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Arcol simplifies building design with browser-based modeling

arcol.io

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Re: Arcol simplifies building design with browser-based modeling

#11

Post by prideout »

Twinklebear wrote: post #9
joeld42 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is using ThreeJS for the 3D rendering, with a custom Rust geometry kernel to generate the mesh buffers to render. The editor interface is React based.

Pretty general question, but what has your approach been for coupling ThreeJS + React w/ a Rust/Wasm kernel for mesh generation? E.g. do you have Wasm own the memory and you give ThreeJS views of the memory to upload to GPU?

Currently we simply copy a slice of the heap's ArrayBuffer from WASM to JS. In the past we exposed the heap slice directly but it was technically "unsafe" (perhaps because the heap can grow), and doing a copy did not hurt performance in any measurable way.

Re: Arcol simplifies building design with browser-based modeling

#12

Post by itishappy »

As somebody outside of the industry, what's the final output of this product? I don't see doors, so I'm assuming this tool is intended to be used to rough out shapes and costs collaboratively? I totally see the utility in having a collaborative tool at those early stages. How far does Arcol go? Can it spit out blueprints?

Also, being asked to login to view the demo vid is jarring. The play button signifies a video to me, if it's a demo I'd choose a different symbol (and put it somewhere other than the center of the video).

Re: Arcol simplifies building design with browser-based modeling

#13

Post by joeld42 »

itishappy wrote: post #12

As somebody outside of the industry, what's the final output of this product? I don't see doors, so I'm assuming this tool is intended to be used to rough out shapes and costs collaboratively? I totally see the utility in having a collaborative tool at those early stages. How far does Arcol go? Can it spit out blueprints? Also, being asked to login to view the demo vid is jarring. The play button signifies a video to…

Exactly, at this stage, the output is mainly for feasibility, presentations and communication. But we can also export models to Revit or 3D formats like GLTF to use in the next steps of the process, or for renders, etc. But we're planning to continue to add features to make it useful further down the AEC pipelines.

Good point about the play button, I'll pass that feedback along. :)

Re: Arcol simplifies building design with browser-based modeling

#17

Post by joeld42 »

shocka_z wrote: post #15

How does this compete with Autodesk's Revit & BIM Collaborate?

It coexists with Revit right now, and is a good place to do feasibility and early design and get instant metrics and feedback. We think it's a lot more collaborative and design friendly.

One day we'd love to take them on directly, I think there's a lot of architects out there looking for something better.

As far as collaboration features, we've built it from the ground up with collaboration in mind, so you can work with other users directly in the same scene and see their actions and updates. We've got collaborative presentation boards with views and metrics that can update live, and of course workflow features like commenting. And since it's browser based, there's not the friction of installing a desktop app, which can be significant at some orgs.

We'd love to know what you think though, give it a try and let us know what collaboration features you'd use!

Re: Arcol simplifies building design with browser-based modeling

#18

Post by itishappy »

joeld42 wrote: post #13
itishappy wrote: post #12

As somebody outside of the industry, what's the final output of this product? I don't see doors, so I'm assuming this tool is intended to be used to rough out shapes and costs collaboratively? I totally see the utility in having a collaborative tool at those early stages. How far does Arcol go? Can it spit out blueprints? Also, being asked to login to view the demo vid is jarring. The play button signifies a video to…

Exactly, at this stage, the output is mainly for feasibility, presentations and communication. But we can also export models to Revit or 3D formats like GLTF to use in the next steps of the process, or for renders, etc. But we're planning to continue to add features to make it useful further down the AEC pipelines. Good point about the play button, I'll pass that feedback along. :)

Neat, love it!

Re: Arcol simplifies building design with browser-based modeling

#19

Post by gervwyk »

joeld42 wrote: post #8
hooverd wrote: post #7

Hehe, I imagine the back-and-forth between the architects and structural/mechanical/HVAC guys will be glorious.

haha yeah! It feels like a real pain point in the industry right now. Hopefully we can make it easier for communication between design, engineering and construction.

Well done for zoning in on this problem. Many will try to solve this with a better email or kanban workflow or internal tooling. It takes some imagination to build something better. This solution looks very creative (i’m not in the industry so would not know what is the normal for this) and congrats on the launch!
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