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Meeting the BNG challenge

You may have missed the report that 350,000 (sic) houses have been canned in the State of Voctoria, Australia, because of the discovery of several ‘earless dragons’ - previously thought to be extinct

AtkinsRéalis create a solution to meet new biodiversity net gain legislation

I was delighted to be able to use the submission from Dylan Baliski for the Vectorworks Student Design Competition as an example of the quality of work being shown by young architects on the verge of entering the profession

Loch on wood

Dylan Baliski at the University of Dundee has won a 2023 Vectorworks Design Scholarship in the Architecture category...

I can remember working for a Japanese printer manufacturer who wanted to expand into the small 'floppy' disk market – when 3 inch disks were vieing with 3.5 inch disks for supremacy

Tried and tested

IFCs have been around for quite some time for data exchange and are now just one of several common

2023 eNewsletters

Infrastructure intelligence

I came across this quote on my 'go to' political website: "If you value intelligence above all other human qualities, you're going to have a bad time". It's very relevant as intelligence is featuring highly on most...

The focus of Bentley's 2023 Year in Infrastructure conference, besides honouring the illustrious...

Delivering power in style

The 17th Hammers. held last Thursday, was a well-attended, lively and entertaining event. A great occasion to meet up with old friends, make new contacts and, of course, be in with a chance to win one of the Construction Computing...

The Hydro Ness, an architecturally striking hydroelectric generation project, has been delivered using...

China is teaching its children about the pitfalls of democracy and its role in scuppering the development of large infrastructure projects, and it is using HS2 as a prime example. An easy target perhaps, but there are others

Constructability

DBM Vircon uses its design engineering experts and the latest technology to transform standard structural designer's...

A megabuild marvel in Mayfair

A lot has been said about Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (otherwise now well-known as RAAC) in the news this month, with many within and without the industry pitching in with their opinions - informed or otherwise

McGee uses Asta Powerproject to make the 'impossible' Mayfair Hotel Megabuild a reality

Why digital transformation is the key to boosting construction profit margins

Having cropped up twice in this issue and in May's issue, I thought the Rework Problem deserved a spot of its own

The UK construction industry is facing a prolonged crisis of low profit margins and loss - but digital transformation can offer a way forward

Life, the Omniverse and everything

With Bentley's Industrial Metaverse in the last newsletter, and Vectorworks' Life, the Omniverse and Everything in this one, the construction industry appears to be finally shaking off its image as a 'slow adopter of technology'

Vectorworks 2023 Service Pack 4 focuses on the latest technologies to enhance the capabilities of...

Humans were averse to getting their feet wet long before Dunlop Wellington boots were invented and started to build bridges where once they trundled through river fords. Early examples, built by the Romans were massively over-engineered and many of the stone structures they erected still exist today...

Building bridges

Nemetschek's Allplan has recently been used to design and construct some of the most stylistic...

Access Construction Roundtable: What's New in Construction?

Yellow, not Red, is the colour of revolution. Hi-Vis Yellow to be exact. Red is the colour of the paint that Stop the Oil protesters spray statues and other artefacts with and the archaic gowns that Extinction Rebellion wear when they disrupt other people's lives...

The Access Group recently held a roundtable discussion covering trends in the construction industry...

I am delighted to be able to use the Mabey Hire case study – Behind the Facade - to illustrate the growing debate about retrofitting buildings to meet the environmental zero-carbon targets...

Behind the facade

Historic buildings may look beautiful but they're not without their challenges, especially when it comes to repurposing...

Keeping asset management data on track

HS2 appears to be taking a bit of a battering this week, as the costs continue to escalate against a faltering economy and rising cost of living. It's a shame for a number of reasons. In this country few people (and I suppose journalists must figure at the front of the queue) are prepared to take the long term view...

The UK's Light Rail system aims for digital adoption to manage its current and future linear assets

On board with Tekla Tedds

Taking the dog for his morning walk in Minehead I pass the Lifeboat Station, a Victorian building which is being upgraded - adding a new section at the end with a copper roof. A copper roof? That's the most expensive type of roofing you can install...

The latest version of Tekla Tedds provides much more than just a library of engineering calculations for structural and civil engineers, writes David Chadwick

The current rail strikes are causing chaos in the country far beyond the dislocation of people's travel plans. COVID has already changed many peoples working habits, re-inforcing the demand to work from home, or to adopt hybrid working patterns...

A vessel for change

How Powerhouse Company created the unique, sustainable Floating Office Rotterdam

2022 eNewsletters

The Year in Infrastructure

At the risk of repeating myself from last year around this time, it's time to focus on the strange anomaly of a construction industry rapidly going digital and employing the latest technology to meet a number of huge challenges...

