ArchiCAD 13: First server-based BIM utility.(building information modeling)

By Jeff Yoders, Senior Associate Editor

ArchiCAD 13, the latest release of Graphisoft's flagship building information modeling application, includes the first client server-based BIM collaboration utility of any of the major BIM programs (ArchiCAD, Bentley Microstation, or Autodesk Revit). An internal culture of collaboration is vital for a company to effectively adopt BIM, but how can many architects and designers--even within one office--work on a project in one model without erasing or changing each other's updates and causing a slowdown in design time? Both Revit and ArchiCAD, the applications that rely on one large file for one model, previously used fixes based on borrowing certain parts of the model and locking the model while one team member used it, but these solutions were less than ideal. Enter ArchiCAD BIM Server technology, part of a complete revamp of Teamwork in ArchiCAD.

Delta Server enables BIM sharing

The new Graphisoft BIM Server maintains the complete and up-to-date model of a project. Building Team members can use their individual ArchiCAD licenses to work on the model on their own computers, so there is still only …