Nemetschek Vectorworks, buildingSMART alliance and Nemetschek Scia Present openBIM Webinar

Columbia, Maryland — Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc., in conjunction with Nemetschek Scia and the buildingSMART alliance, will present the AIA continuing education webinar "openBIM - Real Interoperability, Practical Collaboration" on Tuesday, November 16 at 2:00 p.m. EST/6:00 p.m. GMT.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) interoperability is possible with openBIM—the use of internationally recognized open standards to exchange building information. These open standards include the use of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) for building geometry and data. IFC is supported by more than 70 international vendors and 110 applications and is used today to create, analyze and distribute building information models. Organizations across the globe are developing IFC-based BIM guidelines for project designs to facilitate the use of data across multiple vendors, applications and end-users.

Presented by Jeffrey W. Ouellette, Assoc. AIA, Project Architect at Nemetschek Vectorworks, this webinar will define openBIM and IFC and will explain how both interoperability and collaboration with design partners are improved with openBIM workflows and IFC technology. The presentation will also provide examples demonstrating how openBIM and IFC are used today. Webinar attendees are eligible to receive one American Institute of Architects (AIA) continuing education credit.

"The IFC workflow provides a practical way for designers, engineers and contractors to plug into today's BIM workflows," said Daniel Monaghan, Managing Director of Nemetschek Scia U.S. "It mitigates many of the problems that firms have when exchanging BIM files directly, such as versioning issues and model ownership. And, it allows AEC professionals to be compatible with a wider number of AEC software programs, making it easier for them to connect and collaborate with others involved in the design and construction process."

"I am very pleased to see this aggressive promotion of IFCs," said Dana K. "Deke" Smith, FAIA, Executive Director of the buildingSMART alliance. "This is in direct line with the buildingSMART worldwide movement toward open BIM standards being promoted by NIBS, AIA, SMACNA, and GSA in the United States, Senate Properties in Finland, Statsbygg in Norway, and DECA in Denmark, to name a few who have made a public declaration."