In the May/June issues of a leading UK AEC publication, AEC Magazine there was a 16 page special section starting on page 67 all about IFC (sponsored by buildingSMART UK & Ireland). The whole section is all about something we value here at OSArch: OpenBIM, Open Standards & even a mention for the Open Source / Free Software Community. So why is OpenBIM & Open Standards important? ...

Since this is my first article, let me introduce myself and Blender 3D Architect. My name is Allan Brito, and I’ve been an architect working with Blender since version 2.35. When I started using Blender in 2005, it wasn’t something that many architects and designers were actively doing. FLOSS was appealing because it gave me control over my workflow, and I never stopped using Blender for all my projects. In 2008, I started sharing everything I had learned about Blender for architecture on Blender 3D Architect. ...

Please welcome the new release of FreeCAD, version 0.20! Installers and images available for Windows, MacOS and Linux on the FreeCAD website and on GitHub. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-Mqh4-irSO4 This version is pretty much a “stable version”, and a continuation of the work done on the 0.19 version. It is backwards-compatible with it, which means the files you produce with 0.20 are still openable with 0.19. ...

BabylonJS is an open source web developer library to build rich 3D apps on the browser. The new version 5.0 release is one of the largest releases ever made for BabylonJS. This includes full support for WebGPU, the ability to build cross platform, web, and native apps, performance profiler, GUI editor, WebXR light estimation, node based materials, full glTF support, and more. ...

Inkscape 1.2 is the leading open source vector design program. Based on the SVG open standard, it has applications in AEC from early concept stage architectural design, sheet and technical drawing layouting, creating client presentations, PDF editing, and general graphic design for signage, design concepts, and fabricated textures on facades, panels, and coverings. ...

Have you ever thought about creating your own BIM software? The IFC.js crash course is available for signups for the next few days and will help teach you how to turn your web browser and more into a BIM app. The course is aimed at beginners, so don’t worry if you haven’t done programming before! ...

JJ_Nelson shares an initiative in open sourcing the architectural design process in his studio, Studio GIB. He is working on designing a table and open air workshop, with an open source design under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. ...

Wojciech Radaczyński shares: A few days ago there was a release of a open-source, accessible, simple, minimalistic file format for BIM called dotbim (.bim as an extension), that will allow you to store geometry and data with it. The obvious question could be: what difference does it make to the existing work-flows or file formats? ...

Topologic has a new milestone release! One of the biggest hurdles for testing and adopting Topologic has been its relative difficult installation. This was due to the particular method we used to create python bindings for the C++ code. To ease the installation process, we had to completely re-write the python bindings using pybind11. This was a laborious process, and bugs may still exist. However, this new release of Topologic can be installed for Blender with Sverchok just as any other add-on: You download the ZIP file (and you do NOT unzip it), you launch Blender (with Sverchok pre-installed), you go to Preferences -> Add-ons and you install the ZIP file as usual. This release of Topologic is compatible with both Windows and Linux and with python 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9. ...

There is been a while since we last wrote about the launching of IFC.js. Since then, the project has gained traction and has become one of the most exciting Open Source BIM projects. Now, IFC.js is growing and it’s looking for contributions. ...