GRAPHISOFTCollaborationGuide

GRAPHISOFT
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GRAPHISOFTCollaborationGuide
Copyright2016byGRAPHISOFT,allrightsreserved.Reproduction,paraphrasingortranslationwithoutexpressprior
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Allothertrademarksarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveholders.
 Contents

Contents
Introduction ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 9
InternalCollaborationintheArchitecturalOffice_____________________________________________________________ 10
CollaborationRequirementsofArchitecturalFirms ............................................................ 10
SmallMediumFirms.........................................................................................12
DynamicWorkflow.......................................................................................12
LargeFirms ................................................................................................13
ControlledWorkflow ......................................................................................13
SoloArchitects..............................................................................................14
RemoteWorkflow........................................................................................14
CollaborationSolutionsinARCHICAD ______________________________________________________________________ 15
TheTeamworkConcept ................................................................................... 15
NoteontheBIMcloudSolution .............................................................................15
EvaluationoftheTeamworkTechnology.........................................................................18
Benefits ................................................................................................18
Limitations ..............................................................................................18
SuggestedUsage .........................................................................................19
WorkingonaSharedModel............................................................................... 20
ElementReservation.........................................................................................22
ReservationbySelection...................................................................................22
ReserveAll..............................................................................................23
ReserveElementsbyCriteria ...............................................................................23
ReservingOtherProjectData ...............................................................................25
ReleasingElementsandProjectData ...........................................................................25
RequestingElementsandProjectData ..........................................................................26

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AssigningElements ......................................................................................... 27
FeedbackonElementOwnership.............................................................................. 27
TaskOrientedInstantTeamCommunication..................................................................... 30
SimpleTextMessages .................................................................................... 30
ElementBasedMessages ................................................................................. 30
TaskMessages.......................................................................................... 32
ExtendingBIMDataandTeamCommunicationtoExternalStakeholdersonMobileDevices .......................... 33
CustomizingtheTeamworkEnvironment..................................................................... 40
RemoteandCentralManagementofServerContent ............................................................. 40
GRAPHISOFTBIMcloud/BIMServer ............................................................................ 41
Projects ................................................................................................... 42
Users ..................................................................................................... 43
Roles..................................................................................................... 46
TeamworkLibrarySolutions.................................................................................. 48
EmbeddedObjects ....................................................................................... 49
BIMcloud/BIMServerLibraries ............................................................................. 49
TeamworkDataSafety.................................................................................... 51
ScheduleProjectBackups .................................................................................... 51
Rollback .................................................................................................. 51
ProjectActivities ........................................................................................... 52
TheHotlinkedFileConcept ................................................................................ 53
HotlinkedModules ......................................................................................... 53
EvaluationoftheHotlinkedFileMethod ........................................................................ 56
Benefits ................................................................................................ 56
Limitations ............................................................................................. 56
SuggestedUsage ........................................................................................ 57
Xref...................................................................................................... 58
Advantages............................................................................................. 59

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Limitations ..............................................................................................60
SuggestedUsage .........................................................................................60
MixedConceptTeamworkandHotlinkFilesCombined........................................................ 60
Example1 .................................................................................................60
Example2 .................................................................................................62
SummaryoftheTeamworkandtheHotlinkFileConcept ....................................................... 63
DocumentationConcepts ________________________________________________________________________________ 64
SingleFileConcept ....................................................................................... 65
DocumentationSeparatedfromtheModelFile ............................................................... 67
MasterFileMethod .........................................................................................67
UseofPMKDrawings........................................................................................68
ComplexFileStructure .......................................................................................70
Mergevs.Linkvs.Open ......................................................................................72
TeamandProjectSetup _________________________________________________________________________________ 73
TeamOrganization....................................................................................... 73
SettingupaTeamProject.....................................................................................73
StructureoftheTeams....................................................................................74
TypicalStructureofaMidSizeOffice ........................................................................74
TypicalStructureofaLargePractice .........................................................................75
ProjectSetup ........................................................................................... 77
ProjectStructure(Navigator) ..................................................................................78
Libraries...................................................................................................80
StandardARCHICADLibrary ................................................................................80
OfficeStandardLibrary....................................................................................81
ProjectLibrary ...........................................................................................81
Interoperability ________________________________________________________________________________________ 82
BIMasaPlatformforCommunication ....................................................................... 82

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FileFormats............................................................................................. 84
TheOPENBIMConcept ................................................................................... 85
Referencemodel........................................................................................... 85
Opensourcefileformat ..................................................................................... 86
CollaborationStandards..................................................................................... 87
QualityStandards .......................................................................................... 88
SharingtheBIMModel:IFC ................................................................................ 89
AdvantagesofUsingIFC .................................................................................. 90
IFCTranslators.......................................................................................... 91
SharingDocuments:PDF .................................................................................. 92
SharingDrawings:DWGDXF ............................................................................... 94
DXFDWGTranslatorSetup ................................................................................ 94
UsingDWGDXFFilesinARCHICAD ......................................................................... 95
BIMCollaborationFormat(BCF)............................................................................ 99
CoordinationwithEngineers ____________________________________________________________________________ 101
PreparationofDataforExport ............................................................................ 101
ClassificationandCategories ................................................................................ 101
StructuralFunction ..................................................................................... 102
Position ............................................................................................... 103
LayerSystem ............................................................................................. 103
StandardProfiles.......................................................................................... 104
FilteringbyElementRepresentation........................................................................ 104
PartialStructureDisplay.................................................................................... 105
Visualization .............................................................................................. 106
LayerDisplayModes.................................................................................... 106
Trace&Reference ...................................................................................... 107
StructuralDesign,AnalysisandProduction.................................................................. 108

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StructuralApplications ......................................................................................109
StructuralDesignWorkflows.................................................................................110
StructuralRelatedARCHICADFeatures ......................................................................114
ManagingChanges.........................................................................................115
Compare3DModels(ModelBasedExchange)................................................................115
DisplayingChangesin2DWindows(ModelorDrawingBasedExchange).........................................116
EnergyAnalysisApplications.............................................................................. 117
DirectBIMtoBEMDataExport...............................................................................117
EnergyEvaluationinARCHICAD...............................................................................120
EcoDesignerSTARAddOnForARCHICAD.......................................................................122
GRAPHISOFTSustainableSolutionsFunctionalityOverview ........................................................124
Other(NonEnergy)BuildingPerformanceSimulationApplications .................................................126
MEPDesign............................................................................................ 128
GRAPHISOFTMEPModeler..................................................................................129
DataExchangewithExternalMEPApplications ..................................................................130
CollisionDetection .........................................................................................131

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8 GRAPHISOFTCollaborationGuide
 Introduction

Introduction
Designing,buildingandmanagingabuildingisahighlycomplexprocessthatrequiressmoothcommunicationand
collaborationamongallmembersoftheprojectteam.Oneofthekeyfactorsofsuccessfulcollaborationisthe
efficientsharingofprojectdataamongteammembersandexternalconsultants.Effectivecollaborationtechniques
areabletoadapttotheprojectteamsizeandtheofficeorganization.ARCHICADsindustryleadingteamwork
technologiesofferintegrateddatacommunicationanddatasharingsolutionsforallprojectstakeholders.
TheaimofthisbookistoprovideadetailedoverviewofthevariouscollaborationtechniquesinARCHICADandtheir
strategicuseinthearchitecturaloffice.ThefunctionaldescriptionoftheARCHICADfeaturesandcommandsareout
ofthescopeofthisdocument;thosecanbefoundintheARCHICADHelp.

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InternalCollaborationintheArchitecturalOffice

InternalCollaborationintheArchitecturalOffice
Wellestablishedcommunicationprotocolsintheofficearecriticaltominimizetheriskofprojectcoordinationerrors.
Moreover,complexorlargebuildingsrequirethattheBIMmodelbesharedamongprojectteammembers.
ARCHICADoffersanumberofsolutions,whichcanbeusedaloneorincombination.Thischapterreviewsthe
TeamworkandthefilehotlinkingsolutionsofARCHICAD,aswellastheirsuggestedusageinthearchitecturalfirm.

CollaborationRequirementsofArchitecturalFirms
BeforeBuildingInformationModeling(BIM),theonlyavailableworkflowinvolved2DCAD,inwhichallproject
documentswerestoredinstandalonefiles.Themainadvantageofthissolutionwasitsflexibility:eachmemberofthe
teamcouldworkcontinuouslyandsimultaneouslyonseparatefiles.Ontheotherhand,coordinationwasverylimited
essentiallyreducedtovisualcomparisonofthedrawingsbyoverlayingthemasexternalreferencefiles(Xrefs).
BIMapplicationsarebasedonacompletelydifferentconcept,accordingtowhichdrawingsarederivedfromthe
model,andcoordinationofthedifferentdrawingsiscarriedoutbythesoftwareitself.Thisworkflowresultsinfewer
errorsinthedocumentationphase,providedthattheBIMmodelismaintainedduringtheentirelifecycleofthe
project,anddrawingsarenotdetachedfromthe3Dmodel.
AlthoughallBIMapplicationssharethesamecoreconcept,theirinternalcollaborationsolutionscanbequite
different.MostcurrentBIMsolutionsarebasedonthefileservertechnology,accordingtowhichacentralprojectfile
isstoredonaservermachineandtheusersworkonlocalcopiesofthecentralfileusingtheirlocalBIMapplication.To
avoidconflictswithotherteammembers,allusersmustreservecertainpartsoftheprojectsbeforetheystart
working.Whenevertheywanttocheckthecurrentstatusoftheproject,theymustsendandreceivechanges
betweentheirlocalfileandthecentralfileontheserver.

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Duringtheseoperations,theentireprojectfileissentoverthelocalnetwork,whichcanresultinlongwaitingtimesif
theprojectislarge.

TheFileServerConcept
Thisconceptwasbasedonthetraditionalpaperbasedworkflow,inwhichlargepartsofthebuildings(e.g.entire
floors)areassignedtoindividualteammembers.DatacommunicationwasbasedontheLocalAreaNetwork(LAN),
sincehighbandwidthInternetconnectionsweregenerallyunavailable.
Today,collaborationrequirementsarelargelydeterminedbythesizeandthestructureoftheoffice.However,forall
officesregardlessofsizeFlexibility,SpeedandEaseofusehavebecomekeyfactors.Beforewegointodetailabout
thecollaborationsolutionsinARCHICAD,letsexaminethespecificneedsofarchitecturalfirmsofdifferentsizes.

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InternalCollaborationintheArchitecturalOffice

SmallMediumFirms
DynamicWorkflow
Workspacereservationshouldbeveryflexible;accesstoprojectelementsmustbeavailableonthefly,in
accordancewiththefirmsdynamicworkflow.
Sincetheteamissmallandeffective,anydowntimeduetocollaborationlimitationsofthesoftwareis
unacceptable.Teammemberswanttoworkcontinuouslyontheprojectevenwhenotherteammembersare
changingattributes,viewsorlayouts.
SuchfirmsusuallydonthavededicatedCADorBIMmanagersintheoffice,sotheywishtostartandsharenew
projectsveryquicklywithoutanyspecialpreparations.
Ashortlearningcurveisamust:nospecialtrainingshouldbenecessaryforcollaborationusingARCHICAD.

WorkflowoftheSmallMediumFirms

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LargeFirms
ControlledWorkflow
Teammemberswantthesameworkflowflexibilityasthesmallmediumfirms,butalsorequirethestrictcontrol
exertedbytheprojectteamleaders.
Advancedusermanagement:allusersneedtoknowtheirrolesandrightsonallmanagementlevels.
Multiplelocationsupport:allusersneedeffectivemodelbasedcommunicationeveniftheyarenotlocatedinthe
sameoffice.Theycanbeworkingonthesameprojectfromdifferentofficesorevendifferentcountries.

WorkflowoftheLargeFirms

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InternalCollaborationintheArchitecturalOffice

SoloArchitects
RemoteWorkflow
Independentarchitectsusuallyjoinforceswithotherstemporarilyforalargeprojectorcompetition.Theyalso
workforlargerfirmsonacontractualbasisfromhome.
Foreffectiveremotework,soloarchitectsneedthesecapabilities:
WorkviaInternet
Workwithoutneedingextratraining
Workaseasilyasinasoloproject,whilereceivingallnecessaryinformationfromotherteammembers
Feelfullyconnectedtotheproject,evenwhileworkingfromoutoftheoffice

WorkflowoftheSoloArchitects
ARCHICADisthefirstBIMapplicationthatoffersaflexible,fastandeasytolearncollaborationsolutionfor
architecturalofficesofanysize.

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CollaborationSolutionsinARCHICAD
ARCHICADprovidestwobasicmethodsforsharingtheBIMprojectamongtheteamofarchitects:
theTeamworkapproach,
theuseofHotlinkedfiles.
Thesesolutionscanbeusedeffectivelyaloneorincombination,inbothsmallandlargefirms.Inthischapteryoull
findacomparisonofthetwoconceptsandtheirrecommendedusageindifferentprojectscenarios.

TheTeamworkConcept
Since1997,theTeamworkconcepthasbeenGRAPHISOFTsprimarysolutionforsharingBIMdataamongteam
members.Overtime,collaborationrequirementsforarchitecturalpracticeshavechangedsignificantly,dueto
increasedfilesize,increasedcomplexityofprojects,andtheextensiveuseofInternetbasedcommunication.
Today,ARCHICADsrenewedTeamworkfeaturerepresentsabreakthroughincollaborativeprojectwork,specifically
designedtomeetthedemandsofamodern,internationalteameffort.Thistechnologyisbasedonclientserver
architectureandisdesignedtoensuremaximumflexibility,speedanddatasafetytoenableteamseventhose
spreadoutaroundtheworldtocollaborateonlargeprojects.
TeamworkusesGRAPHISOFTBIMcloud/BIMServer,anintelligentwebbasedapplicationwhichmanagesTeamwork
projectsanddatacommunicationbetweentheARCHICADclientsandtheserver.
DetailsoftheTeamworkapproachareexplainedontheaccompanyingfigure.

NoteontheBIMcloudSolution
WhiletheBIMServeravailablewithARCHICADworksperfectlyatsmallerscaleswherenoextensivecollaboration
overmultipleofficesisneeded,theBIMcloudprovidestheidealsolutionforcomplexcompany/projectrequirements
wherescaling,datasecurityandadvancedteamandprojectmanagementaremissioncritical.

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CollaborationSolutionsinARCHICAD

ToinstallBIMcloudandacquirethenecessarylicenses,contactyourlocalGRAPHISOFTprovider.Pleasenotethatthe
BIMcloudsolutionisnotyetavailableinallmarkets.
SeveralfunctionsintroducedinthisdocumentareavailableonlyforBIMcloudusers;thisisnotedwhereapplicable.