Bentley's 2022 Year in Infrastructure conference expanded the company's digital twin vision by introducing new features for the iTwin platform and exploring projects that leveraged the technology

Fabricate smarter with PowerFab

The Government appears to have lost sight of the ball at the moment – that is the race to Net Zero carbon emissions – with the new Prime Minister dithering about whether to attend the next round of COP27 due to take place in Egypt...

When it comes to reducing the construction industry's environmental impact, a lot of attention rightfully falls on the initial design and engineering stages of a project

You build a motor car and put it on the market, and if the public like it, they will buy thousands of them...

A fluid situation

Highlighting and mitigating the risks in water distribution using digital twins is the focus of Bentley's OpenFlows WaterSight, writes David Chadwick

The battle to reduce carbon emissions has taken a back seat whilst we figure out how we are going to cope with hugely expensive energy bills. It all seems a bit introspective as we balance the well-being of our domestic households...

Visualising carbon

3D Repo provides an API that allows designers to view embodied carbon within the building components and methods of construction in their 3D models

As Hinckley Point B closes down, inevitable after extending its expected 30 year life for another 15 years or so, the spotlight is thrown again on the rising cost of generating electricity and its impact on the public. The closure was...

Extending Reality

Bentley Systems implements extended reality, using NVIDIA's CloudXR, to push the boundaries of digital realities for the ITER fusion reactor project

Last year's Hammers Awards marked a significant departure from earlier events, being entertained by two opera singers from Covent Garden...

ALICE's adventures overground

ALICE (ArtificiaL Intelligence Construction Engineering) is being used to supplement the 'optioneering' of planners and project managers working on...

Late payments: what's the real impact and how can you tackle it?

The UK Government appears to be concerned about the rise in late payments within the industry. This comes amidst speculation that the situation is only going to get significantly worse, as Main Contractors start to feel the impact...

David Chadwick looks at the challenge of late payments within the construction industry, with reference to a blog post by Carol Massay, Head...

Project success through model leadership

There have been a number of sightings of ‘Nessie’ recently, ahead of the summer season for Loch Ness and the Cairngorms – although I am not saying they are connected. The videos...

In a world full of complex construction projects, advancing technology alone won't guarantee success argues Andrew McNaughton, Infrastructure Sector...

After COVID19, Climate Change, Net Zero Carbon, material shortages, skill and young labour shortages, we are facing another round of shortages – that of superlatives.

Transpennine Route Upgrade

Network Rail + Jacobs were the winners of the Rail and Transit category in Bentley Systems' Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure, held virtually..

We've gone in pretty hard on the time bomb sitting under the construction industry – the shortage of people entering the profession to replace those who are nearing retirement age.

Jobs for the old boys?

Where is the next generation of skilled construction professionals going to come from? The Access Group has some suggestions

After COVID19, Climate Change, Net Zero Carbon, material shortages, skill and young labour shortages, we are facing another round of shortages – that of superlatives.

How technology collaboration is driving Net-Zero Carbon success

By Mark Coates, International Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, Bentley Systems

We've gone in pretty hard on the time bomb sitting under the construction industry – the shortage of people entering the profession to replace those who are nearing retirement age.

Jobs for the old boys?

Where is the next generation of skilled construction professionals going to come from? The Access Group has some suggestions

The Government appears to consider the last two horrific years an opportunity to reset the clock – and to Build Back Better. Yes, I know that it doesn't just relate to the construction industry, but to the whole of industry...

The project predictor

It's rare that a company completes a project both on schedule and within cost. David Chadwick looks at Safran Software's Cost/Schedule Risk Analysis...

2021 eNewsletters

Taking your kids to the seaside is a useful exercise as it prepares them for the realities of life – the gap between expectations and ernest endeavours – so the response from one quarter to COP26 was not entirely unexpected...

How digital twin technology can help fight climate change

Following on from COP26, Don MacLean, Founder of IES, which has been at the forefront of building performance and sustainability, shares his company's...

Environmental groups have been building up the pressure for this weeks COP26 conference in Glasgow – with Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion amongst others 'stepping on the gas'...

Cost Value Reconciliation

A comprehensive Cost Value Reconciliation scheme should enable you to both manage and stay one step ahead of our current material and labour shortages...

First it was a shortage of skilled labour – nothing to do with Brexit or the pandemic, just an endemic factor of the construction industry. Then the workers we brought in from abroad to fill the gaps went back home and that was exacerbated by COVID-19 and lockdown...

