Communicating Through Visualization

Moving beyond merely computer-aiding the production of traditional deliverables, infrastructure professionals have embraced advanced technology that empowers them to design, build, and operate better-performing infrastructure. This category features projects that have deployed visualization capabilities to enhance the quality, productivity, or presentation of the delivered project.

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Winner

Mott MacDonald Ltd
The Model Railway
Croydon, United Kingdom

Based in Croydon, United Kingdom, Mott MacDonald’s railway transport consultancy works to improve travel times, increase safety for passengers, and enable materials to be transported in a more economical manner. In the United Kingdom, these projects relieve road congestion in a densely populated environment. Overseas, especially in southern Africa, the improvement of rail-freight networks supports local and national economies.

The Model Railway project is an ongoing process of continuous improvement and development to demonstrate that 3D design and modeling is relevant at all stages of the project lifecycle. Using Bentley Rail Track and MicroStation 3D modeling technology, Mott MacDonald has taken the railway modeling process from survey data collection through interdisciplinary design review, thus gaining confidence in the quality of discrete packages as well as the way those packages fit together.

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Finalist

McCormick Taylor
Linton Hall Road Renderings
Gainesville, Virginia, United States

The $224 million improvements to the Route 29/Linton Hall Road interchange in Gainesville, Virginia., include two new overpasses: one carrying Route 29 over Norfolk Southern Railroad and one carrying Linton Hall and Gallerher Roads over the railroad and Route 29. The grade-separated interchange at Route 29/Linton Hall Road will make Route 29 a limited-access facility. Route 29 will also be widened to six lanes.

The Virginia DOT retained McCormick Taylor to create four computer-generated simulations and an 80-second animation showing traffic flow through the completed interchanges. These visualizations help the community understand how to drive through the upgraded areas. The firm used GEOPAK, InRoads, and MicroStation to create an accurate visualization that the public could trust.

Watch the Be Inspired best practice presentation

Finalist

Selser Schaefer Architects
Tulsa Community College Center for Creativity
Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

Located in the urban setting of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Tulsa Community College Center for Creativity is a $15.5 million facility housing media production, distance learning, digital media arts, visual arts, computer services, and multi-purpose assemblies. The layout had to address the building’s array of dual functions: public versus private space, light-seeking versus light-sensitive space, and sound-sensitive versus sound-producing space.

The architect presented a design with a contemporary aesthetic atypical of existing campus structures. Using Bentley Architecture’s visualization capabilities, the architect illustrated both the contemporary aesthetic of the building’s design and its harmonious relationship with the existing campus buildings. These visualizations gave the client a way to understand the importance of the cutting-edge vision that allowed the original design to remain intact.

Watch the Be Inspired best practice presentation