Hi, I’m Paul, a full-stack developer with a passion for both virtual and real-world construction projects.
I tried Blender many years ago, but it wasn’t until recently—after spending a lot of time using Fusion 360—that Blender started to click for me. Now, I’m getting the hang of it, but I’m still learning and exploring its full potential, especially with BonsaiBIM.
My main interest lies in using BonsaiBIM to model existing buildings in order to design extensions, awnings, carports, and similar structures. I’m particularly keen on simulating these models in relation to the existing architecture, with a focus on optimizing for sunlight paths. I enjoy refining window placements for natural light and shade, and maximizing roof designs for solar panel installations.
One challenge I’ve been facing is accurately importing measurement data, such as heights, into my models. I’d appreciate any tips or guidance from the community on how to improve this process.
Looking forward to connecting with you all and learning from your experiences!
Hi, I'm Steve. Just a regular Joe, not an architect, or anything related. (Professionally an IT consultant). My biggest qualification is paying an architect thousands of pounds for a design for a major renovation with a full set of drawings that got rejected by planning. Wishing to avoid additional thousands in sunk costs, I figured, "How hard can it be to produce my own plans? I already have the main design!" That is my primary interest - modifying the existing design and producing a set of professional looking drawings I can submit to planning myself. I've already done the modifications in another app, but IMHO that it doesn't produce the kind of drawings needed for planning applications. So I will recreate in Bonsai, and create proper drawings and sheets.
Related to that, I want to extend my thanks to @Ace (aka IFC Architect) for his tutorials, and @theoryshaw for the Opening Design git repositories. These have made the complexity of IFC/Bonsai much more understandable for a pleb like me. Now I just have to avoid becoming a Dunning-Kruger case-study...
Hi, I’m Marco, been working in the AEC industry for about 9 years as on site supervisor and project manager, have an Engineering degree and a Master's in Finance.
I'm looking forward to learn about BIM since it's the future of the industry and since I want to move form developing one family house to more commercial and industrial projects found in BIM and edge for both planning and controlling the project.
Really excited to learn from this community and even maybe be able to contribute in something !
G'day everyone!
I'm Ryan, an Aussie living in Switzerland. I'm in the Surveying and Photogrammetry industry and was recently introduced to Blender and Bansai.
Amazing what the combination can do, and I'm looking forward to learning more, and hoping that I can also contribute :)
Hi all,
I'm Lesley, I work for a conservation charity, my main job is digital doc & visualisation (photogrammetry, modelling & unity) background in CAD with some GIS, but I'm trying to help them develop an open source HBIM-lite ecosystem. Currently learning about Bonsai, creating custom asset libraries, and Uniclass so I can build a workflow. Any pointers to tutorials on these subjects would be much appreciated! Looking forward to connecting & learning!
Hello everyone,
I am Prince Oduro based in Kumasi, Ghana. I’m in landscape and construction industry and was recently introduced to Bender and Bonsai. I’m highly impressed with the efficiency and the impact of the software on AEC industry and hoping to learn more and contribute.
Okay and I am glad to hear that. Actually my supervisor and former lecturer at the university has been advocating for the adoption of open source ( esp. Blender/ Bonsai) for up and coming AEC graduates. So far I am learning from him and IfcArchitect (on YouTube) and I am very happy to adopt it as my primary tool for design and construction. I hope to learn a lot from this community. My favourite so far is IfcGit from experimental collaboration I did with him. Thank you.
Hi everyone, I am Davide, a civil engineer from Italy. I work as a coordinator and manager for my BIM consultancy firm. We provide various types of services, ranging from modeling to documentation consultancy, as well as project coordination and verification. I discovered the software through an online informational session about the world of openBIM. Currently, I still mainly work with proprietary software, but I am strongly drawn to the openBIM ecosystem.
Hi , i am Tony from México City, México. I´m an architect right now working in my own 3d modelling and photo realistic visualization portafolio . So thats the reason i´m very interested learning and working using blender and now bonsai , and other free software aswell. There is not much information in spanish about openbim, and i would like to learn more about it. :)
Hi everyone, I'm Herlianto from Jakarta, Indonesia. I work as a bridge engineer for the Indonesian government, and I’m also a hobbyist programmer. I believe I'm in the right place.
