Welcome to the OSArch Community - Introduce yourself here.

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  • Welcome to OSArch @bruno_perdigao ! The FOSS AEC space is still very new, but growing quickly! Would love for you to try out things and help us improve. Hopefully, it can indeed turn into software for students!

  • Hi everyone!
    I am here precisely because of this!
    I am an architect and I (like many, I assume) have invested a lot of time in my professional career learning software which I could never afford to pay individually (luckily my workplaces could!). Sketchup going the subscription route has done it for me. It is time I took FOSS seriously and currently, it seems Blender and BlenderBIM is what I should be concentrating on!
    However, there is this problem of learning Blender. Working with SketchUp has let's say, made me lazy and spoilt, and I am at a loss for where to start! I am pretty sure a lot of people would be feeling the same way. So can someone point out some good courses online where I could start with Blender (geared towards architecture)? Sketchup and Layout have pretty much been useful for my needs (as in I never needed advanced BIM capability, just basic annotations and dimensioning with dynamic sections and plans etc).

    paulleeAngelo
  • @JenuJacob I have been collecting some resources for my students on getting started with Blender for Sketchup Users. I am going to start a new thread where I can post them. They might be useful to you as well.

    JenuJacob
  • Welcome @JenuJacob ! You will find Blender an incredibly powerful modeling tool. That said, it is missing some of the features you might consider basic from the SketchUp world. Things like a section plane, or basic annotation tools out of the box. The good news is that there are add-ons covering those bases, and rapidly improving :)

    Please try them out, ask as many questions as you want, and we're all here to help!

    JenuJacobpujiadi
  • Hi all !
    I'm architect living in Ecuador and migrating (long trip) to Open Software. Very happy to find this community.

    basweinJesusbillMoultCyrilcarlopavJosephLombenmlegit
  • Welcome @MartinRoman ! We are all on the long trip :)

  • edited June 2020

    Hello All,
    Like @JenuJacob above I'm here via a convoluted journey from Trimble's decision to make SketchUp subscription only.
    I have a perpetual license and have renewed my Maintenance + Support for many years. It's painful, but I can absorb what is effectively a price hike for me - it's the subscription that I don't like.

    Most likely I'll stay with my SketchUp 2020 (I might be able to upgrade my license to 2021) and see what improvements / features Trimble brings to SketchUp in the coming years.

    I'm quite taken with Blender and with the some of the architectural addons , in particular the recent CAD transform addon, I'm sure I can replicate how I go about modelling inSketchUp.

    However...

    I provide planning and building regulations services for domestic clients - extensions, conversions, alterations, etc. and I would need any new workflow involving Blender to replicate how I go about creating presentations and construction documentation with SketchUp to Layout. I'm quite happy with my current workflow using SketchUp and Layout. Despite the numerous annoyances it's fairly seamless and easy.

    I have nothing to offer other than moral support and my observations...

    CyrilcarlopavJesusbill
  • Welcome @paul_mcalenan - the ability to create construction documentation with Blender is still poor :) However, there are three of us working hard on changing that - the MeasureIt-ARCH Add-on by @kcress , Archipack by @stephen_l and the BlenderBIM Add-on all have various abilities for creating documentation / views, and we've recently started to collaborate to accelerate development :)

    Have fun, and please post your criticisms and observations when comparing the layouting abilities of Blender and SketchUp - we will place close attention to them and try to improve :)

    gern
  • edited June 2020

    @paul_mcalenan said:

    I provide planning and building regulations services for domestic clients - extensions, conversions, alterations, etc. and I would need any new workflow involving Blender to replicate how I go about creating presentations and construction documentation with SketchUp to Layout. I'm quite happy with my current workflow using SketchUp and Layout. Despite the numerous annoyances it's fairly seamless and easy.

    >
    There is an addon in Blender for exporting DXF files from your 3D model. The meshes are exported as polylines and you can get 2D views from every side of your project. From that point the DXF file can be imported to LibreCAD or QCAD or NanoCAD... or even AutoCAD :)

  • @bitacovir said:
    @paul_mcalenan There is an addon in Blender for exporting DXF files from your 3D model. The meshes are exported as polylines and you can get 2D views from every side of your project.

    The Blender Collada (DAE) plugin is a good way to move data back and forth between blender and sketchup, this can help you get more familiar with blender without having to jump all the way in.

  • Thanks for those replies!
    Also the CAD Transform addon by @stephen_l is excellent.
    @bitacovir, @brunopostle, I'll check out those tips

  • Hi, I'm also an architect, I live in Vienna and I'd love to see this developing into an open and accessible opportunity for all the archi students and freelancers of this world, the way Blender already is for the CG artists. As my knowledge of coding is still limited I'll try to focus on expanding the Wiki, I'd like to start with the page on documentation and perhaps some translation into German and Czech.

    bitacovirMoultcarlopavArnoldEstruturasbdamay
  • Hello,
    I am a structural engineer in Brazil working as a single practitioner. I don't know much about coding but I will certainly try to use the software in this early stage. I expect to see some tools for rebar modeling and steel detailing in the future. Good luck guys.

    CyrilMoultJesusbillcarlopav
  • Welcome to OSArch, @ArnoldEstruturas ! You might want to reach out to folks like @bernd and @Jesusbill who have structural backgrounds too! They can perhaps guide on what is currently possible.

