In this Viewpoint article, Andrew Hollomon, Principal and Director of Information Technology at Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP, describes how he implemented a five-point plan to improve operational efficiency in his firm in less time and lower cost than anticipated. As a result, the firm’s entire 500-person staff now has more time and higher-quality project information to devote to projects and clients.
In this article, James J. Balding, Associate Vice President and Director of WimberlyLabs at WATG, highlights a number of tools and technologies in addition to BIM that can help to better position the AEC industry when the economy rebounds and presents it with new opportunities. These technologies include a wide array of new immersive environments, parametric modeling and 3D printing, new ways of communicating with a computer, more multi-media and interactive tools for design presentations, and various others including digital note-taking and measurement of design quality.
URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/buildingthefuture/2009/InnovativeTechnologies.html
The area of sustainable design tools showed a lot of momentum at this year’s AIA Expo with the introduction of several new products. This article provides an overview of these tools, including Graphisoft’s new EcoDesigner, Autodesk Ecotect Analysis, IES’s VE-Gaia, Bentley’s Hevacomp and Tas applications, and a new tool called DesignBuilder, which uses the EnergyPlus simulation engine.
URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/feature/2009/AIA2009_EnergyApps.html