Bentley Unveils AECOsim Family of Information Modeling Software

Interdisciplinary applications aim to improve building design, analysis and simulation, and LEED compliance management.

Bentley Systems, which provides software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, recently introduced its new AECOsim family of information modeling applications. The premise of AECOsim is that integrated projects benefit from interdisciplinary integration and that rigor in analysis and simulation, as opposed to merely notional analysis, need not be sacrificed in an information modeling workflow based on full information reuse.
 
Bentley's AECOsim family provides interdisciplinary building design, analysis, and simulation software focused on helping architectural, engineering, and construction professionals deliver intelligent buildings. According to Bentley, AECOsim enables best practices in integrated building systems design and performance simulation, and results in simulations that properly represent design intention and accurately predict the performance of the delivered building.

With AECOsim, architects and engineers can author and use information models to: 

• predictively design and interactively optimize the performance of building systems, while benefiting from integrated workflows among multiple disciplines
• produce building and project documentation for use throughout the project lifecycle of design, construction, and operations.

The applications also extend the capabilities of commonly available design tools from Bentley, Autodesk (including AutoCAD and Revit), Graphisoft Archicad, and others through their support of open standards.
 
AECOsim Building Designer
 
AECOsim Building Designer provides multidisciplinary models for use as the centerpiece of a building design workflow, as well as for the integration of design simulation, analysis, and documentation. This building information modeling (BIM) application enables architects and structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers to:

• create buildings and constructions using comprehensive engineering tools in an immersive design environment
• simulate designs with direct links to analysis applications for interdisciplinary optimization
• produce photorealistic images and animations
• generate fully coordinated construction documentation for output as paper or dynamic PDF deliverables
• interact with drawings in their appropriate 3D context — hypermodels — navigating callout links to enhance and clarify the 3D model, which serves as a spatial index
• deliver hypermodels to constructors and owners for immersive review.

This single, integrated application includes tools for architectural, structural, mechanical systems, and electrical design as well as construction documentation. At the same time, its users can take advantage of the benefits associated with BIM, including an informed work environment.

AECOsim Energy Simulator
 
AECOsim Energy Simulator is an application for the design, simulation, and analysis of building mechanical systems, environmental conditions, and energy performance. It is intended to meet the needs of engineers, building energy consultants, and designers who determine building energy loads and explore building HVAC systems and design configuration options by simulating and analyzing building energy performance in workflows utilizing commonly available design tools from Bentley, Autodesk (including AutoCAD and Revit), Graphisoft Archicad, and others. It allows designers to assess design trade-offs in both new construction and retrofits.
 
AECOsim Energy Simulator incorporates the EnergyPlus simulation engine, the emerging standard for the industry developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. The software features mechanical and energy performance design capabilities that facilitate compliance with industry standards using automated ASHRAE 90.1 comparisons.
 
AECOsim Compliance Manager
 
AECOsim Compliance Manager is a new project management and collaboration SaaS (software as a service) that automates the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED certification process. AECOsim Compliance Manager is the first service of its kind to be fully integrated with USGBC's LEED Online.

Users can access AECOsim Compliance Manager from the office, construction site, or a mobile device with an Internet connection. It provides a centralized online LEED data repository and full system of record for all project team activity, document storage, and electronic submissions, as well as step-by-step task and LEED credit management, checklists, wizards and calculators, automated LEED credits, and teamwork tools.
 
"Our new AECOsim Compliance Manager has been developed for the specific purpose of streamlining LEED certification," said Huw Roberts, Bentley global marketing director. "It extends these capabilities to users of design tools from Bentley as well as others, such as AutoCAD, Revit, and Archicad."
 
The software's integration with Google Maps to consider project location enables automatic distance calculations that can be used to meet the requirements of several LEED credits. It also provides distance calculations for local materials sourcing.
 
Availability
 
Bentley's AECOsim Compliance Manager software as a service (SaaS) is available now. AECOsim Building Designer and AECOsim Energy Simulator are currently being refined in Bentley's early adopter programs, with the assistance of Bentley users. During the remainder of this year they will be available to Bentley SELECT subscribers for their use and review as product previews, followed by general availability.