{"id":6908,"date":"2021-05-12T12:00:10","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T16:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adsknews.autodesk.com\/?post_type=stories&p=6908"},"modified":"2023-02-07T14:30:40","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T19:30:40","slug":"meet-aec-apps-developers-5-21","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/adsknews.autodesk.com\/en\/stories\/meet-aec-apps-developers-5-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Three Developers Driving New Solutions for AEC"},"content":{"rendered":"

By day, Simon Moreau works for one of France\u2019s largest real estate developers. By night, he\u2019s a software programmer, creating AEC apps that add new functionality to Autodesk products. \u00a0Moreau recalls that in the early days of his career as a civil engineer, he wanted to expand features and workflows in Autodesk Revit, \u201cso I started building what I needed, first for myself, and then for my colleagues.\u201d Moreau is part of the Autodesk Developer Network<\/a>, an ever-growing community of third-party product experts and programmers who customize Autodesk software through APIs, or application programming interfaces. Autodesk continually rolls out and updates APIs to help developers link new solutions to products, improving everything from workflow traffic jams to interoperability between our software and other vendors. Case in point, Moreau\u2019s most recent project, RVT to IFC<\/a>, a tool to convert Revit files into the software-agnostic format, IFC. Imagine you\u2019re an architect, engineer, contractor, or owner who\u2019s received a Revit file but don\u2019t have a license to open it. The solution is a few clicks away on Moreau\u2019s website<\/a>. Within seconds or minutes, depending on the size of the files, you can upload Revit models into the simple interface and unlock access. RVT to IFC is one of a handful of AEC apps Moreau has developed, most of which are found on the Autodesk app store where thousands of third-party plug-ins have been vetted and tested.

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Revit to IFC converter Image courtesy of BIM42<\/p><\/div> \u201cI really appreciate that Autodesk gives programmers the ability to create new solutions without prescribing what we do or how we do it,\u201d said Moreau. \u201cWe get to solve real problems with APIs and share those solutions with others who need them.\u201d <\/p>\n

A history of enabling customizable solutions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Evidence of the popularity\u2014and necessity\u2014of these plug-ins is the explosion of growth in the Autodesk app store, which is approaching over a million downloads a year. Started about a decade ago, the app store is the modern incarnation of an old solution. Before it, there were catalogs, hundreds of pages long, offering wide-ranging solutions and customizations\u2014a.k.a. apps\u2014to meet unique customer needs. <\/p>\n

Explore the Autodesk app store<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A sole proprietor developing drawings for residential remodels in the U.S. and a multi-disciplinary firm modernizing infrastructure in Europe each use Revit differently. And both of those users need different tools and workflows than engineering consultants that design affordable housing in Brazil or those mass-producing high rises in Shenzhen. These varying needs for diverse scopes of work in geographically and politically distinct regions around the globe are at the heart of why Autodesk does more than provide software\u2014we provide an open platform that offers customizable, flexible products and connected data. \u201cWe\u2019ve always looked for ways to give our customers the freedom, choice, and flexibility to make our products work for them,\u201d said Jim Quanci, senior director of the Autodesk Developer Network. \u201cBut we can\u2019t do it alone. We need partners to fulfill the specialized needs of our customers. You can\u2019t buy digital transformation in a box.\u201d Autodesk partners range from moonlighters like Moreau to full-service software consultants like AMC Bridge<\/a>, which created the popular CADtoEarth for Autodesk Revit<\/a> app. CADtoEarth allows you to import 3D topography from Cesium, an open platform, into Revit and place your building model directly in its unique environment. You can then convert your model into a 3D PDF so anyone with an internet connection can view it. The AEC app generates tens of thousands of free downloads every year, but AMC Bridge primarily uses the app store to test the market and reach new customers who need bespoke solutions.

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CADtoEarth Image courtesy of AMC Bridge<\/p><\/div> \u201cEvery enterprise is unique,\u201d said Igor Tsinman, president of AMC Bridge. \u201cWhen people are buying off-the-shelf software and basic functionality, it serves about 80% of their needs. That\u2019s where we come in, to serve the other 20%.\u201d Common among the Autodesk developer community are people who\u2019ve worked in the AEC industry, identified workflow issues, and set about solving them. The founders of MKS DTECH are architects-turned-code writers who fit this description. Their new solution, BEAM<\/a>, is an interoperability app that connects Autodesk\u2019s Revit with another 3D modeling tool, Rhino. With BEAM you can take advantage of the complex geometry that Rhino enables, while seamlessly incorporating the designs into Revit, the industry standard for BIM. BEAM uses Revit APIs to shrink an hour-long process into mere seconds, saving critical time for architects under increasing deadline pressures. \u201cOur solution is unique because it\u2019s one app rather than a lot of things you have to glue together,\u201d said one of the founders of MKS DTECH. \u201cNothing was impossible before. We just made it much faster and simpler to operate.\u201d

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BEAM Image courtesy of MKS DTECH<\/p><\/div> <\/p>\n

Evolving interoperability to advance digital transformation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Just as we evolved away from catalogs to the app store using desktop APIs, we continue to find new ways to optimize your experiences and stay on the vanguard of technology. In 2016, we launched the Forge platform, providing cloud-based APIs and seizing the future of cloud-based data storage and transfer. Forge allows the developer community to build applications that augment and integrate design and engineering data, connect existing software systems, and create all-new workflows\u2014helping companies work faster, smarter, and in the cloud. <\/p>\n

Learn more about Forge<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt is clear Autodesk wants to be at the center of an open ecosystem,\u201d said Igor Tsinman of AMC Bridge. \u201cForge is an obvious example of it and APIs are a great way to do it.\u201d No matter where you work, the size of your firm, or the industry segment you specialize in, we develop customizable tools to meet your needs. Our robust community of industry experts and developers plays an essential role in this vision, helping us deliver open platforms that connect data and drive the industry forward. We invite you to check out all the ways we support an open AEC ecosystem: <\/p>\n