Started discussing this topic in a telegram discussion with one of the OpenCascade geometry core developers (Discussing geometry kernel topics, OCCT and industry requirements. Who is interested - please join the discussion:
https://t.me/datadrivenconstruction/2484).
Most developers are trying to merge Photoshop (Revit® - RVT, ArchiCAD - PLN) with GIMP (BlenderBIM - IFC), essentially moving data from one parametric format to another.
This is an attempt to make the complex CAD geometry of BREP and NURBS and parameters described using the ShapeManager (ADSK) or Polarsolid (European CAD) geometry kernels work in open source programs such as those written on top of the OpenCascade geometry kernel (IfcOpenShell, BlenderBIM-Bonsai, IFC.js, thatcompany and others).
But is it really necessary? Is it important for designers and managers to transfer all parameters from one project to another? Was this compatibility needed in the 2D design industry between Photoshop and GIMP?
Since the dominance of Photoshop and its OpenSource alternative GIMP, 20 years have passed, the positions of both products have shaken, and it turned out that users need not GIMP (XCF format) and Photoshop (PSD) and the compatibility of parametrics between them, but that users need JPEG and PNG as output data.
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚, 𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑑𝐼𝑛, 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑣𝑎 𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑔.
The same process is starting in construction - instead of translating RVT, PLN to IFC and OCC parametrics - users, developers and vendors are now in a united rush to find a JPEG format for the construction industry - USD, CPIXML, OBJ-JSON, DOTBIM, FRAGMENT, GLTF, XLSX-DAE, SQLite, DB. It turned out that we didn't need to migrate complex parameters and logic of CAD programs.
Many tools for converting parametrics into neutral open formats appeared: CAD2Database, Revit2Excel, DDC, IFC2CSV, IFC2JSON, SPECKLE, ThatCompany, IFCOpenShell and others.
And ADSK couldn't help but notice this trend, now jumping headfirst into a new concept - granular data, anticipating the industry's need to create data warehouses for this open and already more non-parametric data.
If you're interested in discussing this topic of geometric kernels and parametrics follow the link below this post.
What kind of data do you prefer to work with? If Photoshop and GIMP have given way to Canva, what are Canva's analogs for the construction industry?
26 March 2026
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