TheARCHICADTeamworkConcept

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Thekeystoneofthisconceptistheclientservertechnology.InARCHICAD,thisconsistsoftheGRAPHISOFT
BIMcloud/BIMServer,andARCHICADasaclient.Theintelligentserverapplicationmaintainsthecompleteand
uptodateBIMmodelofaproject.Teammembersworkonlocalcomputersandregularlysendandreceive
projectchangesbetweentheserverandtheirlocalARCHICAD.Duringsendandreceive,onlymodifiedelements
oftheprojectaresentoverthenetwork,ratherthanthefullmodeldata:thisresultsinmuchfasterdata
communicationsandenablestheentireteamtokeepworkingsimultaneously.
Anotherkeyelementofthisconceptistheflexiblereservationsystem.Individualmodelelementsandother
projectrelateddata,likeprojectattributesorviews,canbereservedandreleasedonthefly,allowingforavery
dynamicandflexibleworkflow.Thereisnoneedtoreservelargeareasintheprojectpriortostartingwork.The
userreservesonlytheelementshe/shecurrentlyneeds;elementscanbeeasilyreleasedaftertheworkisdone.
Teamcommunicationissupportedbyabuiltin,elementandtaskbasedmessagingsystem.
TheBIMcloud/BIMServerManagertoolrunninginastandardwebbrowserallowsCADmanagerstoremotely
manageprojects,servers,users,rolesandresponsibilitiesacrosstheentirefirm.TheServerActivitiespageof
ServerManagerprovidesdetailedfeedbackaboutthecurrentstatusoftheserver,helpingtheBIMmanagerto
identifyriskfactorsthatmayaffecttheserversperformance.

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EvaluationoftheTeamworkTechnology
Benefits
Effective:Userscanworkonthesameprojectsimultaneously,andifthemodelsizeismanageable,thereisno
needtodivideitintomultiplesoloprojectsorhotlinks.
Organized:Nooverlappingworkspaces;onlyoneusercanworkonagivenprojectelementatonetime.Team
membershavededicatedrolesandrights.
Transparent:Teammemberscancheckthecurrentstatusoftheprojectatanytime.
Easy:Collaborationtechniquesareveryeasytolearn.Thereisnoneedforextensivetraining.
Fast:DuetotherevolutionaryDELTAserverTMtechnology,onlythechangedelementsareexchangedbetweenthe
clientandtheserver.Averagedatapackagesizeshrinksbyanorderofmagnitude,frommegabytestokilobytes.
Becausetheamountoftransferreddataisrelativelysmall,datatransferdoesnotdependonthefilesize:youcan
workthroughanykindofnetworkortheinternet.
Flexible:Duetotheondemandelementreservationsystemandfastdataexchange,teammemberscanaccess
anyelement,atanytime,regardlessofthesizeofthefirmorthecomplexityoftheproject.
DataSafety:Theserverbecomesadynamiccomponentintheprocess.Theintelligentserverapplicationdoesnt
allowcorrupteddatatobemerged.Iftheclientsdatabecomesdamagedonthenetwork,theserverwillfilterit
out,andwillnotmergethedamageddatatotheserverdatabase.
OfflineWork:Userscancreatenewelementsormodifythosebelongingtotheirworkspaceevenifthereisno
onlineconnectionbetweentheBIMcloud/BIMServerandtheirlocalARCHICAD.Oncetheonlineconnectionis
established,theycansendandreceivechangesagain.

Limitations
SomeTeamworkfunctionsareonlyavailabletotheuserwhenhe/sheisonline.
Teamworktechnologyinitselfcannotdividelargeprojectsintoeasytohandlesmallerparts.Forthis,youhaveto
combineTeamworkwithhotlinkedmodules.

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SuggestedUsage
TeamworkshouldbeyourprimarymethodforsharingthecontentoftheBIMmodel,asithasmanybenefits
comparedtootherfilesharingsolutions.Foraverylargeorcomplexproject,youmighthavetoconsiderdividingthe
projectintosmallerpartstoavoidanyperformancedrawbackscausedbythelargefilesize.Bigbuildingscanbesplit
intoseveralsmallerTeamworkprojects,usingthehotlinkedfilemethods.Thisway,youcansignificantlyreducethe
regenerationtimeofthe3Dmodelandoftheprojectdocumentation.
LetstakeacloserlookatthemajorcharacteristicsofTeamworktechnology.

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CollaborationSolutionsinARCHICAD

WorkingonaSharedModel
GRAPHISOFTsTeamworktechnologyallowstheteamofarchitectstoworksimultaneouslyonBIMmodelswithout
conflictsorlimitations.

TheTeamworkPalette

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Theprinciplesofreservationaresimple:
Anyusercancreatenewelementsordata;noreservationisneededtocreatesomethingnew.Newelements
createdbyyouwillbereservedbyyouautomatically.
Tomodifyordeleteanelement,attribute,orotherdatatypefromthesharedproject,youmustfirstreservethat
element/datatype.
Typically,youwillreservetheelementsasyouneedthem,andthenreleasethemwhenyouaredoneworkingon
them.Thus,elementsthatarenotcurrentlybeingworkedonwillbealwaysavailabletootherusersfor
reservation.
Feedbackonthereservationstatusofanyitemintheprojectisalwaysuptodate,aslongasyouareonline.
Incaseyouneedanelementreservedbysomebodyelse,youcanaskforitwiththerequestcommand.The
elementsownerwillautomaticallyreceiveamessagewithyourrequest.

QuickWorkspaceReservationfromtheTeamworkPalette
YoucanassignyourcurrentlyownedelementstootheruserswiththeAssigncommand.
InTeamwork,bothmodelelementsandotherprojectdata(suchasattributesorprojectviews)canbereservedusing
anidenticallogicanduserinterface.

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ElementReservation
Projectelementscanbereservedeitherbysimpleselection,orbycriteria.

ReservationbySelection
Thisisthemoststraightforwardwaytoreserveelementsthatarevisibleandeasilyselectableinthecurrentproject
view.AllselectionmethodsofARCHICADcanbeused.

CurrentReservationscanbeeasilyHighlighted
Reservationbyselectionisavailableinall3Dand2Dprojectviews,includingfloorplans,sections,elevations,and
details.

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ReserveAll
WiththeReserveAllcommand,youcanreservenotonlyallelementsintheentiremodel,butalsoallprojectdata:all
attributesandNavigatoritems.
TheReserveAllfunctionisusefulifyouexpecttobetheonlyuseronaprojectforatime.Forexample,ifyouarethe
onlydesignerinasmalloffice;orifyouaretheBIMManagerdoingamodelreviewoftheTeamworkproject.

ReserveElementsbyCriteria
Toreservealogicalgroupofelementsthatcannotbeselectedeasilywithmanualselection,youcanusetheReserve
elementsdialog.Thisallowsyoutoselectmultipleelementsindifferentviewsbasedonpredefinedorcustom
selectioncriteria.Thismethodisveryusefulinthefollowingcases:
Elementsarelocatedindifferentprojectviews(e.g.columnsplacedondifferentstories)
Elementsareallofthesametype(e.g.2Delementsinsections)
Elementssharethesameattributes(e.g.wallsplacedonaparticularlayer)
Elementssharethesamenonvisualinformation(e.g.doorshavingthesameID)

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CriteriaBasedElementReservation
Reservationcriteriasetscanbestoredandsharedamongprojectusers,allowingforasmoothsharingworkfloweven
inlargeandcomplexprojects.

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ReservingOtherProjectData
Nonelementmodeldata,suchasattributes,viewsorlayouts,canalsobereservedveryflexibly.Thereisnoneedfor
exclusivesigninorotherextraefforttomodifythem,souserscanreserveandreleasethemonthefly.TheTeamwork
statusoftheprojectdataelementsaredisplayedbycontrollights(red,greenandblue)atthebottomofthe
correspondingsettingsdialogs.

TeamworkStatusofProjectData

ReleasingElementsandProjectData
ElementsthatyoucurrentlyowncanbereleasedwithjustoneclickusingtheReleasecommandfromtheTeamwork
menuorintheTeamworkPalette.Ifyouwish,youcanreleaseonlytheselectedelements,orifnothingisselected,
thenallyourreservationswillbereleasedwiththeReleaseAllcommand.Itishighlyrecommendedthatyourelease
thoseelementsanddatathatyouarenotusing,sootherteammemberscanaccessthem.
Inlargercompanies,itisgoodpracticetoestablishacompanypolicythatallusersmustdoaReleaseAllattheendof
eachworkingday.

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RequestingElementsandProjectData
UseRequestiftheelementordatatypeyouwishtoreserveiscurrentlyownedbyanotheruser.Requestingisbacked
upwithanintelligentmessagethatisautomaticallysenttotheelementsowner.Youdontevenhavetocheckwho
theowneris;themessagewillalwaysbesenttotherightperson.TherequestmessagecontainsabuiltinGrant
buttonwithwhichtheelementcanbegrantedtotherequester,andanautomaticallygeneratedpreviewofthe
requestedelements.Themessagewillstayonthecurrentownerstasklistuntiltheelementisgrantedordeniedto
therequester.

RequestingElements

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AssigningElements
Youcanassignanyofyourownelementstoanotheruser,evenifthatuserhasnotrequestedthem.Todothis,select
theelement(s),thentheAssignElement(s)commandfromthecontextmenuortheTeamworkmenu.Thisfunction
allowstheprojectleaders(e.g.theLeadArchitect)toorganizetheworkoftheteameveniftheyarelocatedin
differentoffices.

FeedbackonElementOwnership
Forbettercontroloveruserworkspaces,itisveryimportanttobeabletoinstantlycheckthecurrentelement
assignmentsoftheusers.Teamworkoffersseveralsolutionsforthis:
TheColoredWorkspacesfunction,intheTeamworkPalette,providesvisualfeedbackonthestatusofmodel
elements.Thisfunctionworksinthe3Dand2Dwindowsalike.WithColoredWorkspaces,teammemberscan
visuallyidentifytheircurrentlyownedelementsandthecurrentworkspacesoftheirteammates.

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ColorCodedWorkspaces

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TheInfotagalsodisplaysthenameoftheselectedelementscurrentowner.

ReservationInformationintheInfoTag
Fornonelementprojectdata,suchasattributesorviews,theownersnameisdisplayedunderTeamworkStatus,at
thebottomoftheirsettingsdialogboxortheNavigator.Reservedelementsaremarkedwitharedlamp;yourown
elementsareindicatedbyagreenlamp.Abluelampmeansthattheelementisfreeforreservation.

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TaskOrientedInstantTeamCommunication
Inanyarchitecturaldesignworkflow,effectivecommunicationincreasesproductivityandreducestheriskofdesign
problems.ARCHICADsTeamworkintroducesanefficientandeasywayforuserstoinstantlycommunicateandto
manageworkspaces.TeamworkMessagingisintegratedwiththeARCHICADproject:itsfunctionsaretiedtoelements
andactionswithintheproject,sothatmanymessagingfunctionsareautomated,reducingtheamountofuser
initiatedcommunicationsneeded.Furthermore,youcancommunicatewithuserswhoarenotonlineatthemoment:
theywillreceivetheirmessagesthenexttimetheyareonline.Allmessagingfunctionscanbemanagedfromthe
MessagingpaneloftheTeamworkPalette.
ThereareseveraltypesofmessagesavailableinTeamwork.Thesecanbeusedindifferentcommunicationscenarios,
describedhere:

SimpleTextMessages
StandardtextmessagescanbesenttoindividualusersortotheentireteamwithinARCHICAD.Themessageswill
automaticallypopupontherecipientsscreen.

TeamworkMessage

ElementBasedMessages
Akeyfeatureofthismessagingsystemisthattextmessagescanbeattachedtomodelelements.Elementbased
messagesaresentwitheveryRequestandAssignoperation.Themessageincludesaviewoftherequestedelements.
TherecipientcanclickApplyViewtonavigatetotheviewwheretherequested/transferredelementsare,andapply

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theviewsettings.(ThenreturntotheoriginalviewusingRestoreView.)Therecipientcanalsofindandselectthe
modelelementswithShowElement(s).Thiscanbeextremelyusefulifyouareworkingonaprojectviewwherethe
transferredorrequestedelementsarenotvisible.

ElementBasedMessaging

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CollaborationSolutionsinARCHICAD

TaskMessages
Theorganizedworkflowoflargeofficesrequiresasolutionforassigningtaskstoteammembers.Teamworkmessages
canintegratethefollowingtasks:
SendChanges
ReceiveChanges
ReleaseAll
LeaveProject
ReviewSelectedElements
Themessageincludesacommandbuttonthatimplementstherequestedoperation.Forexample,ifyoureceivea
messageinstructingyoutoSendChanges,theSendChangescommandbuttonisincludedinthemessage;click
thebuttontoSendinallyourchangestotheBIMServer.MessagesremainonyourToDolistuntilyourespondto
them.CompletedmessagesdisappearfromtheToDolistandareautomaticallymovedtotheCompletedlist.
Requestswhichyousenttootherusers,andwhicharewaitingforaresponse,arelistedinthePendingRequeststab
oftheMessagingpanel.

TeamworkMessagingInterface

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ExtendingBIMDataandTeamCommunicationtoExternalStakeholderson
MobileDevices
Effectivecommunicationofthedesignintenttoexternalstakeholders(clientsandcontractors)playsanimportant
partinthedaytodaylifeofthearchitect.BIMcloudusedtogetherwithBIMxPROonmobiledevicesenables
architectsusingARCHICADtosharetheirTeamworkprojectswiththesestakeholders.

BIMxPROuserscaneasilycontributetotheTeamworkprojectfromanylocationusingtheirmobiledevices.Theycan
effortlesslybrowsethroughanypartofthepublishedTeamworkprojectdocumentation,beita3Dperspectiveora
2Dfloorplan.ThankstoBIMxsrevolutionaryHypermodeltechnology,all2Ddocumentationisinterlinkedwiththe
3Dmodel.BesidestheabilitytocommunicatewithanyonefromtheprojectteaminthecontextoftheBIMproject,

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BIMxPROuserscanalsohighlightandredlineanypartofthearchitecturaldocumentation.Theredliningwillbesaved
withinthemessageandmadeinstantlyavailabletothedesignteammembersinARCHICAD.Thesemodelbased
communicationandmarkupcapabilitiesresultinmuchmorestraightforwardinteractionsbetweenthearchitectand
client/contractor,reducingvaluablemanagementtimeandeffortforallstakeholders.
UserswishingtobenefitfromTeamworkmessagingonmobiledevicesmustbeusingbothBIMxPROandBIMcloud.
(BIMxandBIMServerdonotsupportthisfunctionality.)ThearchitectusingARCHICADmustpublishaBIMxHyper
modelasaseparatefileandmakeitavailableforBIMxPROuserseitherthroughapublicfilesharingservice(e.g.
Dropbox),orbypublishingitdirectlytoGRAPHISOFTsBIMxModelTransferService.
Note:BIMxandBIMxPROareavailablefromtheAppleAppStoreandGooglePlay.

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ThearchitectcanfilterthepublishedBIMxmodelusingtheInfoSetproperty,whichcontrolsthetypeofmodel
elementinformationavailabletoviewersoftheBIMxmodelonamobiledevice:e.g.,thedatadefinedinaparticular
InteractiveSchedule,orthedatadefinedineachelementsCategoriesandPropertiespanel.

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InordertoaccesstheBIMcloudproject,theBIMxPROusermustbeavalidBIMclouduserandjointheBIMcloud
projectviaBIMxPROonhis/hermobiledevice.JoiningaBIMcloudprojectviaBIMxPROrequiresaClientAccess
LicenseonBIMcloud.

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AftersuccessfullyjoiningtheTeamworkproject,theBIMxPROusercanfreelyaccessallthelayoutsandmodelviews
ofthepublishedproject.He/shecansendaninstantmessagetoanymemberoftheprojectteam,andcaninclude
anyprojectviewwithinthemessage.

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Furthermore,theBIMxPROusercanalsocreateredliningmarkupsinthecontextofthe3Dmodelandincludethese
withintheinstantmessages.

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TheARCHICADuserwillthenbeabletoopenexactlythesameviewoftheprojectandseethemarkupsmadebythe
BIMxPROuser.

