I love working in the BIM environment and helping other architects work in a smarter, more efficient manner. I started using ArchiCAD in 2006, founded the Minnesota ArchiCAD Usergroup in 2009, and began blogging about ArchiCAD in 2010. I'm always looking for guest bloggers who also want to share their experiences with ArchiCAD and BIM.
Posted: October 11th, 2011 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Short Posts | Tags: BIM philosophy, Frustration | 20 Comments »
Not everyone owns a cellphone
Not everyone in the firm has their own computer
You sign out conference rooms by hand using a clipboard
Your boss has his secretary printout e-mails for him
You have hand drafters who never 'got' CAD
Your boss thinks computers are a fad or something to humor the younger staff
Too many coworkers aren't on Facebook, have never heard of Google+, and only know about Twitter because of Ashton Kutcher.
Your office smells like ammonia and you're the only one who can change the plotter paper.
Your coworkers don't understand what Wi-Fi is.
SketchUp is one
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Posted: August 28th, 2011 | Author: Jeroen de Bruin | Filed under: Guest Bloggers, Long Posts | Tags: ArchiCAD-Talk Forum, BIM philosophy, GDL, Modeling, Objects | 3 Comments »
My adventure started after finishing a bachelor in architecture and working in several architects’ offices. I found that drafting in 2D really annoyed me: First draw the floor plan, then the elevations, manually add in shadows… and then the architect changes the design and you start over again. Those painstaking hours of checking if the elevation matched the floor plan... If only there had been an ArchiCAD feature like Trace and Reference! I was always looking for ways to prevent errors and optimize the program.
In 2006, I started working for the Dutch reseller of ArchiCAD. At the first
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Posted: April 3rd, 2011 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts | Tags: BIM philosophy, Data Safety | 3 Comments »
Are you saving a backup every day? Your answer better be yes. Data safety and organization is the subbasement/foundation of BIM. Your BIM model is only useful if it’s accessible, readable, and existent. Don’t lose your data.
It’s not just about file corruption and lost computers. Projects change. And change back. A backup a day allows you to copy and paste changes back and forth between files.
- about to add 6 5/8” to a story height? Save a backup first.
- Adding 2 feet to the width of half your building? Save a backup first.
- Cutting out
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Posted: March 13th, 2011 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts, Minnesota ArchiCAD Usergroup | Tags: BIM philosophy, BIMx, Production, Rendering, SketchUp | 12 Comments »
Our March 2011 usergroup meeting was one of my favorites: there was a wonderful turn out and a lot of lively discussion. The main topic for this meeting was what is everyone doing to leverage BIM / ArchiCAD to get and retain clients? While we did cover a lot of how-to stuff, it was all structured around that basic question.
BIM offers a lot of great opportunities. Better coordinated documents, clash detection, and other ways to minimize problems in the field. Ease of prototyping various design options, incorporating energy modeling and sustainable design options via EcoDesigner and similar programs,
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Posted: February 13th, 2011 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts | Tags: BIM philosophy, Challenge, Data Safety, Endless Path of Improvement, Frustration | 3 Comments »
How often do you back up your files? Daily? You better. Anything longer is a wrong answer.
Here's Part One of why:
My brother is in IT; when I was younger he excitedly told me about a new server he'd installed. It had 7 drives in parallel. You could rip one out of the server while it was on and no data was lost. It needed to be set up properly and maintained of course. Fortunately, my brother is the IT guy other IT guys go to for help.
I recently heard about a 100-200 person company that had a server fail. Upon investigation, it turned out none (okay, maybe one erratically) of their servers
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Posted: January 6th, 2011 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Short Posts | Tags: BIM philosophy | No Comments »
My wife and I were watching Baking with Julia tonight. The episode co-starred Bread Machine Wizard Lora Brody of West Newton, Massachusetts. Julia Child, a bread machine skeptic, had a killer quote:
You’re the boss of the machine
It’s a wonderful mantra for ArchiCAD and makes a great lead into my first post.
Posted: August 30th, 2010 | Author: Jared Banks | Filed under: Long Posts | Tags: BIM philosophy, Cabinetry, Modeling, Production | 1 Comment »
Do I use ArchiCAD to its fullest? Not even close. Is my work a combination of 2D & 3D? of course. Each project is more 3D and less 2D. However, it’s not about 100% 3D vs. 100% 2D or 100% parametric vs. 100% dumb lines and objects. It’s about utility. With my current workflow, and that of the people I work with, there’s a balance of usefulness. New construction walls, cabinets, and details are three good examples of why I work the way I do.
Details - 2D, overlay on model w/ trace reference. This method allows me to coordinate the details with the model and develop the design
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Wisdom from the Crowd