The Soul of a Building

Oh my goodness, we've gotta build this thing!

Information Management is just one of many challenges facing us, but is it the key to getting to grips with the rest of the challenges, both in construction and globally...

Challenges for Construction

Should current global crises be considered as challenges or opportunities? Are construction companies merely holding their heads above water, or should...

The sixteenth Construction Computing Awards are going physical. No more Zoom or Teams for the social event of the year. It will be taking place at the Leonardo City Hotel in London on the 11th of November...

Silver Service

Graphisoft introduces the 25th version of Archicad, setting new levels of growth despite the ravages of the pandemic...

How on earth can you take a positive away from the COVID19 pandemic? There's no doubt it has utterly transformed people's lives, and our working and commuting patterns....

HS2 Risk Registers

3D Repo utilises Digital Twins technology with SafetiBase to keep health and safety on the rails for HS2...

Is the term ‘public rail operator’ the same as ‘nationalising the railway’? And, if so, is it really the Tory Government which is going to implement it? We live in changing times...

Boeing hangar proves sky is the limit for Tekla

Forming part of Boeing's strategic plans to expand its Global Fleet Care Service, the construction of a new Boeing Hangar at Gatwick was a significant...

The built environment in Europe accounts for 40% of energy consumption and one third of CO2 emissions. A third of the building stock is over 50 years old and 75% energy inefficien...

Turning the tide with Solibri

Evolve Consultancy is using Solibri on the Thames Tideway Tunnel project to ensure the speedy and accurate sharing of model information with the three main contractors

I take the dog down to the beach for a walk every morning around 7am and pass several hairdressers on the way...

Aiming for Net-Zero Carbon

ICE President Rachel Skinner recently spoke about the need for urgent action to tackle carbon emissions as part of Bentley's TwinTalks series...

I thought I would settle down in a comfortable armchair, laptop fully-charged, anything throwable at the TV moved out of reach and a nice bowl of popcorn on a nearby coffee table whilst I flicked between the budget and Holyrood...

Principal Tower

WSP has utilised Bentley's technology to overcome complex challenges in delivering a new high-rise tower in London, subsequently winning the Structural Engineering...

Some very basic comparisons can be made between two different industries and how they are weathering the pandemic....

Complete Symetri

Symetri Ltd, part of the Addnode Group, joins forces with Excitech Ltd to form an international market-leading partner of software and services for...

Now that a deal has been signed with the EU it is to be hoped that the next couple of years will be spent sorting out what works and what doesn't and working to become partners with the Common Market...

Showing off

Marionette gives Origin Studios an extra tweak to Vectorworks for their designs for museum exhibitions

2020 eNewsletters

The year 2020 will go down for more than Brexit and Covid19 - it will be the year when all of our traditional ways of working were turned on their heads..

iTwin Design Review

Bentley's Digital Twin concept has matured into a valuable application for leveraging the data from both real-life construction projects and digital models, enhancing...

The Governments changes to the planning laws last July aren’t an opportunity to tear down the walls between town and country – and to decimate protected green spaces – but to create an opportunity....

Standing out from the crowd

Bentley's LEGION simulation software for predicting the movement of crowds and pedestrian flows through stations and airports is being used to plan socially distanced offices for the great, but limited, return to work

Autumn appears to be the most favourable time of the year for business Awards, giving you the chance to honour the companies who have impressed you the most over the last year or so....

Epson SureColor SC-T2100

Epson's new wireless A1 printer provides a perfect solution for architects and engineers who work in a small office, from home, or on-site, writes David Chadwick

I wonder how long it took the country to build the incredible network of railways we used to have before Dr Beeching wielded his infamous axe. It took well over a century and served the public incredibly well with even routes like the watercress and strawberry...

On the right track

Bentley's digital twin technology provides a model for the next generation of the country's rail infrastructure. Good enough for the next 150 years?

It’s been a difficult year, you might say, but there have been positives as well – particularly in the construction industry where software developers have been proactive in helping their customers adapt to working from home or in reconfiguring office space...

Motion control

Oasys has added social distancing to the capabilities of the agents of its pedestrian simulation application MassMotion, making it much easier for organisations to conduct proximity analyses...

One of the best things about the easing of lockdown is being free to talk about things other than Coronavirus issues, and how we are going to modify our working habits to prevent the second phase descending on us this autumn. The industry hasn’t...

Going Big with Tekla

Appointed by Blackpool Pleasure Beach to help renovate and refurbish its infamous The Big One rollercoaster, Taziker Industrial knew that digital technology would have a significant part to play in the delivery of the project...