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CustomizingtheTeamworkEnvironment
RemoteandCentralManagementofServerContent
ThehierarchicalworkflowoflargefirmsrequirestheCADmanagertobeincontinuouscontroloftheprojectservers,
files,libraries,usersandtheirrolesandrights.ARCHICADsTeamworkoffersabrowserbasedmanagementinterface
forBIMcloud/BIMServer,whichcanmanageaBIMcloud/BIMServerlocallyorremotely.Thisenablesmultioffice
firmstoimplementcompanystandardsacrosstheentirecompany.

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GRAPHISOFTBIMcloud/BIMServer
TheGRAPHISOFTBIMcloud/BIMServerisanintelligentwebbasedapplication,whichhandlesTeamworkprojects,
users,rolesandrightsandmanagesthedatacommunicationbetweentheARCHICADclientsandtheserver.One
BIMcloud/BIMServercansupportseveralsimultaneousprojectsandusers;however,youmaywanttosetupseveral
BIMServersorasingleBIMcloudwithinoneofficetoincreasetheperformanceofdatacommunication.BIMcloud/
BIMServercanbemanagedremotely,sotheCADmanagerhascentralcontroloverallBIMcloud/BIMServerswithin
thefirm.

Note:GRAPHISOFTsBIMServer,onthemarketsince2009,isrecognizedastheworldsleadingBIM
collaborationsolution.Itssingleserverarchitectureisanadvantage(simplicity)aswellasalimitation(lackof
scalability).BIMServercanbeinstalledfromyourARCHICADDVDorfromthewebinstallerpackage.
GRAPHISOFTsBIMcloudprovidestheidealsolutionforcomplexcompany/projectrequirementswherescaling,
datasecurityandadvancedteamandprojectmanagementaremissioncritical.ToinstallBIMcloudandacquire
thenecessarylicenses,contactyourlocalGRAPHISOFTprovider.

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Projects
UsetheBIMcloud/BIMServerManagertomanageallTeamworkprojects.Existingprojectscanbedeletedorusedas
atemplateforcreatingnewprojects.ProjectscanbemovedbetweendifferentserverswiththeExportbutton.In
BIMcloud,projectscanbemovedbetweendifferentofficesorserversonthefly.Multiofficefirmscanstorethe
standardtemplatefilesononecentralserveranddistributethemamongthedifferentoffices.ProjectSettingsallows
theadministratortoadduserstotheprojectortochangetheirroles.ProjectActivity,whichlistsprojecteventssuch
asloginorsend/receiveactions,isalsoaccessiblefromtheProjectSettingspage.

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Users
TheAccesspanelofProjectpage(intheBIMcloud/BIMServerManager)listsuserswhoareauthorizedtoaccessthe
variousprojects,togetherwiththeirroles.Bydefault,Everyonecanaccesstheproject:Everyoneisaspecial
Groupuserwhichincludeseveryuserdefinedontheserver.EvenifyoukeepEveryoneasuser,theindividuallyadded
usernamescanbegivendifferentrolesonthisproject.

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Thisflexiblesetupallowssmallfirmstostartnewprojectswithjustoneclickwithouthavingtodefineusersrolesand
rights,andforlargefirmstomaintainstrictcontroloveruserrights.AdefaultroleforeachuserissetintheUser
Settingspanel.

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TeamworkUserSettings

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Roles
ThemajorrolesintheprojectteamcanbedefinedontheRolespageoftheBIMcloud/BIMServermanager.The
defaultRolesincludeViewer,Draftsman,ArchitectandLeadArchitect,butyoucandefinenewonestobestmatch
yourteamsetup.Foreachrole,youcancustomizetherightsassignedtoit.Forinstance,thedraftsmencancreateand
modifyallconstructionelements,buttheyarenotallowedtomodifytheattributesoftheproject.Thisverydetailed
definitiontableintheRolespageenablesadministratorsatlargefirmstopreciselydescribeandregulatetheroles
ofeveryteamuser.

TeamworkRoleSettings

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AccesstoARCHICADFunctionsareControlledbytheUserRoleSettings

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TeamworkLibrarySolutions
Propermanagementoflibrariesisextremelyimportantwhenworkinginteams.Toavoidmissingoroutdatedlibrary
partsintheTeamworkproject,youshouldunderstandthemajorlibraryhandlingstrategiesinARCHICAD.
Toenableremoteaccesstolibraryparts,withouthavingtoarchivefilesandextractlibraryparts,ARCHICADsLibrary
Managerusesthefollowinglogic:

ARCHICADLibraryManager

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EmbeddedObjects
SpecializeduserconfiguredlibrarypartsincludingbutnotlimitedtoStair,Truss,Patch,imagefills,textures,custom
componentscanbeembeddedintotheproject.EmbeddedobjectsarealsopartofTeamworkprojects;theycanbe
reservedindividuallyfromtheLibraryManager,modified,andsenttotheserverlikeotherelementsinTeamwork.
Embeddedobjectscreatedandaccessedbyyou(suchaswhencreatingoreditingaStairwithStairmaker)will
automaticallybelongtoyou.
Becausetheseobjectsareembeddedinthesharedproject,allusersregardlessoflocationcanseeandaccessthese
specializedlibrarypartswithoutrunningintodifficulties.
TheLibraryManagerlistsalltheprojectsembeddedobjects.Userscanselectandreservetheseobjectsonebyone.

BIMcloud/BIMServerLibraries
SharedlibrariesarehostedonaBIMcloud/BIMServer.Eachuserautomaticallyobtainsacachedcopyofthese
libraries,andanyupdatestothemarereceivedbyallusers.Anyuserhavingtheproperaccessrightscanaddanew
librarytothesharedproject;thislibrarywillhenceforthalsobelocatedontheBIMcloud/BIMServer.(Inmostcases,
theprojectmanagerwillrestrictthisrighttocertainkeyusersontheteam.)AlsofromtheLibraryManager(when
addingaBIMcloud/BIMServerLibrary),youcanaccesstheManageBIMcloud/BIMServerLibrariesfunction.
ThisfunctionalsoavailablefromtheFile>LibrariesandObjectsmenuenablesProjectorServerAdministratorsto
remotelyupdateandmaintainthelibrariesontheserver,thusgreatlyreducingthepossibilityofusingoutdated
libraries.

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ManageBIMcloud/BIMServerLibraries
Note:Separateorlocallibrarieswereusedfrequentlyinthepast;theyarenotusedanylongerduetothegreat
increasesinLANspeedandnetworkstability.Theuseofseparatelibrariesalsorequiredextensivemanagement
effortstomakesurethatallteammateswereusingthelatestlibrarycontent.

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TeamworkDataSafety
ScheduleProjectBackups
TheBackupspanelofProjectSettingsallowsyoutodisplayandmanagethebackupsoftheproject.Automaticand
manualbackupsarealsoavailabletoensuremaximumdatasafetythesebackupscanalsobeusedtostoredifferent
variationsoftheproject.

ProjectBackupDialog

Rollback
TheRollbackbuttoninProjectSettingscanbeusedtoreplacethecurrentprojectwithanyselectedbackupcopy,orto
createanewProjectoutofthebackup.

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ProjectActivities
TheActivitiespanelstoresthemajorTeamworkeventsinthehistoryoftheprojects:
Share
Send(includinganyComments)
ReleaseofProjectData(includinganyComments)
Backups(bothmanualandautomatic)
Join/Leaveactionsofanyuser
TheActivitiespanelisusefulforprovidingasnapshotofprojectprogresswithinagiventimeframe:forexample,to
checkwhetherallusersreallydidsendintheirchangeslastnight.

TeamworkActivities

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TheHotlinkedFileConcept
ThepreviouschapterintroducedTeamwork,theprimarycollaborationmethodinARCHICAD.Nowletsevaluatethe
otherbasicprojectsharingsolution/internalcollaborationmethod:theconceptofhotlinkedfiles.
Thisapproach,typicalforalmostallCADapplications,allowsyoutodevelopandstorepartsofthemainprojectfile
alsocalledthehostinaseparateexternalfilealsocalledthesourceormodulefile.Theprojectfile(host)includes
onlyareference(hotlink)tothecontentofthesourceormodulefile.Modificationsthathavebeenmadetothe
sourcefilewillberepresentedinthehostfileautomatically.
Theprojectfilecancontainseveralinstancesofthesamehotlinkedmodule,makingthismethodidealformanaging
repetitiveelementsinaproject.Accordingtothetypeofthehotlinkedfile,wecandistinguishtwosolutionsin
ARCHICAD:
HotlinkmodulesforARCHICADprojects
Xrefsfor2DdrawingssavedinDWGandDXFformat

HotlinkedModules
WithHotlinkedModules,externalARCHICADfilessuchasmodules,planfilesandTeamworkprojectscanbeinserted
intothecurrentlyopenproject(host).Hotlinkedelementsinsertedintothehostreflectallmodificationsmadetothe
sourcefiles(assoonasyouupdatethehotlinks).TheelementsofhotlinkedmodulesareincludedintheProject,
whichmeansthatevenifthehotlinkedsourcefileisnotcurrentlyavailable,theModulesarestillpresentandvisible,
althoughtheycannotbeupdatedaslongasthereferredsourcefileisabsent.
ARCHICADalsosupportsthehotlinkingofamoduleintoothermodules.Thesearecallednestedmodules.
ARCHICADsHotlinkManagerdialogprovidesanoverviewofthehierarchyofevenverycomplexhotlinkfile
structures,plusfeedbackonthestatusoftheindividualmodules(updated,outdated,broken).Updatingtheentire
hotlinkmodulestructure,orjustindividualhotlinks,requiresjustamouseclick.

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HotlinkManager
Forexample,HotlinkedModulescanbeusedtomanagetherepetitivestructuresofbuildings,suchashotelsor
offices,whichhavealargenumberofidenticalrooms:youcanmodifyallinstancesinasinglestep.Moreover,the
samestructurescanbeusedinmultipleprojects.Thisisalsoagoodwaytosubdividelargeprojectsintoeasierto
handlesmallerfilesandtoreducethefilesizeofthehostproject.

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Ifabuildingcontainsseveralidenticalstories,youcanhotlinkthetypicalstoryofthehostfileintotheotherstories.In
thisspecialscenario,thehotlinkedmodulesourceiscontainedwithinthehostfile.

TheHotlinkedModuleConcept

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EvaluationoftheHotlinkedFileMethod
ThehotlinksolutionhasadvantagesanddisadvantagescomparedtotheTeamworkmethod.Theconceptitselfiseasy
tounderstandandcanbeusedwithanykindofproject.Itcanbeveryeffectivewhenmultipleinstancesofthesame
elementsareusedinaproject(e.g.theroomsinahotel).However,thehotlinkedfilemethodcannotsolvetheproject
coordinationproblemsofanarchitecturalfirm,sincetheprojectownerdoesntgetanyfeedbackaboutthekindsof
changesmadeinthemodulefiles.Thelocationandnameofthesourcefilesarecriticaltoprojectconsistency,sothis
methodrequiresactivefilemanagementfromtheprojectteamleader.Furthermore,iftheprojectiscomplex,
changingthehotlinkfilestructurecanbeverydifficultatalaterstageofthedesign.

Benefits
Modulefilescanbeupdatedautomaticallyormanually.
Updatingamoduleisfastandeasy.
Thehostprojectfilesizecanbegreatlyreducedbyplacingrepetitiveelementsasmodules.
Hotlinkedmodulesenablelargermodelstobedividedintosmaller,easiertohandlelogicalparts.
Teamworkprojectscanalsobehotlinkedtoeachother.Thisway,thesizeoftheTeamworkprojectfilesandthe
regenerationtimeofthe3Dmodelsandthedocumentationcanbereducedsignificantly.
ComprehensiveuserinterfaceprovidesaclearoverviewofModuleinstancesandhierarchy.

Limitations
Ownerofthehostfiledoesnthaveautomaticcontroloverthecontentofthehotlinkedsourcefiles.
Changestothehotlinkedsourcefilecancauseconflictsinthehostproject.
Movingordeletingthehotlinkedsourcefilewillbreakthehotlinktothehostfile.
AccesstothecontentofthemodulescannotbecontrolledfromARCHICAD.
Adetailedmoduleorganizationcharthastobecreatedbytheprojectcoordinatorbeforetheprojectisstarted.
Changingthehotlinkstructurecanbedifficultinlaterstagesoftheproject.

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Matchingofattributesneededbetweenthehostfileandthemodules.
Thestoryheightofthehostprojectandofthehotlinkedmodulesshouldbethesame.
Tip:Thecreationofmodulefilesshouldbedonewithinthehostproject:thisway,themodulefilesinheritthe
attributesetofthehostproject,andyouavoidcreatingunnecessaryandunwantedlayers,pens,linetypes,fills,
etc.(alsoknownasattributepollution).

SuggestedUsage
AlthoughhotlinkmodulescanbeusedasanalternativetotheTeamworktechnology(e.g.differentfloorsofamulti
storybuildingcanbedrawninseparatehotlinkedmodules),theycantprovidethesameflexibilityandsecurityas
Teamwork.Themainpurposeofusinghotlinkedmodulesshouldbetomanagerepetitiveelementsandtodividevery
largeprojectsintoeasytohandlesmallerparts.

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Xref
ExternalReferences(Xrefs)arealsobasedonthefilehotlinkconcept.However,theycanonlybeusedtoreference
2Ddrawings.XrefsprovideaneasywaytomanageandmergetheconsultantsDWG/DXFdrawingsintothe
ARCHICADproject.ExternalDWG/DXFdrawingswillbeupdatedintheARCHICADprojectiftheyarereferencedasan
Xref.

TheXrefConcept

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XrefsareListedintheXrefManagerDialog

Advantages
DWGandDXFdrawingsfromconsultantscanbeeasilyintegratedintotheBIMasXrefs.
RepetitiveDWG/DXFfiles(suchasdetaildrawings)canbecontrolledandmodifiedeasily.
ModificationsmadebyconsultantsareautomaticallyupdatedintheARCHICADproject.Collisionsanddesign
conflictscanbeeasilylocatedbyusingtheVirtualTracefeature.
ThecontentoftheXrefdrawingissavedwiththeARCHICADproject.IfthehotlinktotheDWG/DXFfileisbroken,
thedrawingcontentisstillvisible.

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Limitations
Xrefscannotbeusedtohotlink3DdataintotheARCHICADproject.
DWGTranslatorSettingsmustbesetmanuallypriortoattachingtheDWG/DXFfiles.
ThelocationandthenameoftheXrefsshouldntbechanged;otherwisethelinkwillbebroken.
Matchingofattributesneededbetweenthehostfileandthelinkedfile.

SuggestedUsage
Xrefsshouldbeusedalmostexclusivelyformergingconsultantsdrawings,legacyAutoCADprojectsorstandard
manufacturerdetailsintotheARCHICADproject.WerecommendplacingtheXrefsontoindependentARCHICAD
worksheets,ratherthanontothefloorplan,tokeeptheBIMmodelintact.
Tip:UnusedXrefsshouldalwaysbeUnloadedinordertoremoveallXrefrelatedlayersandotherattributes
fromthemasterproject.

MixedConceptTeamworkandHotlinkFilesCombined
Thepreviouslydescribedprojectsharingmethodscanbecombinedtoprovidethebestpossiblecollaboration
solutionforverylargeandcomplexprojects.
LetsillustratethecomplexprojectsharingcapabilitiesofARCHICADwithtwoexamples.

