File Interoperability in Steel Industry

http://enr.ecnext.com/coms2/article_nebuar080423

"...In the past year, not much has changed for the good on the building information modeling front. In fact, certain aspects of BIM have gotten worse, including client expectations and “who should model what” on a BIM job. So said structural engineers, contractors, steel fabricators and detailers, lawyers and insurance agents at a recent meeting on collaborative virtual design and construction..."

This carries itself through the rest of the AEC industry, currently - is it possible to get a model format that does everything?

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Close-loop energy cycles, back on the ranch

Interesting - everyone talks of biofuels as potentially one of the ways to break the petroleum industry's grasp, and yet has anyone heard of biofuelled tractors? Wouldn't this only make sense, to create a way for farmers to run all of their machinery from their own fuel?

Similarly, if someone could create fuel cells that could break down salt(or fresh water) for boats, would it be possible to have nautical engines that only need periodic membrane replacements? Especially at the personal watercraft level, where large engines are pulling only a nautical mile/gallon, this could have an amazing effect. Case in point, when you hear about people not wanting to drive their boats because they can't afford to fill their gas tanks...

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Thinking BIM and design in a new process

It's curious how BIM software today approaches building assembly - very much large scale to small, and with some exception, not in a way that encourages hotelling and prefab concepts in design thinking. If software approached the building in a unitized way, much like software like CADMEP and CADDUCT behave together (low-resolution design model into high-resolution fab model), could this change how we build? For instance, a logical system that allows you to define a room zone, and click up the resolution to build the walls, item placements, etc., even laying out stud assemblies. If this system could allow one to work in parallel with a planning team that is placing instances of these rooms(and stay recognized as 'rooms'), concurrent design and technical development could move in parallel, and allow sub-contractors to build the prototypes with the design team...

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Drywall - who knew?

After a series of meetings with sub-contractors, it's interesting how universally powerful the drywall sub is to the overall process of building assembly. And interestingly, in the world of BIM, they may actually be the furthest behind in technology and tools that would allow their participation in a model coordination pre-construction environment. Parametric sequencing of stud layouts does not seem that much of a stretch, especially in this day and age of packages like Generative Components or Revit, but without this key stakeholder engaged in the process, it seems there may be some ceiling to the overall efficiency improvements in BIM coordination?

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modularity in iVR

Change and transparent openness are funny things - to collaborate and plan for open sourcing and playing nice with others always seems to take a backseat to proprietary ownership.

This seems to really speak highly to the guys that helped open up the Net, which has become a source of innovation, communication, entertainment, learning, etc., but also begs the question of if that openness will ever arise again to lead to Web 3.0? Imagine a plug-n-play universe which creates spatial relationships to search engines, the ability to search casually surf and really experience spontaneous findings, or to know where you are by where you stand at the moment. This would mean a wanting to build and develop within the environment, modularity in land ownership, but could mean one GUI to surf, play games, socialize, buy, entertain, etc. VRML held hopes yet was brought down by group conscensous. Are there any visionary firms that would be willing to develop something solely as a springboard for others, even competitors?

4D is 33% cooler than 3D!

4D simulations are cool. That being said, current BIM solutions are pretty terrible at integrating the keyframing attributes to a model(trying to build it in after the fact in Navis??), that it begs the question of alternative workflows. In the current scenario of clientside apps, however, it does not seem possible to transparently define scheduling data behind the design model due to the limitations of interface and centralization of markets that focuses on A/E, not the builders.

Imagine if there was an interface into the model for contractors, that allowed access to specs, materials, cost, scheduling, and equipment phasing?

BIM and virtual web - can one inform the other?

With BIM being as such a major breakthrough in information management in the physical architectural world, it seems to beg the question of whether it could be as valuable in the 3D virtual internet?

Let's explore this by beginning how BIM was a transformation from traditional CAD and 3d modeling in the architectural history. 3D modeling brought an evolution of 2D drafting as a closer replication of the building, but it drove a geometry only model that lent itself more to visualization than truly driving a drawing set or any form of intelligence.

Now, paralleling this in the current generation of proprietary internet modelers, it appears that the industry is in the same condition as the architectural modelers were 10-15 years ago, still trying to develop easy to use modelers that are accessible and interchangeable. Lack of consistency from interface to interface can only enhance confusion for the inexperienced, average user, and the models are only carrying a minimum of information back to the database and system that could be utilized.

What type of information? Basic logic of construction - intelligence between exterior and interior walls could provide scalability of interior spaces for low-res worlds, while exterior shells provide navigability through virtual urban environments; floor designations for gravity detection; asset management of components that can be databased and bought/sold and populated Sims-style. Tying this together, view and collision management systems could provide context for virtual map-building and communication of layouts for online real estate or other virtual enterprise.