The events of the last four months have thoroughly altered the social attitudes of the country. Taking the dog for a walk at 6.30am next to the beach – usually deserted – half a dozen of us came together, properly distanced, and stood to chat...

WFH Works!

Marcus Earnshaw, Technology Director at HLM Architects explains how a collaborative approach is helping the company thrive in the work from home era

As countries gingerly probe the possibility of ending their particular brand of lockdown, the focus has been thrown on the types of business that need to get back to work, and whether particular segments of the populations should be asked to remain in isolation....

Making an asset of BIM

David Chadwick and Excitech's Daryn Fitz discuss how BIM can benefit asset owners

We have conflicting images here in the West Country. Work on a commercial building site has closed down, whilst buses are still picking up workers for Hinckley Point from their lodgings...

City scale digital twins for flood resilience

By Robert Mankowski, Vice President, Digital Cities at Bentley Systems

Who would have thought Brexit would trigger the Apocalypse? With plagues of locusts sweeping across the Asian and African continents

Distilling the essence of design

Thomas Mahon of Bimorph Digital Engineering explains the use of GenerativeComponents to calculate the mathematics behind The Macallan Distillery's distinctive and complex roof

Who would have thought Brexit would trigger the Apocalypse? With plagues of locusts sweeping across the Asian and African continents

Distilling the essence of design

Thomas Mahon of Bimorph Digital Engineering explains the use of GenerativeComponents to calculate the mathematics behind The Macallan Distillery's distinctive and complex roof

That’s from a 1960’s TV sitcom, but please don’t look it up, as it will feed your paranoia about stereotyping.

Digital Twins: double trouble or the Holy Grail of digital estates?

By Stuart Bell, Sales & Marketing Director at GroupBC

Griping with a friend about the indecision that still surrounds Brexit, he commented 'Actually it's a fine example of democracy in action'.

Futureproofing information

Andy Hudson, Director of global architects Chapman Taylor, explains to David Chadwick why the company is transitioning to Atvero's SharePoint-based PIM solution

2019 eNewsletters

Griping with a friend about the indecision that still surrounds Brexit, he commented 'Actually it's a fine example of democracy in action'.

What makes a city smart?

Bentley Systems introduces OpenCities Planner to promote the development of Smart Cities

A Brexit without a deal is like a Full English Breakfast (with apologies to other countries slightly involved on the periphery) when you stay in a B&B or hotel....

Focus on BIM

David Chadwick speaks to Daryn Fitz at Excitech about the real issues that emerge when a company decides to invest in building information modeling

A Brexit without a deal is like a Full English Breakfast (with apologies to other countries slightly involved on the periphery) when you stay in a B&B or hotel....

Brexit realities

Carol Massay, CEO of EasyBuild looks at the implications of Brexit for the construction industry, whatever the outcome on 31 October

Said to have been uttered by King Louis Xv of France in 1757 after the county’s disastrous defeat at the Battle of Rossbach. Since then, it has been adopted by various luminaries throughout Europe...

Floating the Arque

Re-flow helps Arque Construction build a unified on-site workflow management solution

I might get this past my sub-editor, or I might not. We are currently looking to engage an entertainer for the next Hammers Awards taking place on November the 14th...

OpenSite Designer

OpenSite Designer integrates reality modelling, optimisation, and automated deliverables to accelerate digital twin advancements for civil site designers

Who decides what tenders a company should go after, and what criteria is used to define which of them are most suitable for the company to chase. Do you choose the safest option and stick to the sector you have experience in, and where you may have developed a good reputation...

myConsole

What's your ratio for winning tenders? 1 in 5 or more? The ability to collect, analyse and share information more efficiently would help you to make business critical decisions faster, and to discard projects you are unlikely to win

I would like to think that the Government picked up my comment in the last newsletter about London City being more important in the future of air travel than Heathrow, and rushed forward the release of the Heathrow Master...

A National Digital Twin

A dynamic digital twin was created at Cambridge University's Institute for Manufacturing to test the challenges and issues associated with developing a digital model of infrastructure assets

I was invited to a very interested briefing a couple of days ago – in the House of Commons. The topic was about Quantum Computing and its impact on civilisation....

From 2D to BIM

A new 'Build to Rent' development at Pontoon Dock on the DLR provides a perfect illustration of the way processes are involved in a typical BIM project using Vectorworks software throughout

As the present seems to be very much on hold, it was refreshing to be able to spend a couple of days thinking about the directions we will be taking once we have got this Brexit business sorted out. Bentley Systems hosted a Symposium in their London office last week...

