This article captures the semi-annual update of the main developments from AEC technology vendors including new releases such as Vectorworks Architect 2015, Newforma Project Center Eleventh Edition, form•Z 8, and Vico Office R5, which is now a Trimble product. It also looks at the dramatic news of Trimble acquiring Gehry Technologies; the entry of Dassault Systèmes into the AEC industry with its “Façade Design for Fabrication” tool; VisualARQ, a Rhino plug-in that gives it BIM capabilities, enabling this very popular application for conceptualizing buildings with complex, organic forms to fit more smoothly in an AC workflow; progeCAD Architecture, an IntelliCAD-based application that allows a BIM model to be created in a familiar AutoCAD-like environment; the release of the free version of BIMReview, which allows models to be opened, reviewed, and visualized for design coordination; and finally, the introduction of real-time daylighting visualization and analysis in Sefaira’s Revit plug-in tool.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/newsletter/2014/issue_70.html