Welcome to the OSArch Community - Introduce yourself here.

A by andreasrudena on 16 Jun 2024 # +9 votes

Hi everyone!

My name is Andreas Rudenå from Malmö, Sweden. I'm a software developer and recent startup founder of Paramountric. I worked with IFC programming for 10+ years along with software products from different angles of the built environment such as energy simulation, structural analysis and project collaboration. When I quit my previous job a swore I would never work with IFC again! It's such a pain... However, finding this community and finally trying BlenderBIM (it's awesome), seeing the progress of IFC, IDS, bSDD etc from buildingSMART recent years, I found new hope!! I realise most of the pain is the (non)connection to the proprietary solutions and all the hacks you have to do, and complaints like "it never works with IFC" because of the proprietary first workflows. Open source is the way to go, and different solutions will get more and more stable and change the industry forever when we see the power or true interoperability. I'm at the moment particularly interesting in quantification to LCA and have worked with this the last year or so. Now I'm trying to learn BlenderBIM and how to solve getting m3, m2 and kg out of the model for mapping to smooth life cycle analysis. It's fun!

E by ejs on 27 Jun 2024 # +1 votes

@Moult said:

Welcome everybody! @NickNunes what type of engineer are you?

@ejs and @smiljan_tukic it sounds like both of you have excellent programming skills! Have you considered contributing to the code of some open source projects?

I think I need to learn more about IfcOpenShell :) I have some improvements for BlenderIFC and hope to push them into the Git.

My current developments are to automate my routine work, like: adding or copying attribute values in the models; creating the folder tree for CDE or S6 stage; dumping the information for S6 stage folders; reporting the status of metainformation (project, site, building, levels, properties) to an XLSX sheet. I'm not sure if they are useful for others.

Currently, I'm working on an IDS-like tool, aimed at managing the IDS more visually, dealing with multiple classification schemes and design stages. Uniclass, Uniformats, ISO 81346, Omniclass, local classificators in the combination with IFC property/quantity sets and OIRs makes me cry. The output is DOCX or XLSX files currently, but I hope it will be possible to use IfcOpenShell to create the correct IDS XML file.

S by szbgwr1 on 14 Jul 2024 # +7 votes

Hello everyone, I am a frontline civil engineering practitioner from China. I'm sorry, my English is not very good. Besides CAD software, I am also a Linux enthusiast. At the same time, I am also quite interested in BIM and programming, although my level is very poor.

R by Rio on 8 Aug 2024 # +1 votes

Hi everyone!

I work as a BIM Manager in Austria and started using BlenderBIM as a free alternative for my private projects. In the meanwhile BlenderBIM has become also an important tool in my daily work life for analyzing submitted IFCs.

Thanks for all your great work so far!

I by inshaA on 10 Aug 2024 #

Hi all, I am new to BIM and I am eager to learn, Can anyone help me understand how to get the quantity of:

• The bricks used for a wall

• The concrete used for a Column, Beam, slab or the structure

• The number of tiles/blocks used for a given surface

• The number of pipes and fixtures used for plumbing, electrical, fire & HVAC

• The length of wires used for electrical work

• The quantity of mortar being used for a wall plaster including the number of cement bags, quantity of plaster sand and quantity of water.

• The quantity of steel used for the given Column, beam, slab or whole structure.

A suggestion of how and where to apply the M15, M20, M30 & M40 grade concrete, additionally the recommended quality of steel to be used as and where applicable according to industry standards would be of great help.

N by Nigel on 10 Aug 2024 # +1 votes

@inshaA said:

Hi all, I am new to BIM and I am eager to learn, Can anyone help me understand how to get the quantity of:

Hi @inshaA on I suggest reading through @steverugi post on this forum, from my observations he is a quantifiable legend :)

S by steverugi on 10 Aug 2024 # +1 votes

@Nigel said:

@inshaA said:

Hi all, I am new to BIM and I am eager to learn, Can anyone help me understand how to get the quantity of:

Hi @inshaA on I suggest reading through @steverugi post on this forum, from my observations he is a quantifiable legend :)

Thanks @Nigel Wow, such an endorsement:)

Hi @inshaA , later today I can go through your list and see where I can be of help, cheers

