Under the Hard Hat

Tag: 3D modeling

  • Best 3D modeling architecture software

    Best 3D modeling architecture software

    Software isn’t one-size-fits-all for every industry, including architecture. Hobbyists, designers, and architects use 3D modeling software to create a comprehensive building overview or test new design methods. Software made specifically for 3D architecture should offer a simple UI, templating, and detailed visualization features. Top products like Revit, Archicad, and Sketchup bring an architect’s plans to life.

    Why use CAD software for architecture?

    Computer-aided design (CAD) software is crucial for proper, modern 3D modeling for architects. Also used by civil engineers and interior designers, it creates a way of visualizing projects for clients. Users can use different textures and materials to generate a photorealistic rendering and easily make heavy edits. Building and rebuilding designs efficiently is the most practical way to work in the sector.

    CAD software allows users to collaborate with their team regardless of physical boundaries. For the most effective collaboration, some software products are deployed on the cloud, where work is not only accessible for teammates to view but also edit, design, and build live with them. 

    For some, CAD software doesn’t entirely eliminate the pen-and-paper method but produces more realistic, highly detailed, and accessible work. It saves time, boosts productivity, and speeds the dream-to-completion timeline.

    5 architectural 3D modeling software programs to consider

    1. Lumion

    • Best for: Architectural design and urban planning
    • Cost: $64.95 USD per month (Standard Plan)

    Lumion is a popular visualization software for urban planners and architectural designers. It creates stunning, realistic visualizations of designs, and its user-friendly interface allows people to work effectively without the extensive technical expertise required for other tools. Lumion specializes in converting models into realistic renderings and providing slick animations alongside them. 

    Lumion prides itself on being one of the fastest products available. It offers users a live syncing system to reflect real-time changes for optimal collaboration. Lumion also supports other modeling software in existing workflows, including Revie, SketchUp, Rhino, and more. This makes it easy for users to migrate to Lumion or collaborate with Lumion while remaining in their preferred tool.

    Features

    • Slick lighting effects
    • Animations
    • LiveSync with CAD/BIM Software
    • 360° panorama and VR output views

    2. Revit

    • Best for: Architectural design and project management
    • Cost: $340.95 USD per month

    Autodesk Revit is one of the more versatile 3D modeling products on our list. It offers visualization and project management capabilities, providing a unified platform for creating and collaborating on highly accurate architectural designs. This streamlines the construction and design processes. Architects can use rendering tools to improve visualization and collaborative and documentation features to smooth bumps in the workflow and improve accuracy and building performance. 

    Revit could also come as a software bundle from Autodesk, and users can buy in tandem with AutoCAD, Navisworks, Autodesk Forma, Autodesk Docs, ReCap Pro, and more. It’s a suite of tools that cover the architectural role and more. 

    Features

    • Realistic rendering
    • Documentation and collaboration tools
    • Simulation and energy analysis functionality

    3. SketchUp

    • Best for: Architects and designers focusing on sustainability 
    • Cost: $17.99 USD per month (iPad and Web plan)

    SketchUp is another widely used 3D modeling software known for its intuitive interface and powerful features. Designers and architects can comfortably visualize and create everything from bare-bones initial concepts to the most detailed iterations in their end phases. SketchUp offers an extensive library of materials and models and is made for beginners and professional designers. 

    SketchUp prides itself on being easy to use and highly intuitive. It also aims to help designers and architects produce models that are sustainable. To make your model as eco-friendly as possible, SketchUp offers intuitive daylight optimization features and net-zero design goals. 

    Features

    • Extensive model library
    • Intuitive and clean UI
    • Collaboration tools
    • Fast and effective visualization 

    4. Archicad

    • Best for: Architects needing a complete BIM tool
    • Cost: 179.17 USD per month on the solo plan

    Graphisoft’s Archicad is an open Building Information Modeling (BIM) complete tool for architects, allowing for 2D, 3D, visualization, or building modeling. This comprehensive software offers everything from engineering and design work to advanced visualization. Archicad provides high-quality and photorealistic rendering and is known for its capacity to store large amounts of data in 3D models. 