Example1
Thefirstprojectisahospitalbuildingthatiscomposedoffourwellseparatedunits.Sinceeachunitisdifferentinsize,
shapeandfunction,thelogicalsetupistodividetheBIMmodelintofourparts.Eachunitissavedasastandalone
Teamworkproject,sofourindependentprojectteamscanworkinparallelwithoutdisturbingeachotherswork.
Inadditiontothehospitalunitmodules,afifthTeamworkprojectiscreatedtoaccommodatethesiteplanmodel.The
fivefilesarehotlinkedintothemainprojectmodelfilewhichstorestheentirebuildingmodel,andwhichisalsoa

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Teamworkproject.Furthermore,theindividualunitscanbetemporarilyhotlinkedtoeachothertoensurethecorrect
connectionbetweenthem.ThemainprojectmodelismanagedbytheprojectarchitectandtheBIMmodelmanager.
Sincetheprojecthasaveryextensivedocumentationsetthatwouldsignificantlyincreasethesizeofthemodelfile,
theLayoutbookisstoredinaseparateTeamworkproject.Thissolutionalsoallowsthedocumentationteamtowork
independentlyfromthemodelingteam.ThedrawingsarepublishedasindividualPMKfilesintotheLayoutBookfile
andupdatedonlywhennecessary:thisreducesthetimeneededtoupdatetheentiredocumentation.

ProjectSharingExample1

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Example2
Oursecondprojectisahighriseofficebuildingconsistingoftwotowers.Thefloorplansofmostofthestoriesare
completelyidentical;moreover,typicalofficeunitsareplannedthroughoutthewholebuilding.
AswithExample1above(thehospitalproject),thisofficeprojectinvolvesindividualTeamworkprojectsusedtohost
thesiteplan,themainprojectmodelandtheLayoutBook.However,inthisproject,thetypicalstoriesarecontained
inamodulefilethatishotlinkedtothemainmodelfile.Furthermore,thetypicalofficeunitsarealsosavedas
modulesandhotlinkedtothetypicalfloormodule,resultinginamultiplelevelhotlinkhierarchy.Finally,theexternal
shellandthecoreofthebuildingconstituteanotherstandaloneTeamworkproject,sothatthemodelingand
visualizationteamcanworkonasignificantlysmaller3Dmodel.

ProjectSharingExample2

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SummaryoftheTeamworkandtheHotlinkFileConcept
ThefollowingtablegivesyouaquickcomparisonoftheTeamworkandtheHotlinkfileconceptsinARCHICAD.
Teamwork Hotlink
StartWork Justsharethefileandletusersjoin. Filestructuremustbecreatedand
hotlinkedmanually.
Changeworkspace ReleaseandReservenecessaryelements Filestructuremustbereorganized.
asneeded.
Workoffline Necessaryelementsmustbereservedin Hotlinkedfilesarenotupdatedin
advancetoworkwiththeminoffline thehostfileifthenetwork
mode. connectionislostorifthefile
locationhaschanged.Youcan
Ifinternetconnectionisrestoredall
updateorrelinkhotlinksmanually.
changescanbesenttotheserver.
Messaging Builtinelementbasedmessagingin Onlyexternalmessagingsystems
ARCHICAD. canbeused.
Sendandreceive Userscansendandreceivechangestothe Whenthehotlinkedsourcefileis
changes serveratanytime. saved,thehostwillupdatethe
hotlinkfileinstancesautomatically.
Sentdata Onlythechangedelementswillbesentto Theentirehotlinkedfiledatamust
theserver. besentoverthenetwork.
Projectfilesize Teamworkdoesntreducetheprojectfile Hotlinkedmodulescanreduce
size. projectfilesize.

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DocumentationConcepts
ThecoreconceptofBIMisthatasinglemodelfilecanstoretheentireprojectdocumentation,sincethedrawingsare
automaticallygeneratedfromtheBIMmodel.InARCHICAD,thesinglefileconceptisnotrestrictedtothesolo
ARCHICADfiles(PLN);itisalsoapplicabletoTeamworkprojects.Thesinglefileconceptiswellproveninsmallfirms
withsmalltomediumsizedprojects.
Naturally,largerfirmswithlargerprojectshavetodivideprojectsintoseveralfilesformanypracticalreasons.Those
reasonsincludeperformancelimitationsresultingfromthesinglefilemethod,andworkflowbottlenecksresulting
frommultipleusersworkingononefile.
ARCHICADsupportsavarietyofdifferentlyscaledprojects,providingatransparentmethodforhandlingmultiple
sessionsandmultipleviewswithinacompletecollectionoffiles.Basicallytherearethreetypicalworkflowsin
ARCHICAD,whichcanbecombineddependingontheprojectathand:

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SingleFileConcept
ThisisthesuggestedARCHICADworkflowforsmalltomediumsizedprojects.Thecomplete3Dmodel(BIMdata)
withitsrepresentations(floorplans,sections,3Dviews,schedules,etc.)andthefinaldrawingsheets(layouts)areall
includedinoneARCHICADfile.

TheARCHICADBIMConcept

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ThismethodcanfullyexploittheadvantagesoftheBIMconcept,suchaseasyfilemanagement,automaticdrawing
updatesandlists.However,aboveacertainprojectsizeandcomplexity,theARCHICADplanfilemustbedividedinto
smallerpartstoavoidperformanceandprojectmanagementproblems.

TheARCHICADSingleFileConcept

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DocumentationSeparatedfromtheModelFile
Thedocumentationandthedesignteamscanworksimultaneouslyontheprojectifthedocumentationfileis
separatedfromthemodelfile.Thesizeofthemasterfilecanalsobereducedifyouadoptthismethod.ARCHICAD
fullysupportsthisworkflowsinceyoucancontrolcomplexfilehierarchiesintheNavigatorpalette.Therearetwo
strategicwaysofseparatingthedocumentationfromthemodel.

MasterFileMethod
Inthisscenario,thereisamasterARCHICADfilethatcontainsthecompleteARCHICADmodel,togetherwithitssaved
views.Theseparatedocumentationfilecontainsthelayoutsanddrawings(viewsplacedfromthemodelfile)and
automaticallyupdatesthedrawingsifthemodelfileischanged.Thismethodisapplicabletomediumandlarge
projects.
Ifyourprojectcontainsasignificantnumberoflayouts,youareadvisedtoconsiderthismethod.

SeparateModelandDocumentationFiles

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UseofPMKDrawings
Duetosizeandspeedissues,verycomplexorlargeprojectsusuallydonothaveamasterfilethatcontainsallthe
drawings.Consequentlythebuildingmodelisstoredinmultipleprojectfiles(someofthemcanbeTeamwork
projects;otherscanbesimpleARCHICADprojectfilesthatrefertohotlinkedmodules).Therearetwowaystoimport
thedrawingsintothedocumentationfile.
1) DrawingsaresavedindividuallyasPMKfilesandlinkedtotheARCHICADdocumentationprojectfile.Inthiscase
thereisnodirectlinkbetweenthemodelfileandthedocumentfile,sothedrawingsonthelayoutdonot
automaticallyreflectthechangesinthemodelfile.
Note:YoucansaveanARCHICADmodelviewinPMKformatbyusingthePublisher.PMKisanativeARCHICAD
drawingformatwhichtakesuprelativelylessharddrivespacethanmanyotherformats.
ThismethodisonlyrecommendedifthePMKfilesarerarelyupdated,oriftheautomaticdrawingupdatefrom
themodelfileistooslow.Thismightbethebestsolutionforverylargeprojectswithextensivedocumentation
sets.Ifthismethodisused,theBIMManagerorDocumentationManagermustcontrolthesavingandlinking/
updatingofthesePMKfiles.

ManuallySavedPMKDrawingsLinkedtotheDocumentFile

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2) DrawingsareimportedintotheLayoutBookdirectlyfromoneormorebuildingmodelfilesandotherexternalfile
sources(DWG,DXF,PDFs,imagefiles,PMKs,etc.).Foraverycomplexbuilding,thedocumentationfilecanalsobe
subdividedintotwoormorepartsforeasierdrawingmanagement.

PMKDrawingscanbeSavedAutomaticallyfromthePublisher

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Thisisacomplexsystembutverypowerful,andinsomecasesmaybetheonlywaytohandlelargeprojects.Where
complexdocumentationstructuresareusedintheoffice,itiscrucialthattheBIMManager/projectleaderdevelop
theproposedfilehierarchyanddistributethistotheprojectteammemberspriortostartingthedocumentation.

ComplexFileStructure
Complexorlargeprojectsrequirespecialcollaborationsolutions.Thesuccessfulcollaborationapproachshouldbe
tailoredtotheofficeorganizationandthetypeofproject.Asarule,largeprojectsshouldbedividedintosmaller,
logicalpartsusingacombinationofTeamworkandhotlinksolutions.
Forexample:
Amultistoryofficebuildingisintheconstructiondesignphase.Thebuildingconsistsoftwowingsthatarestoredin
twoindependentTeamworkprojects.Fromtheveryearlystagea3Dmodelofthewholebuildingwasbuilt,
containingonlythoseelementsessentialforvisualizationandconceptualdesign.Basedonthismodel,twoTeamwork
projectswerecreated(oneforeachtower)thatservedasthebasisoftheconstructiondocumentation.The
TeamworkprojectsrefertoexternalhotlinkedmodulesandXrefssuchascolumngrids,landsurveysandother
consultantdrawings.
ThedocumentationisstoredintwoLayoutBookfilestoreducethesizeoftheTeamworkprojectsandtoallowthe
projectdocumentationteamtoworkinparallelwiththedesigners/architects.

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ComplexProjectFileHierarchy

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Mergevs.Linkvs.Open
Thepossiblewaysofusingthemodeldata,CADdrawingsandreportsreceivedfromanotherapplicationinARCHICAD
arethefollowing:
Merge
UseMergetoaddthemodelordrawingcontent(orpartofit)tothecurrentlyrunningARCHICADproject.Merged
modeldataareconvertedintonativeARCHICADelements,whichcanthenbeusedasaprotectedoreditable
reference.Theimportedcontent,usedasareference,isseparatedfromthehostprojectelements,andcanbe
displayedtogetherorindependentlyfromtheoriginalprojectdatabychoosingavisualizationtechnique.
Link
Asanotherreferencepossibility,youmayopenareceived3DmodelasanewARCHICADprojectfirste.g.to
visuallyfilteroutthepartsyouwillneedthenlinktheproject,orapartofit,toyourcurrentprojectasaHotlinked
Module,whichwillserveas(noneditable)content.DependingonthefileformatsyoucanalsouseXREFand/or
DrawingconnectiontolinkexternaldrawingsintoARCHICADprojects.
Open
TheOpencommandlaunchesamodelorCADdrawingasaseparateARCHICADfile,independentofanyotherproject
currentlyopeninARCHICAD.Thisimportedfilecanbeaddedlaterasareferencetotheappropriatepartofanother
ARCHICADprojectasmentionedbefore.

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TeamandProjectSetup
Thesize,complexityandtypeoftheprojectaswellasthesizeoftheprojectteamallhavetobeconsideredtofindthe
mosteffectiveprojectsharingstrategy.ItisrecommendedthattheprojectleaderortheBIMManagerdefinethe
projectsharingstrategypriortostartinganewproject.
Theprojectsharingdocumentshoulddescribethehierarchy,name,location,ownershipandthecontentofthe
variousprojectfiles.SinceARCHICADsupportsdifferentteamworkingmethods,theprojectsharingconceptcanbe
flexiblychangedtobestmatchtheproject.

TeamOrganization
Thesizeandtheorganizationoftheofficedeterminethecollaborationproblems.Atypicalprobleminsmall
architecturaloffices(510architects)isthelackofdedicatedCADmanagerswhocansetupandmaintainCADandIT
standards.Sharingtheworkinthesmalloffices,however,isnotascriticalasinlargefirms,sincetheprojectsare
typicallynotverycomplexandtheprojectteamisrelativelysmall.Ontheotherhand,thesharingoflargeprojectsis
criticalforlargeoffices,whichfacethisproblemeveryday,soitishighlyrecommendedthattheyimplementstrict
sharingmethods.

SettingupaTeamProject
AlthoughitispossibletostartaTeamworkProjectfromscratchandusethedefaultsettingsprovidedbyARCHICAD,it
isrecommendedtodefineanumberofbasiccriteriabeforesharingtheProject,sincechangingthemwhenthereare
alreadyseveralarchitectsordraftsmenworkingonitismoredifficult.Thesebasicsettingsaffectcertainelementsof
theprojectfile,suchasattributes(layers,pensmaterialsetc.),navigatorstructure(views,layouts,publishersets),
favoritesandlibraries.ThesedefaultprojectsettingsarebestdefinedinanARCHICADtemplatefilebytheperson
whoisgoingtoactasTeamLeader,whowillaccessandmodifythemduringthelifeoftheTeamProject.

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StructureoftheTeams
Architecturalpracticesemploydifferentapproachesforthesetupoftheirteamstructure;eachsetuphasadvantages
anddisadvantages:
ArchitecturalStudiosoperateasindividualorganizationswithinthecompany.Asingleteammanagestheproject
throughouttheentirecycle.
SpecializedTeamsaremostcommoninlargerarchitecturalpractices.Inthesesetups,theprojectisstartedbyteam
A,andatagivenpoint,usuallywhentheconceptualdesignisfinished,istransferredtoteamBfordetailed
documentation.
DynamicTeamsareflexiblegroupsthatadjusttotheprojectphasesandrequirements.

TypicalStructureofaMidSizeOffice
Thefollowingchartshowstheorganizationalhierarchyofatypicalmidsizearchitecturaloffice.Inthisexample,there
aretwoindependentprojectteamswithonearchitectandtwodraftsmenworkingoneach.Theprojectarchitectof
thefirstteamalsoservesasaparttimeBIMManagerintheoffice.Duetotherelativelysmallfirmsizeandthe
generallylimitedsizeprojects,informalcommunicationissufficienttohandleprojectcoordinationissues.

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OrganizationalChartofaMidSizeOffice
ThetypicalproblemforofficesofthissizeisthattheycantaffordafulltimeCADandITManager,sosomebodyinthe
officehastotakeontheresponsibilitiesonaparttimebasis,whichnaturallydecreasestheirproductivity.

TypicalStructureofaLargePractice
Thelargearchitecturalofficeworkflowsshowninthenextfigurespresentatypicalworkflowusingthe2DCAD
workflowandtheBIMworkflow.Themaindifferencesbetweenthetwoworkflowsare:
IntheBIMworkflow,thereisnoneedforaDocumentationTeam,sincemostoftheconstruction
documentationinformationisderiveddirectlyfromthecentraldesignmodel.Theprojectteamsmighthave
dedicatedpersonsfocusingonfinetuningthedocumentation.
TheBIMManagermustmanageallphasesoftheprojectdesign,decideaboutthenumberandqualificationof
personnel(HRrole),andmanagecollaborationrelatedtaskswiththeextendeddesignteam.

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TheBIMworkflowdoesnotincludeastandalonevisualizationteam;thepersonnelresponsibleforthistaskare
partofthedesignteam.
ThelargeofficestructureusingtheBIMworkflowissubdividedinto3teams.Thefirsttwoareworkingonalarge
project,andtheirtasksarecoordinatedbyaprojectdirector.Theprojectdirectorandtheleadersofthetwo
projectteamsreporttotheDesignDirector.Here,afulltimeITandBIMManagerassisttheprojectteams.