A by aditio123 on 12 Aug 2024, edited 12 Aug 2024 # +6 votes

hi everyone,

i work as civil engineer in indonesia. mostly i used autodesk civil 3d and CAD as my daily tools in preparing design. but i just move to another company which is implement full on BIM, which is revit as the main tools. but since i work as engineer i dont spend time to modelling, nor have more previllege as revit modeller have. most of engineer in my office using visicon as tools to presentation and discusion. but sometimes problem happens when it comes to license issues, and i dont wanna stuck in that kind of problem so i need to prepare software that make me free of worries of licensing problems :p

back in my college days i started using blender as my 3d tools, i love open source things (linux and other project) and it's kind of my hobby to learn and use that in every single chance in my daily works. too bad im still very beginner for the necessary programming language for blender bim, especially python. i use vbasic and autolisp before and now im starting learning python. therefore, for the near future all i can help you guys now is giving feedback of blenderbim usage

W by Will on 24 Sep 2024 # +6 votes

Hi all,

Thanks for everyone contributing to the FOSS.

I'm and architect in Australia. Working with Revit for 13 years, and Revizto for 5 or so, as well as Enscape game engine rendering. All these tools are becoming too expensive and slowing development (not that I pay the bill) and I'm looking forward to replacing them with FOSS alternatives and helping the community and tools grow!

E by Elize on 24 Sep 2024 # +7 votes

Hi All. I am new to this and here to learn. Elize from South Africa, Profession Senior Architectural Technologist 27 Years..

E by ElPeregrino on 27 Sep 2024 # +8 votes

Hi all. I am an architecture student trying to find a "Libre" alternative for BIM .

I used blender but only for my interest in animation, when I entered in my career of architecture I found myself in situation where I needed to use software like AutoCAD and finally I ended up using ArchiCAD, pretty good software but it is closed source and now I can only used it because of the student license. I searched for alternatives and I discovered FreeCAD and BonsaiBIM, I decided to use Bonsai because of my background in Blender

P by Paul on 7 Oct 2024 # +4 votes

Hi, I’m Paul, a full-stack developer with a passion for both virtual and real-world construction projects.

I tried Blender many years ago, but it wasn’t until recently—after spending a lot of time using Fusion 360—that Blender started to click for me. Now, I’m getting the hang of it, but I’m still learning and exploring its full potential, especially with BonsaiBIM.

My main interest lies in using BonsaiBIM to model existing buildings in order to design extensions, awnings, carports, and similar structures. I’m particularly keen on simulating these models in relation to the existing architecture, with a focus on optimizing for sunlight paths. I enjoy refining window placements for natural light and shade, and maximizing roof designs for solar panel installations.

One challenge I’ve been facing is accurately importing measurement data, such as heights, into my models. I’d appreciate any tips or guidance from the community on how to improve this process.

Looking forward to connecting with you all and learning from your experiences!

S by sjb007 on 8 Oct 2024 # +8 votes

Hi, I'm Steve. Just a regular Joe, not an architect, or anything related. (Professionally an IT consultant). My biggest qualification is paying an architect thousands of pounds for a design for a major renovation with a full set of drawings that got rejected by planning. Wishing to avoid additional thousands in sunk costs, I figured, "How hard can it be to produce my own plans? I already have the main design!" That is my primary interest - modifying the existing design and producing a set of professional looking drawings I can submit to planning myself. I've already done the modifications in another app, but IMHO that it doesn't produce the kind of drawings needed for planning applications. So I will recreate in Bonsai, and create proper drawings and sheets.

Related to that, I want to extend my thanks to @Ace (aka IFC Architect) for his tutorials, and @theoryshaw for the Opening Design git repositories. These have made the complexity of IFC/Bonsai much more understandable for a pleb like me. Now I just have to avoid becoming a Dunning-Kruger case-study...

A by AnzMa on 10 Oct 2024 # +4 votes

Hi, I’m Marco, been working in the AEC industry for about 9 years as on site supervisor and project manager, have an Engineering degree and a Master's in Finance.

I'm looking forward to learn about BIM since it's the future of the industry and since I want to move form developing one family house to more commercial and industrial projects found in BIM and edge for both planning and controlling the project.

Really excited to learn from this community and even maybe be able to contribute in something !

B by Bean on 28 Oct 2024 # +3 votes

G'day everyone!