    ArnoldEstruturas
  • I expect to see some tools for rebar modeling and steel detailing in the future. Good luck guys.

    Check out https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=44863 and https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=44580

    ArnoldEstruturas
  • @bernd today, I implemented export of swept disk solids, so that's a good start! :)

  • Hello OSArch Community! I'm an architectural designer out of Chicago and thrilled to learn more about open source software for the AEC industry. I hope to someday incorporate more of these tools into my professional work instead of being so handcuffed to the big monopolies. In the meantime, I'm happy to be a fly on the wall and start learning some of these tools!

    JesusbillJosephLom
  • @zager welcome to the community, and feel free to be a fly on the wall! Whilst you're learning these new tools, please also give us a shout every time it:

    1. Lets you down.
    2. Gives you up.
    3. Turns around and deserts you.

    With your help, we'll fix it together and slowly change the industry :) Here's a big list to get started: https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=AEC_Free_Software_directory

    duncan
  • @Moult did you just rickroll me?! lol. Thanks for sharing that list. I've already dabbled in a few.

    MoultJesusbill
  • Hello Great Minds,
    I am Idowu (iD) and a Quantity Surveyor by training with about 15 years of practice on various private residential and public building projects in Nigeria. I love computers and developed interest in Python and R about 3 years ago. The search for a truly FOSS for a complete office workflow for the AEC took me down the path of FreeCAD and Blender. Unfortunately they are not suitable for Quantity Surveyors. In my opinion BlenderBIM should be the way to go as a one-stop-shop for OpenBIM within AEC. A great shout out to @Moult for this Add-on. He has a great mind and good spirit.

    I am glad to be here and hope to be useful in the development of OpenBIM. Thanks.

    JesusbillCyrilcarlopav
  • Welcome to the OSArch community @iosvarms ! Hopefully we can build all the necessary quantity surveying features you need!

  • Welcome to the community, @iosvarms. I'm interested in knowing if you're already trying your hands at BlenderBIM and how well you seeing it fitting into your workflow for costing projects in Nigeria.

  • edited August 2020

    @iosvarms it should be possible to create a connection between an IFC file and Libreoffice Base for doing cost estimates. Feel free to start a new thread on the topic of quantity surveying where we can discuss options.

  • @DADA_universe Thanks. At the moment, it is difficult convincing management to explore BlenderBIM and it is not part of our workflow. Sadly, a few of my professional colleagues are not on-board with OpenBIM. But I believe a working demonstration is needed to get them interested.

  • @duncan I believe this should be possible. My actual intention before meeting @Moult was to parse .ifc files in Python and export to a spreadsheet for BOQ preparation. But the visualization with BlenderBIM seems more intuitive and appealing, also there is an export to csv in BlenderBIM so I dropped my intention.

    For cost estimating, you will need the following information per unit measurement or BOQ item;
    1. Unit rates for material, personnel, equipment
    2. Unit quantities for material,
    3. Unit man-hour for personnel, and
    4. Unit output-hour for equipment
    Profits, overheads and preliminaries are also required for good cost estimates
    I am not sure if these information can be gleaned from .ifc or if buildingSMART has this in IFC4, but I will try and check it out.

  • edited August 2020

    @iosvarms IFC does indeed support BOQ data. It supports IfcCostSchedule and IfcCostItem. See diagram below.

    However, I don't know anybody who has implemented it.

    We can be the first. Go go go!

    tlang
  • @Moult said:
    @iosvarms IFC does indeed support BOQ data. It supports IfcCostSchedule and IfcCostItem. See diagram below.

    I thought "that's crazy, having pricing information inside a design file", but maybe this is what architects need: a big dollar value in the corner of the screen that keeps going up while they are designing, it could be animated with gold coins and a ka-ching noise ;)

    duncanJesusbillMoultcarlopavArvJanFiosvarmsJQLDADA_universeCoenand 1 other.
  • Hello everyone!
    I'm a graduate student with MCAD's Sustainable Design program - currently residing in Portland, OR but formerly of Portland, ME. Glad to find this subject - and this project in particular - in my preliminary thesis research! I'm developing a project around anthromes, regenerative urbanism, and material culture and am making every effort to keep its development to resources that are forever FOSS. I'm enthused to have found this now because I won't really get into the thick of it for another year - which means I can hang around you lovely people and absorb everything I can while mulling around with tools. I anticipate developing algorithmic design resources through Animation Nodes / Everything Nodes that can help project workflow continuity, going from community mapping visuals right down to CNC files for productio - and hopefully not just for professionals but something suitable for students, community groups, makerspaces, etc.
    Anyway - good on you for putting this together - high time for FOSS dev in this arena!

    brunopostleMoultCyrilduncanJesusbillbasweincarlopav
  • Welcome @Than ! It would be fascinating for us to help contribute to your research! Let us know is there is any way that we can!

    Than
  • Hi everyone
    I'm Italian.
    I'm director of a technical IT consulting company.
    I'm a researcher who studies the application of the BIM methodology in order to guarantee the results of the built in the use and management phase.
    I believe that we need to take a step forward and leave the importance that is given to data, in order to create the culture necessary to deliver information.
    I have been following for some time the excellent work of Dion through the BIMvoice videos.
    I hope I can make my contribution to the community.
    Regards
    andrea

    CyrilbasweinJesusbillcarlopav
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