Graphisoft's ArchiCAD 7.0 Integrates Design and Construction Data With Links to Timberline Cost-Estimating Software ArchiCAD 7.0 to Support Timberline Via IFC 2.0 Standard

February 20 – In a move to speed the convergence of design and construction building information, Graphisoft announced that its upcoming release of ArchiCAD 7.0 will include powerful cost-estimating links to Timberline software via the International Alliance for Interoperability's (IAI) IFC 2.0 standard.

Through links to Timberline's Precision Estimating software, Graphisoft ties the design and construction process together within the ArchiCAD virtual building model. This level of integration provides three key advantages as builders realize the ability to:

• bid on projects with a higher level of confidence in the projected ROI;
• control construction costs during the design phase;
• manage a wider range of change orders;
• maintain control over cost initiatives.

Graphisoft's commitment to integrating IFC and information capture combined with Timberline's own CAD integration strategy promises a quantum leap in functionality for ArchiCAD 7.0. The links to Timberline's software will streamline the estimating process, from conceptual estimate to final bill of materials, and will reduce estimating time by 50% or more. ArchiCAD users will gain fast, accurate takeoff tools, a variety of ways to view and analyze the estimate and presentation-quality reports.

I recently had the opportunity to have IFC functionality demonstrated to me by representatives of the BLIS Project. BLIS stands for Building Lifecycle Interoperable Software, and it was conceived "as a way to initiate the next logical phase in the widespread adoption of an object data model standard for the AEC/FM industry." Senior executives from Timberline, Graphisoft and Microsoft were on hand to demonstrate how project model data can be preserved and augmented as it passes from one application (space planning, for instance), to another (CAD, cost-estimating, etc.) The initiative is presently supported by 60 organizations, including project hosting websites, consultants and end-users. For more information on the BLIS Project, see www.blis-project.com .

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