OrganizationalChartofaLargeOfficeUsingTraditional2DWorkflow

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 TeamandProjectSetup

OrganizationalChartofaLargeOfficeUsingtheBIMWorkflow

ProjectSetup
Ideally,intheprojectsetupphase,youdefine:
Theskeletonofyourproject,includingitsstorystructureandthemainNavigatorviewsetsyouwillworkwith.
Themaininherentlogicofyourproject,includinglayers,layercombinationsandthewaytheprojectisshared.
Themaincommunicationprotocolsyouwillusetocommunicatewiththeinternalandexternalmembersofthe
projectteamandtheclient.

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TeamandProjectSetup

Thebasicbuildingblocksyouwillworkwith,includingfavoritesforthebuildingelementsandintelligent
parametricobjectstobeusedintheproject.
Themainstructureofyourdocumentation,includingyourLayoutBookandyourpublishingsets.
Beforeyoustarttheactualprojectsetupinthesoftwareapplication,youshouldhaveananswertothefollowing
questions:
Whatarethedeliverablesoftheproject?
Whattypesofprojectmaterialsanddocumentationareavailabletostarttheprojectwith?
Whatarethedrawingstandardstobeused?
Whatarethemaindesignprinciplesoftheproject?
Whatbuildingmaterialsandstructureswillbeused?
AtwhichprojectstagewilltheBIMimplementationstart?
Whatarethecommunicationprotocolswiththeconsultants?
TheprojectsharingandcollaborationprotocolsinARCHICADshouldbedefinedupontheanswerstothesequestions.

ProjectStructure(Navigator)
OneofthemostpowerfulcapabilitiesofARCHICADistheNavigator,whichprovidesoverviewandcontrolovereven
verycomplexprojectstructuresandextensivedocumentationsets.Moreover,thecombineduseofNavigator,Hotlink
Manager,XrefManagerandDrawingManagerallowtheprojectarchitecttocontinuouslymonitorthestatusofnot
onlythemainprojectfilebutalsotheexternalfileslinkedintoit.
Note:AsofARCHICAD20,mostessentialNavigatorfunctionsareavailablefromthepopupMiniNavigator.To
accessallthefunctions,includingPublisherandmanagingviews/drawingsbetweenprojects,usethefull
NavigatorPalette(openitfromtheMiniNavigator).
TheNavigatorservesseveralbasicfunctionsintheprojectworkflow:
TheProjectMapallowsnavigationintheBIMmodel.

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TheViewMapstoresdifferentviewsofthemodelorganizedbyvariouscategories.
TheLayoutBookprovidesaccesstotheentireprojectdocumentation.
ThePublisher(NavigatorPaletteonly)istheprimarytoolforcommunicatingtheBIMprojectdatainprintedand
electronicformat,includingDXFDWGandPDF.

ModesofARCHICADsProjectNavigator

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TeamandProjectSetup

Libraries
LibrariesareacrucialpartofARCHICADprojects.ARCHICADisshippedwithanextensivedefaultlibrary,butyoucan
createadditionallibraryobjectstoserveanyimaginableneedofyourproject.
Inatypicalarchitecturalfirm,threetypesoflibrariesareused:
StandardARCHICADLibraryisthemostcurrentversionoftheARCHICADobjectlibraryorinsomecasesjusta
subsetofit.ThesubsetlibrarycontainsonlythoseelementsofthestandardARCHICADlibrarythatareregularly
usedinthefirm.
OfficeStandardLibraryisacollectionofthoseobjectsthathavebeendevelopedtomeettheoffice
requirements.Thislibrarytypicallyincludesannotationelements(e.g.markers,labels,drawingframesetc.)and
3Dobjects(e.g.doors,windows,curtainwallsetc.).
ProjectSpecificLibrariesconsistofcustomelementsdevelopedspecificallyforthisproject.Mostoftheseobjects
arecreatedbytheprojectteammembers.
Theabovelibrariescanresideonthecompanyfileserver,BIMServer,orontheteammemberscomputer.Forthe
bestperformancewesuggestthefollowingstrategyforlibrarystorage:
ARCHICADLibraryandOfficeStandardLibrariesareinstalledonthecompanyfileserverorforTeamwork
projectsontheBIMServer.Librariesarestoredincontainerfileformat(LCF)orasBIMServerLibrariesandusers
arenotallowedtomodifythem.OnlyServerAdministratorshavetherighttoupdatethem.
ProjectSpecificLibrariesaretypicallystoredintheprojectfileasembeddedobjects.Teammembershavingthe
requiredTeamworkrolesettingscanfreelyedittheseobjects.

StandardARCHICADLibrary
TheStandardARCHICADLibraryshouldalwaysbeloadedbydefaultwiththefirmstemplatefile(s)andwitheach
project,asitcontainsalloftherequiredmacrosandnecessarycomponentstomakeallobjectsfunctionproperly.The
ARCHICADLibraryshouldbeupdatedcentrallybytheITorBIMManager,thuswerecommendtostoreitontheBIM
server,asaBIMServerLibrary.ThecentralizedupdateofARCHICADlibrarieswillpreventusersfromloadingoutdated
libraryversions.

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OfficeStandardLibrary
TheOfficeStandardLibraryisonewhich,inadditiontotheARCHICADLibrary,willbeloadedwitheachprojectwithin
anoffice.TheOfficeStandardLibrarywillcontainalloftheobjectscreated,editedoradaptedbythefirmasa
standardtosuitspecificneeds.LiketheARCHICADLibrary,itisbestiftheOfficeStandardLibraryisaccessedasa
containerfile(LCF)orasaBIMServerLibraryinsteadofinextractedform(GSMobjects);thisdecreasesloadingtime,
andmaintainsthelibrarysintegrity.TheBIMManagershoulddetermineaworkableOfficeStandardLibrarybased
uponstaffskills,projecttypesandfirmprovidedservices,andberesponsibleforitsmaintenance.
ContentoftheOfficeStandardLibrary:
Standardannotations
Details
Typicalstructuralelementsandfurniture

ProjectLibrary
Theprojectlibrarycontainsprojectspecificelementsonly.Thesecanbe:
Customstairs
Customdoorwindowpanels
Backgroundimages
Textureimages
Custommodelelementsusedonlyintheproject
TheProjectSpecificLibraryisdefinedastheindividuallibraryfolderthatiscreatedspecificallyforeachprojectwithin
anoffice.Itisincludedwithineveryprojectsdirectory/folderatthetimeitiscreatedandismaintainedasan
EmbeddedLibrarytoallowtheeasymodificationoftheobjects.TheProjectSpecificLibraryisthestorehouseforall
custompartscreatedfortheparticularproject,includingtextures,stairs,etc.TheProjectSpecificLibraryiseffective
inanofficebecauseitgivestheusertheflexibilityofcustomization,whilemaintainingtheintegrityandoffice
standardizationcontainedwithintheOfficeStandardLibrary.Oncecreated,custompartscanbeevaluatedastotheir
relevanceforinclusionintotheOfficeStandardLibraryatanytime.

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Interoperability
Architectsmustcontinuouslysharetheirdesignwithmanyprojectstakeholdersduringthewholeprojectlifecycle.
Todaytheyspendmoretimeoncommunicatingtheirdesignintentwithotherprojectparticipantsthanontheir
actualdesignwork.Tofurthercomplicatematters,thetypeandthecontentoftherequireddataoftendiffersgreatly
dependingonwhowantstouseit.
TheBIMmodelprovidestheidealplatformforsharingthebuildingdatainsideandoutsideoftheoffice.IFCandother
fileprotocolsallowtheBIMprogramtocommunicatewithdiverseapplications,suchasstructural,energyanalysis
andcollisiondetectionprograms.
ThischapterdescribeshowARCHICADsupportsdifferentmeansofcommunicationoutsidethearchitectsoffice.

BIMasaPlatformforCommunication
Designing,constructingandmaintainingabuildingisusuallyaverycomplexprocessthatrequiresthecloseco
operationofseveralpeopleworkingindifferentfields.Thefigurebelowshowsthemanypossibleparticipantsofa
buildingproject,includingthebuildingowners,developers,contractors,engineers,facilitymanagersandofcourse
thearchitect.Thearchitecthasaveryimportantroleinthishierarchy,sincehe/sheistheonlyonewhocontinuously
hastoprovidedataaboutthecurrentstatusofthedesignforalltheotherprojectstakeholders.Ifanarchitectural
firmdoesnotadapttothiscommunicationcentricandcollaborativeworld,itwillslowlybecutoutfrombigprojects.

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TheBIMModelasPlatformforProjectCommunication
TheBIMmethodoffersaveryefficientandautomatedcommunicationplatformforthebuildingindustry.Byusingthe
BIMmodelinpractice,thearchitectwillnotbetheonlybeneficiaryofthevirtualproject.Theownerandallthe
membersoftheprojectteamalsobenefit.Thekeyisthatthearchitectisthefocusoftheentireprocessandadds
significantvalueandgetspaidhigherfees!Thisisthenotionofmovingfromafilebasedenvironmenttowardsa
databasedenvironment:whatwecallaBIMproject.
TheBIMmodel,whenimportedintoexternalanalysisprograms,allowsawiderangeofanalyticalactivitiesincluding
structuralanalysis,energyefficiencyanalysisandcodechecking(collisiondetection).Thesetoolshelpminimizethe
riskofconstructionanddesignerrors.

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FileFormats
Oneofthekeyproblemsofbuildinglifecyclemanagementisthatprojectparticipantsrequiredifferenttypesof
informationfromthearchitect.Datathattheconstructioncompanyneedsarequitedifferentfromthoserequiredto
operateacompletedbuilding.ARCHICADisabletocommunicatewithotherprogramsviaseveralfileformats.

ARCHICADsupportsmanyFileFormats

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TheOPENBIMConcept
GRAPHISOFToffersoutstandingtoolsthatsupportasmoothallroundworkflowforarchitects.Butarchitectsdon't
liveintheirownworld;theyhavetocooperatewithpartnersinothersegmentsofthewiderAECworkflow.
Nowadays,oneofthetopwishesfromvendorsinBIMsurveysisimprovedBIMsolutionsforinteroperabilitywith
othersoftwareapplications:
ArchitectshavedifferentrequirementsfortheirBIMthanengineers:modelingconventionsandthemodels
internallogicmaydiffersignificantly.ItisimportanttonotethatthearchitecturalBIMisNOTthesameastheBIM
ofotherdisciplines.
Typically,engineeringapplications(forexamplethestructural,themechanicalandenergydesignapplications)are
differentineachcountry.Engineersnaturallypreferprogramsthatsupportthestandardsoftheirowncountry,
andtheseareusuallyspecificlocalapplications.
HowcanweensurethatanarchitecturalprogramlikeARCHICADisabletoworktogetherwithhundredsoflocal
engineeringprograms?Whichconditionsmustbemettoachieveinteroperability?Therearetwokeyconditionsfor
interoperabilitytowork:
1) Supportforthesocalledreferencemodel,and
2) Supportforanopensource,yetstandardizeddataexchangeformat(withqualityrequirements)
TheOPENBIMconceptprovidesananswer.Simplyput,OPENBIMistheimplementationofthereferencemodelon
anopenplatform.

Referencemodel
Eachdisciplineisresponsibleforitsownwork.Forexample,thestructuralengineerisresponsiblefortheload
bearingpartsofthebuildingwhichshe/hecalculatesaccordingtolocaldesignstandards.Thisconsiderationrequires
thateachdisciplinebeabletoeditandmodifyitsownmodel,whileusingtheothersmodelsonlyasaprotected
referencealongsidetheirown.Themodelscomingfromthevariousdisciplines,eveniftheymayseemsimilaratfirst
glance,areinfactquitedistinctintheirdetails.Forexample:thearchitectsdefinethecontourofaslab,usingaslab

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element,whilethestructuralengineer,doingdesigncalculationswithhollowcoreconcreteslabpanels,definesthe
finalloadbearingstructure.Butthemodelsofthetwodisciplinesdifferinseveralways:intheelementtypeused,
size,numberofelementsused,levelofdetailintheintersections,andtherelativepositionsoftheelements.
Abasictenetofmodelreferencingisthatdataloss,whethergeometricalorotherdata,isnotpermissible.
Thegeometrypartmeansthatareferencedmodelelementmustbeshowninourownprojectwithitsoriginal
geometryandposition.Thedatapartmeansthatthereferencemodelhastocontainalldatarelevantto
collaborationwiththeotherdiscipline.Forexample,relevantdataforanarchitectincludetheexactmaterialand
profiledatadefinedbythestructuralengineerinthestructuralmodel.

Opensourcefileformat
Howdowechoosetherightformatforinterdisciplinarycollaboration?Whichrequirementsandconsiderationsmust
theformatfulfill?
Itmustsupporttheelements3Drepresentation.
Itmustbeabletostoredata.
Itisnotenoughforittoincludealargedatabase;thedatabasemustbefilterable,sothateachdisciplinecan
extractjustthedatathatitconsidersimportant.
Itmustfulfilltherequirementsofthereferencemodelconcept.
Theformatcodemustbeopentoanysoftwaredeveloper.Thisisnecessarytoensureglobalcollaborationamong
localprograms,aswellasthemajor,internationallyusedones.
Toenablefastcodeimplementation,thecodemusthaveasimpleschemestructure.
Inorderthatthecodebeunderstandableandimplementedanywhereintheworld,itslanguagemustbein
English.Inaddition,however,itshouldbepossibletolocalize,forexample,thestandardpropertiesforvarious
countries.
Amongthevariousavailablefileformats,itisIndustryFoundationClassesorIFCwhichmeetsallofthese
requirements.IFChasbeendevelopedbybuildingSMART,anonprofitindustryledorganization,since1994.

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BuidingSMARTisanallianceoforganizationsdedicatedtobringaboutacoordinatedchangefortheimprovementof
productivityandefficiencyintheconstructionandfacilitiesmanagementindustry.
Formoreinformation,see:http://www.buildingsmart.com/.
BuildingSMARTpromoteseffectiveinformationexchangeamongallsoftwareplatformsandapplicationsservingthe
AEC+FMcommunitybyadoptingBIM.MajorapplicationvendorsinthefieldsofBuildingInformationModeling,
Structuralengineering,HVACdesign,thermalanalysis,codechecking,quantitytakeoffandcostestimationhaveall
incorporatedIFCcompatibilityintotheirproducts.
GRAPHISOFThasbeendevelopingIFCsince1996,andcontinuesitspioneeringworkbyimplementingandsupporting
thelatestIFC4standardversionanditsmajorsubsets(calledModelViewDefinitions,seelater).Thebuildingmodel
canalsobeexportedbacktothemanyothersystemsthatsupportIFC.Morethan180applicationshavebeenalready
registeredasIFCfilesupportersatbuildingSMART
(http://www.buildingsmarttech.org/implementation/implementations).

