OpenBuildings Designer Reviews & Product Details

Easy to build models with lots of control. Building Models as one or as pieces. Models can be combined into a full building or a city. Easy to implement your project model. Customer Service is fair but best with a yearly subscription. They do rely too much on emails without personal support. Need an answer today - you will get it Tuesday. I have used this product since 1988. I frequently use this product for Franchise and commercial clients. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The pay to play model. I own all my licenses and pay a yearly fee to keep current. Setup or integration is a little awkward. But it is integrated well with our workflow with Engineers that may be from another vendor. Cost is still high considering they are not the leader in the market. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

OpenBuildings CAD core (MicroStation) is shared by most Bentley apps, which makes it very versatile for geometry demanding projects such as big infrastructure ones. It is easy to create generic 3D CAD geometry like the one in tunnels or roads, and add data at a later stage taking geometry models into true BIM ones.

The federated model system based on referenced DGNs is very flexible too and makes the work with OpenBuildings -as all the other Bentley tools- to be easily structured for large teams. It can be used without any problem not only on an EDMS system like the one offered by Bentley (ProjectWise) but even on local ones like a server-based company network.

In the same way, producing 2D drawings is easy due to the fact of having all the MicroStation tools available.

Regarding BIM interoperability, OpenBuildings not only has good IFC export options but is also well integrated with the market-dominant Autodesk tools. The possibility of using DWG as native makes it far more flexible, and even there is an option to use native Revit RFAs libraries.

OpenBuildings i-Model options are also a good way to handle the need for a signed and secured delivery model, an aspect that even though is essential when working with complex geometry full-of-data BIM models, is still not taken into consideration in most BIM & CAD apps. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Since it is a BIM app that comes from the 90s, and even the CONNECT upgrade was a huge change, there are still some specific tools that should be updated like, say, creating compound walls or instance annotation tools. Every update, though, comes with an update in a specific tool (like Curtain Walls or Compound Slabs), so it will probably be updated soon.

It would be good also to review the data system to become more unified. I mean, it would be good to have the Family & Parts systems be just a "material" setting of the Datagroup system, and not as a whole separated system as is still now, in which there are settings that there are no longer in use.

As a plus, it would be fantastic to add an option to open Autodesk RVT files. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Customization

Flexibility

Automation possibilities

Availability of tools

Training and support

Worksets management

Reporting capabilities

Compatibility with previous and new versions of the software Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The installation wizard needs to show the datasets checklist as by default installing USM only

The program startup loading time is very slow

The trial is only one week compared with Autodesk products (30 Days)

Educational Licenses are not available on the website

Price is high Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I recommend the program due to the following reasons:

- The interface of the program is quite intuitive and friendly.

- The automatic solutions for wall, roof, and piping design and very practical.

- It has a very practical creation of "spaces" and areas, even by importing room parameters included in an Excel file. The parameters of the items can be imported from Excel, and that is very useful.

- The usage of "references" is quite intuitive Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

During the design process, I found several disadvantages:

- The creation of drawings takes a lot of time and is not intuitive.

- It is not possible to change the classification (part and family) of several elements at the same time - it can only be done for one element.

- Sometimes, the automatic connections of piping are "too smart", automatically connecting pipes that are not supposed to be together.

-Sometimes it is difficult to rotate the model by selecting a suitable pivot point.

- Personally, I would prefer to use the button "Escape", rather than the mouse right click (small issue).

- Small library of items (furniture, objects, HVAC equipment). Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like the most about OBD is the integration of all the discipline tools in a single interface and having Clash detection in the same SW. I also really like the federated structure of the project across multiple files and references. The upsides of using OBD is the interoperability with other BIM applications, such as the ease of importing RFA libraries. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The least important thing could be to have two databases for the specifications of the BIM components, the Datagopup system with BIM information of the components and on the other hand the Familiy and part system to specify the graphic representation and the units of measurement. The downsides of OBD is the company's system for customizing variables and defining standards. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

You can open also DWG files and modify it. And also import RFA files, Attach IFC files as reference or create i-models to reference it in your project. So it's faster to reference the file Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The delivered data files is incomplete (Plumbing) and it's not as I want it to be. Because my clients want to see what I have designed and execute it. So I have to use my old Cells (Microstation 95) to make it the real dimensions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

OpenBuildings combines the powerful Bentley CAD MicroStation with all BIM tools in terms of disciplines, analysis, reporting. More bigger is the project, more efficient is Openbuildings. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As already done for Prostructure that brings OpenBuidings to an advanced level in the structural projects, for the next releases I hope in a Bentley Raceway technology integration into the Electrical discipline of OpenBuildings. Furthermore I'll appreciate parametric items in the Datagroup with more easy workflow. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

it's all integrated. I like the integration with other Bentley software. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It is not widespread in Italy and there are few tutorials Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the possibility of customising the Dataset and the data that will be attached to the models. Another pivotal tool is the Datagroup Explorer that allow us to keep consistency across every single Asset and discipline and ensure that we are fulfilling the requirements coming from the Client. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I wish the Clash detection tool engine run a bit faster. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The easily to explore Keys and interface Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

T'he pau, It cost a little bit to freelance Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.