distance, I assume that, as Quantum grows, Revit will have more capabilities taken from it and rewritten for the cloud, lightening the local load and democratising Revit’s capabilities to extend to all parties in a project. This is probably the smartest way to create a new generation of Revit, while maintaining a popular application. Suddenly, Revit has a development path that actually promises more than the incremental updates that we have seen released each year.

Despite Awe’s vision of task-specific views of data, Revit will not be going back to being three separate products for architecture, structural and MEP. It also means that while Revit will be updated, it will not evolve to own more direct manufacturing capabilities or to have more civils / topology capabilities. These will now appear in Quantum and data will be available, on demand, in a variety of granular options.

Where a number of Revit users are connected via Quantum, other designers’ edits will obviously be seen in real time. Here, Autodesk is looking at ways for participants to lock geometry and set private workspaces so the process of collaborative design does not become too chaotic. Awe suggests a comparison to the way Github works: sometimes it may be appropriate to lock to a version of someone else’s work and update later.

Rapid development It will also be much easier for Autodesk’s AEC team to add new functionality into Quantum than it would be to a traditional monolithic application, said Jim Lynch. For example, Autodesk developers took an open source analysis package and had it working within a day. Adding the equivalent application to a large codebase, such as Revit or AutoCAD, by contrast, would have taken months, as it would need to be integrated to the database and then the graphics system. With Quantum, this is a trivial issue. And in the future, it suggests that Autodesk can acquire applications and point solutions and rapidly deploy them to users of the Quantum ecosystem.

Awe added, “We had a group of developers experiment with the system, without much of an introduction, and they created a Minecraft-style modelling application, where multiple people were collaborating simultaneously to produce the designs. Each user had an independent view of the information, while a central screen offered an aggregated view, like Navisworks. This gives us enormous flexibility in how we can build applications, move the data around, what kind of independent specialist views we can create, versus what we can do now, which is give everybody the same tool, with the same model, and force them to filter it down an appropriate view.”

Quantum applications So with Quantum providing this ecosystem of sharing applications, I asked, what would an actual product that sits on top of all this look like?

“We still have a long way to go,” Awe replied. “The friction in the industry as it stands, is that you have a design-heavy tool such as Revit, which coordinates all the systems, all the verticals, and then you throw the data over a wall to the people who have to make and fabricate it. The data is not at the right level of detail or the right composition, so engineers have to rebuild it from scratch and throw away most of the data.

“Quantum takes us in a new direction where a specific system, such as a curtain wall, can be designed from concept to fabrication. And then we can take those individual systems and stitch them together around their interface points. For instance, how the curtain wall attaches to the structure and how the building footprint impacts the site. The applica-

tions have to agree on certain interface points throughout the process. If you like, it’s a contract between the systems and between the levels of detail.”

This makes sense, as Revit isn’t an application designed to drive cutting machinery, and nor should it be solved in a single application. Adding the detail required for fabrication would have a negative impact on the size of the model database and there are better, manufacturing-specific CAD systems out there. By agreeing these interface points between systems, at different levels of detail, in different formats, Quantum enables the selection of the right tool for the right job, while still maintaining a linked ecosystem.

The key seems to be these interface points between the systems. This means geometry and data doesn’t have to be exported or translated and each party can keep the levels of detail separate and do that in whatever tool they need to do it in.

Awe explained that, while modelling, if interface points change, this could automatically update the design in another system or raise a flag to the designer to indicate a change has been made.

This is a massive benefit over what happens now, where an architect will give continually lob over a hefty Revit model with each revision, leaving other project participants having to figure out what’s changed. For fabricators, this is just noise in the process and wastes their time.

Quantum parametrics? While Quantum is aimed at bypassing existing workflow log-jams, it also brings with it new potential problems. In the world of Revit, Dynamo, Grasshopper, ArchiCAD and GC, we have lots of parametric systems driving geometry. In an interlinked world, how would Quantum deal with conflicting and automatic drivers?

“We do imagine that there will be multiple parametric systems, and our goal is to make them collaborative, not competitive,” said Awe. “Having all the disciplines intertwined into the same model and editor can be unnecessarily restrictive.

“We imagine a Quantum ecosystem to be more decoupled, giving each discipline the freedom to choose the tool of their choice for modelling their specific part of the building. So, as an example: the façade designer may use Dynamo or Grasshopper as their main authoring tool; the architect may use something like Revit; and the structural engineer may use a brand-new, web-based authoring tool. Each one is responsible for the parametrics of their own system and there should not be any conflict. But of course, what happens when those systems have to coordinate? Our theory is that having them interact and communicate via the interface points that we discussed earlier is beneficial in several ways. “It decouples segments of the model, which allows the method of authoring and the level of detail to vary depending on the need. Just as I could mix Dynamo scripts and Revit parametric constraints, I could also mix conceptual level of detail for one system with fabrication-level of detail for another. This is much more flexible than having to do the entire model in one level of detail and then trying to throw it over the wall to the next person, or to attempt putting multiple levels of detail into the same model.

