Virtual Building Explorer

The Graphisoft Virtual BuildingTM Explorer is an innovative, interactive, 3D presentation tool for architects, which sets new standards for design communication and presentation.

Explore
Communicate
Share
Explore Communicate Share
Virtual Building Explorer Downloads VBE Trial versions
VBE for ArchiCAD 13 Sample pro

Explore


Virtual Building Explorer for captivating presentations for client


Using Graphisoft Virtual Building Explorer and ArchiCAD architects and designers can explore their project designs with greater clarity than ever before.

Real-time 3D navigation in an architectural design – enhanced with gravity, layer control, fly-mode, egress recognition and pre-saved walkthroughs for the ultimate design exploration.

Element information – surface finishes, volumes, sizes and quantities – can also be displayed with a click of the mouse. Exact measurements can be taken during the real-time walkthrough to help design decisions and forecast cost related design issues.

Virtual Building Explorer

Communicate


Virtual Building Explorer for better project communication

VB Explorer provides shaded, Open-GL or Global Illumination view styles combined with grayscale, hidden-line or edge-outlined presentation modes for the ultimate design understanding and communication.

The Sun altitude and azimuth; the camera height and viewing cone as well as the image brightness and transparency can be altered for professional project presentation and design communication.

The Virtual Building Explorer “flavors”

  • VBE creates 3D virtual design presentations with the help of its built-in shaded Open-GL rendering engine ensuring professional presentation quality. Edge outline can also be activated to provide greater contrast between elements.
  • VBEG creates 3D virtual design presentations using the shaded Open-GL rendering engine combined with Global Illumination - produced by the built-in radiosity rendering engine. GI ensures even more realistic visualization – incorporating soft shadows and diffuse inter-reflections.


Virtual Building Explorer for ArchiCAD 13

The latest release of VBE works with ArchiCAD 13 and it’s the first version that supports the Macintosh OSX operating systems (OSX 10.5, 10.6). Virtual Building Explorer for ArchiCAD 13 also supports all Windows platforms (including Windows XP 64-bit and Vista 64-bit) that are compatible with ArchiCAD 13.

VBE for ArchiCAD 13 introduces several new features compared to the previous version:

  • Option to save self-running application cross platform project files (Windows/MAC OSX)
  • Option to measure distances in imperial or metric units
  • New Ray tracing rendering engine (“Headlight”) with optional sun shadows (F3)
  • New simple rendering styles (“Goraud” and “Metal”) to allow quick navigation even in very large models
  • New Background Options: Sky, Black, Gradient
  • Option to display the Sun Flare during navigation

The upgrade for VBE for ArchiCAD 13 is free for all VBE for ArchiCAD 12 customers. The new version runs with all VBE for ArchiCAD 12 licenses. The installers of the full and trial versions are downloadable from the VBE download website .

Note: VBE runs on Windows 7 platforms however the video card drivers may largely influence its performance. It is highly recommended to update the video card drivers to the most recent WIN 7 compatible ones to avoid any display problems.

 

Share


Virtual Building Explorer for interactive consultation with clients at remote locations

Share your design intent and the architectural project with virtually anyone without installing any application or learning any new software.

All stakeholders - clients, consultants, builders, etc. - can explore and fully understand the entire architectural project design at any stage of the design development process in a user friendly 3D navigation environment. And all this without the need to hold a license of Graphisoft ArchiCAD or Virtual Building Explorer!

Sample Project Files

Download the NHS Office Complex (architect: paa studio, US), the MK Electronics building (architect: Liljewall arkitekter ab, Sweeden) or the ING Building-Vörösmarty 1. (architects: György Fazakas, Jean-Paul Viguier, Hungary) VBE presentations and experience the power of Graphisoft Virtual Building Explorer!

NHS Office Complex MK Electronics building ING Building-Vörösmarty 1.
10.9 MB 9.63 MB 11 MB
13 MB 11.5 MB 13.2 MB

System requirements:
Please check the system requirements in the Virtual Building Explorer User Guide.

Support


Please check out the ArchicadWiki FAQ page and the ArchicadWiki Known Issues page for most common support questions. Please contact your local ArchiCAD reseller for more information.

System requirements for movies

To view ArchiCAD movies and clips, please check your system set-up!

AdobeR Flash browser plugin: You need to have the free plugin installed and Java-Script enabled in your browser to play these clips in your browser. When you open a flash clip for the first time, this dialog box may appear. If so, you should check-mark the "Never ask again" option, and hit the "Allow" button to proceed. You'll only have to do this once.

AppleR QuickTimeR Player 7 - To watch the MP4 movies on this site, please install the free Apple QuickTime Player from the Apple website. You may also download these clips to your computer by right-click the links and selecting the appropriate - Save Link As. or Save Target As. - options.

WindowsR Media Player -To watch the WMV clips on this site, you need to have the free Windows Media Video Player installed on your Windows operating system. You also need to have the Windows Media Video 9 Advanced Profile Decoder (both are freely available from the Microsoft website).

Download for iPod - To watch the clips on your iPod on the go, please download and unpack the Zip-ped movie clips on your local machine, drag them into your iTunes library in the folder or playlist of your choosing. Attach your iPod to your computer and synch the iPod with iTunes. For detailed synching instructions, see the iPod tutorial on the Apple websites.