CollaborationStandards
AnIFCschemeisbasicallyalargecode.Imagineabigthickbook,inwhicheachchapterdescribesaparticulardata
exchangeworkflow.Forexample:
TheCoordinationViewchapterincludesthespecificationforsharingofbuildinginformationmodelsamongthe
disciplinesofarchitecture,structuralengineeringandbuildingservices.
TheBasicFMHandoverViewchapterdefinesthedatarequirementsforfacilitymanagement,forexamplehow
todescribethespacecontainmentandthebasequantitiesofitsmembers.
TheSpaceBoundaryAddOnViewchaptersetstherulesforsharingmodelsforenergyanalysispurposes,for
examplehowtoexporttherelationbetweenthespacesandthebuildingelementsthatsurroundthem.
EachofthesechaptersiscalledaModelViewDefinition(MVD).AnMVDdefinesalegalsubsetoftheIFCScheme
andprovidesimplementationguidanceforallIFCconceptsusedwithinthissubset.
Theabovementioned3MVDsarethemostimportantonesforarchitectsandarchitecturalapplications:
IntheU.S.,theSpaceBoundarybasedIFCdataexchangeisrequiredforfederalcontracts;

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TheBasicFMHandoverbasedIFCdatabaseisthestartingpointfortheCOBie(ConstructionOperationsBuilding
InformationExchange)documentationstandardrequiredinmanyEnglishspeakingcountries;and
ThecurrentlymostwidelyimplementedIFCviewistheCoordinationView,theforemosttoolforsharingbuilding
informationusingthereferencemodelconceptamongthedifferentdisciplinesallovertheworld.
ARCHICADsupportsallofthesemajorModelViewDefinitions.

QualityStandards
HowcantheusersofdesignsoftwarebesurethattheirsoftwareiscompliantwiththeproperIFCstandardandcan
trulycollaboratewithotherprograms?Forthispurpose,thereareofficialcertificationprocessesforeachMVD,run
eitherbybuildingSMARTorbytheorganizationswhodefinedtheactualMVD.Inthiscertificationprocess,the
participantsoftwareproductsaretestedforhowwelltheyfulfilltherequirementsoftheMVD.
GRAPHISOFTiscommittedtoensuringthatitsproductsareprofessionallycertified.Tothisend,GRAPHISOFTtakes
partinthekeychallengeswhichtestIFCcapabilities,andparticipatesintheofficialbuildingSMARToperated
certificationprocesses.
Typically,softwareusersalsotesthowwelltheyareabletosharetheirmodelswithotherprofessionals.Thegeneral
conclusionisthatIFCworksonthevastmajorityofprojects,providedthattheusersknowandlearnthe
interoperabilitycapabilitiesoftheBIMapplicationstheyuse.
ThankstotheIFCopenplatform,alldisciplinesareabletoparticipateinthedataexchangeworkflowsofallphasesof
3Dmodelbaseddevelopment:schematicdesign,designdevelopmentandconstructiondocumentation.
Arealcollaborationworkflowisbidirectionalanddynamicthatis,therearecontinuousroundtripiterations.Thus,
itinvolvesnotjustthesimpleexchangeofmodelsinbothdirections.Italsoinvolvescomplexoperations,suchas
cyclicallyrepeatedcomparisonandupdateprocesses.

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SharingtheBIMModel:IFC
IFCIndustryFoundationClassesisaneutralfileformatthatmakesitpossibletoexchangeinformationbetween
differentCADsystemsandothersystemsinthebuildingandfacilitymanagementsectors.
TheIFClanguageinterpretsthedescriptionsof3Dbuildingmodelelements(suchasslabs,walls,columns,beams
etc.)betweenvarioussoftwareapplicationsduringthedesignprocess.IncomparisontoDXF,whichismerelya
graphicelementformat,IFCfilesalsodefinethefullpropertiesofarchitecturalobjects,suchastheir3Dgeometrical
characteristics,materialsandtheirrelationshiptootherobjects.
TheIFCformatisISOcertifiedandcanbeintegratedintoanyexistingqualityassurancepolicesyourofficemayhave.
IFCisdevelopedinpartbytheIAItheInternationalAllianceforInteroperability.

SharingtheBIMModelviaIFC

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Interoperability

AdvantagesofUsingIFC
ThemajoradvantageofusingIFCinsteadofotherfileformatsisthattheBIMinformationispreservedduringthedata
transfer.Forexample,wallswillremainwalls,preservingallthepreviouslyset2Dand3DinformationaftertheIFCfile
isopenedinanotherapplication.NotonlydoestheIFCprotocolpreservethefullgeometricdescriptionin3D,butit
alsoknowsobjectlocationandrelationships,aswellasalltheproperties(orparameters)ofeachobject.TheIFC
basedcollaborationworkflowfulfillsalltherequirementsofthereferencemodelconceptsusedduring3Dmodel
sharingamongdifferentdesigndisciplines,andoffersseveraladvantagesforthearchitecturaldesignfirm:
AccessobjectdataforimproveddesignandcoordinationinARCHICADforexample,youcanimportabuilding
serviceengineersHVACductworkorwaterpipinglayoutas3Dobjects.
Exportyourdesignforanalysisbyanotherspecialistsuchasathermalanalysisenablingbetterunderstandingof
yourbuildingperformance,oradvancedvisualization.
Exportamodelforcosting,estimationbiddingorprocurementtheintegratednatureoftheIFCinformation
makesyourdatabasemorevaluablebecauseyourinformationiseasytoaccessandanalyzebysuchpackagesas
costingapplications.

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IFCTranslators
ImportingandexportingmodeldatausingIFCtakesplaceaccordingtothesettingsoftheIFCtranslatoryouareusing.
ARCHICADprovidespredefined,factorydefaulttranslators,butyoucandefineyourowncustomonesaswell.
Predefined(butcustomizable)TranslatorshelpyouapplyIFCmodelexchangesettingsassimplyaspossible,providing
oneclickexport/importsolutions.

IFCTranslationSetup

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SharingDocuments:PDF
PDFisaproprietaryfileformatdevelopedbyAdobeSystemsforrepresentingtwodimensionaldocumentsina
deviceindependentandresolutionindependentformat.PDFiscurrentlythemostcommonfileformatforsharing
documentsontheInternet,sinceitstores2Ddatainacompressedformat.ARCHICADsinternalPDFenginesupports
boththeexportandimportofPDFdocuments,aswellassavingtothePDF/Aarchiveformat.
PDFisidealfordesignersandarchitects.Productdetailsfrommostbuildingelementmanufacturersarenowavailable
inPDFformatontheInternet.Thesereadymadedrawingscanbeinserteddirectlyintotheconstruction
documentationwithasinglemouseclick.ThefollowingfigureshowsthepossibleuseofPDFwithARCHICAD
projects:

PDFDocumentInputandOutput

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TheEntireDocumentationSetcanbeExportedinPDFFormatfromthePublisher

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Interoperability

SharingDrawings:DWGDXF
Despitetheirincreasedrelianceonmodelbaseddataexchange,architectsandengineersstillrelyoneachothers
CADdrawingstouseasareferenceintheirrespectivemodels.DXFandDWGarestillthemostcommon2Ddrawing
exchangeformatbetweenarchitectsandconsultants.Exchangingdatabetweendifferentapplicationsisnevereasy
andthereisalwaysachancefortranslationerrorsduetotheconceptualdifferencesbetweentheprograms.Since
DWGfilesharingisanecessity,ARCHICADmakesitpossibletocreateconfigurationfiles,whichfilterattributesoffile
dataduringconversion.TheseDWGtranslatorscanbeassociatedwithPublisheritemsintheNavigator.ARCHICADs
DXF/DWGtranslatorsupportsformatsuptoAutoCAD2013andaccuratelymapslayers,pencolors,fontsandblocks.
ARCHICADcanwriteoutDXF/DWGdatathatcontainsbothPaperSpaceandModelSpaceinformationinthesame
file.

DXFDWGTranslatorSetup
TheDXFDWGtranslatorwilleasethecommunicationbetweenthearchitectandtheotherpartiesduringtheentire
designprocess.DefininganddevelopingDXFDWGtranslatorfilesrequiresextensiveknowledgeofARCHICADand
AutoCADandthecarefulconsiderationofmanycircumstances:
ExistingDXFDWGstandardsintheoffice(layers,pens,fills,namingetc.)
Requirementsofthepartners(structuraldesigners,engineers,facilitymanagers,buildersetc.)
ConceptualdifferencesbetweenARCHICADandAutoCAD
Goalsofthetranslation
Mostofthetime,asingletemplatefilecantfulfillalltheseneeds.WerecommendtheuseoffullycustomizedDWG
translatorsetsfordifferentpurposes.ToavoidincorrectDWGoutput,thetranslatorshavetobecarefullynamedand
documentedinthecompanyBIMguidelines,andtherighttranslatorshavetobeassignedtotheDWGpublisher
itemsinthestandardtemplatefiles.

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UsingDWGDXFFilesinARCHICAD
TherearethreewaystoincorporateDWG/DXFfilesintoARCHICADProjects.ThefirstistoMergetheDWG/DXFfile.

ARCHICADsSmartMergeFunctionAllowsIntelligentImportofDWGDrawings
ThesecondistoAttachtheDWG/DXFfileasanXreffile.
ThethirdoneistoplacetheDWG/DXFfileasanExternalDrawing.

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Thefollowingtableshowsthedifferencesinthethreemethods:

Merge Xref PlaceasDrawing

AttributesCreated?(e.g. Yes,createdduringMerge. Yes,createdduring Noattributes
Layers,Linetypes,Filltypes) Attachment(Xreflayersare created.
separatedinthelayerlist).
CreatedAttributesDeleted? Mustbedeletedindividually. WhenDetaching,all Noattributes,no
attributescanbedeletedin suchproblem.
onestep.
IndividuallayersofDWG/DXF Yes Yes No
fileturnedon/off?
CanfilebeplacedinModel Yes Yes Yes
Views?
Canfilebeplacedon Yes No Yes
Layouts?
CanfilehaveitsownPen No No Yes
Set?
Canitselementsbesnapped Yes Yes Yes
to?
Canitsdrawingcontentbe Yes Yes Yes
resized?
Contentsincorporatedinto Yes,immediatelybecomes Yes,useBindcommandin Yes,useExplode
andsavedwiththeproject? partoftheproject. XrefManagementDialogBox. command.

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Basedontheabovetable,thesolutionsforthemostcommonscenarios/requirementsare:
1) Cleannessofattributes.WhenaDWG/DXFfilesismergedorattached,dozensofattributesmaybecreated.Ifyou
wishtoavoidthat(e.g.longlistofLayersintheLayerSettingsDialog),usethePlaceExternalDrawingmethod
instead.
2) Cleaningupcreatedattributes.TheXrefmethodispreferabletotheMergemethod,becausewhenyouDetach
anXreffilefromtheProject,ARCHICADofferstodeleteallattributescomingfromtheXreffileinonestep.

XRefLayersareSeparatedintheARCHICADLayerList
3) AbilitytoturnLayersON/OFFindividually.WhenusingtheMergeorXrefmethods,youcanturntheLayersof
theimportedfilesonandoffindividually.WhenusingthePlaceExternalDrawingmethod,allDWG/DXFdataare

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handledasasingleunitandareplacedonasinglelayer.Thedrawingssourcelayersarenotmergedintoyour
project,butyoucanuseDrawingSettingstosetthevisibility(show/hide)oftheDWGssourcelayers.
4) PlacementonLayouts.XreffilescannotbedirectlyplacedontoLayouts,soifyouneedtoplaceDWG/DXFfiles
ontoLayouts,youshoulduseeithertheMergeorthePlaceExternalDrawingmethod.(YoucanplaceDWG/DXF
filesinModelViewsusinganyofthethreemethods.)
5) UsePenSetfromDWG/DXFfile.IfyouwishtomakethePenSetoftheDWG/DXFfilepartoftheProject,usethe
PlaceExternalDrawingmethod.ThenyoucansavethePenSetoftheDrawinggeneratedfromtheDWG/DXFfile.
6) MakingDWG/DXFdatapermanentlypartoftheProjectFile.TheMergemethodistheonewhichimmediately
resultsinDWG/DXFdatabecomingpartoftheProject.AnExternalDrawingmustbeexploded.AsforXreffiles,
theBindcommandisrequiredtoachievethesameresult.
SincetherearesomefundamentaldifferencesbetweenthehandlingofattributesinARCHICADandAutoCAD,you
havetopayspecialattentiontotheirtranslation.BeforeimplementingthecompanystandardTranslators,we
recommendthatyoutestthemonasamplefilethatincludesallthecompanystandardlayers,fills,linetypesandpen
types.AddingashortdescriptiontoyourTranslatorsisagoodideaiftherearemanyoftheminthecompany
templatefile.

TranslatorDescription

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BIMCollaborationFormat(BCF)
BIMCollaborationFormat(BCF)isanopenstandardformatofficiallyendorsedbybuildingSMART.BCFisusedby
manystructural,MEPandmodelcheckerprogramstoaddcomments,screenshots,camerapositionand3Dcutting
planestoIFCmodels.
BCFbaseddataexchangeisparticularlysuitedforidentifyingoverlaps(e.g.collisions,modelingandothermistakes)
whenseveralmodelsfromdifferentapplicationsarecombinedinoneprogram(e.g.ARCHICADoramodelchecker).
ARCHICADsMarkUpfeaturedirectlysupportsBCFbaseddataexchange.Forexample,ifyouareexchangingamodel
inIFCformat,youcanimportaBCF(BIMCollaborationFormat)file,whosecontentsareconvertedintoMarkUp
EntriesinARCHICAD.AfteraddingyourownMarkupchanges,youcanexportitagainasaBCFfile.Themarkup
entrieswillkeeptrackoftheelementsreferencedintheBCFfile(withtheirIFCglobaluniqueidentifier,IFCGlobalId),
eventhroughmultiplemergecycles.Itcanincludeanattachedview,whichisnotmerelyascreenshot:itincludes
camerapositionand3Dcuttingplanes.
Note:SolibriModelCheckerandTeklaBIMsightsupportBCFasanativefunction.RevitsupportstheBCF
workflowvia3rdpartyAddInssuchastheKubusAddIn.

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CoordinationwithEngineers
CoordinationofprojecttradesintheBIMofficerequiresintelligentfilteringoftheBIMmodeldataandfinding
inconsistenciesandcollisionsintheconsultantswork.ARCHICADofferseffectivesolutionsforbothproblems.
TheBIMmodelexchangeviaIFCallowsthearchitecttofindanycollisionsinthe3Dmodelwiththehelpof3rdparty
modelcheckerapplications.Modelcheckersaremostlyusedtofindcollisionsbetweenthestructuralelementsand
theMEPsystems,especiallyinlargeandcomplexbuildingswithextensiveductworkandpipinglayouts.

PreparationofDataforExport
Partnerofficesusuallydonotrequirethefullydetailedarchitecturalmodel;asimplifiedmodelissufficient.For
example,structuralmodelsaresimplifiedversionsofarchitecturalmodels,whichcontainonlytheloadbearing
buildingelementssuchascolumns,beams,slabs,walls,roofs,andtheloadbearing(core)partsofcomposite
structures.AnyBuildingMaterialusedasanairgapincomposite/complexelementscanbedefinedaccordingto
whetheritshouldparticipateinCollisionDetection:thisway,onlyelementpartshavingrealgeometrywillparticipate
inCollisionDetectioninIFCmodelcheckersandinARCHICAD'sMEPModeler.
Ifanarchitectplanstoexchangemodelswithastructuralengineer,he/sheshouldkeeptheserequirementsinmind
whencarryingouttheirdesignwork,tomaketheeventualmodelexchangeeasier.

ClassificationandCategories
InARCHICAD,eachconstructionelementsisassignedanElementClassificationintheCategoriesandPropertiespanel
ofitsSettingsdialogbox.Suchaclassificationmakescertainpropertiesandparametersavailabletotheseelements
forusewithinARCHICADandbyotherapplications:toadddescriptivedata,tolocateelements,forlistingpurposes,
etc.
YoucanalsosearchforelementsbytheirElementClassification,usingthecriteriaoftheFind&Selectdialogbox.
Also,InteractiveElementSchedule(IES)canlistpropertiesandparametersbytheElementClassification.

