Can Rhino provide a turnkey CAD and BIM Solution

Greetings from Australia, I have not as yet purchased a Rhino product but am earnestly seeking advice on its suitability for a complete turnkey solution as Building/Architectural software. I have compared, with the little knowledge I posses, various software of interest, such as AutoCAD, Revit, Vectorworks, 4M and BricSys, and have become a little perturbed by the great differences in price between these products, yet the seemingly small, at times, difference in features and capabilities. Needless to say, I am searching for the most comprehensive product which will give me a relatively easy learning curve yet have the following features: 2D CAD Drafting; 3D BIM modeling; Global Illumination; Cinema-graphic Rendering; all 6 Fine MEP applications if possible; IFC compatibility; Bill of Quantity to Excel with possible export/integration with other Building Estimating software and Quantity Takeoff ( onscreen digital) programs, particularly suitable for Australian standards. Is Rhino a suitable platform that could supply these needs ( and more), and what plug-ins and extra applications would be required to make it a complete turnkey solution as envisaged. Would the overall cost be prohibitive or perhaps comparable to, say, Bricsys or 4M Architecture products? What advantages are there with Rhino products as compared with these? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated… Peter…

Hi Peter,

Rhino offers a fairly good BIM solution for structures, I am less certain as to whether it is a complete BIM package.

2D Drafting is where Rhino is noticeably lacking, and would be especially out performed by the likes of Revit and VW in this area.

Some sources for you to look at if you have not already:

http://www.visualarq.com/


There is the view that BIM is still not clearly enough defined for there to be a truly turnkey solution, and that the interoperability of data between formats is the future.

Who do you primarily have to share your BIM models with? What platform do your contractors, clients etc use?

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Hi David, Many thanks for your prompt response. ArchiCAD and Revit are the two major platforms in our experience. Revit seems a little cumbersome when it concerns interoperability since it must be coupled with AutoCAD for Drafting purposes, from what I can gather. The main program we use is ArchiCAD, which seems to have decent interchange between 2D and 3D etc., and stands alone. I am thinking a little outside the norm in seeking a turnkey solution beyond these two major players, but I just cannot afford them personally and it seems that products such as 4M, Bricsys and Rhino may be reasonable alternatives as long as import/export can be facilitated through dwg etc., and Bills of Quantity converted to Excel.

Visual ARQ is probably the best place to start Peter. It’s available, as is Rhino, on a free trial.

You may find interesting Grasshopper for Rhino, which is very popular in the architectural field. There are numerous plug-ins for that which can help you customise the software to suit your needs, and help exchange data between Revit, Excel etc…
Takes some getting used too, but is a very powerful addition to Rhino.

David, I should note that we currently do not use BIM for Estimating purposes where I work, even though we have ArchiCAD. As a Building Sales Consultant, my personal interest is primarily in BIM. I desire to develop these skills in order to understand as well as support my own work and interest.

I viewed the “geometrygym” blogspot with keen interest. Thank you for that. I also took note of the Perth conference regardin BIM and IFC…Much appreciated…