The SmartGeometry Conference and a Viewpoint on the USACE's BIM Requirements

AECbytes starts off this month with a feature article that captures the highlights of the SmartGeometry Conference Day that was held in San Francisco on April 1. This is part of an annual conference that is hosted by the SmartGeometry Group, an organization focused on computational and parametric approaches to design, with representation from some of the world's leading architectural and engineering practices such as Foster+Partners, KPF, Arup, and Buro Happold, and educational institutions such as Architectural Association, MIT, Delft Technical University, and others. The article describes some of the most interesting and informative presentations from the event, including the use of parametric technologies in Beijing’s new Terminal 3 airport by Foster+Partners, in various stadiums including the Beijing Olympic Stadium by ArupSport, and in the continuing construction of Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Família Church in Barcelona. It also explores the new "optioneering" concept, which is being applied by Arup to address the problem of design collaboration in the form of a design evaluation framework called DesignLink.

Next on the agenda is a Viewpoint article by David William Edwards entitled, "Cracking the USACE BIM Code." The USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) is currently on a very aggressive roadmap for the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for its projects. The specific contract requirements for these projects are causing much confusion and forcing many firms to rethink their own BIM adoption. The purpose of this article is to bring to light some of these issues and how they will affect BIM purchases and workflows. Be sure to also check out the extended discussion on this article on its AECbytes blog posting.

And finally, the Tips and Tricks section this month features a tutorial on the new Virtual Building Explorer for ArchiCAD, and a second one on bringing SketchUp scenes into Google Earth.

Please continue to visit the AECbytes VendorHub to obtain a consolidated view of all the technology providers in AEC and get updated on their news and other developments.

Thank you!

Lachmi Khemlani

Editorials > April 2009