More than two thirds of our employees work in research and development and help to secure Nemetschek’s innovation leadership. The company has been a pioneer in its industry for decades – and not just in the development of CAD systems for planning and design. Since the mid 90s, Nemetschek has pursued the idea of a database-based platform to optimize the construction process as a whole. Back then, the idea was ahead of its time; today, it is a central topic in the construction and is known as BIM (Building Information Modeling).

Building Information Modeling: Building More Efficiently

BIM (Building Information Modeling) is the integrated process of planning, building and managing structures – on the basis of a consistent building model that is accessible to all. This model, created with the help of 3-dimensional, object-oriented CAD software, integrates all geometric and descriptive information and is enhanced with information by all those involved over the course of the planning processes; changes are updated automatically. The result: shorter times for planning and execution, optimization of material consumption and a reduction in costs.

BIM in Practice: Example of Round-trip Engineering

The seamless interaction of CAD software and structural analysis is an example of how interdisciplinary work on the basis of the digital building model is to function. In round-trip engineering, the data is continuously synchronized between the building model and structural model developed in Allplan and the structural analysis model of Nemetschek Scia. The time-consuming and error-prone multiple input of design data is no longer necessary, and planning changes cause hardly any additional expense.

Open data exchange on the basis of IFC

The integrated building process with Building Information Modeling requires smooth data exchange between the parties involved in the project, and this requires industrial standards that are observed by all. The undisputed standard in the construction industry is Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), a vendor-independent and freely-available data exchange format that has proved particularly powerful for the exchange of 3D object-oriented planning data in the construction industry - regardless of which software the other project partners use.

Nemetschek also uses free data exchange: Together with its partners and as part of the BuildingSMART Initiative (www.buildingsmart.com), the group is intensively involved in the development and implementation of IFC. The company also offers practical support for the use of the format: together with the University of Karlsruhe, Nemetschek has developed an IFC Viewer, which enables users to check the content of an IFC file without having to load it to a CAD program. For those who are interested, the IFC Viewer can be downloaded here:

Efficient Collaboration with the Help of Adobe

Effective workflow saves time and costs - and Acrobat Reader can be a big help here. The program does not just enable PDFs to be created and sent. Version 9 contains functions that enable direct collaboration. For example, you can meet planning partners and building clients online in the digital 3D model, navigate through the building together, discuss any planning conflicts and make decisions. In view of how widespread Acrobat Reader is, you can send practically anyone a 3D building model, which can be used for coordination in planning, execution and building management.

However: without specific instructions, users find it hard to make use of all the options. In view of this, the Munich-based iabi (Institute for Applied Building Informatics) - with the support of Adobe and Nemetschek AG - has developed a tutorial that shows in detail and with the help of videos how Acrobat 9 can be used within the BIM process - for a simple review or an online conference in the 3D building model. It also shows how Allplan, ArchiCAD and Vectorworks can be included in Acrobat collaborations. The tutorial itself is a PDF portfolio and can be opened with Acrobat Reader Version 9.