AI in Infrastructure

Artificial Intelligence, integrated with Bentley's Reality Modelling, is set to revolutionise the solving of design and process issues within the infrastructure industry

Within the next few days we will know whether we are in, out or stuck in the middle of the EU with the WA – or not, as the whole shooting match which has been going on for far too long may be shunted further down the road again before a final decision is made.

An ecosystem of innovation

JavaScript's flexible and simple web-enabling application gives Bentley's iModel the muscle it needs to create its industry leading 'digital twin' environments

Keep your diary open on the 5th, 6th or 7th of March as Excel is hosting the first Futurebuild exhibition – the current incarnation...

How will Brexit affect contractors in the UK?

After more than two years uncertainty still dogs the UK's role in Europe. How does this affect the construction industry? Richard Hepburn of Gorilla Accounting looks at some of the implications

The New Year has arrived with no change to the underlying narrative, and a precious few months before we ceremoniously, or unceremoniously, leave the EU. ...

An ecosystem of innovation

JavaScript's flexible and simple web-enabling application gives Bentley's iModel the muscle it needs to create its industry leading 'digital twin' environments

2018 eNewsletters

There’s lots happening about Digital Twinning at the moment, and Bentley’s recent announcement focusing on its collaboration with Siemens is just the tip of the iceberg...

Take your production line on the road

The M4 VIRTUAL REVIEW virtual reality viewer from CAD Schroer enables users to load 3D CAD data into a VR environment where it can be immersively viewed using VR glasses

There's a lot of interest at the moment in design checking – seeing if what is being built tallies with the architect’s intentions. ...

Bridging a gap in the market

Designing complex bridges is substantially simplified using the parametric capabilities of Allplan Bridge

The Para 55 piece raises interesting questions about housing issues in this neck of the woods...

Invisible Superheroes

Explore the latest technologies and products that civil engineers are using to transform our future at ICE's Invisible Superheroes exhibition

It is particularly fascinating equating the use of robot technology to manufacture building components on, or near, site, as outlined by Andrew Watts ...

Multiplex appeal

IFS Applications has transformed Multiplex's international operations into a true Global business, integrating its management solutions within a consistent and coherent whole

Here’s Mud in your eye – again!Some interesting points rear their head with the article on Mismanagement with Watchet Marina. ...

A new view on Oasys MassMotion

The latest release of Oasys MassMotion, the advanced pedestrian simulation and analysis software, has introduced a powerful viewer application for sharing MassMotion results

Construction Management extends well beyond BIM and involves everybody in a building project from the client, architects and engineers to contractors, suppliers and administrators. It is based around the efficient use of information gathered from all disciplines within the project...

Unified Real-time 3D CAD experiences

Unity Technologies, creator of the most widely-used real-time 3D development platform, have announced a strategic partnership with PiXYZ Software, a leading provider for importing and preparing large CAD data

Here’s Mud in your eye – again! Some interesting points rear their head with the article on Mismanagement with Watchet Marina...

Web-based real-time BIM change detection

Abvent Group has launched Twinmotion 2018 v2, a major update to its award-winning 3D immersion software developed especially for architects, designers, landscapers and urban planners

Plastic demise ‘Well, this particular race appears to have prospered through the stone age, the iron and bronze ages, but succumbed to the plastic age...

Web-based real-time BIM change detection

3D Repo has announced the release of the first web based, real-time change detection software for 3D construction models...

Carillion What can one say? The fall-out from this is going to be huge. Carillion is involved in a large number of major projects – many of them...

Grasshopper-ARCHICAD Live Connection V2.0

GRAPHISOFT has announced a significant update to the Grasshopper-ARCHICAD Live Connection...

2017 eNewsletters

On-site Security We had a successful Hammers Awards this year – a record attendance and some worthy winners...

FARO sets the scene with VR

FARO has announced the release of VR-ready FARO SCENE 7.1 software...

There’s nothing artificial about intelligence Industry 4.0 appears to be rearing its head all over the place at the moment – the latest term used to describe the evolution...

Concrete steps

Autodesk enhances the precast concrete industry's off-site fabrication credentials with its Structural Precast Extension for Revit, explains Dan Peticila, Product Manager for Revit Cast in Place and Precast concrete...

Editor's Comment: Information Mismanagement Wednesday the 1st of November at the Institute of Civil Engineering in London is the date and venue of our second seminar on Information Management...

Mining pupil potential in Belfast

Pupils from eight schools in Northern Ireland have recreated the new AC by Marriott Hotel in Belfast, as part of an immersive Minecraft initiative coordinated by leading UK construction...