I'm Ryan, an Aussie living in Switzerland. I'm in the Surveying and Photogrammetry industry and was recently introduced to Blender and Bansai.

Amazing what the combination can do, and I'm looking forward to learning more, and hoping that I can also contribute :)

L by LJohnston on 31 Oct 2024 # +5 votes

Hi all,

I'm Lesley, I work for a conservation charity, my main job is digital doc & visualisation (photogrammetry, modelling & unity) background in CAD with some GIS, but I'm trying to help them develop an open source HBIM-lite ecosystem. Currently learning about Bonsai, creating custom asset libraries, and Uniclass so I can build a workflow. Any pointers to tutorials on these subjects would be much appreciated! Looking forward to connecting & learning!

P by Prince_01 on 10 Nov 2024 # +7 votes

Hello everyone,

I am Prince Oduro based in Kumasi, Ghana. I’m in landscape and construction industry and was recently introduced to Bender and Bonsai. I’m highly impressed with the efficiency and the impact of the software on AEC industry and hoping to learn more and contribute.

S by steverugi on 10 Nov 2024 # +2 votes

@Prince_01

I am Prince Oduro based in Kumasi, Ghana.

Akwaaba!

I'm based in Accra ;))

P by Prince_01 on 10 Nov 2024 # +6 votes

Akwaaba!

Wow!!! Medaase.

I'm based in Accra ;))

Okay and I am glad to hear that. Actually my supervisor and former lecturer at the university has been advocating for the adoption of open source ( esp. Blender/ Bonsai) for up and coming AEC graduates. So far I am learning from him and IfcArchitect (on YouTube) and I am very happy to adopt it as my primary tool for design and construction. I hope to learn a lot from this community. My favourite so far is IfcGit from experimental collaboration I did with him. Thank you.

B by Botteri on 29 Nov 2024 # +9 votes

Hi everyone, I am Davide, a civil engineer from Italy. I work as a coordinator and manager for my BIM consultancy firm. We provide various types of services, ranging from modeling to documentation consultancy, as well as project coordination and verification. I discovered the software through an online informational session about the world of openBIM. Currently, I still mainly work with proprietary software, but I am strongly drawn to the openBIM ecosystem.

T by TonyMoon on 5 Dec 2024 # +5 votes

Hi , i am Tony from México City, México. I´m an architect right now working in my own 3d modelling and photo realistic visualization portafolio . So thats the reason i´m very interested learning and working using blender and now bonsai , and other free software aswell. There is not much information in spanish about openbim, and i would like to learn more about it. :)

H by herlianto on 1 Feb 2025 # +9 votes

Hi everyone, I'm Herlianto from Jakarta, Indonesia. I work as a bridge engineer for the Indonesian government, and I’m also a hobbyist programmer. I believe I'm in the right place.

L by lstlaurent on 25 Feb 2025 # +8 votes

Hi, my name is Luc from Montréal, Québec, Canada. I have 25 years of experience in architecture and almost 20 years of experience with Revit and BIM. I also have some experience with Blender, primarily in rendering. I'm very curious about the open-source side of BIM. I believe that simple processes can go a long way. I hope to find my answers here.

F by falken10vdl on 12 Mar 2025 # +10 votes

Hello! My Name is Vicente. I am a Telecommunications engineer from Spain. I was vdl in this forum and falken10 in github. Now I have consolidated all under falken10vdl.

I have come across this wonderful software by chance. I contracted an Architect and found I could not see the details about the designs because they were in closed software it did not make sense for me to pay.

I started to search for open alternatives and found this marvelous software. In the last weeks I have learnt basics of Blender and Bonsai in order to move the designs to ifc. Now my architect sees the power of this model.

As someone coming from a quite different industry I find this Object oriented approach to AEC much easier to learn (still find many ifc objects and structures quite convoluted but I guess I am just an outsider without enough background ).

So I am quite an amateur on this but very happy to learn and contribute at my level :) I have submitted my first small PRs / issues.

Thanks!

M by Moult on 12 Mar 2025 # +1 votes

G'day @falken10vdl ! It's super exciting to hear when a client realises that what they're paying for is essentially ... gone from the moment you begin. IFC definitely has some convoluted aspects (but less than it first seems, the more you actually build with it).