Graphisoft Releases Archicad 25

Graphisoft has released its latest version of Archicad with powerful upgrades to make the BIM process even easier for architects and engineers.

The latest version of Archicad features powerful upgrades to rendering and visualization tools to help make models even more lifelike. (Image credit: Graphisoft.)

With the release of its latest and greatest software package, Archicad 25, building information modeling (BIM) developer Graphisoft continues to raise the game and bring an ever more powerful product to market for the architecture industry. Archicad was already the most efficient BIM platform available, but the latest version of the software takes that to another level, with upgrades and features driven specifically by user feedback. The end result is the most user-driven version ever, with powerful enhancements to Archicad’s design, visualization, documentation and collaboration tools.

Rendering and visualization capability upgrades are at the heart of the improvements to Archicad 25, making it easier to create compelling and realistic models. This is great for building stunning graphics and renderings for presentations or marketing materials. The module for generating quantity takeoffs has also been strengthened, allowing architecture professionals to work in a single digital environment from the earliest stages of conceptual design all the way through construction drawing generation.

There are four primary areas to highlight when digging into the upgrades to Archicad—design, visualization, documentation and collaboration. Let’s break down what’s new in each aspect of the software.

Archicad 25 users will experience upgraded design power with productivity and quality improvements to the software that boost design flexibility, automatic documentation and collaboration function between team members. Key design improvements include:

• Speedier modeling with unified commands between 2D and 3D models
• Upgraded quantity estimating tools using plain polygons in 2D or 3D workspaces
• The ability to create custom staircases that comply with local regulations and codes
• An expanded library of 3D parametric objects that align with current trends in residential and commercial design
• The power to import and export Rhino 6 and Rhino 7 files with the freedom to switch back to Archicad to continue a design

Visualization and rendering is one of the most important tools for architects and designers, and Archicad features several key upgrades that enable users to add details and even more stunning graphics to help make presentations and graphics pop, including:

• Lifelike detail with surface textures in section and elevation views without the need for a stand-alone editing software package
• The ability to add shadowing, contours and depth to sections and elevations for more artistic, detailed renderings
• 3D rendering on macOS thanks to Apple’s new graphics API

Users can ensure that their designs comply with national building codes and local regulations with Archicad’s documentation tools. Highlights of the updated version include:

• Automatic display of mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP)-related design to make it easier to document MEP workflow

The ability to work efficiently and smoothly together as a team is one of the most important things that design professionals need in a software package. Archicad enables users to quickly share and support multiple file types to ensure that every step of the design process works well and that nothing slips through the cracks. Collaboration features include:

• Support for more than 40 import and export file types, including DWG, PDF and XLS
• Coordinated workflows thanks to Native Survey Point, which provides easier processing of real-world survey coordinates in Open BIM workflows
• Support for Revit file formats up to 2021
• The ability to eliminate roundtrip errors with Archicad-Solibri connection, which is free for all users
• Easy migration from Archicad to Revit with RFA-RVT Geometry Exchange functionality
• Improved ability to exchange information with structural engineers and allow them to add loads and data to the model without data loss

The early reviews of Archicad 25 are highly effusive, and it sounds like the latest version of the software will become a powerful resource for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry and increase the adoption of and reliance on BIM technology.

“In an ever-changing world, cox graae + spack architects recognizes it’s critical to utilize innovative technologies that enhance our ability to communicate seamlessly with our clients, our consultants, and our project builders as well as the sub-contractor and fabricator communities,” said Derek Banocy, AIA, associate principal.  “From IFC file exchange for consultant coordination to 3D design of complex geometries, Archicad was essential to the entire team to deliver the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Put simply, it would have been impossible to visualize, design, and construct this innovative design without the collaborative team process ingrained in our office culture.”