Chief Division Officer, Planning & Design Division, Nemetschek SE
Viktor Varkonyi in visita a GRAPHISOFT Italia
Maggio 2016
Viktor Varkonyi, CEO di GRAPHISOFT, è venuto a trovarci in Italia.
Ci ha raccontato della sua visione sulla rivoluzione del BIM e dei suoi desideri nei riguardi dell'Italia.
Inoltre, ha colto l'occasione per firmare una collaborazione strategica con gli studi D.Vision Architecture e MINNUCCI ASSOCIATI, con l'intenzione di creare standard nazionali per il BIM.
6:56 - Ernesto Minnucci della MINNUCCI ASSOCIATI risponde alla domanda "Quali sono le tue aspettative da questa collaborazione?"
8:30 - Andrea Solazzi di D.Vision Architecture in risposta a "perchè hai scelto GRAPHISOFT com...
Transcript (17 segments)
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Interviewer0:13
We are here in the Graphisoft Italy office with Viktor Varkonyi, CEO of Graphisoft. Viktor, you have joined Graphisoft 24 years ago?
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Viktor Varkonyi0:28
Yeah, that's right. I joined Graphisoft in '92 as a software developer. I can tell you that from the very first moment, Graphisoft got my attention fully. I think it's all about passion that you can feel in the company among the customers. This is a company that appreciates performance, appreciates passion. So actually it was, I wouldn't say easy, but it was a natural evolvement to get higher and higher positions. And of course some luck as well. Today Graphisoft is a big multinational company, part of the Nemetschek group, with a lot of investments in Asia, a lot of investments in Latin America.
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Interviewer1:21
Why did Graphisoft open an office in Italy?
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Viktor Varkonyi1:28
It's for us... Architecture is going back to I don't know how many thousands of years. By the way, Italy was one of our very first markets, actually the first market here in Europe, and it's time to invest in the market. So to drive this change and not be the follower of this change.
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Interviewer2:17
You just mentioned... Is Italy a BIM country? Is Italy a BIM market? Are Italian architects BIM ready?
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Viktor Varkonyi2:34
How people adopt technologies... What I see here is that our customers are really using our software, our solutions as we designed for. And since Archicad is a BIM application from the very beginning, in the early years when I joined, it was virtual building, building virtually. The new acronym BIM is kind of variation of that. So I would say that we invented BIM, or a little more politely, we were one of the innovators. And I hear, I see many many examples here in Italy. Great customers, great projects. I am very confident.
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Interviewer3:35
BIM is considered useful for companies, especially for construction companies. Why should a single architecture practice, a single architect or small studio switch to BIM?
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Viktor Varkonyi3:52
I think I'm always telling my customers: you should not do things because others are doing them. A small practitioner being able to work together with other small practitioners and join the forces, go for bigger jobs, just being more productive, more efficient in smaller scope. Today the market is especially global, getting more and more competitive, and those not using advanced technologies sooner or later will fall out. And I really want to have my customers being in the forefront and being the most successful architects in Italy.
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Interviewer4:52
So what is your suggestion for these architects who would like to work according to BIM?
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Viktor Varkonyi5:07
All of it. Probably we are not the biggest on the market, but usually the biggest is not the best. I'm very proud that our customers love us. Very few cases of dissatisfaction. I think we have a great company culture. We together with our customers have a great business.
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Interviewer5:40
Today you have just signed a memorandum of understanding with two key customers of Graphisoft Italia. Why is this agreement so important for Graphisoft?
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Viktor Varkonyi5:49
Obviously every agreement is important for Graphisoft. This agreement will help us get using technology, even making the knowledge public knowledge and using it for servicing the construction industry.
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Customer6:55
We have invested a lot of time and resources in studying the BIM process because we believe it is the future, not only in designing new buildings but especially in the renovation and management of existing building stock. As users of Archicad for over 25 years, we know well the commitment Graphisoft has put into interoperability and the possibility of using any software on the market. The final expectation is to refine the process and make it applicable in Italy, clarifying the great confusion that exists at the moment for architects and technicians who want to use this methodology. I suggest investing in training, relying on structures that have concretely applied the process with real cases. We chose Graphisoft as our strategic partner because we experienced it first as professionals and even earlier as university students. We found it a very powerful, functional, and interactive tool. Even before BIM, it showed great potential. Today it is certainly the most powerful tool on the market, maintaining ease of use, functionality, and interoperability. For colleagues, I say: we are facing a revolution, the only real great innovation in the construction sector since the 2008 crisis. BIM must be seen as a great opportunity. Have courage to invest not only in software but also in training and experimentation. From daily experience, great opportunities can arise. The architect and the design can regain their role; otherwise, they risk being relegated to a secondary role, suffering choices made by other actors in the supply chain, especially contracting authorities and companies.
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Interviewer11:08
Wow, forza Italia!
Viktor, is there any special reason that you are here besides business?
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Viktor Varkonyi11:42
Oh, look, Italy is a wonderful country. I think in many aspects, culture and the passion what you see here is very close to our company.
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Interviewer12:01
Thank you very much for coming. And you know, Viktor, we are very happy to welcome you here, and you are more than welcome at any time when you visit us and our customers in Italy. Thank you very much. Goodbye.