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April 28, 2008
BE Newsletter
Technical Issue
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Awards competitions
The Emirates Glass LEAF Awards 2008
Oct. 23, London
The Emirates Glass LEAF Awards are open to all companies, technologies and individuals that have made an outstanding contribution to the world of architecture, and who continue to set the benchmark for the buildings of tomorrow. The closing date for entries is June 27.
Categories include best structural design, best sustainable development, commercial building of the year, interior design award, mixed-use building of the year, innovation of the year, residential building of the year, and others.
>> more (Web site)
>> more (contact)
Calling All Green Buildings!
The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) is conducting the 2008 COTE Top Ten Green Projects awards program. Since 1996, this juried recognition program has celebrated the best in sustainable design. The 2008 jury for the AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects awards program includes architects, educators, and a student. Submission is now closed; winners will be announced on Earth Day (April 22).
>> more
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Events
BE CONFERENCE 2008
May 28-30, Baltimore Convention Center Baltimore
Updates
Video invitation by Greg Bentley
A brief invitation in which Bentley’s CEO points out the main advantages of attending BE Conference 2008.
>> more
Platform technology and elective sessions added
This year's BE Conference includes the following "don't-miss" sessions topics to help keep you and your organization competitive.
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The future of Bentley's platform technology, MicroStation and ProjectWise
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Ways to find qualified entrants to the profession
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Approaches to training that maximize learning investments
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Leveraging project management to increase productivity
Be sure to include these great sessions on your schedules when registering for BE Conference 2008.
>> more
Applied Research Seminar scheduled
The Applied Research Seminar will take place Tuesday, May 27, 2008 – the day before BE Conference 2008 commences – from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Both events will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
Learn about the progress of research that will contribute toward supporting a sustainable world. Hear from experts and researchers from the commercial and academic sectors, as well as members of the Bentley Applied Research, staff as they explore three primary areas: computational design, water loss, and construction.
To see the Applied Research Seminar agenda and reserve your seat, go to: www.bentley.com/beconference.
MEA Global Energy Forum
April 29, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Microsoft will hold the Global Energy Forum for the Middle East and Africa in Abu Dhabi. The event will target top-notch customers from across the Middle East and Africa, and select customers/speakers from global majors from Europe. This event compliments Microsoft’s Global Energy Forum held in Houston for the past four years and includes keynotes from prominent figures such as James Baker, secretary of state to President George H. W. Bush, and John Hofmeister, president, Shell Oil Company. The theme of the event is “People, the Real Energy in Oil & Gas” – building on Microsoft’s advocacy for People-Ready Business Solutions for the oil and gas industry.
>> more (2007 conference)
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AEC and GIS news
Facing the future: what will it take to succeed in a new energy era?
At the 39th Annual Engineering and Construction Contracting Conference, business decision makers from around the world heard Tony Meggs, BP group vice president, technology, discuss the challenges and opportunities facing today’s project community.
“Competition drives innovation in our industry and created better value for our customers,” Meggs said. “But the scale and nature of the challenges we face going forward will require unprecedented levels of collaboration.”
>> more (BE Magazine)
How to keep your job as a CAD manager
Keeping your job is always a priority. When the economy gets tight, it is imperative. You need to constantly provide your firm and your superiors with reasons that confirm the right decision they made when they hired you. Things that you could do to shore up their minds and better insulate yourself from layoffs include not being average, being visible, and others.
>> more
Best civil engineering, structural engineering, architectural, and environmental services firms to work for – ranked by ZweigWhite
Every architecture and engineering firm leader knows that talented, motivated, and dedicated personnel are the key to a firm's success. The challenge, however, is not only attracting the best personnel but also retaining them. And in the current competitive marketplace, retaining the best and the brightest architects and engineers requires those leading the firm to create a great workplace – from compensation and benefits to recognition programs, social atmosphere, and opportunities.
>> more
How important are graphics to infrastructure processes?
“Graphics play a pivotal role in infrastructure processes. They are used for communication purposes, provide an easy-to-understand method for interpretation and also enable 3D visualization.” – Jeff Thurston
“A graphic alone does not lend itself to supporting processes. When a graphic evolves to a model, then the necessary ability to manipulate and transform the model to meet various purposes means that processes are supported. With processes supported, the model becomes a repository for information that doesn’t diverge far from reality. Less abstraction and more modeling will lead to a more efficient and cost-effective means to build and maintain infrastructure.” – Matt Ball
>> more
Has sustainable construction hit the mainstream?
“As outdated as researching a topic on microfiche in a library is, so too is the notion that sustainable design is limited to straw bale or rammed earth construction. Currently, sustainability has penetrated most aspects of the AEC profession. Sustainable design techniques are being discussed and adopted for all types of building materials on a variety of projects.”
>> more
Changing the landscape: 3D CAD modeling is emerging as the standard civil engineering design solution.
When one thinks of fast-paced, dynamically changing organizations, Silicon Valley companies like Google usually come to mind and architecture/engineering/construction (AEC) firms seldom top the list of trendsetters. By the very nature of the business (public safety, functionality, tight deadlines, limited resources), AEC firms often conservatively stick with proven tools and methods. Looking back on the last several decades one can chart the introduction and adoption of several technological advances that have changed the landscape and helped the AEC industry design and build a better world. These include the electronic calculator, mainframe and desktop computers, spreadsheets and industry-specific applications, computer-aided design, the Internet, and GPS, just to name a few. With a toe-hold firmly established in the new century, another of these advances is coming into its own: dynamic 3D CAD.