“It allows for the ‘natural’ boundaries of professional discipline to be represented in workflows. As a structural engineer, I can do my work in my own chosen tool. When I am done working things out, I submit my work back into the system, which triggers an update of the interface points I agreed on with the architect. The architect then gets a controlled event that they can react to. They can easily see what changed and make the decision to accept as-is, or start some negotiation or redesign based on the proposed change. So, in this case, the parametric systems aren’t competing for control of the reaction to those changes. They are informing each other in a more rational, controlled way that respects the normal boundaries of those two professions. This same dynamic would hold for interactions between architect and site engineer, architect and façade engineer, and so on.

“We feel confident in this interaction among the major systems that have heavy fabrication / make requirements. However, it will get a little trickier depending on how fine-grained and specialised each of the tools gets. Will there be a ‘stairway authoring tool’ for nonstandard stairs? What about panellised walls? We imagine that Revit will continue to play a major role in the BIM process and then reach out to the Quantum ecosystem when there is a complex system in the building that has heavy Design/ Make/Use lifecycle considerations. We might run into some ‘competing parametrics’ in some of those smaller systems, but our goal is to overcome that the same way we do for the larger systems, maybe with a few subtle nuances.”

Sharing data and the cloud Autodesk has made no qualms about its cloud-based vision of the future of design tools. At the ‘sneak-peak’ at Autodesk University, it quickly became apparent that Quantum was essentially an always-on system. If a designer were to decouple and go offline, how could that work be added back into the mix, when multiple changes might continue to be made? Synchronising project data online and offline is a challenge, so does this mean you need to be always online with Quantum?

“I’d be lying if I said we had it all figured out”, explained Awe. “Many of the applications we have been working on and have demonstrated are web-only applications, so would not be available if you didn’t have a web connection. I’ve been in this industry a long time and collaboration and interoperability have always huge barriers to realising the the full benefits of BIM. Quantum’s capabilities make a lot of those issues go away. Now, we have some new problems to solve, but we think we have made considerable progress in tackling long-established painpoints.

“We are just getting started on implementation,” he continued, “and to date, we have separated the data out by disci-

pline, so that each company or team has tion graphs’ of target customers’ toolsets. are talking about an ecosystem of prodtheir own pile of data that they own, but This could potentially have big benefits ucts and services that will evolve over the interface points are shared by the two for companies like Bentley, which has a time, it’s difficult to give specifics (or more) parties that have agreed to col- huge suite of analysis tools, and popular beyond general trends and theories that laborate around those shared points. point solutions, such as McNeel Rhino. we think may be likely. They can push resolved sets of geometry The big question will be, will these ven- “Second, the breakthroughs that we for others to use for coordination and dors want to play in Autodesk’s ecosys- are very excited about are the ones that visualisation, but they have agreed to tem? I suspect that customers will make have been holding back the industry and share those as well. They don’t have to that decision for them, by choosing to the full potential of BIM for many years: give up any of their native data used by adopt (or not) a Quantum-based system. collaboration and interoperability of data whatever tool they use to author. and tools. “But, as I’m sure you can guess, it gets Final thoughts on Quantum “Leveraging cloud technologies allows tricky pretty fast when you consider all Quantum is a lot to take in. The first for those promising breakthroughs, but the possible workflows. So, lots of work thing to note is that there is no next-gen- it also introduces some new, but exciting, still to do here. We are fresh off of consid- eration Revit and that Revit is Windows- challenges that we are eager to work ering the realities of ‘ownership of data’ based for the foreseeable future. As it through. So, while we don’t have all the with the BIM360 Docs project, so we develops, Quantum will take a lot of the answers just yet, we are confident that it understand most of the issues. One thing weight off Revit by removing the data- is a promising direction and we are that is different is that we are reducing base millstone around its neck. Over investing in it accordingly.” the amount of information that must be time, it’s likely to see some of its func- While the technology is one thing, it shared in order to collaborate and we tionality dissolve into Quantum-based, will be interesting to see how customers hope that will have a positive effect. But, on-demand web applications, further feel about a system that really needs to the bottom line is that it’s still early and lightening the load on the desktop. I’d have everyone online to work — should we will need to work with customers to even suggest that, over a longer time that prove to be the end result. It’s possihelp us figure out what they are comfort- period, we could well see Revit dissolve ble that the benefits may outweigh the able with. There are new opportunities into the Quantum framework, becoming limitations, but I’m not convinced how over file-based systems for sure, but a series of applications. that might play in countries with lessthere’s also some uncharted evolved infrastructures. territory.” Quantum API ‘‘ Quantum is an ambitious vision and not When the AEC industry moved to BIM, interoperability became an issue as we lacked decent Obviously, ecosystems need a shipping product – but the potential interchange standards. While populating and Autodesk to kill problems that Revit BIM Quantum attempts to solve that aims to have an API available to provide application and workflows suffer from is significant issue, it also makes Autodesk customers even more reliant on services from the develop ment community, all operat ’’ Autodesk products, services and pricing. ing around the Design / Make / Use con- Quantum will, however, offer some I’ve talked with many enterprise license tinuum and the concept of ‘Data at the immediate benefits for users with com- customers who have been shocked at the Centre’ (without that data literally resid- pliant applications — namely, dynamic increase in premiums charged for their ing in one database). updates of geometry and data properties, next three-year deal for design tools, ser-

