2020, what a year! This year Bricsys® spoke to users across the globe, held virtual events, opened a new office in Singapore, held over 55 live webinar events, welcomed 59 new employees and released BricsCAD® V21. With so much on the agenda this year, it would be easy to have missed some of the action! But never fear, I've got you covered. Keep reading to relive all the action of 2020 at Bricsys®.
In 2020, we missed a lot at Bricsys. We missed pizza Fridays, we missed enjoying the famous Bricsys parties with the Bricsys band, we missed the numerous informal get-togethers at the coffee machine... Luckily, we didn't miss the continued passion and drive of the ever-growing Bricsys family across the globe, a drive to innovate, to improve and to deliver quality products that really matter. Frankly, an impressive piece of teamwork. -- Mark Van Den Bergh -- COO Bricsys®
What happened at Bricsys® 2020?
January
The year got off to a flying start as Bricsys® resellers from across the globe came together for an in-depth training session in Ghent, Belgium (home of Bricsys® HQ).
Plus, we met some real-life Ted Rossdales: Takamiya Co. Ltd -- which uses BricsCAD® to design, build and rent out falseworks & scaffolding, and Mazda Motor Corporation -- which has made a seamless transition from 2D drafting to 3D modeling with the help of BricsCAD®.
To top it all off, we announced the integration of the BIMcollab BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) Application Programming Interface (API) into BricsCAD® BIM V20.
February
In February, we invited our business development managers to Ghent, Belgium (home of Bricsys® HQ), to plan the future of the Bricsys® products.
The best and brightest at Bricsys® getting together to plan the future of Bricsys products.
Meanwhile, over in Cologne, Germany, Mervisoft attended DigitalBAU. The event focused on the digital side of construction, design and planning.
Crowds gathering in February for DigitalBAU, Cologne, Germany.
March
The US team started March at the New York Build Expo and was delighted to introduce so many industry experts to the Bricsys® product family!
The Bricsys® team at New York Build in March
Meanwhile, in the UK, Bricsys® took part in Futurebuild. It was a great opportunity to learn about emerging, sustainable building technologies.
In honor of International Women's Day, the Bricsys® Blog looked at some of the women influencing the CAD world.
The women in our Romanian office, celebrating International Women's Day. If you've got a problem, they're here to help!
We also got to know BricsCAD® user Ben van Amersfoort. Ben has been running his drafting service, Tekenbureau van Amersfoort, since 2006, but only recently switched to BricsCAD®. "It took me one morning to make the transition to BricsCAD®," he explained.
Draftsman Ben van Amersfoort at work with BricsCAD®
March also marked the end of Joachim's BricsCAD® Shape Journey. Over the previous 6 months, he had shown users how to go from CAD novice to 3D master, with a little help from Daisy and Dug (the BricsCAD® Shape cows).
Daisy at the farm in BricsCAD® Shape (the free software from Bricsys)
April
April was a busy time for everyone! As working from home became the norm, the Bricsys® team was busy making sure everyone had access to their BricsCAD® products.
In honor of Easter weekend, I explored complex, curved solids in BricsCAD® and showed you how to model a 3D Easter bunny.
I also got the chance to interview multi-talented BricsCAD® user Joseph "Joe" Dunfee. By day he drafts warehouses, and by night he designs theatre stages.
And of course, Bricsys® launched the Bricsys® Discovery Webinar series in April. Over the course of 2020, Bricsys® held over 55+ live webinar sessions. Thousands of people tuned in live to learn more about BricsCAD® and talk directly to our technical specialists. It was an incredible opportunity to meet so many of you and learn why so many people were making the move to BricsCAD®!
To finish the month, we announced our Enscape™ integration. This integration allows BricsCAD® BIM users to create interactive, photo-realistic renderings of their BIMs in real-time and explore these designs in VR (virtual reality).
May
Confined to their quarters, CAD modelers, architects and even total amateurs took up the design gauntlet and started to produce really ingenious covid-inspired designs. From hands-free handles to a 3D printable DnD dice set, we took a look at some of our favorite open-source files.
This covid-inspired design was adapted from a GrabCAD model by Saadullah Kabbani.
To keep the CAD innovation motivation going, we launched the BricsCAD® Weekly Build Challenge #BricsCADwbc. BricsCAD® users from all walks of life and all levels of experience joined to create models based on a weekly theme. From LISP routines to Lego models, the creativity of BricsCAD®'s users shone through!
