Services / Service line 02
Web BIM Applications
Give model data to the people who need it and don’t hold a Revit licence.
02problem
The problem
Most of the value inside a BIM model is consumed by people who will never open Revit: project managers, principals, estimators, field supervisors, clients. Today they get it as a PDF export that was accurate two weeks ago.
The technology to fix this exists and is well documented. What is not documented is what happens when a 400 MB model has to translate reliably every night, when cloud compute costs scale faster than the project does, when tokens expire mid-session, or when the viewer loads perfectly and shows properties that are silently wrong.
We build web applications on top of model data that hold up under those conditions — and we do it as engineers who also write the desktop side, so the two ends actually agree with each other.
03capabilities
What we build
Autodesk Platform Services
- Model Derivative translation pipelines
- Data Management and OSS storage workflows
- Design Automation for Revit and AutoCAD in the cloud
- Autodesk Viewer integration and custom extensions
- ACC connectivity: Docs read/write, Issues sync, project discovery, Autodesk SSO
Custom 3D and data front ends
- Three.js and WebGL viewers where the standard viewer is not enough
- Point cloud rendering and streaming
- IFC parsing and validation pipelines
- Rule-based model validation platforms
- Dashboards for VDC and project leadership
- Reporting, export and audit-trail interfaces
Backends and infrastructure
- ASP.NET Core and Node.js services
- PostgreSQL, blob storage, queue-based processing
- Azure and AWS deployment, containerised
- Server-side CAD and BIM processing outside the desktop application
04where_it_breaks
Where it breaks
Six conditions that decide whether a web BIM application survives year two.
Translation economics
Derivative jobs take time and cost money per model, per version. On a project with nightly publishes across dozens of models, a naive pipeline becomes the largest line in the cloud bill. Caching strategy and version-diffing decide whether the application is affordable at year two.
Large-model streaming
Loading is not the same as usable. A model that opens in ninety seconds on a workstation and exhausts memory on the site supervisor’s laptop has failed for the audience that most needed it.
Identity and permissions
ACC’s permission model has to be mirrored, not reinvented. Three-legged tokens expire, refresh flows fail at the worst moment, and users must never see a project they cannot see in ACC.
Version drift
The viewer shows one version; the dashboard queries another; the report was generated from a third. Every view in the application has to be anchored to an explicit, traceable version ID.
Data correctness
A viewer that renders beautifully and reports the wrong wall type is more dangerous than no application at all, because people trust it. Property mapping needs validation against the source model, continuously.
The desktop boundary
Almost every serious web BIM project eventually needs something to happen inside Revit. Teams that only do web work stop at that line. We do not.
05stack
Stack and coverage
- Frontend
- React, TypeScript, Three.js, WebGL
- Backend
- ASP.NET Core, Node.js, Python, PostgreSQL
- Platform
- Autodesk Platform Services (Model Derivative, Data Management, Design Automation, Viewer), ACC APIs, IFC toolchains, Potree/Entwine for point clouds
- Cloud
- Azure, AWS, containerised services, queue-based processing
06proof
Proof
3DRator
Our own 3D processing engine, used as the foundation for web-delivered geometry work.
In production
ACC and APS integrations delivered for client platforms; ERP-to-CAD connectors in production.
Case — pending
Format: the client had X. It broke at Y. We built Z. The measurable outcome was W. Two to three per page, anonymised where required.
A note on partner status
Autodesk Developer Network membership and APS Certified Partner status are at application stage. We do not claim either until confirmed in writing, and neither should any page on this site.
07engagement
How we work
Feasibility Review → paid discovery with architecture and cost modelling → fixed-scope phased delivery → managed operation or handover. Cloud cost modelling is part of discovery, not a surprise in month four.
08faq
Frequently asked
Do we need Autodesk Platform Services, or can we build on IFC?
Both are viable and the answer depends on where your models live and who publishes them. We give you a straight recommendation in the Feasibility Review, including the case for not building at all.
Can users see the model without an Autodesk licence?
Yes — that is usually the point. Viewing and reporting rights are governed by your Autodesk entitlements, and we design the access model around them.
How do you keep cloud costs predictable?
Translation caching, version-diffing, and queue-based processing with defined ceilings. Cost behaviour is modelled during discovery and monitored after launch.
Can you connect this to our ERP?
Yes. ERP-to-CAD and ERP-to-BIM connectors are an established part of our work.
From prototype to production
AI made prototypes cheap. We make them ship.
A Feasibility Review is a 30-minute technical session with the engineers who would build it, followed by a written verdict: what the API actually allows, where it will break at scale, and what production costs. No obligation to proceed.
- Straight answers
- Written verdict
- Senior engineers, not account managers