Editor's Comment: Dystopian or what?George Orwell would have plenty to write about if he were alive today! His vision of a dystopian future in his novel 1984 has certainly captured...

Leading UK builder opts for Aconex

Aconex has signed a three-year enterprise agreement with United Living, who will standardise on the Aconex platform and solutions across its project portfolio...

Editor's Comment: Autonomously yours One of the nicest things about writing this comment every month is that I can do a bit of ‘futurology’...

Time to take control of your information

David Chadwick previews the Take Control Seminar on Information Management, to be held in association with Newforma on 1st November at the headquarters of the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE)...

Editor's Comment: Autonomously yours One of the nicest things about writing this comment every month is that I can do a bit of ‘futurology’...

Transforming temporary works design

Swanton Consulting has transformed the design of temporary works - such as façade and basement retention - using a software innovation that creates instant 3D models from laser scanner data...

Editor's Comment:The Role of COBie The grave disaster at Grenfell Tower has generated a mass of wild accusations and speculation as the victims relatives...

Earth Pyramid gets Arup backing

It's almost six years since Leeds-based engineer Mark Steele took a call from Steve Ward, the pioneering force behind a bid to construct a giant pyramid dedicated to peace and the environment...

Editor's Comment:Child’s Play Andrew Norrie from 3D Repo made a significant statement during the question and answer session at the recent COBie or not Cobie Forum...

$2.25 million investment for HoloBuilder

HoloBuilder, the German-American startup providing leading cloud and mobile software for virtual reality capturing of construction sites, has just received an investment...

Editor's Comment:Laying down the gauntlet!Mark Zuckerberg has been looking into the future, again, stating that the drivers for the next ten years are going to be artificial intelligence...

A seismic upheaval

David Chadwick considers the role of information in a future society and its relevance to the building model, and looks ahead to the CAD User COBie Seminar in May

Editor's Comment:Information is the Key!Cities of the future are going to be dependent upon Information Rich city models, full of data that can be surveyed...

Enhanced Collaboration with Tekla 2017

Trimble has announced the launch of three new versions of its software for structural engineering, fabrication and construction teams: Tekla Structures 2017, Tekla Structural Designer 2017 and Tekla Tedds 2017

Editor's Comment:COBie or Not COBie That is the question.Bill East of Prairie Sky Consulting came up with the COBie format for classifying and formalising...

'Digital Built Britain' discussed at NBS

Newcastle-based NBS recently welcomed Mark Bew MBE to its offices to deliver an industry talk to a 50-strong audience on the 'Digital Built Britain' programme...

Editor's Comment: Off-site fabrication Did you know that the term ‘Breezeblock’ refers to the usual constituent of this basic building component...

£50K funding for AEC research pilot

London South Bank University (LSBU) is has announcing a £50K award from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)...

2016 eNewsletters

Editor's Comment: So, what will 2017 be like? The year 2016 will probably go down as one of the most surreal periods in history. I won’t list all of the things that will make it so....

ARCHITECT@WORK 2017 - go with the flow

ARCHITECT@WORK, the two-day trade fair aimed at architects, designers and specifiers, will return to Olympia National Hall for its 2017 edition on 25 and 26 January...

Editor's Comment:Nerds Rule OK Whilst Bentleys Assetwise APM case study for Exelon truly satisfied my nerdish tendencies, I trust you will perservere with the article, as it provides a compelling logical rationale....

Demand for building work bucks Brexit

Consumer demand for building work remained resilient in the three months following the vote for Brexit, new figures from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have revealed...

Editor's Comment:Conceptuals A concept is an abstract idea – a plan or intention – that is rapidly becoming de rigueur for the construction industry. No longer do we rely on the expertise of the architect or the engineer....

White Frog goes revit with new course

White Frog has launched its new Revit for Landscape Architecture training course ...

Editor's Comment: Disadvantaged – no way!.I am writing this half way through the Rio Paralympics, where we sit, once again, in second place on the table of medal winners, with China above us....

Free best practice E-learning courses

The Best Practice Hub - the construction industry's online platform for sharing best practice...

Editor's Comment:Brexit – the FUD Factor.It’s probably fair to say that the construction industry has been hit harder than most after the Brexit Referendum. Shares in construction companies...

Brafer creates "Nomadic Architecture" for Rio Games

Hosting the world's biggest sporting event, with ten thousand athletes from over 200 countries attending, Rio de Janeiro has had many sports facilities constructed...

Free online guide to BIM compliance

Anew guide to BIM, created by Designing Buildings Wiki and PCSG, takes users step-by-step...

