Hi all, I know this topic is a bit overdone and it is ultimately my preference, however, please help. I will be opening a new firm next year and not sure which BIM software is best. It will be just me and wife in the beginning. I have a lot of experience with Revit, but no Archicad. I love working on Apple products mainly because of the workflow, but unfortunately, Revit is not native to Mac. By the way, are there a lot of firms in Canada that uses Apple? and what do they use? We do not fear to learn a new program. I have been hearing great things about Archicad. I imagine that we will be exporting dwgs files to the engineers, so either BIM software would work.
Thanks :-)
Non Sequitur
Jun 13, 17 7:56 pm
Revit. I've only ever heard of one Canadian firm using MACs and I have literally never heard anyone mention archicad.
Don't go the MAC route. High cost where the only benefit is the shiny Sex appeal factor.
bowling_ball
Jun 13, 17 9:13 pm
Revit is going to be easier to coordinate with your consultants, though archicad is definitely used by a few firms local to me.
On that note, several local firms (I'm in Canada) do use Mac, most often with vectorworks. I work in a 22-person firm where at least 4 people work on Mac's, the rest on PC. It's never been anything but close to seamless for us. We also use a combination of iPads and various phones for site reports.
ArchiFair
Aug 1, 18 4:52 pm
Go to ArchiCAD, because it's the better BIM solution for Architects and Designers The choice is simple: If you want your full BIM software to help you in your design and presentation, go for ArchiCAD. If you go with Revit, you will need to add Sketchup Pro to do your schematics.
Vectorworks is a solid solution, but doesn't have the BIM capabilities of ArchiCAD.
randomised
Aug 2, 18 3:24 pm
It also depends on the kind of jobs you will work on and how much you are willing to pay for your software licenses. Worked on Mac in Vectorworks and ArchiCad. Did apartment buildings, a school and a hotel in ArchiCad, very design heavy with making lots of variations and options all within ArchiCad. We exchanged models in IFC format with consultants and engineers. Loved the workflow myself and how you can basically do everything within one program if you want. To make the 2D drawing sets look good requires some work though. Never worked with Revit.
SneakyPete
Aug 2, 18 5:03 pm
Look into Revit LT.
urbanity
Aug 2, 18 9:25 pm
try out the demo programs and make up your own mind about whats best for your firm.
Birksworks
Jan 31, 20 4:39 pm
For design and architecture, Revit LT is a joke. It's either Revit or ArchiCAD. If your work is design-centric, go for ArchiCAD. It works on Mac and works well with consultants through the OpenBIM format.
Hi all, I know this topic is a bit overdone and it is ultimately my preference, however, please help. I will be opening a new firm next year and not sure which BIM software is best. It will be just me and wife in the beginning. I have a lot of experience with Revit, but no Archicad. I love working on Apple products mainly because of the workflow, but unfortunately, Revit is not native to Mac. By the way, are there a lot of firms in Canada that uses Apple? and what do they use? We do not fear to learn a new program. I have been hearing great things about Archicad. I imagine that we will be exporting dwgs files to the engineers, so either BIM software would work.
Thanks :-)
Revit. I've only ever heard of one Canadian firm using MACs and I have literally never heard anyone mention archicad.
Don't go the MAC route. High cost where the only benefit is the shiny Sex appeal factor.
Revit is going to be easier to coordinate with your consultants, though archicad is definitely used by a few firms local to me.
On that note, several local firms (I'm in Canada) do use Mac, most often with vectorworks. I work in a 22-person firm where at least 4 people work on Mac's, the rest on PC. It's never been anything but close to seamless for us. We also use a combination of iPads and various phones for site reports.
Go to ArchiCAD, because it's the better BIM solution for Architects and Designers
The choice is simple: If you want your full BIM software to help you in your design and presentation, go for ArchiCAD. If you go with Revit, you will need to add Sketchup Pro to do your schematics.
Vectorworks is a solid solution, but doesn't have the BIM capabilities of ArchiCAD.
It also depends on the kind of jobs you will work on and how much you are willing to pay for your software licenses. Worked on Mac in Vectorworks and ArchiCad. Did apartment buildings, a school and a hotel in ArchiCad, very design heavy with making lots of variations and options all within ArchiCad. We exchanged models in IFC format with consultants and engineers. Loved the workflow myself and how you can basically do everything within one program if you want. To make the 2D drawing sets look good requires some work though. Never worked with Revit.
Look into Revit LT.
try out the demo programs and make up your own mind about whats best for your firm.
For design and architecture, Revit LT is a joke. It's either Revit or ArchiCAD. If your work is design-centric, go for ArchiCAD. It works on Mac and works well with consultants through the OpenBIM format.