Hi, my name is Luc from Montréal, Québec, Canada. I have 25 years of experience in architecture and almost 20 years of experience with Revit and BIM. I also have some experience with Blender, primarily in rendering. I'm very curious about the open-source side of BIM. I believe that simple processes can go a long way. I hope to find my answers here.
Hello! My Name is Vicente. I am a Telecommunications engineer from Spain. I was vdl in this forum and falken10 in github. Now I have consolidated all under falken10vdl.
I have come across this wonderful software by chance. I contracted an Architect and found I could not see the details about the designs because they were in closed software it did not make sense for me to pay.
I started to search for open alternatives and found this marvelous software. In the last weeks I have learnt basics of Blender and Bonsai in order to move the designs to ifc. Now my architect sees the power of this model.
As someone coming from a quite different industry I find this Object oriented approach to AEC much easier to learn (still find many ifc objects and structures quite convoluted but I guess I am just an outsider without enough background ).
So I am quite an amateur on this but very happy to learn and contribute at my level :) I have submitted my first small PRs / issues.
Thanks!
G'day @falken10vdl ! It's super exciting to hear when a client realises that what they're paying for is essentially ... gone from the moment you begin. IFC definitely has some convoluted aspects (but less than it first seems, the more you actually build with it).
Hi! My name is Andrej. I work as a professor of construction informatics at University of Maribor in Slovenia. My original background is software engineering and I am professionally active in AECOO + IT (built environment + construction informatics, and transportation informatics ) over 20 years. Blender was always on my radar but have barely used it (some digital modelling and rendering experiments). The Bonsai Add-on with the latest IFC 4.3 support thru Python + IfcOpenShell + nativeIFC made me start using it for our research and courses with civil engineering students (quality of BIM IFC models).
Hello Everyone!
I'm Basvi, a sophomore doing Bachelors in CS Specialization. I'm quite new to the open-source area and really keen to learn about how IFC works (in detail!) and trying to figure out a bunch of other stuff as well. Through my studies, I've so far gained experience in Python, C, SQL and other tools like MYSql, PowerBi (i'm interested in the data-related field as well:)). There are a lot of experienced people in the community here and I'm looking forward to learn a lot!
Any tips for a beginner in open-source coding (and in using IFC) will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you
Hi people,
My name is Sayan and I'm a CS undergrad currently studying in India. I love to code stuff and tinker with emerging web technologies. While I don't have a background in architecture, I am a big believer in open source and love diving into fields where I can learn new tech and make a difference. I discovered this community through GSoC, and since then I went down the rabbit hole and learnt a ton about IFC and the BIM ecosystem thanks to excellent guidance.
I think what draws me most is that the community is very active and all contributions made have immediate benefits for professionals in the AEC industry. So I'm doing my best to learn, contribute and fix smaller bugs for now :). You can find me on GitHub: @theseyan
Hi Moult, sure would be nice to add my university to the page. We have been using the IfcOpenShell for more than 5 years for research and partly education (starting now more intensively with Master level students). I don't have permission to edit this page ("Your IP address is listed as an open proxy in the DNSBL used by Wiki.OSArch. You cannot create an account." (?)).
@Moult please add this: University of Maribor, Slovenia, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture,, www.fgpa.um.si
Thanks!
Hi OSArch community!! 👋
First of all thanks to all of you moving this community and projects!
I used to be more into 3D / CAD once (Commercial and Open Source, like 15+ ago 😁), and am coming back to it these days for a personal architectural project of a new home (will certainly share more on this later).
I have to say that I am truly amazed by the progress that have achieved in OpenSource 3D software and especially the OSArch ecosystem.
Congratulations guys and thank you again!! 🙏
Hello! I'm a draftsman based currently in Iowa with my BARCH from Iowa State University (2013). I've worked in the past with Opening Design and loved it. I currently have two consistent drafting clients and looking to add a third. I work primarily in Revit (I know, I know, really excited about the recent Bonsai Bim work though). Looking to relocate to Portugal later this year as well.
Comments
Hi, I’m Paul, a full-stack developer with a passion for both virtual and real-world construction projects.
I tried Blender many years ago, but it wasn’t until recently—after spending a lot of time using Fusion 360—that Blender started to click for me. Now, I’m getting the hang of it, but I’m still learning and exploring its full potential, especially with BonsaiBIM.