According to Awe: “You can’t do that enabling collaborative working in a new vices and consultancy from Autodesk. by being a closed system. As we are and exciting way. Autodesk has dodged After all, it’s one thing to have your building out the pieces for prototype the bullet of making a humongous online authoring tool based on one company’s workflows, we always make it work for at database and solved the problem of try- technology, but it’s a much more signifileast two cases: first, one of our tools, like ing to expand Revit into areas in which it cant proposition to hand over your comRevit; and second, a generic stand-in was never ever intended to play (such as plete process to that vendor. For competitool, like Excel or standard JSON data civils and fabrication), and which quite tive third parties, this would also be seen that any JavaScript app could produce. frankly would break it. as potentially playing into Autodesk’s

“As an example, for the façade applica- By breaking down the development stated ambition to ‘own the platform’. tion to get its interface points, we would work into smaller modules and enabling For now, from what I have seen, there is make a modification to Revit that can rapid deployment of new tools using the a touch of genius to creating a new, ‘third serve those changes up to a neutral sche- cloud, Autodesk can quickly flesh out its way’ to reinvigorate a mature product, ma. We would also make an Excel ver- AEC offering and rapidly integrate its providing a platform to renew its capabilsion of those points that can feed into manufacturing solutions. For third-par- ities, while solving serious pain points for that neutral schema. So, in short, there ty developers, this also opens new possi- customers and developers and, at the are no assumptions about reading / writ- bilities and potentially enables design same time, bringing powerful capabilities ing directly to Autodesk tools, and that firms to integrate disparate arrays of to team collaboration. gives us the flexibility to insert anything solutions from different vendors. In conclusion, Awe closed off our chat into that same spot in the workflow.” Quantum is a very ambitious vision by saying, “For now, we are heads down,

The development team also said that and it’s not a shipping product — but and working to develop a platform ecothis API would be available to competi- the potential to kill some of the prob- system that we consider the future of a tors, as they recognise that AEC firms lems that Revit BIM workflows suffer Design / Make / Use workflows for the now run multiple tools to complete their from is significant. As Awe put it: “It’s AEC industry.” projects. I was shown many ‘orchestra- still early in the process and because we ■ autodesk.com

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Graphisoft BIMx for VR

ArchiCAD users now have access to a low cost Virtual Reality solution. Greg Corke gets hands-on with Graphisoft BIMx that works with Google Cardboard

When it comes to Virtual Reality (VR) for architecture, it may be the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that grab all the headlines but the Google Cardboard still has plenty to offer.

The big benefit of the entry-level VR viewer is that it does not need a powerful workstation. Instead, it works with a smartphone and, as the name suggests, is made from cardboard. Simply assemble the viewer, slot in your phone, download the relevant app and away you go.

With Google Cardboard viewers costing around £10 to £15 and being compatible with most modern smartphones (iPhone and Android), the beauty of the cardboard is that it gives almost everyone easy access to VR.

Although it lacks the positional headtracking capabilities of the Vive and Rift, it can still be a very powerful communication aid for clients and architects alike. From ArchiCAD to VR