    Archicad can be used to plan and design urban areas, interiors, and exteriors of buildings and supports interior design work. It offers collaboration and documentation tools and works seamlessly with other Graphisoft products, making it a complete suite for architects. 

    Features

    • Collaboration and documentation tooling
    • Animations and photo-realistic rendering
    • Real-time visualization

    5. Rhino

    • Best for: Architects with unique design needs
    • Cost: $995 USD for a single perpetual license 

    Rhinoceros, more commonly known as Rhino, is another comprehensive architecture software that allows users to create, analyze, edit, render, document, animate, and visualize their projects. This software is highly regarded as it has virtually no limits in terms of degree, complexity, or size beyond the restrictions of your hardware. Rhino is known for offering quick modeling and a simple UI. 

    Rhino is one of the more versatile products on our list, helping designers model anything from buildings to jewelry. You can model any shape you can imagine, and it’s compatible with most other software in your tool stack. It’s also an easy-to-learn software, so even the newest users can focus on progressing their designs without getting caught in the technical weeds. 

    Features

    • Fast performance on any hardware
    • Cross-platform: available on macOS and Windows
    • Accessible for and clean UI
    • Read and fix meshes on the most challenging IGES files

    How to choose the right 3D modeling software for your needs

    Every niche in the architecture and design sectors comes with unique needs, so when shopping around for 3D modeling tools, some features will speak to you more than others. 

    Here are a few criteria to keep in mind as you shop:

    • Ease of use: How intuitive is the platform, and what does the learning curve look like?
    • Collaboration: How easy is file sharing and live editing across multiple devices? 
    • Compatibility: Does the software integrate well with your current tool stack?
    • Support: Does the tool offer sufficient resources and support? Is there training or a community you could leverage?
    • Scalability: Can it handle the complexity of your projects as you grow? 
    • Cost: Evaluate the price, including tiers and fees.
    • Credibility: Is this tool widely recognized across the industry? What is its brand reputation?

    Bottom line

    The right software makes producing quality work in architecture much more straightforward. When shopping for the best solution, choose scalable, easy-to-use, cost-effective, and credible CAD software in your industry. 

    Tools like Rhino. Revit, SketchUp, and Lumion may be a great fit. From concept to execution, the right tool will make the entire process a breeze. 

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  • Nira app sheds light on infrastructure

    Nira app sheds light on infrastructure

    3D modeling and AI are taking the construction industry by storm, offering a more efficient and detailed view of structures. Nira is a relatively new collaborative platform capable of rendering massive 3D assets for greater interactivity, web-based inspection, and review from multiple devices.

    3D modeling in construction

    The present and future of construction in the U.S. and other Western nations are and will continue to be, partly focused on upgrading and replacing aging infrastructure. While old-school methods still work, 3D modeling and AI play increasingly essential roles in construction.

    To replace or retrofit aging infrastructure, engineers must know its current state. This is accomplished through inspections of the asset (often including photographs) and 3D modeling that details its deficits.

    Before engineers can recommend changes or total replacement, they must assess the structure. Drones, scanners, and other methods of mapping structures are becoming more commonplace for structure assessments. It might also be worthwhile for them to learn about these technologies so they can partner with mapping companies or even offer such services themselves.

    Understanding and being able to work with and around tech tools is at the heart of the client experience—but it also benefits the business itself.

    New construction projects are glitzy, boast-worthy, and high-priced, but repeat customers can be the bread and butter of a contractor’s sales. Contractors who’ve worked on an asset and familiarized themselves with the idiosyncrasies of the structure often stand a better chance of winning major rehab projects on the structure, based in part upon a good existing work relationship with the owner.

    Nira: The newest collaborative platform in the industry

    Nira is a relatively new collaborative platform that allows industry workers to interactively review, organize, and collaborate on assets across their entire project. 

