AEC—intelligent modeling: 3D models store wealth of data

CADalyst, May, 2004 by Michael Bordenaro

JUST AS PERVASIVE COMPUTER use was inevitable, eventually almost all AEC companies will use intelligent 3D software models. Whether it's BIM (building information modeling), single building modeling, parametric modeling, or any other type of computer modeling, it comes down to using data-rich 3D models in an intelligent fashion. To make life simpler, I'll call it intelligent modeling.

Many AEC companies derive benefits from intelligent modeling already. Just some of the reported benefits are the ability to offer more clear visual and data communication with clients, catch design errors, and improve construction efficiency.

Though many vendors offer intelligent modeling software, the big AEC players in the United States are Autodesk (Revit), Bentley (TriForma), and Graphisoft (ArchiCAD). Each company has recently announced major new releases, made significant marketing moves, or devised licensing strategy shifts that positively affect users.

Joining the list of companies later this year will be Gehry Technologies, which will release its Digital Project modules. Designed to put an AEC interface on CATIA mechanical design software, the modules will benefit from the experience of Gehry Partners' wealth of work dating back to the late 1980s.

Bentley is beta testing an advanced program called Generative Components. Beta testing by Foster and Partners, KPF London's office, Arup, and others is promising, but no formal release date has been announced.

Though constant improvement in intelligent modeling software creates healthy competition, just as significant may be the increased acceptance of NavisWorks. This program lets you view intelligent models created in almost any software together as a complete model. This means a Revit structural model, a Bentley mechanical model, and door and window objects from ArchiCAD can all be brought into NavisWorks for clash checking.

NavisWorks promises to be a lingua franca that may eliminate many concerns of the International Alliance of Interoperability (www.iai.org), which works on standards to make it easy to share the information in intelligent models.

Clarifying CATIA

Because of the design leadership exhibited by Gehry Partners, there has been a heightened, although confused, interest in CATIA and Gehry Technologies' business relationship with Dassault Systemes. Later this year, Gehry Technologies intends to release interface modules that will allow building team members to more easily harness the power of Dassault Systemes' CATIA software. Under the moniker Digital Project, the modules will support 3D intelligent modeling for architects, engineers, fabricators, contractors, and related building team members. The modules will reflect the experience the companies have gained making software designed for one industry work in another. Digital Project software is currently being beta tested at Gehry Partners and by others.

No pricing structure for Digital Project is available yet. CATIA's typical single-seat starting price is around $40,000, but the AEC industry is accustomed to single-seat prices in the range of $4,500 to $7,500 for intelligent modeling programs. Though most programs can easily climb above the base starting price with add-ons, Digital Project will benefit from a competitive pricing structure to complement the promise of its sophisticated capabilities.

Gehry Technologies points out that Digital Project is another tool for the AEC industry. Processes will be in place to make it possible to share files among other software programs. Clearly the field of intelligent modeling will benefit, if only from the heightened awareness Gehry can shine on advanced approaches to building design, construction, and management.

Generative Components and Bentley

Similarily, the Bentley Generative Components intelligent modeling program promises to raise the bar for elegant design and data capture. Swiss Re's new London headquarters, designed by Foster and Partners, is a stellar example of what can be achieved with the program (figure 1, p. 44). Seeing the elongated Faberge egg-like building pulled and shortened to achieve the proper aesthetic proportions while its curtain wall, its total square footage and the relationship of stepping interior atriums remain in balance is a convincing demonstration of intelligent modeling.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Living in a .1 world

A promising development in the intelligent modeling world is the quick turnaround of .1 releases of Revit and ArchiCAD. New versions of both programs released late last year have already been updated with .1 versions. The quick provision of fixes for the inevitable glitches indicates that people are intently using the programs and the vendors are motivated to keep them happy.

New versions of Revit and ArchiCAD make it possible to export files into the gbXML (green building XML) format for use in programs such as GeoPraxis to assist with complex energy analysis of intelligent models. This year, GeoPraxis released the Green Building Studio, a free Web-based program that creates geometrically accurate input files for major energy simulation programs such as the Department of Energy's DOE-2.2 simulation engine and EnergyPlus simulation software.