JZA+D: Firm Profile

JZA+D, a full-service, multidisciplinary architectural and design firm headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, which has won numerous design awards and works in a wide range of sectors including workplace, multifamily residential, higher education, hospitality, retail, and religious structures, shares its perspective on AEC technology in this Firm Profile.

Our dream is full interoperability and compatibility of technology across competing platforms, so that we as architects can work seamlessly and efficiently, both internally and with the wide range of project partners with whom we collaborate: planners, developers, engineers, sustainability consultants, contractors, subtrades, and lay persons (clients).

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/profile/2023/FirmProfile-JZA+D.html

SpeckleCon 2023

This article provides an overview of the 2023 SpeckleCon conference held last month, which showcased the latest technology developments of the Speckle platform, including a brand-new Automate tool for automating repetitive tasks in AEC.

Speckle is a radically different approach to AEC technology — it stores project data in an open database rather than a traditional file, providing not only an alternative to proprietary file formats from vendors but also the IFC file format for interoperability in the AEC industry.

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/newsletter/2023/issue_128.html

Allplan 2024

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. 

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/review/2023/Allplan2024.html

Enhancing Efficiency and Precision in HVAC Design at a Healthcare Facility: FineHVAC BIM Case Study

In the demanding world of healthcare, precision and efficiency are paramount. Designing specialised spaces like a Breast Cancer Institute within a hospital in Sydney, Australia, requires meticulous planning and unwavering attention to detail. This case study delves into how the integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) design through the 4M FineHVAC software, revolutionised the design process for the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system within the Breast Cancer Institute, yielding significant time savings and a marked improvement in quality.

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/feature/2023/FineHVAC-Healthcare-Study.html

What Happened to CIM?

CIM stands for “City Information Modeling,” the concept being similar to how BIM stands for “Building Information Modeling.” However, while BIM is very much alive and well in the AEC industry, that doesn’t seem to have happened with CIM — the term hasn’t really taken off. Is that because the concept of a “city information model” was flawed to begin with, or was it because we found a better term? Or is it still in use, and if so, where? These are some of the questions explored in this article.

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2023/issue_111.html

Graphisoft 2023 Product Portfolio Launch

Graphisoft had the 2023 launch of its product portfolio at its “Building Together” Connect event earlier this month where it demonstrated the new releases of all its applications, including Archicad, its flagship BIM application; BIMcloud, its cloud collaboration platform; BIMx, its presentation and communication mobile app; and DDScad, the full-fledged MEP design application that it brought into its fold last year.

This article provides an overview of the main updates that were shared, including design options and distance guides in Archicad, issue management and interactive labels in BIMx, enhanced security options in BIMcloud, and several MEP design enhancements in DDScad. There was also an exciting sneak peek at an upcoming AI-assisted inspiration capability.

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/newsletter/2023/issue_127.html

Top 8 BIM Technology Trends That Will Dominate the AEC Industry

The legacy brick-and-mortar AEC industry is undergoing massive transformation based on sustainability needs, project complexities, global expansion, cost influences, and legal compliance. This Viewpoint article by Bhushan Avsatthi, Director of BIM at HitechDigital, prognosticates the top 8 BIM trends that are set to transform the AEC sector.

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2023/issue_110.html

AI and the Construction Life Cycle: What Can We Expect to Change?

With the dawn of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the AEC industry stands on the cusp of a lasting transformation. AI promises to revolutionize the way we conceive, plan, execute, and track construction projects, making the construction life cycle more efficient than ever. This Viewpoint article by George Goubran, CEO of Built On Vision, envisions the big changes the AEC industry will likely see due to the rise of artificial intelligence tools.

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2023/issue_109.html

Newforma Konekt: Design Collaboration + Project Information Management

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

NVIDIA Keynote at SIGGRAPH 2023: Generative AI and Omniverse

In my article on the AIA 2023 conference that was held earlier this summer, I concluded that:

“… given how rapidly AI is taking over the technology airwaves in society as a whole, it was hardly surprising to see it also emerging in AEC technology solutions. In fact, I found the excitement — and potential game-changing capability — of generative AI to be almost identical to how it was with BIM when it was first introduced over twenty years ago. Rather than the mostly incremental upgrades we have seen since then, we should start seeing radically new solutions and capabilities in AEC technology powered by AI.”

Imagine a BIM application to which we feed a 2D napkin sketch of a floor plan and ask it to design a detailed 3D BIM model from it!

It’s really not that far out. At least, that’s the sense I got from watching NVIDIA’s keynote at the SIGGRAPH 2023 conference that was held earlier this month. SIGGRAPH is the leading computer graphics conference held annually that showcases both academic research and industry developments in the field, and it was the perfect venue for NVIDIA — being the leading vendor in computer graphics — to showcase its latest developments. These were mostly in the area of generative AI and its integration with NVIDIA’s own Omniverse technology, which is relevant to all industries using 3D graphics, including AEC.

URL: https://www.aecbytes.com/newsletter/2023/issue_126.html