Revit expert Dan Stine provides a detailed overview of the new features in the just-released Revit 2025, including several toposolid enhancements for working with terrain models, improvements to work more easily with multiple materials, improved Project Browser search, a new Insights tab on the Home screen, more transparency and control over local storage, enhanced operating schedules and updated gbXML support for sustainable design, and many more.
This review explores ALICE Core, which allows construction companies to fine-tune their P6 construction schedules through analysis and optimization so that they can make the best use of the resources available to them to build the project in the fastest possible time and with the lowest cost.
This article provides an overview of the Sova3D CIM (City Information Modeling) platform, which has not only been in commercial development in Finland for several years but is also being actively implemented in several Finnish cities to support their planning and management activities. It also looks in detail at Sova3D’s implementation in the city of Järvenpää as well as how it enables online building permitting, which is one of its key use cases.
Skema is a new web-based conceptual design tool for architects that aims to “fast forward” the traditional design process to get to the BIM model. It does this through a lot of automation, starting with creating the massing model of a proposed design on a selected site, analyzing it for sustainability, refining the mass with blocking and stacking for schematic design, and finally, converting the schematic design to an LOD350 BIM model which can then be further developed in a full-fledged BIM application like Revit.
I was introduced to Skema at the AIA 2023 Convention last summer and provided a brief overview of it in my article on the conference. I have since had a chance to explore it in more detail, including learning about the recent enhancements that have been added to it.
The new version of Allplan, one of the leading BIM applications used globally, has just been released. In addition to strengthening its comprehensive suite of tools for architecture, engineering, and infrastructure design, Allplan 2024 has also significantly expanded its capabilities for prefabrication as well as construction planning. In fact, it is the only BIM solution I am aware of that has built-in construction planning tools, allowing AEC firms to move seamlessly from the design and construction modeling of the project to planning how exactly it will be built on site, all within the same application and using the same model. In fact, the company sees Allplan as a “design to build platform” for the AEC industry rather than just a BIM application.
Newforma Konekt is a brand-new solution that has emerged from the acquisition of BIM Track, the popular web-based application for BIM coordination, by Newforma, developer of the first project information management application for AEC, Newforma Project Center. It makes Konekt the first solution that combines the detailed design collaboration and issue management capabilities that are required at the design and construction stages of an AEC project with the broader process-related workflows such as document management, RFIs, submittals, email management, and so on, that are involved in bringing a project to fruition.
URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/review/2023/NewformaKonekt.html
Join is a cloud-based platform that brings together contractors, owners, and design teams to facilitate decision-making throughout the lifecycle of an AEC project. While Join made its start as a preconstruction solution in 2019, its use by construction firms has expanded to both earlier on in the project lifecycle in the planning phase as well as later in the execution phase. Throughout, it provides a shared space where the OAC team (owner, architect, and contractor) can work together to hone in on the details of a project in order to meet the budget and schedule requirements. It also allows firms to get key insights across all of the projects they are deploying Join on, making it a compelling solution for leading construction companies such as McCarthy, DPR Construction, Swinerton, Clark Construction, Barton Malow, and LEMOINE, many of whom are now using it enterprise-wide.
This review explores Augmenta, a new AEC technology solution being developed for automating building design in Revit that is using the breakthrough technology of generative AI. It is focused on the different engineering disciplines — electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and structural — for which it can automatically create detailed, code-compliant, and constructible designs that satisfy the specified criteria. Since it works as a plugin to Revit, designers already using Revit for detailed design and BIM modeling can continue to work within it and still use Augmenta as a smart design tool within their existing workflows.
Newforma Project Center is the earliest “project information management” solution for architects and engineers. In fact, Newforma was the first vendor to coin that term to describe what exactly its solution does — which is to manage the large volumes of information associated with the design and/or construction of a project. In addition to the actual design documents such as drawings, models, specifications, etc., a project information management (PIM) solution captures all the back-and-forth communication between the different members of the project team as they are working on finalizing the design, including submittals, transmittals, RFIs, markups, emails, etc.
I first had a chance to explore Newforma Project Center back in 2007 when it was in its fourth edition. Needless to say, while the application has expanded its capabilities considerably since then, I would say that its fundamental value proposition remains the same — organizing the vast amount of information that is constantly being generated for a project, to not only make it easier to manage but also to be able to instantly search for a required item, as well as maintain a complete record of how the project has progressed from start to finish.
URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/review/2023/NewformaProjectCenter.html
The AEC technology industry is teeming with solutions that seem to be addressing every conceivable process and workflow — we have solutions for each of individual design disciplines, design visualization, analysis and simulation tools, multidisciplinary design collaboration and coordination, reality modeling, project management, project information management, construction planning, construction management, estimating, scheduling, construction field management, as well as post-construction facility management. But as I recently learnt, there is one aspect of the process that is still underserved by technology, and this is the preconstruction process, which is where the cost, schedule, planning, and logistics of a project are nailed down before the construction can begin.
ConCntric is a new web-based collaborative platform specifically developed to manage preconstruction in a more advanced way, allowing all the stakeholders that are involved at this stage to jointly strategize on what exactly will be built and how.
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