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ElementClassification
ElementclassificationisalsousedinmodelmappingwhenexportingtoIFC.WhileeachARCHICADelementsdefault
classificationhasadefaultcounterpartinIFC,youcanassignitadifferentElementClassification,andthereforemapit
toadifferentIFCtype.Forexample,ifthereisnospecificARCHICADtoolcorrespondingtotheIFCelementtypeyou
wanttomapitto;orifyouhaveusedcertaintoolstomodelelementsofadifferenttype,suchasusingtheSlabtool
tomodelaceiling,orusingtheWalltooltomodelacurvedbeam.

StructuralFunction
LoadBearingElementorNonLoadBearingElement
Incollaboratingwithpartnerswhoareusingstructuralprograms,youcanexportyourARCHICADmodeltoIFCformat:
theStructuralFunctionclassification(assignedinARCHICAD)automaticallyaddstheloadbearingpropertyto
structuralelementsintheexportfile.StructuralFunctionletsyoulimittheexportedIFCmodeltostructural
elementsonly,therebystreamliningthecollaborationprocess.Thisclassificationisusefulforlistingpurposesfor

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example,youcancalculatethematerialsneededforallstructuralwallsorcolumns,separatelyfrommaterialsofnon
structuralelements.IfyouhaveclassifiedmodelelementsasLoadBearingElement,thenyoucanusethePartial
StructureDisplayCoreofLoadBearingElementsOnlyoptiontodisplaythoseelementsonly.

Position
InteriororExterior
ThisclassificationisusefulifyouplantosendanIFCfiletopartners(e.g.energyanalyzers)whoareabletodifferentiate
elementsbytheirlocationinthebuilding.WhenyouexporttheARCHICADmodeltoIFCformat,yourmodelelements
thatareclassifiedasInteriororExteriorwillcarrythisinformationtothepartnersapplicationviaIFC.

LayerSystem
ARCHICADslayersystem(LayersandLayerCombinations)canhelpinnarrowingdownthepartsofthemodeltobe
exported.Uselayerstogroupelementsconceptually(e.g.structuralelements)andtoseparatethemfromelements
notneededintheexportedmodel(e.g.furniture).Forexample,youcanchoosefiltersthatwillexportonlyelements
locatedonlayerssettovisible,whileyouhidethelayersoftheelementsyoudonotneedtoexport.

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IntelligentLayerCombinationsHelptheDataExchangebetweenProjectTrades

StandardProfiles
Ifyouexchangedatawithstructuralapplications,usingtheIFCstandard,itcanbehelpfultousestandardelementsas
yoursteelprofiledColumnsorBeams.Duringthedataexchangeprocess,numerousstructuralengineeringprograms
areabletorecognizeandidentifysuchstandardelementsaccuratelyandcompletely.

FilteringbyElementRepresentation
Sincetheexportconsidersthedisplaysettingsofthecurrentexportedview,youcanfurtherfilterthemodel
accordingtotheelementsdisplaystatus:

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PartialStructureDisplay
ARCHICADsPartialStructureDisplayfunctionallowsyoutodisplayorhidethemodelscomplexorcomposite
components,dependingontheirtypeorclassification.Forexample,whencollaboratingwithotherdesignersor
engineers,youmayprefertoignorenonstructuralwalls,andtodisplay/outputonlythestructuralcomponentsof
complexelements.
ThefirstthreeoptionsinthePartialStructureDisplaydialogbox(Documentmenu)displayorhidethecomponentsof
compositeorcomplexelements,dependinguponhowyouhavedefinedthosecomponents.Forexample:
ChoosingCoreOnlydisplaysonlytheloadbearingskinofthecomplexorcompositestructures.Thepreferences
ofPartialStructureDisplaycanbesavedseparatelyforeachview.
CoreofLoadBearingElementsOnlyconsidersallconstructionelements(notjustcomposite/complex),and
enablesyoutohideanyelementsyouhaveclassifiedasNonLoadBearingElement.(SeeStructuralFunctionon
page 102.)ThissettingwilldisplayallelementsclassifiedasLoadBearingorUndefined,andthecomposite
andcomplexoneswiththeirCoreonly.
TheVeneerpartofColumnscanbedisplayedorhiddenbyPartialStructureDisplayaccordingtoitstype:Core,
FinishorOther.

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PartialStructureDisplay

Visualization
ARCHICADoffersanumberofvisualizationtoolsthatmakeiteasytofindandviewtheimportedcontentwithin
ARCHICAD,and,ifneeded,todifferentiateitfromthearchitecturalmodel.

LayerDisplayModes
TodifferentiateelementsfromtheoriginalARCHICADelements,placethemontoaseparatelayer.(Youcanset
ARCHICADtodothisautomaticallyaspartofthemergeprocess,usingtheappropriatecontrolofIFCTranslation
Setup.
In3DViews,youcanuselayersettingstodisplayimportedstructuralandmechanicalelementsdifferentlyfrom
architecturalelements.Forexample,setthe3DViewDisplaymodeofarchitecturallayerstoWireframe,while
applyingShadingmodeforallimportedelementlayers.

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Trace&Reference
ARCHICADsbuiltinTraceReferencefeaturehelpstheuserstovisuallyidentifyanydifferencesbetweentwoviewsor
layouts.Thistoolcanbeusedeffectivelytocomparethearchitecturaldocumentationwiththeconsultantsdrawings.
Forexample,createsomeviewsshowingarchitecturalelements,andotherviewsthatshowthestructural/
mechanicalelementsonly.Ifyouactivateanarchitecturalview,youcanthenusetheTracefeaturetoviewa
structural/mechanicalviewatthesametimedifferentiatedbyhighlightingorcolors,orsplittingtheviewsaparton
screen.

ComparingStructuralandArchitecturalElevationswiththeTraceReference

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StructuralDesign,AnalysisandProduction
Abuildingsarchitecturaldesignanditsphysicalstructurearecloselyinterrelated:ononehand,thearchitectural
designofthebuildingdefinesthestructure;ontheotherhand,thestructuraldesignofabuildingreflectstheoverall
architecturaldesign.Asstructurehasbecomeavisualandaestheticpartofthedesigninmodernarchitecture,
structuresmustbeaslightaspossiblewhilemaintainingcompleteintegrity.Also,thestructuremustbeoptimizedfor
performanceandprice.
ARCHICADprovidessophisticateddesigninformationalongwiththenecessarylevelofmodeldetail.Thisinformation
canbedirectlyimportedthroughIndustryFoundationClasses(IFC)orotherspecialconnectionformatsinto
specializedsoftwaretorunstructuralanalysisanddesign.

StructuralAnalysiswithBiDirectionalIFCConnection
IFCallowstheARCHICADmodeltobesharedwithmajorandlocalstructuralsolutionssuchasTeklaStructures,
AutodeskRevit,SAP2000,Etabs,SciaEngineer,Dlubal,Graitec,Tricalc,Cype,AxisVM,FEMDesignetc.
ForthecompletedescriptionofARCHICADsstructuralsolutionpleaseread:
http://www.graphisoft.com/archicad/open_bim/.

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StructuralApplications
Structuralapplicationscanbedividedintothefollowingmaincategories:
Analysisanddesign(steel,reinforcedconcrete,timberetc.)applications
Theseapplicationscarryoutanddocumentstaticcalculationsbasedonvarioustechniques(e.g.finiteelement
method).
StructuralPreparation/Management
Thesecarryoutpreparatorytasksandensuretheconnectionbetweentheanalysisapplicationandthearchitectural
profession.
Detailers(steel,reinforcedconcrete,precast,etc.)
Thesecreatedetailedconstructiondocumentationofthestructureandcommunicatewiththemanufacturers.
Someapplicationscoverseveralofthesefunctions.Thisdiagramdescribesthegeneralworkflowfordataexchange
betweenARCHICADandastructuralapplication:

TypesofStructuralApplications

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StructuralDesignWorkflows
Themostcompletelevelofinteroperabilityisachievedusinganintelligent3Dmodelconnectionasopposedtoa
drawingrepresentationinwhichthebuildingmodelbeingexchangedrepresents3Dstructuralobjects(slabs,walls,
columns,beams,windows,roofsetc.),eachwithspecific,definedattributesandproperties.
Modelbasedexchangebetweenthearchitectandthestructuralengineercanfollowoneoftwoconcepts:
managingareferencemodel;or
convertingthemodeltonativeformats.
Thereferencemodelconceptensuresthesecurityofthearchitecturalmodelandthestructuralmodelfiles,since
eachofficeremainsresponsibleforhis/herownmodel.Thus,thestructuralengineerreceivesafilefromthe
architect,butdoesnotmodifyit;he/sheusesthearchitecturalinformationasabasisforbuildinguphisown
structuralmodel.Thisoccursmanually,usingthetoolsofhisownsoftware,butautomaticelementconversion
utilitiesalsoexisttospeeduptheprocess.Similarly,thearchitectleavesintactthefilereceivedfromthestructural
engineer,whiletakingintoaccountitssuggestionsformodelingloadbearingelements.Thisway,eachdisciplines
ownfileisindependentoftheonereceivedasareference.

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ARCHICADStructuralWorkflow
Theotherapproachtomodelbasedexchangeistoconverttheotherpartysmodelelementsintothenativeformat
ofonesownapplication.Theconvertedmodelistransformedaccordingtothespecificationsoftherecipient,sothe
originalversionofthemodelisnotpreserved.Thisapproachismosttypicalofdataexchangebetweenarchitectural
andanalysisprograms.

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ARCHICADcancombinetheadvantagesofbothapproaches.The3Dmodelobtainedfromthestructuralengineer
regardlessofthemethodusedtoimportitisalwaystransformedintonativeARCHICADelements.Atthesametime,
itispossibletousetheimportedelementsasareference,sincetheycanbeautomaticallyplacedontotheirown,
protectedlayers(whicharelockedtopreventediting).ThisreferencemodelapproachisalsosupportedbytheMerge
andLinkworkflows.Sincetheincomingelementsormodificationsareconvertedintonativeformat,theybecomean
activepartofthearchitecturalmodel,whileretainingtheirproperties(e.g.material,profile)assignedinthestructural
model.
The3Dmodelsexchangedbetweenthearchitecturalandstructuraldisciplinescanbeconsideredinthreecategories:
Architecturalmodel
Structuralmodel
Analysismodel

ModelTypes

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Thearchitectworksonthearchitecturalmodel,basedonherowndesignandontheclientsrequirements.Already
duringthedesignphase,thearchitectshouldkeepinmindthatthemodelwilllaterbeexchangedwithastructural
engineer.Forexample,shecandefinethebuildingelementsstructuralfunction;defineinitialmaterialstobeused;
choosecolumnsandbeamswithstandardprofiles;definetheloadbearingcoreofcompositeelements.Inadditionto
thispreparatorywork,shecanfilterthemodelsoastonarrowdownthedatatobeexchanged:thisway,onlythe
structuralmodel,containingjuststructuralelements,willbeexported.Naturally,thearchitectcanexporttheentire
architecturalmodel,ifthestructuralengineersprogramiscapableoffilteringandcollectingthemodeldatathathe/
sheneedstoworkwith.
ExportingastructuralmodelfromARCHICADissufficientfordataexchangewithmoststructuralapplications(the
managementanddetailertypes).However,analysisanddesignsoftwaresrequirethesocalledAnalysismodelin
ordertoruntheircalculations.TheseapplicationscanoftenconvertthestructuralmodeltoAnalysismodel
themselves,ortheycanusetheAnalysismodelconvertedbyamanagement/detailerprogramastheinput.An
Analysismodelisa2Dor3Drepresentationofthestructuralmodelthatincludesnotonlyplanes(inthecaseofwall,
slab,roofelements)andaxes(columnsandbeams)ofelements,butalsotheirstructuralcharacteristics(e.g.stiffness,
material,profile).Thesimplifiedanalysismodelalsodiffersgeometricallyfromthestructuralmodel:forexample,
curvedsurfacesarerepresentedasacollectionofplanes;elementintersectionsmaybemodified.
Theexportandimportof3DmodeldataoftentakesplaceusingastandardknownasIFC(IndustryFoundation
Classes),whichisactivelysupportedbymanydesignapplications.Inaddition,manyapplicationsprovidenativeAdd
Onsfordataexchangewithotherspecificprograms.Someengineersorapplications(especiallyanalysisapplications)
willjustexchangedataatthemostbasiclevel:theyimportCADdrawings(thatis,thelinesandpointsrepresenting
floorplans,sectionsandelevations),andusethemasareferenceforbuildingtheanalysismodel.
Modelsanddrawingsareoftenaccompaniedbyotherdocumentation,suchassuggestionsorreports;themost
commonlyusedformatfortheseisPDF.ARCHICADcontainsanumberoftechniquesfordisplayingthestructural
modelandfordifferentiatingitfromthearchitecturaldesign.Inaddition,ARCHICADcaninterpretandstorethe
importedstructuraldata,suchastheproposedorutilizedmaterials,andthepropertiesofprofileelements.

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StructuralRelatedARCHICADFeatures
ARCHICADprovidesbuiltintoolsandIFCspecificsettingstosupportmodelexchangebetweenthearchitecturaland
structuralprofessions.Theseinclude:
PartialStructureDisplay:Usethistoviewthesimplifiedloadbearingstructureofarchitecturalmodels.
SeealsoPartialStructureDisplayonpage 105.
LayersandLayerCombinations.Usecustomizedlayersettingstoshow/hidesetsofelementsforstructural
purposes.
SeealsoLayerDisplayModesonpage 106.
IFCexportsettingscanbecustomizedtosaveastructuralviewcontainingonlytheobjectswhichareimportantto
structuralengineers.

Architecturalvs.StructuralModel
UsetheTrace&ReferencetoolinARCHICADtovisualizethedifferences(forexamplemodifiedpositionofwalls,
columns,increased/decreasedthicknessesandsectionsetc.)betweenananalyzedstructuralmodelsavedasan
IFCfileanditsoriginal.
SeealsoTrace&Referenceonpage 107.

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ManagingChanges
Thearchitecturalstructuralworkflowusuallyrequiresseveralroundtripsofinformationexchange.Forexample,
dependingontheresultsofstrengthanalysisanddesigncalculations,thestructuralengineermayproposechangesin
thesize(thickness,height,profileetc.)andthepositionofstructuralelements.Manyapplications,including
ARCHICAD,havefunctionsthatservetodetectandmanagethesegeometricalchanges.ARCHICADsmodelbased
changemanagementfeatureandtheTrace&Referencetoolhelptokeepthisprocesstransparent.

Compare3DModels(ModelBasedExchange)
AspartofanIFCmodelbaseddataexchangeworkflow,ARCHICADsDetectIFCModelChangestoolenablesyouto:
comparetwosubsequentversionsofastructural/mechanicalmodel(IFCfiles),
identifythedifferencesbetweenthetwoversions(new,deletedandmodifiedelements),
insertthechangesintothecurrentARCHICADmodelorintoanemptyARCHICADprojectfile,
listthechangesasARCHICADMarkUpEntries.

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ThecontrolsoftheMarkUpPaletteenableyoutoeasilynavigateamongthechangedelementsinboth2Dand3D
windowsandtodifferentiateandselectthem,soyoucancarryouttheneededchangesinthearchitecturalmodel.

