Revit, Allplan or ArchiCAD in existing buildings - why we don't ask this question

Anyone who asks us the same question early on: What software are you planning in? Not to negotiate. But because it's the most important technical information we need for an existing project.

The model must fit into the planner's worldIn Switzerland, ArchiCAD dominates among small and medium-sized architecture firms - it has grown historically, is deeply rooted and well established. Revit is mainly used on large projects, by total contractors or when a client explicitly requests it. Allplan has its strengths in civil engineering and implementation planning. Vectorworks is used by design-oriented offices.

Each of these platforms has its own logic, its own conventions, its own expectations of an as-built model. If you want to open a Revit model in ArchiCAD, you lose information. If you edit an Allplan model in Revit, you lose time. Both can be avoided if the basis is right from the start. That's why we deliver in the planner's native environment.

What this means in practiceWe receive an inquiry for an apartment building in Zurich. The office works in ArchiCAD. We capture the building with 3D laser scanning, create the as-built model directly in ArchiCAD with the correct level structure, component classification and the usual planning standards for Swiss offices. Two weeks later: similar project, similar size, this time a total contractor in Basel. Requirement: Revit, LOD 300, IFC export for the specialist planners. Same procedure, different platform. The scanning is identical. The point cloud is the same. What changes is the modelling logic, and this is precisely why we have a specialized team that works in all four platforms on a daily basis.

Why this is not a matter of courseMany surveying offices supply point clouds. Some deliver models, usually in one platform, occasionally in two. Software-neutral modeling, at a high level of quality, in Swiss planning standards, requires breadth and depth at the same time. This is the reason why we set up our own modeling center over 13 years ago. Not as a cost-cutting measure, but as a capacity decision: to be able to cover this breadth at all without making compromises on every project.

What the planner gets out of itNo conversion. No rework. No "we still have to adapt this". The model arrives - and the planning process can begin immediately. This is precisely the point of digitizing existing buildings: creating planning certainty, not introducing new uncertainties. Anyone converting existing buildings has enough other challenges. This model should not be one of them.

VDE Villa Digital Engineering AG is the Swiss specialist for as-built digitization - with 3D laser scanning, native modelling in ArchiCAD, Revit, Allplan and Vectorworks as well as over 2000 completed projects throughout Switzerland.