Design Buildings that Work Hard, While Making It Easy to Find BIM Data

GBD Architects has earned a national reputation as a leader in sustainable design, blending architecture, urban design, space planning and interior design.  GBD Architects (GBD) create buildings that work hard and solve real human problems.  Yet, GBD had a problem with how its architects were able to access the design information necessary to create these buildings.

One Big Sandbox of Files

Prior to UNIFI, GBD stored its building information in folders within folders, and users needed to rely on file names to find content which ranged from home grown content to manufacturer objects.  Naming conventions varied depending upon who added information to the folder, which made it incredibly difficult for the users to find the right information and its intended use.  Since the solution was server-based, users could only log on from the office, limiting mobility.  Chris Ridder, GBD’s BIM Manager, said that all of the content ended being in “one big sandbox of files stored on the server.”

UNIFI Eliminates the Guesswork

Moving GBD’s information into UNIFI was seamless.  Chris Ridder assigned a naming convention to the files used across the company, then batch uploaded the 10,000 design files into UNIFI.  Immediately, GBD was up and running with its building content located in a single, UNIFIed source.  Setting up UNIFI was a breeze and it freed up IT resources within GBD to focus on other high value activities.

With UNIFI, GBD architects and designers can easily and quickly access proven content to create thoughtful designs.  UNIFI eliminates the guesswork and endless searches of trying to find the right BIM data.  UNIFI features including saved searches, tags and favorites streamline the search and insertion task, so that a process that used to take several minutes is now done in seconds.   Thanks to the cloud, GBD architects and designers are able to access design information from anywhere – in the office, at a site or at home.  This further enhances their productivity and taps into their creativity where and when they are most inspired.

Chris Ridder is a well-respected BIM expert and over the past 8 years, he’s evaluated and implemented several other BIM content products.  He says that “UNIFI is the best.  It provides the easiest access to content and makes searches better.”  UNIFI allows Chris to provide the best BIM management to the GBD architects and designers he serves, so that they can focus on the hard work of designing buildings rather than searching for information.