My main interest lies in using BonsaiBIM to model existing buildings in order to design extensions, awnings, carports, and similar structures. I’m particularly keen on simulating these models in relation to the existing architecture, with a focus on optimizing for sunlight paths. I enjoy refining window placements for natural light and shade, and maximizing roof designs for solar panel installations.
One challenge I’ve been facing is accurately importing measurement data, such as heights, into my models. I’d appreciate any tips or guidance from the community on how to improve this process.
Looking forward to connecting with you all and learning from your experiences!
Hi, I'm Steve. Just a regular Joe, not an architect, or anything related. (Professionally an IT consultant). My biggest qualification is paying an architect thousands of pounds for a design for a major renovation with a full set of drawings that got rejected by planning. Wishing to avoid additional thousands in sunk costs, I figured, "How hard can it be to produce my own plans? I already have the main design!" That is my primary interest - modifying the existing design and producing a set of professional looking drawings I can submit to planning myself. I've already done the modifications in another app, but IMHO that it doesn't produce the kind of drawings needed for planning applications. So I will recreate in Bonsai, and create proper drawings and sheets.
Related to that, I want to extend my thanks to @Ace (aka IFC Architect) for his tutorials, and @theoryshaw for the Opening Design git repositories. These have made the complexity of IFC/Bonsai much more understandable for a pleb like me. Now I just have to avoid becoming a Dunning-Kruger case-study...
Hi, I’m Marco, been working in the AEC industry for about 9 years as on site supervisor and project manager, have an Engineering degree and a Master's in Finance.
I'm looking forward to learn about BIM since it's the future of the industry and since I want to move form developing one family house to more commercial and industrial projects found in BIM and edge for both planning and controlling the project.
Really excited to learn from this community and even maybe be able to contribute in something !
G'day everyone!
I'm Ryan, an Aussie living in Switzerland. I'm in the Surveying and Photogrammetry industry and was recently introduced to Blender and Bansai.
Amazing what the combination can do, and I'm looking forward to learning more, and hoping that I can also contribute :)
Hi all,
I'm Lesley, I work for a conservation charity, my main job is digital doc & visualisation (photogrammetry, modelling & unity) background in CAD with some GIS, but I'm trying to help them develop an open source HBIM-lite ecosystem. Currently learning about Bonsai, creating custom asset libraries, and Uniclass so I can build a workflow. Any pointers to tutorials on these subjects would be much appreciated! Looking forward to connecting & learning!
Hello everyone,
I am Prince Oduro based in Kumasi, Ghana. I’m in landscape and construction industry and was recently introduced to Bender and Bonsai. I’m highly impressed with the efficiency and the impact of the software on AEC industry and hoping to learn more and contribute.
@Prince_01
Akwaaba!
I'm based in Accra ;))
Wow!!! Medaase.
Okay and I am glad to hear that. Actually my supervisor and former lecturer at the university has been advocating for the adoption of open source ( esp. Blender/ Bonsai) for up and coming AEC graduates. So far I am learning from him and IfcArchitect (on YouTube) and I am very happy to adopt it as my primary tool for design and construction. I hope to learn a lot from this community. My favourite so far is IfcGit from experimental collaboration I did with him. Thank you.
Hi everyone, I am Davide, a civil engineer from Italy. I work as a coordinator and manager for my BIM consultancy firm. We provide various types of services, ranging from modeling to documentation consultancy, as well as project coordination and verification. I discovered the software through an online informational session about the world of openBIM. Currently, I still mainly work with proprietary software, but I am strongly drawn to the openBIM ecosystem.
Hi , i am Tony from México City, México. I´m an architect right now working in my own 3d modelling and photo realistic visualization portafolio . So thats the reason i´m very interested learning and working using blender and now bonsai , and other free software aswell. There is not much information in spanish about openbim, and i would like to learn more about it. :)
Hi everyone, I'm Herlianto from Jakarta, Indonesia. I work as a bridge engineer for the Indonesian government, and I’m also a hobbyist programmer. I believe I'm in the right place.
