Managing building project information using the Internet

Abstract

Forget Computer Aided Design. CAD now stands for Communication Aided Design- at least according to AutoDesk, one of the giants of CAD software www.autodesk.com. And this new emphasis on communication is focused on the Internet, and easier ways to get your design information online. AutoDesk are not alone in adopting this stance. Bentley, producers of Microstation, have recently released Viecon Publisher to provide web publishing tools for their suite of CAD software www.bentely.com, and Graphisoft have included new web publishing tools in the also recently released ArchiCAD 7.0 www.graphisoft.com. AutoDesk have been working on their own web tools since the release of AutoCAD R14, and among the new features of AutoCAD 2002 is an improved set of web-publishing tools. AutoDesk have also gone a step further, and have been involved in the development of web-hosting services for the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry, with varying degrees of success AutoDesk recently bought out Buzzsaw.com, a web-hosting service for AEC projects,after financing much of its development. They have also been involved in the ill-fated Redspark.com, a web-portal focused on the Engineering Industry. It is compelling evidence of the perceived importance of the Internet as a means of communicating project information, and indeed, as a business medium, for the AEC industry. In an industry where each project generates a huge amount of information, it is especially important that this information is communicated accurately and in a timely fashion. As computers have become increasingly mainstream at all levels of the AEC industry, the information has shifted from paper-based to electronic based.