>> more
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User stories
Integration of the Barclays Bank Merchandising Database Into the Property Change Process
Barclays Group
Barclays Facilities Management is responsible for all aspects of the management and running of Barclays Bank Group buildings in the United Kingdom, from the smallest rural branch to the bank’s headquarters in London. This project migrated the outsourced merchandising database back in-house and integrated it into its existing ProjectWise system, resulting in an end-to-end merchandising process that saved $1 million per year.
The external merchandising database was difficult to manage, expensive to run, and often inaccurate. The migrated system’s improved workflows and efficiencies include the elimination of the third-party supplier and data ownership issues, true synchronization of architectural and merchandising materials, enhanced communication and speed in delivery of projects, overall cost savings on projects, and faster access to all Barclays merchandising data for reporting or analytical purposes.
>> more projects from The Year in Infrastructure 2007
Click image to enlarge.
Washington SR520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Draft EIS
CH2M HILL
The Portage Bay and Evergreen Point bridges on SR 520 in Seattle are at the end of their useful lives and must be replaced. The Federal Highway Administration, Washington State Department of Transportation, and Sound Transit – in cooperation with 15 resource agencies and local jurisdictions – plan to replace the existing facilities to provide structures capable of withstanding wind storms and earthquakes and improve mobility and access.
As a high-profile project, it was critical to visually simulate the project accurately. The rendering techniques and visualization tools provided by MicroStation allowed the visualization of project components as they were designed without the need for conversion or repair. With the variety of rendering techniques and visualization tools, the teams could render the 3D models to either make them look photorealistic or computer-generated.
>> more projects from The Year in Infrastructure 2007
Click image to enlarge.
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Bentley news
Architecture supermodels: Report from SmartGeometry Conference
Parametric design is set to revolutionize the way buildings are designed and built
“This is a unique parametric design software that has been designed for – and by – architectural designers. For the first time designers will be able to explore an algorithmic approach to architectural design that applies computational methods. It is a way to simply customize the software with varying degrees of complexity. And to architects’ relief, it’s simpler than it sounds and doesn’t involve becoming a computer programming expert.”
>> more
Robust LiDAR surveying solutions: Blom Aerofilms meets the surveying and mapping challenge with LiDAR technology
Some years ago, the company foresaw a growing need for rapid, accurate and cost-effective mapping to support GIS analysis and civil engineering design applications. Chris Gaunt again, “Since conventional surveying techniques were time consuming and labor intensive, our challenge was to find a fast and efficient solution.” He explains, “LiDAR met our needs exactly. Combined with digital photography, it enables us to map large areas of urban and rural landscapes in three dimensions. It also helps us to keep staff off the infrastructure corridor: working on motorway hard shoulders is highly dangerous and track possession whilst surveying rail infrastructure is costly and disruptive to schedules.”
>> more
Towards sustainable growth
“Providing complete solutions with interoperable and inter-operable software using one-platform approach – that’s Bentley’s mantra. In this interview, Richard Zambuni gets candid about the challenges in developing infrastructure and Bentley’s solutions to take them on.”
>> more
Modeling saves money, time: Upfront training costs on building information modeling prove worthwhile.
Design directives for the new United States Courthouse in Rockford, IL, called for multiple, sometimes seemingly contradictory, objectives. For instance, because the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Washington, foresees a building lasting as long as 100 years, provisions for future expansion had to be extremely flexible to accommodate changing space needs. Also, the building design needed to meet stringent security requirements, while simultaneously projecting an open and inviting atmosphere. To meet these challenges, the design teams of Koetter, Kim & Associates, Boston, and PSA-Dewberry, Fairfax, VA, were retained by the GSA.
>> more
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The worldwide schedule of Bentley Institute training
Find the Bentley Institute training that can best fill your needs.
>> more (PDF)
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Sponsors
FIATECH is an industry consortium that provides global leadership in identifying and accelerating the development, demonstration, and deployment of fully integrated and automated technologies to deliver the highest business value throughout the lifecycle of all types of capital projects.
>> more
HP delivers workstation technologies that help you work efficiently and reduce costs.
The HP workstation line includes mobile, desktop, and blade workstations. HP offers a choice of processors including Intel dual-core processors or quad-core processors or AMD processors. In addition, HP offers highly secure Blade Workstations, which provide the capability of remote engineering from centralized server-based workstations with powerful 3D performance.
>> Learn more about HP and great deals on HP workstations
>> Learn more about HP and Bentley
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Recent Bentley press releases and news stories
Bentley Opens BE Conference 2008 Registration, Announces Keynotes by Leading Infrastructure Experts
Bentley Institute Press Announces Second Printing of ‘Architectural Geometry’
News Alert: City of Huntington Beach, California, Selects Bentley’s WaterGEMS
News Alert: Bentley Appoints Christopher Barron as Vice President, Corporate Marketing
Bentley’s Gus Bergsma Receives American Institute of Steel Construction Special Achievement Award
Bentley Wins FIATECH CETI Award
Bentley Announces Strategic Initiative to Help Sustain Bridge Infrastructure Through Bridge Information Modeling
Wärmebetriebe GmbH Chooses Bentley Solutions to Implement a More Effective District Heating GIS
News Alert: Bentley Appoints Harry Vitelli as Vice President, Platform Product Management
News Alert: Bentley Names Volker Mueller Research Director for Computational Design
Bentley Publishes Digital Version of 'The Year in Infrastructure 2007'
News Alert: Bentley Appoints Edward Mueller as Chief Marketing Officer
News Alert: Bentley Releases RAM Advanse Version 9.0
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