BIMvoice

In the sixteenth episode of openBIMvoice, I talk with Maarten Vroegindeweij from the Netherlands. Maarten is a structural engineer who became an entrepreneur. He runs several companies and now leads OpenAEC, an effort to make construction software open source, built on a long personal belief that the whole industry should run on open tools and open standards. Open source has been missing in our industry for a long time. There were very few tools, and most of them were closed, expensive, or locked behind file formats nobody could open without a license. That is starting to change fast, and AI is a big reason why. The core idea is simple. When every construction tool is open source and they all speak one language, IFC, the industry stops paying for lock in and starts owning its own data. What we discuss: From Revit To Fully Open Source. Maarten shares his twenty year path, from building a BIM library to deciding that everything in his company should be open source. OpenAEC Foundation And Studio. How he is applying the Blender Foundation model to construction software, a non profit foundation that builds the tools, and a studio that earns money around them. Everything In IFC. Why he believes every deliverable, even a structural report or an API call, should speak IFC and IFC X, not just the 3D model. The Tools Around The Modeler. Why he is not building another BIM modeler, but the thirty to forty other tools the industry actually needs, cost calculation, PDF, geotechnical, point cloud, energy, and more. AI Changes The Speed. How agentic AI turned three weeks of work into a few days, and why that makes a full open source ecosystem realistic for the first time. The New Business Model. Why owning software and file formats is ending, and why services, AI on top of open tools, and hosting are where the money moves next. Intellectual Property Is Fading. Why Maarten thinks IP in software is becoming a thing of the past, and why even big tech is already shifting toward services. Own Your Data. Why open formats, self hosting, and independence from any single vendor matter more than any single tool. The strongest point from this conversation is that the future of construction software is open, and AI is what finally makes it possible. The companies that adapt will own their tools and their data. The ones that hold on to licenses and closed formats will have to change their business model anyway. Find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petruconduraru/ Questions: [email protected]

In episode 15 of openBIMvoice, I talk with Elena Efremova about one of the hardest practical problems in openBIM: converting IFC models back into editable Revit models. Elena has a background in architecture, construction robotics, and software development. Her work focuses on making IFC models useful again when the original authoring model is missing, when the model was created in another tool, or when a team only receives IFC but still needs to continue work in Revit. We talk about why IFC roundtripping is so difficult, what gets lost during export, and why reconstruction is very different from simple import. We also discuss real project pressure, missing native files, market expectations, and the gap between open standards and everyday delivery. A big part of the conversation is also about building and explaining technical BIM software. Sometimes “convert your IFC into Revit” is much clearer than leading with all the technical details. The strongest point from this episode is simple: IFC is not only a file format. It is part of a much bigger workflow. And when that workflow breaks, teams need practical ways to recover usable information and keep the project moving. Find me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/petruconduraru/ Questions:[email protected]

This is the third episode of The openBIM Practitioner. In this series, I talk with people who have passed the buildingSMART Practitioner certification and ask them what the process was really like, what changed for them, and what others should understand before going for it. My guest in this episode is Anil Bhattarai from Finland. Anil works as an application specialist at Solibri, where his work sits at the intersection of openBIM workflows and model quality. He helps customers validate, coordinate, and deliver information correctly using openBIM standards. He also recently completed a master’s degree in computing in construction, where his thesis focused on IFC schema visualization, labeled property graphs, and integration with the buildingSMART validation service. In this conversation, we talk about why buildingSMART Practitioner felt like a natural next step for someone already working with IFC, BCF, IDS, bSDD, model validation, and openBIM standards every day. Anil explains that Practitioner is not only about knowing theory. It checks whether you can reason through real openBIM delivery problems under time pressure. We also talk about the Finnish context, where IFC based building permits are becoming part of the market reality, and why openBIM competence will likely become more important for BIM professionals, consultants, coordinators, and managers. The main message is clear. Practitioner is not the end point. It is a starting point. You still need real project experience. You still need to stay close to the standards. You still need to understand IFC, BCF, IDS, information delivery, validation, and how openBIM workflows work in practice. And because the standards keep evolving, the professionals who stay close to them will be the ones who can navigate what comes next. What we discuss: Why Anil took Practitioner. What his work at Solibri involves. How his master’s thesis connects to IFC schema visualization. Why Practitioner felt like a natural next step. What surprised him about the exam. Why time pressure matters. Why practical tool confidence helps. Why ISO 19650 and CDE questions required more thinking. How certification adds credibility. Where Practitioner skills matter most on a project. Who should consider Practitioner. Why hands-on openBIM experience matters. Why BIM professionals should study buildingSMART standards directly. How IFC based building permits are changing the Finnish market. Why Practitioner can help demonstrate real openBIM competence. Why Practitioner is only the beginning. If you are working with IFC models, model checking, BIM coordination, information delivery, or openBIM standards, this conversation will help you understand what buildingSMART Practitioner can actually mean for your work. Find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petruconduraru/ Questions: [email protected]

