Structural Design, Analysis and Production

"... Simplicity of construction, clarity of tectonic means, and
purity of materials has about them the glow of pristine beauty."
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

The Role of Structure in Architectural Design

A building’s architectural design and its physical structure are closely interrelated: on the one hand, the architectural design of the building defines the structure; on the other hand, the structural design of a building reflects the overall architectural design.

As structure has become a visual and aesthetic part of the design in modern architecture, structures must be as light as possible while maintaining complete integrity. Also, the structure must be optimized for performance and price.

ArchiCAD is Graphisoft's purpose-built virtual modeling solution that allows architects to create a 3D model of their design, effectively creating a Virtual Building™. Architectural and structural design use the derivatives of the same model from the earliest sketches through to cutting machine (CNC) production of building elements, using the appropriate software solution for every phase.

Standards for Structural Design

The standards set by authorities and developed over the course of decades are traditionally different for every material (concrete, steel, wood etc.) in every country or region (DIN in Germany; BS in the UK; AISC in US etc.). Lately, there has been a trend to unify these into a common standard - at least across regional economies, like the EU’s Eurocode.

Structural Analysis and Production

ArchiCAD provides sophisticated design information along with the necessary level of model detail. This information can be directly imported through Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) or other special connection formats into specialized software to run structural analysis and design.

IFC is a universal language to interpret descriptions of 3D model structural elements (for example slabs, walls, columns, beams etc.) between architectural and structural software during the design process. In comparison to DXF, which is merely a graphic element format, IFC files also define the full properties of architectural objects, such as their 3D geometrical characteristics, their materials, and their relationship to other objects.

ArchiCAD offers great benefits to both architects and structural engineers with bidirectional IFC links. This cost-efficient importing/exporting solution opens doors for structural optimization and performance. With the help of IFC structural analysis, software can directly access ArchiCAD 3D models, and feedback on the structural design of buildings can be obtained at any time during the design process. Ongoing changes to the design do not result in laborious, sometimes duplicated work in both applications separately as the geometry of the building is manually adjusted to keep up with the alterations - because 3D modeling allows for all data to be updated and immediately usable.

Structural Related ArchiCAD Features

ArchiCAD advises tools and IFC specific settings to help in main segments of the architectural-structural model exchange.

More on Partial Structure Display:

More on IFC Export Settings:

More on Comparing Models:

ArchiCAD offers a solution to view the simplified load-bearing structure of architectural models in Partial Structure Display. In addition, layer settings can be customized in Layers and Layer Combinations.

Settings of IFC export can be customized to save a structural view containing only the objects which are important to structural engineers.

Moreover, an analyzed structural model saved as an IFC file can also be read by ArchiCAD, and the new model can be compared with the original. The differences (for example modified position of walls, columns, increased/decreased thicknesses and sections etc.) can be visualized with the Trace & Reference tool.

Key Structural Solutions

Click here to see the list of ArchiCAD 12 Structural Solutions