Edificius

Architects who want drawing, modeling, rendering and presentation in one software are the audience for Edificius, building information modeling software from the Italian developer ACCA software. The company has a long record of software for architecture, engineering and construction, and says it is known for ease of use and a practical approach.

Modeling in 2D and 3D

Designers can work in 2D or directly in 3D with parametric BIM objects such as walls, beams and columns. From either kind of input the software produces floor plans, elevations, sections, axonometric and isometric views and cut-away drawings. Because drawings are connected to the model, any edit updates every view and every project drawing. A dedicated environment also handles renovations and design variations, with phasing tools to demolish, rebuild or modify objects, and the survey of the existing building can be compared dynamically with the design stage, including printed comparison drawings and bills of quantities.

Documents that follow the model

Working drawings are composed by dragging views, including renders, into paper space. Graphics can be exported as DXF, DWG and DWF and reports as RTF. Room, envelope, door and window objects are grouped in tables that gather zones, materials, layers and metric data, and a bill of quantities is drawn straight from the architectural model.

Visualization

The software joins rendering, scene photomontage, real-time rendering, video editing and immersive virtual reality to the design tools, and models can be shared through an online viewer.

Working with other software

The standard IFC format and automatic object recognition let a project start from a model made in Revit or ArchiCAD, and exchange data with structural, energy and plant engineers. The company also lists integration with SketchUp, Blender and Rhino with Grasshopper.

Free object library

An online library gives access to tens of thousands of resources, among them HD PBR textures, CAD blocks and 3D models, and native BOL files can be imported and exported.