101104 grasshopper to ArchiCAD

Comment

Comment by djordje on July 23, 2012 at 9:44am

Ok. Thank you for your time and relplies Jon.

Comment by Jon Mirtschin on July 23, 2012 at 6:54am

Hi Djordje,

Yes, it does enable import of IFC models from/to Grasshopper and Archicad, as well as many other software (Revit, Digital Project, Tekla, etc etc).  Not to say I don't have lots of improvements to implement on my todo list.  But priority is always given to user requests.

Comment by djordje on July 22, 2012 at 1:38pm

So Geometry gym enables exporting and import IFC models from/to Grasshopper and Archicad?

Comment by Jon Mirtschin on July 22, 2012 at 12:17pm

Great, you can explain to me what BIM is... ;-)

Rhino has enabled a pretty comprehensive list of CAD formats to export, including dwg, that can be used to accelerate BIM generation in other software.  But there's not much provided for the "I" in BIM (being information).  

My comment "Bringing the bim to Grasshopper" mean enabling BIM generation functionality, although you can interpret it literally.  You can "import" IFC files (high quality is better including exports from Archicad) into Grasshopper using my tools, and either "adjust" or replace aspects of the model (including the parametric aspect of it if included in the data).  There's certainly improvements I can make on this if you have a desired workflow.  But to me, the big advantages are in options and variations generated in Grasshopper, then deciding on an appropriate result and pursuing documentation etc in your desired BIM software.

Here's one demonstration of that, this time IFC data generated from Rhino plugin VisualArq

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP2TbAP7f3A

Comment by djordje on July 22, 2012 at 3:15am

Thank you for the reply Jon.

I know what BIM is.

I was just confused with the "direction" of your expression: "bringing the BIM to Grasshopper"?

Because I thought your IFC plugin enables creating a parametric objects in Grasshopper, and then importing those into Archicad.

But you said: "bringing the BIM to Grasshopper", which made a bit puzzled, as it is the opposite process - creating something in Archicad, and importing it into Grasshopper.

Or did I get it wrong?

Comment by Jon Mirtschin on July 21, 2012 at 10:59pm

I'm not going to try and define BIM (Building Information Modelling), you'll find plenty of opinions on the internet.

But Rhino (and Grasshopper) are primarily CAD engines, very capable with Geometry but not objects with attributes and relationships.  What my IFC developments are enabling is modelling objects that are Slabs, Stairs, Walls, Doors etc etc including attributes (materials, performance spec properties for fire ratings etc) and relationships.

So it's drawing together the powerful generative environment which is Grasshopper (amazing for options, concept assessments and the like) but permitting export to all sorts of BIM software (so you can do analysis, assessment, or use it as a basis of documentation and detailing without starting a manual model from scratch).

Look forward to hearing more questions or comments (and other opinions).

Comment by djordje on July 21, 2012 at 3:05pm

Thank you for such a quick reply Jon.

Can you please explain a little bit more, that part about "bringing the BIM to grasshopper"?

Comment by Jon Mirtschin on July 21, 2012 at 2:41pm

Hi Djordje,

Thanks for the compliment.  It does seem that Graphisoft have minimal interest in Grasshopper, but it's not quite fair to say they haven't done anything for the linkage.

They have enabled a decent IFC (neutral bim) import, which has drastically reduced the effort on my behalf to bring BIM to grasshopper.  If you compare with Revit, I've implemented my own addon to import the IFC file into that environment.

But apart from Graphisoft openBIM efforts, there's been next to nothing in support for my project.  I do hope to at least get the evaluation version of v16 so I can demonstrate some of the model transfer possible (since the image above).  If you see a bias towards Revit in my blog posts, it's mainly Autodesk at least came to the party of ensuring I've access to their software for development, testing and promoting.

Comment by djordje on July 21, 2012 at 2:17pm

You are a magnificent author Jon.
What would we do, if there was no Geometry Gym.

It is very interesting that almost 2 years after this, Graphisoft is literally doing NOTHING on connecting Archicad with Grasshopper, and that only linkage we have is you.

Shame on them.