Editor's Comment: Biblical Proportions According to the BBC, London has been experiencing rainfall of Biblical Proportions. I don’t know if this was at all connected with God’s intervention...

£62.6 billion increase in the pipeline

Analysis by KPMG has revealed a £62.6bn jump in the value of the UK Government construction pipeline since August 2015...

Editor's Comment:The LifeCycle Tower Describing the way in which the LifeCycle Tower’s sensors are used to provide feedback about the building and its occupants, Monica Menghini,...

Lofty solution for Brazil's tallest building

Located in the fastest growing business region of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the WTorre Morumbi...

Editor's Comment:Who will build the future? An interesting piece by thinkBIM in this issue, looking at the skills shortage in the construction industry – the big topic for 2016. Whilst thinkBIM is focussed....

Serpentine designs bring summer touch of magic

In tandem with the 16th Pavilion in 2016, the Serpentine Galleries has expanded its...

Editor's Comment:The Global Challenge for architects Kenny Ingram, from IFS, looks at how the construction industry is evolving, and one of the first points he makes is about the need for better qualified entrants into the industry because of the increased sophistication of the tools on hand....

MakerBot and Stratasys partnership

MakerBot and Stratasys have announced a sales partnership program that allows both companies to extend the cross-selling of their products...

Editor's Comment:FM Delivery It's getting pretty close to the BIM Level2 deadline, when construction companies bidding for public projects have to show that they can deliver a project complete with the level of information required by the ....

Tender is the site for construction

TenderSpace is a newly-launched web based suite of tools developed for anyone involved...

Editor's Comment:I was pleased to be able to choose Oasys MassMotion as Editors Choice for last November’s Hammers Awards. It has long been a favourite piece of software....

Capturing Exeter in 360 degrees

360 degree images captured using a SphereVision specialist recording system are...

2015 eNewsletters

Editor's Comment:We have the Power
Technology has now caught up with aspiration. We already knew how to render a scene, optimise a space, create a virtual simulation of vehicles driving along a path, and produce lifelike renditions of plants....

Industry prepares for 2016 BIM mandate

A joint initiative between the Construction Products Association (CPA), BIM4M2, the...

Editor's Comment:Digital Process Plant
How do you scale an experiment up from a benchtop full of test tubes, Bunsen burners, bell jars and whatever else it took to prove it worked, and devise a working plant to churn out the fruits of your ...

UK Tekla award winners announced

The winners of the tenth annual UK Tekla Awards 2015 have been revealed after a panel of judges...

Editor's Comment:Judgement day approaches. As you can see in this newsletter, we have the Hammers coming up once more in the middle of next month. There have been a couple of changes from last year...

Excitech attains new Pinnacle

Excitech has launched the productivity platform 'Pinnacle Series' in the UK

Editor's Comment:There are a couple of good structural engineering articles in this newsletter – one looking at Tekla’s latest application – Structural Designer, which combines structural...

So good they’re building it twice!

Nemetschek Vectorworks has becomes the headline sponsorship of Build New York Live...

Editor's Comment:There is only a couple of months to go till the Hammers - the Construction Computing Awards held during the thrid week of November - and even shorter for you to vote...

ArtSystems Focus on Innovation Open Days for Resellers

Nottingham-based distributor ArtSystems is hosting two open days in September 2015...

Editor's Comment: We have an article in the current newsletter about 5D BIM – the addition of a cost element to the BIM process to provide rolling access to the financial elements of a project...

New Knowledge Transfer Partnership for Teeside...

A North-East architects firm is attracting international clients thanks to a joint research project with...

Editor's Comment: How do you make sure your application software is going to be able to take advantage of the inevitable evolution of digital technology. If you are one of the front runners, how far ahead...

A trio of asta developments

Asta Development has officially released the second version of Asta Powerproject BIM and is rolling the product out via...

Editor's Comment: Dialled into a Bentley Conference call yesterday, an annual event given by Greg Bentley who spoke about the current performance of the company, drivers in the industry, new acquisitions...

Acute3D is Bentley's latest acquisition

Bentley Systems has been on the acquisition trail again (see CAD User, Jan-Feb 2015, page 6), adding France-based Acute3...

Editor's Comment:Polling is rife throughout the land, but here's one with a result you didn't expect. Amongst the plethora of very useful charts in the NBS National BIM Report 2015 compiled from their BIM survey...

GreenSpec move to tackle 'Greenwash'

GreenSpec's PASS Green Building Products label aims to help design professionals and the self-build audience...

Editor's Comment:After a fallow period, when Sketchup was owned by Google, and nothing much seemed to happen to it – despite widespread adoption – the popular 3D building design...

