GRAPHISOFT delivers Archicad 24 and major updates to BIMx and BIMcloud, integrating multidisciplinary teams to create great architecture

Seamless, transparent, integrated workflow between architects and engineers in a shared experience with cloud-based teamwork and mobile BIM workflows results in more effective building design and engineering — reducing risk, increasing trust, and improving quality.

BUDAPEST, July 8, 2020 – GRAPHISOFT, the leading Building Information Modeling (BIM) software solution for architecture, today released Archicad 24, the latest version of its award-winning BIM software; the latest release of BIMcloud, the AEC industry’s first and most advanced cloud-based team collaboration solution; and BIMx, the most popular mobile and web BIM app. Archicad 24 unites architects and engineers in a shared BIMcloud environment to deliver integrated design. The transparency provided by the shared model and team-oriented workflows increases trust among team members and eliminates model duplication and redundant work between architects and structural engineers.

Archicad’s powerful set of built-in tools and user-friendly interface make it the most efficient and intuitive BIM software on the market. Featuring algorithmic design workflows and large model support, highly automated documentation, one-click publishing, photo-realistic rendering, and leveraging best-in-class analysis, Archicad lets architects focus on what they do best: design great buildings.

BIMcloud

BIMcloud delivers secure, real-time collaboration between project team members regardless of the size or complexity of the project, the location of the offices, or the speed of the Internet connection. Available in both private and public cloud configurations on standard hardware means even smaller offices can take advantage of BIMcloud’s fast, efficient, and secure access to shared projects in real-time.

BIMx

Extending the BIM experience to include all stakeholders in the building design, delivery, and operations lifecycle is award-winning BIMx, the most popular presentation and coordination app for all project stakeholders. BIMx features the ‘BIM Hyper-model’ – a game-like navigation experience that helps anyone explore the building model and understand project deliverables. Real-time model cut-throughs, in-context measuring and project markups in the model context make BIMx the architects’ best on-site BIM companion. Powerful APIs allow BIMx to connect to 3^rd party ecosystems to offer access to and control of external datasets managed in the context of the building information model.

Together, Archicad 24, BIMcloud, and BIMx now provide further advantages in design and analysis, collaboration, documentation, and visualization as follows:

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

Archicad 24 unites architects and engineers, who can now work on a shared model with brand-new analytical model integration. The benefits of this integrated design environment include:

• Elimination of redundant models
• Removal of coordination errors
• Structurally correct models ready for construction
• Better building designs achieved in a significantly shorter amount of time

“It’s been a tremendous journey, and it’s absolutely part of our DNA. It was just proven to us how dramatically important [Archicad] is to us when we did Merdeka 118,” said Karl Fender, Founding Partner of Fender Katsalidis, in Melbourne, Australia, about Archicad 24’s signature project. “The collaboration that’s required in the process between all parties involved is paramount. Architecture, engineering, construction — they should be partners in the process, collaborators. The best solutions come out of understanding each other’s needs, problems, and requirements,” he added.

“We teamed up with Nemetschek Group brands RISA and SCIA to eliminate one of the AEC industry’s biggest bottlenecks — disciplines operating within their own silos,” said Ákos Pfemeter, Vice President of Product Success at GRAPHISOFT. “We believe a major paradigm shift is imminent — by providing architects and engineers an integrated design environment, they can now work together as one team to create great architecture!”

COLLABORATION

GRAPHISOFT’s BIMcloud technology gets a major upgrade with version 24. Architects and structural engineers can now co-design the loadbearing structure of the building thanks to the powerful “BIM Track Changes” workflow. Major benefits to core architectural workflows include:

• Smart Model Compare: Compare any two BIM models — including two different versions of the same design — to view various design options and compare content from consultants.
• Updated Issue Management: Suggest design variations, organize the results of the smart model compare into smart issue lists with assignment names, prioritize tasks, create an issue log — all integrated and managed in the cloud.
• A boost to OPEN BIM workflows with BCF 2.1 support and PDF markups
• Directly reading and writing .RVT files out of the box

“Teamwork made us really excited about the prospect of what BIMcloud meant for us as an organization,” said Nondas Katsalidis, Principal, Fender Katsalidis.

DOCUMENTATION

Complete documentation sets, combined with a powerful publishing workflow that complies with local BIM requirements, means architects can focus on their designs, leaving the paperwork to the software. Archicad’s automatic drawing and layout generation, automatic dimensioning, and other tools have long been recognized by industry experts as superior.

Archicad 24 raises the bar on documentation with the introduction of higher-level programming languages like Python. Architects can now easily create automation scripts in Archicad, and complete command chains from outside Archicad.

VISUALIZATION

Immersive presentations engage clients for a deeper understanding of the building design from start to finish. Archicad’s built-in palette of visualization tools and workflows with the world’s leading rendering and VR solutions make it easy for architects to show off their designs in informative and inspiring ways, ensuring that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the project deliverables.

Thanks to over 500 revamped materials in Archicad 24, architects can create even richer, more compelling renderings. Projects of any size are now easily experienced on a mobile device with the brand-new BIMx 3D engine. Residential library updates add state-of-the-art modern furniture to the BIM model. Also included with Archicad 24 is Twinmotion 2020 from Epic Games, boasting real-time ray tracing and a host of other capabilities. Commenting on BIMx, Anthony Laney, Founding Partner of Laney LA in Los Angeles said “Now, we are able to have the entire, rich 3D model in our pocket!”

Archicad 24 offers additional powerful improvements, including Dark Mode support on macOS and a brand-new node-based interface to custom GDL content creation – called Param-O.

Effective today, the International, US, UK and Ireland, German, Austrian, French, Italian, and Brazilian localized packages are available for download on the official download site. Customers worldwide can contact local Archicad resellers for specific language shipping dates for each of the 28 localized packages that will become available during the remainder of 2020.

For more information about Archicad 24, please visit graphisoft.com/archicad.