This has not been lost on Graphisoft, the BIMx was originally designed to extend developer of ArchiCAD, who recently the reach of rich ArchiCAD BIM models to added support for Google Cardboard view- clients, site workers and other AEC profesers (v 2.0) to its impressive BIM presenta- sionals. It started out as a PC and Mac app, tion and communication tool, BIMx. but is now also available for iOS and Android. The Google Cardboard VR capaInteractive VR bility is only available for smartphones. Most architectural VR experiences on BIMx models are produced in Google Cardboard tend to be 360 panora- ArchiCAD. No special export process is mas. These are essentially wide-angle required to make them VR ready. Simply panoramic images that deliver a full load up your ArchiCAD model, click File > 360-degree snapshot of the world around Publish BIMx Hyper-model, then set a you. Applications that offer few options including Global this functionality include Chaos Group V-Ray, Nvidia BIMx mobile Illumination (for more realistic shading) and background. Iray VR Lite, Autodesk A360 Supplier: Graphisoft Most of the models we testRendering, Iris VR Scope, Lumion and Vectorworks. Price: Free Website: graphisoft.com/bimx ed took under a minute to publish. However, when Many of these applications Global Illumination (GI) was are physically-based renderers, so the turned on, processing time increased sigquality is impressive and includes realis- nificantly. Our most complex ArchiCAD tic lighting and materials. The big down- model took a couple of minutes to publish side is that the VR experience is from a with Global Illumination turned off, but static position. over 30 mins with it enabled. BIMx mod-

Graphisoft BIMx is different insofar as it els can be saved locally or pushed to the offers users a fully navigable VR experi- cloud using BIMx Model Transfer. ence. Explore the building on ‘foot’, simply Models can be published with plans, eleby looking in the direction you want to vations and sections, with slick links walk. Navigation is very intuitive. between the different views, but for VR

Google Cardboard offers a VR experience with a standard smartphone

we’re only really interested in the 3D model.

To view the model on a mobile device you first need to download the free BIMx app. Next, grab your model from your choice of cloud storage — BIMx Model Transfer, Dropbox, OneDrive or iCloud Drive — then tap on the 3D model in your list of views. To enter VR, simply select the three dots pull down menu, then hit Cardboard VR.

Google Cardboard viewers come in several different formats, so it’s important to set up the BIMx app accordingly. To configure, simply point your smartphone’s camera at your viewer’s QR code and the app will calibrate automatically. Next, place the smartphone in the viewer, line up the centre line and away you go.

There are two main control methods inside VR — your head, which you use as a cursor, and the physical Google Cardboard button, which is located on the top of the viewer. Clicking on this brings up your menus.

To set you on your way, use your head to point your cursor to the walking mode icon, then click the Google Cardboard button. The direction in which you walk is controlled by your head. For complete freedom it’s best to do this standing up.

Alternatively, sit on a swivel chair.

To stop walking, simply click the physical button. Here you will see more icons, giving you the option to take a couple of steps back or, if you are in a hurry, increase walking speed. The software stops you walking through walls but allows you to pass through doors. It automatically guides you up and down stairs.

Navigation takes a little bit of getting used to, but once you get to grips with it it’s all very intuitive. Use the pause button to give you time to explore rooms from all angles.

Instead of always having to explore the building along a linear path, BIMx lets you teleport between locations in the model using bookmarks. These are defined as cameras inside ArchiCAD and need to be added to the model before publishing the BIMx file. Bookmarks are also useful for giving clients guided tours of a building to highlight specific features.

If you haven’t set up any cameras in advance, you can still navigate to other parts of the building without having to walk there in VR. Simply jump out of VR, grab your smartphone and pinch and zoom to the appropriate location, then reenter VR.

Considering BIMx is running on a smartphone (we tested on the iPhone 6S) the render quality is very good, even with GI disabled. Models can be viewed in several different shading modes, including realistic, hidden line, simple shading and black and white, which is useful for early stage proposals. Navigation was smooth on the majority of our test models, although there was a little flicker on our largest dataset. Some of our testers also experienced a touch of motion sickness, particularly when walking at pace. This is likely to go once you get your ‘VR legs’.

Conclusion BIMx for Google Cardboard might not offer the fully immersive experience of an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, but it’s still an impressive architectural VR tool.

It’s powerful enough to give clients, engineers, architects and contractors and a better spatial understanding of a building and, with the ability to go from ArchiCAD to VR in minutes, quick enough for iterative design workflows. What’s more, pretty much anyone with a modern smartphone and a spare £15 can get on board.

At the moment, the functionality is limited to navigation only. It will be interesting to see if Graphisoft starts to bring over tools from the tablet version of the software or add support for the Vive and Rift in the Windows desktop BIMx application.

Publishing a BIMx file in ArchiCAD 20

Viewing the 3D model on an iPhone 6S

Navigating the model in VR on Google Cardboard

ArchiCAD VR on the Vive and Rift

ArchiCAD users looking for a full-blown VR experience on the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift should look at Iris VR Prospect, as reviewed in our ‘Revit to VR’ feature on page 24.

IrisVR Prospect does not currently support native ArchiCAD models, but it will do in the future.

While we are waiting, the good news is there is currently a workaround. ArchiCAD users can export an ArchiCAD model as a Sketchup file, then drag and drop the file into the Prospect launcher for viewing in Virtual Reality. ■ IrisVR.com