Bentley acquires UK-based C3global

B3D Laser Mapping has launched a powerful solution that, the company...

Editor's Comment:We are really on the move in this months newsletter, with a couple of articles on the rail network, and updates on the growth of mobile computing...

Bentley acquires UK-based C3global

Bentley Systems has acquired C3global, a U.K.- based provider of web-based...

Editor's Comment:After a flurry of announcements and responses last May about the winding down of the BIM Task Group, it all went quiet. We are now in the middle...

The elephant in the room

An architect and BIM Product Manager for 4Projects by Viewpoint, John Adams is inspired...

2014 eNewsletters

Editor's Comment:With apologies to the popular TV series from which I have stolen the title, but Bentley's Infrastructure Conference last month also supplied some insight into the future...

Searching for ET

The new Five hundred metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), built using Bentley software, wowed attendees at Bentley's...

Editor's Comment:The Bentley Infrastructure conference was held in London at the beginning of this month - a gathering of major users of Bentley's...

Coping with COBie

The COBie Toolkit for Revit automatically generates COBie worksheets from a Revit data model, easing...

Editor's Comment:A couple of months ago the worldwide student design scholarship was run, hosted by Nemetschek, and developed round Vectorworks....

NBS Plugin for Autodesk Revit

We take a look at the new NBS plugin for Revit and how it is helping users change the way they coordinate information across construction projects

Editor's Comment:Whilst we are still feeling nice and relaxed from our summer holidays, and before we plunge into....

Construction Computing Awards Finalists 2014

Time to get the thinking cap on again!

Editor's Comment:This year has passed remarkably quickly, and we are only a few short months away from this year's Hammers Awards – the event hosted by Construction Computing that celebrates those companies and software developers....

Hitting a high note in 2014

The monthly Markit/CIPS survey of purchasing managers in the construction industry is consistently reporting increased confidence levels in the industry, reflecting figures....

Editor's Comment:The comment in the latest issue of the magazine puts forward a suggestion that we compile a bucket list of modern buildings that we really ought to visit, rather like our ancestors did in Victorian Times....

BIM is a Verb

David Chadwick resumes his coverage of our recent Collaborative BIM Round Table, sponsored by Vectorworks, looking beyond the hype at some of the real issues that are beginning to emerge

Editor's Comment:It's all coming together nicely. Now that we have the construction elements of CAD working together, sharing processes and data, and honing the tools that allow disparate construction software.....

Breakdown at Work!

Bentley launches the first automated Work Packaging solution for the construction industry with its ProjectWise Construction Work Package Server.

Editor's Comment:There was a very interesting press announcement a couple of days ago - just a little bit too late to make the current hard copy issue of CAD User.....

BIM Panel

David Chadwick opens proceedings on our Collaborative BIM Round Table, with the first of two articles on the adoption and practicalities of Building Information Modelling.

Editor's Comment:The last few weeks have been busy, with a number of BIM events scattered round the country, but, for us, the main focus was the BIM Panel which we hosted for Vectorworks in the Tower Hotel at the end of the month.....

Major culture change needed for BIM?

A cultural change is required if BIM is to be properly implemented across the built environment ahead of the government's 2016 deadline

Editor's Comment:The How becomes the Why! We are in an interesting phase in building design at the moment, as we appear to be shifting away from the 'What' and the 'How' of architecture to the 'Why' and, perhaps more....

COBie for All?

The Government's BIM Task Group is setting targets for the full implementation of COBie as the basis of sharing data between all parties in the lifecycle of a building

Editor's Comment: I never thought that I would have to start another eNewsletter comment talking about the weather, but here we are, the situation is still with us, and although the weather has improved slightly...

A Better Vision of BIM

Neville Glanville, industry sales director, Bentley Systems, explains why he thinks BIM could be seen as either a business enabler or technology red herring

Editor's Comment: What a month! And it's capped off by this morning's news item about a certain body of people complaining about the Governments intention to make flood prevention schemes mandatory. Their very laudable aim is...

Be Inspired

Bentley recently put on a comprehensive programme for Bentley users and the press in Amsterdam. David Chadwick reports

2013 eNewsletters

Editor's Comment: Welcome to the November edition of the Network Computing Newsletter. Last month we covered NASA’s struggles with its public cloud strategy and now the International Space station (ISS) has experienced...

The Hammers VIII - "And the winners are..."

The winners of the 2013 awards were announced on the 21st November at The Hotel Russell in London. Over 200 supporting guests gathered to see the outcome of the readers on line voting and judging panel's deliberations...