Why the appeal of using one platform to cut across from physical to virtual buildings? Consistency between tools and standardized input could bring experienced urban and residential/corporate/retail designers. Standardization could populate through to the gaming industry, expanding the market for architectural software and creating a single format virtual building databasing, and give competition to the existing 3D modeling market. Finally, it could lead to a commonality in virtual modeling language, potentially pushing the 3D web into a sustainable force with multiple sources on proprietary development....?

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Paperless office? Yeah right...

So....after spending all Friday night in the office translating files and dealing w/CAD printing issues, all to convey periodic information out to my team, it makes me wonder what alternatives could exist to solve this inefficiencies in the AEC world. could there be 2.0 solutions out there, like a Blurb.com solution to CAD printing( straight from your database to the printers, completely automated!) or even online readers available that link directly to your files(want to see the new floorplans? Open Acrobat 12 and flip to sheet A12...) These solutions don't seem that unattainable in today's age, do they?

Why Google can dominate another market

So why are there new competitors to the throne of architectural CAD? There is definitely legacy, for sure in some of the big dogs - Autodesk, Bentley, Archicad. But, just as American automakers may soon get schooled by cross-disciplined tech startups in the Valley, is there a chance that diverse thinking or support may revolutionize traditional thinking? To point - currently trends in thinking, in a historically very conservative and legacy-driven application field, are causing a dramatic shakeup to the way projects are being delivered and tearing down walls between traditionally animosity-driven silos. And this is an industry that every year or two has went out and willingly upgraded to a 15 year old CAD package that was only slightly tweaked from release to release.

So what are the relative strengths? In the concept of database back-end, Google definitely has several strengths. Strong search functionalities, in-place server farms, and the fact that they already own SketchUp gives them a leg into the modeling arena. Abstracting this, why would they want to? A web-based interface with an intuitive modeling/building application, tied into their ambitious OS development in Android and advertising-based revenue stream would make a logical tie to a very flexible Google-driven open architecture virtual 3D web that could be cross-linked from PC to cell phone, potentially into gaming consoles, and give them the backbone to another entire evolution of the internet. Combine that with their vested interest in Apple with a potentially optimized Mac (or even OS non-specific architecture), and Apple-centric love of all designers and architects that have cursed for years the lack of a great CAD app for the G5's, and voila...a slice out of a nice little pie. Plus throw into that the revenue from ad-supported virtual internet, and the combined revenue from the CAD side of AEC, and potential startup investments in an entirely integrated ecosystem from scheduling, fabrication, and the visualization markets...how could they not??

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BIM + Web 3.0

To further explore this concept of web-based BIM, why might this work? Current BIM software is typically in two variaties - central database or a consortium of assorted files. In either case, architects, engineers, and fabricators are working by remote, on differing databases, and having to deal with dataloss due to file translations. With no apparent workable resolution to non-proprietary file interoperabilty(sorry IFC's), and recent lawsuits illustrating a lack of cooperation on the vendor side of proprietary formats, could a web-based solution be the Rosetta Stone for the AEC team?

Imagine an environment(its Friday, so recreational medication or alcohol may be required) where the architect or contractor is providing the backend system, or, even better, the backend is being provided by the vendor/data host. This would allow for web-based modules relative to the building components needed - conceptual design, technical development, engineering analyses, contractor QS or 4D site phasing and scheduling, or even owner interfaces for real-time design presentations or user meetings, preset in a nice, user-friendly GUI. All of this could be directly accessing the main database of 3D data and construction schedules, cost, and quantities. This could take on Revit, Excel, Primavera, Navisworks, and a host of other apps all in one fail swoop, and potential be a killer for all.

Meanwhile, on the backend, system updates could be seamlessly streamed, and take away some of the customization nightmares that plague the industry today, as well as issues with legacy and concurrent software updates. Models could also be tied to shortcut fab shops, or even harbor exports into a reality-based Google Earth or other virtual 3D based internet, automatically setting concurrent spaces between brick-and-mortar and virtual presences. All this on a monthly, scalable subscription service that could dramatically reduce inhouse server and IT helpdesk needs?

One App Shall Rule Them All

Yesterday brought an interesting observation of where the future of BIM software lies, I think. With Autodesk currently gobbling up market share like Pac-Man at a buffet, I believe we are already moving towards a reduction of files to a set of 4 or 5 centralized database models linked together, representing each of the major disciplines.

The question is, where can this go?

I think the answer may lie in SSP apps such as those being developed by Google and Adobe, which could lead to a web-centric, single model that is hosted either in one or multiple locations but accessed and developed by the entire building team. This is a mighty challenge, with various needs by sub-contractors, S/MEP engineers, architects, and builders, but if done correctly it could truly be an intelligent, living building model that can be accessed by the team, anywhere, and not feeling like it is an antiquated modelling environment adapted from the early days of CAD.

Aspirational, probably, but if a company like Google or a well-assembled set of Web 3.0 developers put their minds and resources to it, Autodesk may have some serious contention to their soon to be monopoly...