DetectIFCModelChanges

DisplayingChangesin2DWindows(ModelorDrawingBasedExchange)
Whenmergingseveralversionsofstructural/mechanicaldata(whethermodelbasedordrawingbased)into
ARCHICAD,youcanplaceeachsubsequentversionontoitsownlayer,andsavethemasseparateviews.Next,youcan
openoneview,thenusetheTrace&Referencefunctiontodisplayanotherviewrepresentingtheothervariant
alongsideorontopofthefirstone.Theprogramdoesnotrecognizethechangesautomatically,butyoucanusethe
TracefunctionstoidentifychangesvisuallyintheFloorPlan,Section/Elevation/IE,3DDocument,Worksheet,Detail
orLayoutwindows.Next,youcancarryouttheneededchangesmanuallyintheARCHICADmodel.

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EnergyAnalysisApplications
Sustainablearchitectureisthepracticeofdesigning,constructingandmaintainingbuildingsinawaythatminimizes
theirenvironmentalimpact.Oneofthemostimportantaspectsofsustainabledesignisenergyefficiencythedrive
toreducetheamountofenergyabuildingconsumesduringitslifespan.
Nowadaysthereareeasytouseapplicationsthatdeliverenergyanalysisthroughoutthedesignprocess.These
applications,designedforarchitects,canbeusedfromtheearlydesignphasestohelpthemmaketherightdecisions
concerningthebuildingsorientation,zoning,envelopestructuresandmaterials.

DirectBIMtoBEMDataExport
ARCHICADprovidesrelevantBIMinformationforenergyanalysisexperts.ItsEnergyModelReviewfunctionexecutes
theAutomaticModelAnalysisalgorithmonthebuildingmodel.ThisDirectBIMtoBuildingEnergyModel(BEM)
technologyeliminatesthepossibilityofdatalossordistortionthatmightotherwiseoccurduringBIMdataconversion
orremodeling.TheARCHICADBuildingEnergyModel(BEM)includesthermalblocksandopaqueandtransparent2nd
levelspaceboundaries,withtheirrespectiveperformancedatasuchasUvalue,airpermeability,andsolar
absorptance.

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Thisdatacanbeusedforenergyanalysisinthreedifferentways:
1) EnergyperformancesimulationnativetoARCHICAD
EnergyEvaluation:availableineveryARCHICAD
EcoDesignerSTARforARCHICAD:addonsoldseparately

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2) DirectDataExport
ExporttoPHPP:availableineveryARCHICAD
ExporttoVIPEnergyandiSBEM:availableinEcoDesignerSTARonly
3) ExportviaStandardDataExchangeFileFormats
gbXML
IFC

ARCHICADBEMDataExportto3rdPartySoftwareforEnergyPerformanceSimulation

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SinceGRAPHISOFTsdirectBIMtoBEMtechnologyenablesenergyanalysistoolstoaccesstheARCHICADVirtual
Buildingdata,feedbackonthebuildingsenergyconsumptioncanbeobtainedatanytimeduringthedesignprocess.
Ongoingchangestothearchitecturaldesigndonotleadtoanylaboriousreworkingonthesimulationside(suchas
manuallyadjustingthegeometryofthebuildingtokeepupwiththealterations):allarchitecturaldataisuptodate
andimmediatelyusableasinputfortheenergysimulation.
Formoreinformationonthistopicpleaseread:
http://www.graphisoft.com/ARCHICAD/ARCHICAD/energyevaluation/.

EnergyEvaluationinARCHICAD
InadditiontothebuildinggeometryandmaterialpropertydataderivedfromtheARCHICADBIMbytheEnergy
ModelReview,EnergyEvaluationinARCHICADalsocalculatessolarirradiationusingtheVirtualBuilding.Ifusers
providetheinputnecessaryfortheenergysimulationviathededicateddialogs(e.g.OperationProfiles,Building
Systems),thentheVIPCoreenergysimulationmoduleintegratedinARCHICADcarriesoutthehourlydynamic
analysisandproducestheEnergyPerformanceEvaluationreport.ItisnotnecessarytoexitARCHICADandexchange
datawithexternalenergyanalysisapplicationsforbuildingenergyperformanceoptimization.Theenergy
performanceofthearchitecturaldesign'scurrentstateiseasilyevaluatedwithinARCHICAD,andtheeffectsof
changesmadeonthearchitecturalmodeltoimproveenergyefficiencymaybereviewedinstantly.

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EnergyEvaluationBuildingEnergyPerformanceReportExcerpts
EnergyEvaluationcanbeappliedatallphasesofarchitecturaldesign.Itisquick,comprehensive,andeasytouse.You
cancomparemonthlyenergybalances,energydemand,fuelconsumption,carbonfootprintandotherperformance
indicatorstoadvisethedesignprocessandtomakethebestdesignchoicesallwithinARCHICAD.
Formoreinformationonthistopicpleaseread:
http://www.graphisoft.com/ARCHICAD/ARCHICAD/energyevaluation/.

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EcoDesignerSTARAddOnForARCHICAD
Highendenergyanalysissoftwareisnecessarytoproducestandardcompliantdocumentationofbuildingenergy
performance.BesidessupportingtheexportofARCHICADdatato3rdpartysoftware(seeDirectBIMtoBEMData
Exportonpage 117),GRAPHISOFTalsoofferstheEcoDesignerSTARARCHICADaddon,whichturnsthebuiltin
EnergyEvaluationfunctionintoahighendtoolforbuildingenergyanalysis.
EcoDesignerSTARcanbeusedtoexecuteindepth,highaccuracycalculationsthatproducestandardcompliant
energyperformanceratingreportssimilartothoseofspecialized3rdpartysimulationsoftware.However,since
EcoDesignerSTARisintegratedinARCHICAD,itcanbeusedearlierandmoreoftenduringthearchitecturaldesign
process,asopposedtotheconventionalworkflow,inwhichenergyanalysisisonlyrunonceortwiceinthe
constructiondocumentationphaseofthedesign.

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EcoDesignerSTARBuildingEnergyPerformanceReportExcerpts
EcoDesignerSTARisafullyBIMintegrated,certifiedbuildingenergysimulationprogramthatdramaticallyimproves
theenergyperformanceandindoorenvironmentalqualityofbuildingsdesignedwithARCHICAD,andopensnew
doorsforfuelsavings,costsavingsandenvironmentalimpactreduction.
Fordetails,seehttp://www.graphisoft.com/ARCHICAD/ecodesigner_star.

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GRAPHISOFTSustainableSolutionsFunctionalityOverview
ThistablecomparesEcoDesignerSTARwiththeEnergyEvaluationfeaturesavailableineveryARCHICADbydefault.

EnergyEvaluationinARCHICAD EcoDesignerSTARforARCHICAD

positioning BIMbaseddynamicbuildingenergy BIMbaseddynamicbuildingenergyanalysisfor

evaluationbasedonstandardcompliant compliancecalculationsandforhighlyenergyefficient
technologyfordesignoptimization buildingdesign

availability inARCHICADFULLfullfunctionality addonforARCHICADFULLandSOLOonly

inARCHICADSOLOfullfunctionality (seeLicensingfordetails)
inARCHICADEDUwithwatermarks
inARCHICADTRIALfullfunctionality
inARCHICADDEMOwithwatermarks
anddisabledreports
inARCHICADSTAR(T)N/A

standard ASHRAE1402007certifiedsimulation ASHRAE1402007certifiedsimulation

compliance ASHRAE90.12007(LEEDEnergy)compliant
performancerating
EnergyStarPrimaryEnergyConsumptionand
GreenhouseGasEmissioncalculation
AIASustainablePracticeinArchitecture2030Goal
FossilFuelConsumptioncalculation
SwedishNationalBuildingEnergyPerformanceRating
Standardcompliance

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workflow limitedinput,certifiedsimulation detailedinput,certifiedsimulationtechnology,

technology,limitedreportcontent detailedreportcontent

BIMgeometry gbXML,PHPP iSBEM,VIPEnergy

andmaterial
propertydata
exportotherthan
IFC

thermalbridge NA energyflowandthermalimagingontheARCHICADdetail
simulation

buildingsystems basicdialogueonly basicorexpertdialog

onsite NA solarphotovoltaicandwindenergy
renewables

performance NA export/importofPLNasbaselinebuilding,automated
rating modelrotationandrecalculation(optional)
comparativecalculation

PDFreport simplified:projectdataonly detailed:projectandthermalblockdata,

performanceratingresults

XLSreport simplified:monthlyresults, detailed:monthly,weeklyandhourlyresults,projectand

projectdataonly thermalblockdata,performanceratingresults

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Other(NonEnergy)BuildingPerformanceSimulation
Applications
Forlargescaleandhighendbuildingprojects,buildingperformancesimulationsoftwareisfrequentlyusedfor
purposesotherthanenergyanalysis.TheseprogramstypicallyrunseparatelyfromBIMauthoringtoolsandusetheir
own3Dbuildingmodelstoexecutedaylighting,airflow,smoke/fire,egressandacousticsimulations.
ThereareseveralwaystoexportARCHICADBIMdatatothesesoftware.
AnalysisprogramshandlebuildinggeometrydataobtainedfromARCHICADdifferently,dependingontheir
calculationmethodandavailablefunctions.Therefore,whenexportingbuildinggeometrydatatothesesoftwares,
usersshouldexportonlytherelevantpartsoftheARCHICADmodel.
Thefileformatoftheexporteddataalsodependsonthe3rdpartyprograms.ItisusuallyeitherIFCorgbXML,but
DWGandDXFarealsocommon.SomeoftheseapplicationsofferadedicatedIFCtranslatororARCHICADspecific
pluginapplication,whichextractsthedatarequiredbytheirsoftwarefromtheARCHICADbuildingmodel.

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ARCHICADBIMDataExportto3rdPartySoftwareforBuildingPerformanceSimulation(NonEnergy)
Sincebuildingperformanceexpertstypicallyproduce2DdocumentationasopposedtomodifyingtheBIMmodel,the
importofperformanceresultsfromexternalapplicationsintotheARCHICADenvironmentisnotsupported.

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MEPDesign
GRAPHISOFTprovidestwobasicworkflows(BIMand2Dworkflow)thatallowthearchitecttointegratetheMEP
engineersworkintotheARCHICADproject.Thesesolutionsalsoincludetoolswithwhichallpossiblecollisionscanbe
identifiedbetweentheMEP(Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing)systemsandthearchitecturalstructures.

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GRAPHISOFTMEPModeler
TheMEPModelerisamodelingextension(addon)toARCHICAD,availablefrom
http://www.graphisoft.com/archicad/mep_modeler/.ArchitecturalpracticesandarchitecturaldepartmentsofA/E
firmsusingARCHICADcanuseMEPModelertocreate,editorimport3DMEPnetworks(ductwork,pipingandcable
trays)andcoordinatethemwiththeARCHICADBIM.
TheGRAPHISOFTMEPModelercanbeusedinthefollowingworkflows:
BIMWorkflowWheretheMEPengineercanprovide3Ddata,architectsareabletoimporttheconsultantsMEP
modelintoARCHICADusingtheIFCformat.InadditiontothisgenericIFCinterface,theMEPModelerpackage
providesanimprovedconnectionwithallMEPapplications(includingRevit,DDSCADMEP)thatcanexportintelligent
MEPspecific(withspecificIFCproperties,portinformation,etc.)IFCmodels.
2DWorkflowBasedon2Ddocumentationreceivedfromengineers,architectscanuseMEPModelerspowerful
builtintoolstocreateandedittheMEPmodelwithinARCHICAD.Itspowerfulmodelingandcoordinationcapabilities
incombinationwiththeaboveworkflowsmaketheMEPModelerthesolutionforarchitectstohelpdrivemore
efficiencyinthebuildingprocess.

MEPModelExchangeviaIFC

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DataExchangewithExternalMEPApplications
BeforehandinganARCHICADfileovertoanMEPengineerusingMEPspecificsoftware,certainsimplificationshave
tobemadetothearchitecturalmodel.Likestructuralengineers,MEPexpertsneedonlycertainpartsoftheproject
thosewhicharerelevanttotheirwork.Naturally,theworkflowsofthetwodisciplinesarenotexactlythesame.While
thestructuralspecialistmustoftenmodifyexistingpartsoftheproject(e.g.wideningaslab,increasingordecreasing
thediameterofbeamsandcolumns,orchangingtheirposition)aswellasaddingnewelements,theMEPengineer
typicallyaddsequipment,whiletryingtoavoidthedesignedgeometryoftheloadbearingstructures.
ThefirststepofdataexchangebetweenARCHICADandexternalMEPsoftwareistheexportofthearchitectural
model.Inordertooptimizedataexchange,exportonlythebuildingelementsandinformationtheMEPengineer
needs(e.g.loadbearingstructures,elementsofthebuildingenvelope,boundariesoftheinteriorspaces,lighting
placement,builtinequipmentandfurniture,suspendedceilings,spacefunctionsandnumbering).
ForMEPexpertswhoworkina2Ddesignenvironment,createDWGfilesfromtheARCHICADmodel,preferablyusing
aPublisherSetwithpreconfiguredsettings,inordertoenableeasyrepeateddocumentationofthemostcurrent
stateoftheproject.
Forproviding3DdatatoengineerswithMEPsoftware,useGRAPHISOFTstranslatorbasedIFCdataexchangefeature.
WhenhandlingarchitecturaldataprovidedbyARCHICADinMEPsoftware,usethearchitecturalcontentasan
externalreference.MEPsoftwareusersusing2DsolutionsareadvisedtoXrefthearchitecturalDWGs,while3DMEP
softwareusersusingmodelapplicationsareencouragedtocreateaprojectlink.
From2Ddesignenvironments,MEPdataarrivesasDWG(includingthestructuralgrid)andisplacedasXreforas
DrawingintotheARCHICADbuildingmodel.
DatafrommodelbasedMEPprogramsarriveinIFCformat,viasoftwarespecificexporttranslators,developedby
GRAPHISOFTortheMEPsoftwaremanufacturer,allowingseamlessdesignintegration.GRAPHISOFTMEPModeler
userscanmodifyMEPobjectsordetectcollisionsbetweenthemandARCHICADmodelelements,sinceexternalMEP
elementsbroughtinviaIFCfileimporttranslateautomaticallyintonativeGRAPHISOFTMEPModelerobjects(see
MEPModeler,above).
ARCHICADuserswithoutvalidGRAPHISOFTMEPModelerlicensereceiveMEPobjectsasindividualARCHICAD
Objects(LibraryParts).

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CollisionDetection
MEPelements,importedintelligently(iftheIFCmodelcontainsspecificMEPproperties)fromaMEPapplicationvia
IFCfileimport,automaticallytranslateintonativeGRAPHISOFTMEPModelerelements.ThisenablesGRAPHISOFT
MEPModeleruserstoutilizethefullfunctionalityoftheapplicationonthereceived3DMEPelements,including
CollisionDetection.ThisfunctionidentifiesplacesintheprojectwhereMEPelementsintersectwitheachotherand
withotherelementsofthebuildingmodel.CollisionDetectionisavailableintheFloorPlanand3Dwindowsforall
MEPelements,exceptforelementsonhiddenlayers.

CollisionDetectionwithMEPModeler

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ARCHICADBuildingMaterialscanbedefinedaccordingtowhethertheyshouldparticipateinCollisionDetection
(usingacheckboxintheCategoriesandPropertiespanelofBuildingMaterials).Thisway,onlyelementpartshaving
realgeometrywillparticipateinCollisionDetectioninMEPModeler.Asaresult,anMEPelement(e.g.duct)thatruns
throughaBuildingMaterialusedasanairgapwillnotbeconsideredascollision.

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