Hi, my name is Luc from Montréal, Québec, Canada. I have 25 years of experience in architecture and almost 20 years of experience with Revit and BIM. I also have some experience with Blender, primarily in rendering. I'm very curious about the open-source side of BIM. I believe that simple processes can go a long way. I hope to find my answers here.
Hello! My Name is Vicente. I am a Telecommunications engineer from Spain. I was vdl in this forum and falken10 in github. Now I have consolidated all under falken10vdl.
I have come across this wonderful software by chance. I contracted an Architect and found I could not see the details about the designs because they were in closed software it did not make sense for me to pay.
I started to search for open alternatives and found this marvelous software. In the last weeks I have learnt basics of Blender and Bonsai in order to move the designs to ifc. Now my architect sees the power of this model.
As someone coming from a quite different industry I find this Object oriented approach to AEC much easier to learn (still find many ifc objects and structures quite convoluted but I guess I am just an outsider without enough background ).
So I am quite an amateur on this but very happy to learn and contribute at my level :) I have submitted my first small PRs / issues.
Thanks!
G'day @falken10vdl ! It's super exciting to hear when a client realises that what they're paying for is essentially ... gone from the moment you begin. IFC definitely has some convoluted aspects (but less than it first seems, the more you actually build with it).
Hi! My name is Andrej. I work as a professor of construction informatics at University of Maribor in Slovenia. My original background is software engineering and I am professionally active in AECOO + IT (built environment + construction informatics, and transportation informatics ) over 20 years. Blender was always on my radar but have barely used it (some digital modelling and rendering experiments). The Bonsai Add-on with the latest IFC 4.3 support thru Python + IfcOpenShell + nativeIFC made me start using it for our research and courses with civil engineering students (quality of BIM IFC models).
Hello Everyone!
I'm Basvi, a sophomore doing Bachelors in CS Specialization. I'm quite new to the open-source area and really keen to learn about how IFC works (in detail!) and trying to figure out a bunch of other stuff as well. Through my studies, I've so far gained experience in Python, C, SQL and other tools like MYSql, PowerBi (i'm interested in the data-related field as well:)). There are a lot of experienced people in the community here and I'm looking forward to learn a lot!
Any tips for a beginner in open-source coding (and in using IFC) will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you
Hi people,
My name is Sayan and I'm a CS undergrad currently studying in India. I love to code stuff and tinker with emerging web technologies. While I don't have a background in architecture, I am a big believer in open source and love diving into fields where I can learn new tech and make a difference. I discovered this community through GSoC, and since then I went down the rabbit hole and learnt a ton about IFC and the BIM ecosystem thanks to excellent guidance.
I think what draws me most is that the community is very active and all contributions made have immediate benefits for professionals in the AEC industry. So I'm doing my best to learn, contribute and fix smaller bugs for now :). You can find me on GitHub: @theseyan
Thanks for reading.
G'day Andrej! It's really great to hear more people use these tools! Is this something you'd add here? https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=IfcOpenShell#Academia
G'day Basvi and Sayan! It's great to see the influx of interest from GSoC and your code contributions are really great to see! Thank you!
Hi Moult, sure would be nice to add my university to the page. We have been using the IfcOpenShell for more than 5 years for research and partly education (starting now more intensively with Master level students). I don't have permission to edit this page ("Your IP address is listed as an open proxy in the DNSBL used by Wiki.OSArch. You cannot create an account." (?)).
@andrejt that's odd, in the meantime let me know what you'd like to add and I can add it on your behalf.
@Moult please add this: University of Maribor, Slovenia, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture,, www.fgpa.um.si
Thanks!
Hi OSArch community!! 👋
First of all thanks to all of you moving this community and projects!
I used to be more into 3D / CAD once (Commercial and Open Source, like 15+ ago 😁), and am coming back to it these days for a personal architectural project of a new home (will certainly share more on this later).
I have to say that I am truly amazed by the progress that have achieved in OpenSource 3D software and especially the OSArch ecosystem.
Congratulations guys and thank you again!! 🙏
Hello! I'm a draftsman based currently in Iowa with my BARCH from Iowa State University (2013). I've worked in the past with Opening Design and loved it. I currently have two consistent drafting clients and looking to add a third. I work primarily in Revit (I know, I know, really excited about the recent Bonsai Bim work though). Looking to relocate to Portugal later this year as well.