    Here are the basics:

    • Basic platform for $9 per month
    • Upgrade to a Business or Enterprise account for an additional fee
    • Pay-as-you-go option allows you to store 3D models in the cloud and pay for what you use

    Launched in 2014, Nira was designed to handle one of construction’s most common problems: effective collection and management of asset data. The typical large construction site could be managed through a few construction apps, but a clear understanding of the data being gathered by the tech tools is rarely, if ever, achieved. Most of this problem hinges on the methods of sharing, storing, and managing the data.

    “Before Nira, there really hasn’t been a tool for contractors that enables them to view and share their latest data sets in any mobile formats—even in a 10-year-old iPhone, for instance,” says Aresh Keissami, Nira founder. 

    Nira makes 3D models of assets available for visualization, viewing, and overall asset management.

    “I wanted a platform that made all of that information accessible, and that’s what we’ve devised in Nira,” Keissami said. “We are a bootstrapped company and we are already profitable.”

    In many markets, not just construction, large 3D models need to be reviewed and iterated on for style and other factors. However, this task is very labor-intensive and poses a solvable problem for Nira’s founders, which they believe they’ve solved with their platform.

    Does the construction industry need 3D modeling services?

    The popularity of drones and 3D-modeling tech tools means that adding 3D modeling as a service could make sense for some contractors. It’s a big win for customers who need visualizations to seal the deal.

    “There’s a wow factor you get with these digitized models,” Keissami said, noting that the wow could lead to greater sales for a company.

    While Nira isn’t only used in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC), its applicability in this industry is growing rapidly. Part of that growth is undoubtedly due to the platform’s integration with other tech tools.

    “The main thing we are working to do is to have image parity compared to our competitors,” Keissami said. “You cannot get a better quality model for a lower price than we offer while making the most of the hardware that you’ve already purchased.”

    If you currently use a scanner or drone, Nira can integrate with that technology.

    At first, Nira’s founders weren’t sure the platform would work well for AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction). It turned out differently, with Nira being a better fit for some AEC companies than the platform’s leaders could have imagined. The platform’s ability to integrate with other tools well and its usability lends itself to fast adoption by construction-focused companies. That is true, in part, because of the changing needs of AEC customers and the companies that serve them.

    AEC companies are gaining interest in continuous monitoring of job sites for safety inspections, compliance with specifications, and progress. Monitoring is done with drones and gives managers a regularly updated “snapshot” of the project.

    Capturing the big picture—in detail

    Updating 3D models through monitoring and data gathering is one of Nira’s sweet spots. Due to several recent collapses of older structures, the need for tools like Nira has become apparent. Seeing the defects, refining the model, and sorting out extraneous details can offer the right solution at the right time.

    “People use Nira to look up an asset that has been modeled and to clean it up,” said Keissami, noting that even details like a bird’s nest in the superstructure of a bridge can be easily discerned by viewers. “The quality is so good that you can look at the sticks in the nest and easily identify it.”

    Unlike other 3D tools, Nira captures the big picture in immaculate detail. The platform can analyze large amounts of data while maintaining the full integrity of the imaging. That means nothing is missed—no small detail goes unnoticed, which is why AEC customers flock to the app.

    “We maintain the full integrity of the 3D model. With Nira, you are able to use the highest visualization of the data that is being modeled,” Keissami said.

    Other 3D modeling apps require more handiwork and hassle from users. Users often have to zoom in closely to inspect details. Uploading times on other tools are also longer. With Nira, the image details are apparent immediately, and uploading times are rapid. 

    Final thoughts

    While the advantages of 3D modeling in construction are becoming more evident, only some are embracing the tech leap as quickly. It could take longer before 3D modeling reaches its maximum potential in AEC.

    “At the very least, it’ll take a few years more until everyone gets involved with 3D modeling,” Keissami said, noting that technology is improving rapidly, which is making the adoption of these tech tools easier for many. 

    “The learning curve is flattening out a lot. With Nira, it’s so affordable that many companies are inclined to try out the platform… I think being able to have that digital record of the project, starting at the beginning of a construction project and using a digital twin for the work rather than photos, is becoming very attractive to many people working in AEC. As opposed to photos of a project, 3D modeling gives you a better sense of the extent.”