Sonata (building design software)

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Sonata was an early 3D building design program from the 1980s and an early influence on what would become building information modeling (BIM). It reached the market in 1986, created by Jonathan Ingram. The software ran on workstation hardware rather than personal computers and was sold as the successor to GMW’s RUCAPS. It wasn’t expensive for its time; for example, Reiach Hall bought three Sonata workstations on Silicon Graphics machines for about £2,000 each (1990 prices). About 1,000 copies were sold between 1985 and 1992.

Sonata could model entire buildings, including complex parametric designs, costs, and construction sequencing. Archicad founder Gábor Bojár later said Sonata was ahead of Archicad in 1986 and even ahead of BIM’s formal definition that would come years later.

Several notable projects used Sonata. Rod Laver Arena in 1987 and Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal Domestic Facility were designed with it. In 1992, HKS used Sonata to design Lone Star Park in Texas and later bought its successor, Reflex. Target Australia bought two Sonata licenses in 1992 to replace two RUCAPS workstations, running on Silicon Graphics IRIS Indigo gear. The software’s parametric tools and object-oriented components helped with documenting buildings and fixture layouts, and its Unix-based network (MPA) supported retailers rolling out across many stores with a small team.

Over time, more workstations were added, and the network expanded to 11 workstations by 2000. As SGI moved toward Intel x86, Target and others shifted to Graphisoft’s Archicad. The Sonata business was founded in 1984 and faded around 1992 after Alias Research stopped marketing the product. Ingram then developed Reflex, which PTC bought in 1996.