This is the second episode of The openBIM Practitioner. In this series, I talk with people who have passed the buildingSMART Practitioner certification and ask them what the process was really like, what changed for them, and what others should understand before going for it. My guest in this episode is Lukas Gilbert from Germany. Lukas works as a BIM manager and coordinator. He has around 10 years of BIM experience and recently completed the buildingSMART Practitioner path in Germany. In this conversation, we talk about why he decided to take Practitioner after years of BIM project experience, why he paid for it himself, and why having a formal certification can make it easier to prove BIM competence. Lukas explains that BIM experience is often hard to show. You cannot always share project files. You cannot always prove what you did on a project. And sometimes it feels like you are asking people to believe you. We also talk about what Practitioner does not give you. It does not give you one solution for every project. It does not replace experience. It does not remove the need to work with real people, real models, and real project problems. The main message is clear. Practitioner is not for complete beginners. You need real BIM experience. You need to understand why good information workflows matter. You need to work with tools and standards. And you need to be ready to read, practice, and take the exam seriously. We discuss why Lukas moved into BIM from sustainability engineering, how openBIM shows up in his daily work, why clients want information that stays readable for many years, why Lukas decided to take Practitioner, why he paid for the certification himself, why BIM experience can be hard to prove through project references, what he expected from the training, why ISO 19650 and information management can feel dry but important, what Practitioner does not give you, why project experience still matters after certification, how the Master Delivery Information Plan became useful in his work, how Practitioner helped him move from coordination toward management thinking, how IDS fits into his work, why certification can matter when applying for BIM roles, who should consider Practitioner, why it is not a good fit for someone straight out of university, what the exam experience felt like, and why learning with other BIM professionals was valuable. If you are considering buildingSMART Practitioner certification, this conversation will give you a realistic view of what to expect. Find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petruconduraru/ Questions: [email protected]

In the fourteenth episode of openBIMvoice, I talk with Elena Efremova. Elena has a background in architecture, construction robotics, and software development. She is working on one of the most difficult practical problems in openBIM: converting IFC models back into editable Revit models. IFC is often treated as a simple exchange format. But in real projects, things are rarely simple. Sometimes the original authoring model is missing. Sometimes the model was created in another tool. Sometimes the team only receives IFC, but still needs to continue design or coordination work in Revit. That is where the problem starts. What we discuss: IFC Back To Revit. Elena explains her work on converting IFC files into usable Revit models, not just imported geometry. Why IFC Roundtripping Is Hard. What gets lost when models are exported to IFC, especially parametric logic, relationships, and editable authoring information. Bringing IFC Models Back To Life. Why reconstruction is different from simple import, and why the goal is to make the model useful again for real project work. Real Project Pressure. How tight deadlines and missing native files create practical demand for IFC conversion workflows. The Gap Between Standards And Reality. Why open standards are important, but still do not solve every workflow problem automatically. Software Development In AEC. Elena shares what it is like to build a technical openBIM service while the market is still learning what it needs. Selling Technical BIM Solutions. Why the way a solution is explained matters, and why “convert your IFC into Revit” can be clearer than leading with the technical details. Market Differences. We talk about Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands, and why openBIM adoption depends on contracts, culture, regulation, and client expectations. The strongest point from this conversation is that IFC is not only a file format. It is part of a much bigger workflow. And when that workflow breaks, teams need more than theory. They need practical ways to recover usable information and keep the project moving. Find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petruconduraru/ Questions: [email protected]