Link your NBS project specification information to your ArchiCAD Building Information Model
LONDON, July 27, 2010
GRAPHISOFT today announced that ArchiCAD™, its award-winning architectural design software, can now link directly with NBS specifications. This capability continues the company’s innovation in model-based design collaboration by offering an easy-to-use, yet powerful connection with documents produced with the UK’s industry-standard master specification system.
The connection delivers productivity improvements to architects and other specifiers by providing a quick and easy-to-use method within ArchiCAD for creating links between the information modeled in ArchiCAD and that modeled in NBS. Clause titles and references can be added with a single mouse-click; NBS guidance can be viewed in context to assist decision making; and the specification details can be easily reviewed and revised, with an automated link ensuring the details in the specification and ArchiCAD models remain in sync.
This latest ArchiCAD plug-in from GRAPHISOFT links to specifications written in any of NBS specification systems, including NBS Building, NBS Engineering Services, NBS Landscape and NBS Scheduler.
“Building Information Modeling (BIM) has created an unprecedented potential for improving the coordination and quality of design and construction documentation,” said Simon Gilbert, ArchiCAD Product Manager at GRAPHISOFT. “With this connection between ArchiCAD and NBS, architects and designers can be assured that the specification details in their designs are accurate and, perhaps just as important, the effort required to place and maintain specification details has been reduced hugely.”
Dr Stephen Hamil, from the research and development department of NBS, echoed Simon’s comments. “Bringing the information held in project specifications and that held within the CAD model closer, and providing the user the ability to maintain these relationships in this way, is an important development in the evolution of BIM. The road to integrated coordination of project information will be made up of small but significant steps like this, and we are pleased to have supported GRAPHISOFT in the UK to be able to make this innovation available to users of ArchiCAD and NBS.”
Nick Greenwood, of Mouchel Business Services, who has been trialing the new connection, commented, “Marking up the architectural model with specification references is a very important part of preparing high quality construction documentation but it is also very tedious and repetitive work. And, of course, if it’s being done manually from paper specifications it’s easy to make a mistake when transcribing a specification number. This connection makes it really simple and quick to apply specification details to any view or document in the design and it’s really great having such a simple method to check that the details are up to date. This is an enormous time saver for us both in applying the specifications in the first place and ensuring that the correct specification details are on the final documentation.”
A movie showing the scope of NBS Building, how this is connected with ArchiCAD, and how specifications can be reviewed and revised in ArchiCAD, is at www.tinyurl.com/nbslink
Availability
The ArchiCAD to NBS connection is available immediately and can be obtained from Accredited ArchiCAD Centres in the UK and Ireland. These Centres can be located at www.graphisoft.com/purchase
About NBS
Since the 1970s, architects have turned to NBS master specification systems to produce technically robust, up-to-date project specifications. NBS also provides tools for project administration, online access to technical and regulatory information, and learning services to keep construction professionals' skills and knowledge current. It is also the official publisher of the Approved Documents to the Building Regulations. Further information, can be found at www.theNBS.com. Further media requests can be made to James Sykes at james.sykes@theNBS.com
About GRAPHISOFT
GRAPHISOFT® ignited the BIM revolution with ArchiCAD®, the industry first BIM software for architects. GRAPHISOFT continues to lead the industry with innovative solutions such as the revolutionary GRAPHISOFT BIM Server™, the world’s first real-time BIM collaboration environment, and the GRAPHISOFT EcoDesigner™, the world's first fully integrated building energy modeling application. GRAPHISOFT’s innovative solutions have fundamentally changed the way architects around the world design and collaborate.
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