NEWS: Graphisoft offers free link from Rhino to ArchiCAD

A new link between Rhino and ArchiCAD allows ArchiCAD users on both the Mac and Windows to import Rhino models into ArchiCAD as GDL objects (ArchiCAD’s generic object format). There are likely to be many uses of the technology, but AEC Magazine wonder if users of the Rhino-native generative design tool, Grasshopper, may find it particularly beneficial for taking complex models into a production BIM environment.

The free software, Rhino connection for ArchiCAD, comprises both a plug‐in for Rhino 5 and an add-on for ArchiCAD 18. It allows complex shapes created in Rhino’s NURBS-based engine (or acquired through 3D scanners) to be brought into ArchiCAD’s BIM environment.

For larger and complex models there is the option to convert a Rhino model into a set of (smaller) GDL objects. According to Graphisoft, this process enables the user to retain separate logical parts within the same model while providing functionality to monitor and easily update the imported Rhino models in ArchiCAD.

This technology has been developed as part of an ongoing collaboration between Graphisoft and Nikken Sekkei that aims to develop future technologies for architectural design.

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