The beast with 1,000 heads
This week’s posts definitely have a theme: ArchiCAD vs. Revit.
I hope to keep it above board. I’ve no interest in really trashing a program I don’ know or getting Reviteers to jump ship. I just want to raise awareness for all involved: BIM users, BIM curious, BIM averse. All types.
I had thought about writing a bunch of garbage like:
ArchiCAD vs Revit or How do ArchiCAD and Revit compare? or Which is better ArchiCAD or Revit? or Revit Sucks! I love ArchiCAD!
I assume those and all the other countless permutations of that endless conversation will do wonders for my search engine traffic. Probably not. But just for good measure: SketchUp vs ArchiCAD vs Revit.
To the Point, Jared! To the point.
Want proof that the whole ArchiCAD vs Revit vs other BIM program is a never ending cycle of people justifying their love of how they work, of the merits for each program, of the deficiencies of each, etc.?
There is a year old thread on LinkedIn about ArchiCAD vs Revit. Sometimes it goes dormant for a while. But it seems unkillable. It’s a trainwreck. I try to stop reading it but I can’t. I’ve maybe read 60% of the posts. I’ve learned a lot. And I occasionally contribute. And more often than not it pisses me off. Fall into the pit of doom yourself. And revel in it. While it might sound like I’m trashing the thread, let me say this: it’s wonderful in its grandeur. It’s full of people being open, honest, and most of all heartfelt. There are true experts of both programs. And regrettably some flamers too. As of this writing, it’s at 1,150 comments. I hope it never dies. It’s a great conversation, regardless of its potential to annoy me. It raises plenty of issues we should be talking about. And yes, too many that I’d rather not waste my time on. Enjoy, lurk, add your thoughts, and let’s see this continue for a long time to come.
The beast with 1,000 heads awaits…
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Rasa
Hey Jared,
just discovered this blog – it’s great! My company is deciding whether or not to attempt incorporating BIM, even Open BIM. I’ve written a Market Analysis for BIM and now I’m researching about Open BIM. The question I must answer is why Open BIM and/or which application should we start with? I’ve kind of generalized this task to basically presenting something along the lines of Archicad vs Revit vs…etc etc, but need to do TONS more research to understand all the different programs out there and which category they fall into. Can you provide the link to this invincible Linkedin post so that I can learn a bit, too? and, sorry, this is probably a stupid question, but where does Vectorworks fall in?
A million thanks, and hats off to you for an awesome blog…
Jared Banks
The link is above in the post; actually both links in the post will take you there. If you’re doing a big comparison… look at the latest versions of ArchiCAD, Revit, Vectorworks, and Bentley Systems. Each has good and great things to offer. There is no ‘OpenBIM or not OpenBIM’. There’s only OpenBIM and wasting your effort. Openness is the future of BIM. To turn away from Open BIM is to limit your team mates and giving your company over to the whims of another mega-corporation. Glad the blog has been helpful and best of luck with your BIM search.
I’ve got a ton of advice for choosing which software, but here’s probably the most succinct way I can say it:
Which BIM Software should I use?
Rasa
Thanks, Jared. Okay, I’ve convinced my company to go Open BIM. Now what? We’re thinking Tekla and ArchiCAD…but then, what’s the process for the BIM immersion? Like, where do we start after we’ve made the decision switch from 2D to Open BIM?
Jared Banks
Rasa, I’d talk to your local reseller. Not only will they know about BIM in your area, they’ll also be able to connect you with other ArchiCAD users doing similar work to you. I’m sure they will also be able to get you in touch with trainers and people who can help you on your journey to Open BIM.
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