AEC Tech News (#203)

BIM and Sustainable Design, Part 2

Design software companies use different approaches to reach the same goal.

Last month, I talked with Renee Cheng, AIA, head of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota to better understand the current state of integration between building information modeling (BIM) systems and sustainable design. This month, I’m looking the practical differences between sustainable design platforms offered by Autodesk, Bentley, and Graphisoft.

Autodesk
When asked about Autodesk's recent initiatives, Jay Bhatt, senior vice-president of AEC Solutions, said, “One of the critical directions we’re taking with our products across product platforms is around sustainable design. The best way to see sustainable design from my perspective is the creation of something that can be simulated effectively for the factors that contribute to energy conservation and energy efficiency around the building footprint. The only way to simulate and run the analysis to make sure the building’s going to perform in a sustainable, green way is to utilize data to run analysis processes.”

Instead of trying to create a BIM application based on its AutoCAD technology, Autodesk purchased the Revit product about five years ago. The parametric program allows the user to input information in the data cells and then link them, much like Microsoft Excel. Read more>>

AEC in Focus (Column): Multimedia and Presentation Tools for AEC

By H. Edward Goldberg, AIA

Until now, AEC presentation products have played a minor role in architects' and engineers' worlds; often called upon to be the "sizzle that sold the steak." To that end, every major 3D architectural CAD and BIM (building information modeling) program has a credible, integrated visualization solution, and existing specialized visualization programs have reached maturity. Read more >>

Ecobuild Fall and AEC-ST Fall
December 10-13, 2007
Washington, DC
Ecobuild Fall and AEC-ST Fall is an annual event that covers green building, sustainable design, renewable energy, environmental planning processes, and information collaboration strategies for commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential construction. Read more

For Cadalyst's full calendar of events, click here.