Just a few of the entries from the BricsCAD® Weekly Build Challenge.
The Bricsys® team also got the opportunity to present at the Festival of BIM & Construction. If you missed it, don't worry, you can still watch it online.
June
Here on the Bricsys® Blog, I started the BricsCAD® Blocks series -- everything you need to know about CAD blocks. Fleur Dooms also joined the writing team with her Generative Design blog series. If you're looking to get started with Grasshopper in BricsCAD® BIM, then be sure to check it out!
On the other side of the globe, Bricsys® opened the doors to its APAC office in Singapore. It's wonderful to be able to welcome so many enthusiastic new members to the Bricsys® family!
The Bricsys® APAC team opening their new office.
After all that, we still had time to get to know another BricsCAD® user: Bastiaan van der Steen. He uses BricsCAD® in his company to develop multiple projects based on systemized construction.
July
In July, I got up close and personal (all be it through a telepresence robot) and interviewed the real-life Tony Stark, robotics enthusiast and YouTuber Tolga Özuygur. I learned how he was using BricsCAD® for his projects.
Tolga built the arc reactor for his suit in BricsCAD®
September
I kicked off September on the blog by getting to grips with parametric modeling and showed you how to create your own parametric drumkit.
In Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Cadkoop attended Architect@work, a rare opportunity this year to meet our customers in person. The event focused on innovation in the architectural world.
The Bricsys® team at Architect@work Rotterdam.
October
Bricsys kicked off October by taking part in the BIM Middle East Conference & Expo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Bricsys® booth at the BIM Middle East Conference & Expo
And of course, October meant that it was once again time for Bricsys®'s annual conference. This year, due to the pandemic, the annual conference went digital, which meant more people than ever had the chance to get involved.
The Bricsys® Digital Summit was broadcast live over 5 hours as Bricsys® product leaders and experts presented this year's improvements, design revelations and innovations.
Jan and Chi-Yan at the Bricsys® Digital Summit
If you missed the action at the Bricsys® Digital Summit, don't worry, you can read it on our blog, stream it on our YouTube Channel or read AEC magazine's review. You can also go behind the scenes to learn how we made the Bricsys® Digital Summit a reality.
And last but not least, October meant the long-awaited release of BricsCAD® V21! It comes jam-packed with hundreds of new features, from optimization tools to civil design, Scan-to-BIM technology to parametric blocks. For full details, be sure to check the release notes.
November
It was an exciting start to November as Bricsys® announced the incorporation of Twinmotion™, delivering high-quality rendering capabilities for architecture, engineering, construction (AEC), urban planning and landscaping professionals.
We also celebrated Internation Men's Day. This year's theme was Men's Health, both physically and mentally! Despite everyone working from home, the guys came together in Bricsys®'s blue to show their support in these difficult times.
The men at Bricsys® wishing everyone a happy and healthy International Men's Day
To finish off November, we took part in the virtual Tall Buildings Conference. Topics ranged from The History of the London Skyline to The Future of the Building Industry. Thanks to everyone who took the time to visit us in our virtual booth.
The Bricsys® UK team in the Tall Buildings Conference virtual booth.
December
Everyone at Bricsys was kept busy in December with lots of virtual events. We attended the ABX Bosten virtual and took part in Australia Build Online. In addition, we held the Bricsys® Digital Summit India and SAARC edition.
Opening the Bricsys® Digital Summit India and SAARC edition.
And, just in time for Christmas, we connected with the Scuderia Mensa -- Formula Student team. They have been using BricsCAD to design some of the components for their 2021 race car.
Viola Mc Kearney -- Team Captain, Scuderia Mensa Formula Student team.
Here's to 2021!
On behalf of everyone at Bricsys®, I want to say:
Thanks for being part of our year! We wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year
Disclaimer: The events took place in different locations and at different times of the year. For each event, Bricsys® took every precaution to ensure that all local social distancing measures and safety precautions were adhered to. The safety of Bricsys® staff, our customers and their families is a number 1 priority for Bricsys®.
Enscape for BricsCAD will be discontinued and taken down from the Bricsys App Store on 22/10/2023. All active subscriptions purchased before this date will keep receiving support until the subscription expires. Bricsys will provide a version of “Enscape for BricsCAD” that will be compatible with BricsCAD v24.1 If you have any questions please click the “Contact” button in the App Store and create a Support Request.
