FREE EDITION / ISSUE #1 / SEPTEMBER 2026
Hej, welcome to SDC Loop. Sweden Design Computing's newsletter on AI and computational design for AEC. Every issue: workflows and benchmarks, all tested before we write a word.
Read time: 3 minutes
IN THIS ISSUE
→ Topic 1: We tested 8 AIs. The winner was not who we expected.
→ Topic 2: A floor plan image, in. Real BIM data, out.
→ Topic 3: Real terrain, modeled in Blender, from a coordinate.
TOPIC 1
AI Model Benchmark for AEC
8 AI models, 5 real architecture tasks, every model on its free default tier. All 5 tasks are done and scored.
The winner: ChatGPT. Not the flashiest at any single task, just the only model consistently in the top 3 across all 5.
The twist: the best-looking code lost. Two models wrote the most polished, best-commented Grasshopper scripts in the whole test, and both got the actual camera position wrong. Polish isn't correctness.
Want to know which model is actually best for your specific kind of work, not just overall? That breakdown, task by task, is in the Member edition.
WHY IT MATTERS
The model with the most polished output isn't automatically the one that got the brief right. Before you hand real work to an AI, know which one actually follows instructions for the type of task you're giving it.
TOPIC 2
From an Image to Real BIM Data
We turned a floor plan image into real IFC4 BIM data, then stress-tested the method on two very different buildings: Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building (straight walls) and Oscar Niemeyer's Niteroi Museum (curved walls, no right angles anywhere). Both worked.
Real property data. Real quantities. Doors that actually cut into their wall, not just floating geometry on top.
How it actually works, and the full working kit, is in the Member edition and the Workflow Kit.
WHY IT MATTERS
Redrawing an existing building into BIM by hand is days of tedious work, even for a straightforward plan. A method that goes from image to real IFC4 data changes what's actually worth digitizing.
A WORD FROM THIS ISSUE'S SPONSOR
Reach computational designers and BIM leads who read every issue.
[email protected], sponsor Issue #2
TOPIC 3
Real Terrain, Modeled in Blender
Real elevation data. Real building footprints. Pulled into Blender by scrolling to your site on a map, no manual downloads. We tested it on I. M. Pei's Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong.
Then it doesn't stay stuck in Blender: confirmed working export to Rhino, and to any BIM tool via real IFC4.
How it actually works, and the full working kit, is in the Member edition and the Workflow Kit.
WHY IT MATTERS
Real site context, without needing to become a GIS specialist first. If you've ever put off modeling real topography because the tools felt like a separate discipline, this removes that excuse.
Paying for this from a work budget? Many employers, in Sweden, across Europe, and in North America, give employees an annual continuing-education budget. SDC Loop is exactly what that budget is for, worth asking your manager before you reach for your own card.
EVENT
SDC has co-organized the Rhino Developer Meeting in Barcelona for 3 years running, alongside McNeel Europe and Anomaly. This year: September 25, IAAC. Members get the knowledge from events like this one, all year, in the Loop.
Ready for the rest of Issue #1?
The full story on all 3 topics, and the complete Ultimate Ranking, unlocked the moment you subscribe. (The benchmark report and both kits are separate, linked inside.)
Subscribe to get the full issue, $15/monthReply to this email if you try any of these yourself, we read everything.
Joel
Sweden Design Computing
