Software Decline
There is so much misinformation out there, especially about usage numbers and software, especially software for architects. Right before I left Minnesota I had an old colleague/friend tell me that he was talking to an ArchiCAD user he met in a Revit training class. This mystery ArchiCAD user claimed that the ArchiCAD community in Minnesota was shrinking and everyone was abandoning the program (for another BIM application). My old colleague spoke of this to me as fact. All I could do was laugh and tell him this mystery user was completely, 100% wrong. I of course had to then remind my friend that as the reseller of ArchiCAD in Minnesota, the person who runs the user group, and as someone highly connected to the community in general, I had a pretty good idea of the local ArchiCAD community’s strength, happiness with ArchiCAD, and general growth (Spoiler Alert: things are going well for ArchiCAD users in Minnesota). Even all that said, my friend was still unconvinced. For whatever reason he decided the point of view of one naysayer carried more weight…
This pessimism is everywhere. I saw a question on the ArchiCAD-Talk forum the other day that asked “will ArchiCAD abandon Macs?” Questions like this astound me. Never think like this. Everyone is hot for Apple. We’ll see Revit on a Mac before we see ArchiCAD abandon Macs. And I don’t expect to see Revit on a Mac anytime soon.** Graphisoft and Apple have a long, long, long history. Graphisoft will never leave Macs.
In all these discussions about the health of software, user base, job prospects, etc, it’s best to remember Mark Twain:
“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
In all honesty, the answers to those pessimistic worries don’t matter. The questions don’t even matter. Here’s what does: If you think like this, fretting over silly fatalistic questions, you will always be chasing and you will always lose. You will never be the chased. This is what drives me so crazy with people jumping ship for Revit because of marketing hype and consumer chatter. Use a program if it serves you well. Use it if you think it’ll make a difference for your business. But if you’re using it because everyone else is, you’ll be a follower, not a leader. Clients and employers looking for Revit will probably still pass you over. Because you’re chasing, not being chased. You’re using it because you think you have to, not because you want to. The guys who want to use Revit will crush you. Just like the users who want to use ArchiCAD are crushing you now. Same goes for BIM.
So this isn’t about Revit or ArchiCAD being better. The product names could be reversed or exchanged for a number of other programs. It’s just about you being wrong. About a lack of commitment to the tool that can make you piles and piles of money.
Remember:
- This is how you pick your BIM.
- This is how to decide who to listen to about BIM.
- This is how to understand the different between popularity and value.
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**Duel boot or through a web browser doesn’t count as Revit on a Mac. Duel boot is just silly, what’s the point? Just buy a really good, cheaper PC laptop. I never understood the allure of duel boot. But I’m open to a good explanation. Someone have one? And a web browser sounds like a great idea, but there’s still the PC on the other end, the wizard behind the curtain. It’s not a one machine solution. It’s not REALLY Revit on a Mac. Until you’re running Revit via a server on the cloud which you don’t own, that solution makes me wary. At that point it’s SaaS and platform doesn’t matter much (FYI, Autodesk is moving in that direction). Whoever really reaches that point first is going to have a big advantage, probably. Especially if they don’t fuck up the pricing on it. I digress…
Billy Earnest
I’ve recently started using Revit LT 2014 in my freelance endeavors. I’m about halfway into my first residential project & honestly, pretty much everything I’ve done so far has been much, much easier than I found ArchiCAD to be (at 3-4 years in with several projects of varying size). On the same size project, ArchiCAD seemed to fight me on everything, or have several extra steps just to get to the same place. I’m amazed & shocked so far at how easy my FIRST Revit experience is going (Windows/VMware Fusion on a Mac) . It’s too bad Revit doesn’t have reps who can demo their product as well as the ArchiCAD guys do. Josh Bone is/was our regional ArchiCAD guy, & he is the single greatest product rep. I’ve ever known. I don’t see him often, but I consider him a friend outside of the work context.
It truly is about getting the job done. We all have to find what suits us best…..& we also have to try some different tools in the process….which means sometimes getting sidetracked.
nicolas miard
It’s the opposite for me.
I have to use Revit 2012 for my new job, it’s been a year and I can’t stand it anymore.
Revit do some things very well, but I miss the ArchiCAD a lot. I miss the project manager, I miss the easy pdf printing, I miss the direct controls on the slabs, roofs, I miss the simple keystrokes, and so on.
I wasn’t a strong ArchiCAD user, and I was just getting my hands into making myself a good template, that could make a lot of things easier. and I think that might be what you missed too.
ArchiCAD is an incredible tool, but it as to be mastered. The learning process could be hard and you could feel lost sometimes, but it’s worth it.
a good Template is as import to Revit as it is to ArchiCAD, so if you’re going to keep using Revit, I suggest you to work hard on your template.
on many levels, ArchiCAD is, to me, ahead of Revit, by far, and it’s too bad you’re abandoning it.
btw, I’ve never used Revit 2014, maybe some of the tools have changed (like the shitty 2012’s Stair Maker)
cheers.
Billy Earnest
I have created my own template in Archicad, & I’m doing so in Revit. For reference, I’ve been doing this type of work for 20 years, most of which I was working in an architectural firm, as a senior level technician, along with with maintains office standards, in-house IT, working in a production team environment.
When I say ‘easier’ I am describing all aspects. Template, modeling, creating custom elements, importing, 2D work, etc.
Phil Allsopp
Since the early 1980s I’ve heard reports of Apple’s demise and even geniuses on Wall Street (the folks who brought us the biggest financial collapse in history) were clamoring for Apple’s acquisition by IBM or DEC so as to put a stop to “non-standard” forms of computing. It was laughable then as are statements today about ArchiCAD’s abandoning the OS X Unix platform in favor of a Window only solution.
We use ArchiCAD BECAUSE it works on two operating system platforms. We choose to use OS X in the office because we know from experience and our financials that supporting Windows applications is far more costly and time consuming than working with OS X.
ArchiCAD works for us on many, many levels. We’ve tried REVIT, Vectorworks and, way back in the 1980s, GDS and MiniCAD (the precursor to Vectorworks). Our two “best systems” based on experience are ArchiCAD and GDS with Vectorworks as a close third.
Stefan Boeykens
As a teacher, I’m inclined to listen to my students and co-teachers on one hand, but then still form my own opinion on the other hand. If I had been “following the demand” in our school, I’d still be teaching AutoCAD for 2D drafting and some 3D Solid modelling. And everybody would be happy.
But I was sold by the concept of BIM and the way it is implemented in ArchiCAD fit me really well (at a time Revit was not in sight). So I entered BIM in our CAAD classes.
Today, I’m still rowing against the tide. But am even more convinced that this is what they should learn. Not because our architects in our region ask for it (they don’t), but to introduce the concept of a single model, synchronised documents, working in 3D and having flexible representations (text, tables, 3D, 2D, …) all from the same model.
Jared Banks
Not because they ask, but because they need to learn about a bigger concept. I like that. A lot.