Posted on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 9:03 PM
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), one of the world's best known architecture firms, will purchase 100 copies of Digital Project, the parametric BIM software from Gehry Technology. The sales is the largest single deal since Gehry Partners launched the software development venture in 2002.
The purchases will be deployed over a three-year period in SOM offices worldwide. The acquistion is being considered an addition to SOM's technology portfolio, not a displacement of any other software system.
Digital Project has been used by boutique architectural firms on several high-profile projects, and has found some acceptance among large construction firms who find value in developing their own project model. But despite the cachet of coming from the offices of noted architect Frank Gehry, the software has been slow to develop a following.
SOM will use Digital Project on a wide variety of design projects throughout its offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and London, says Darren Rizza, SOM’s Firmwide Director of Digital Design. “Digital Project will provide us with a powerful design technology, augmenting our overall vision of the digital design process, and maintaining SOM’s position as an industry leader and innovator in design and construction.”
Gehry Technologies will provide consulting services and support to SOM during the three-year implementation, to include services for training, implementation, and advanced modeling. “We are delighted to have been selected by SOM to provide advanced software and support services to their design teams,” commented Dr. Dennis Shelden, CTO of Gehry Technologies, “SOM has long been a leader in the use of CAD and Building Information Modeling (BIM), and this acquisition will enable them to remain at the forefront for many years to come.”
Digital Project is a customized version of CATIA, the 3D parametric CAD software from Dassault Systèmes. It is primarily used by aerospace and automotive firms.
--RSN