More From the "Be Inspired" Event and Exploring Bentley Architecture V8i

In AECbytes Newsletter #41 published towards the end of last month, I discussed the key business and product-related updates from the executive presentations at Bentley’s "Be Inspired" event that was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Oct 12 to 14. In addition to learning about new technology initiatives such as the “i-model” and dynamic collaboration and being reassured about Bentley’s growing strength and financial stability, we also had the opportunity to learn more about the projects that were the finalists in their respective categories in Bentley’s 2009  BE Awards. They were presented first-hand by the firm representatives that had worked on these projects, providing attendees with the opportunity to get a better understanding of how Bentley solutions were being used in its top-rated projects from all over the world.

These “best practices” presentations were held in parallel for all the varied infrastructure industries Bentley solutions cater to. This month's Buildiing the Future article captures the highlights of the presentations in the "Buildings and Structural” track, which included projects such as the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio by NBBJ, the Lotte Super Tower project in Korea by SOM, the Wimbledon Centre Court Redevelopment and Retractable Roof project in England by Edge Structures Ltd, the Chicago O'Hare Phase 1 modernization project by CH2M HILL, and many others. As with the executive keynotes, the projects presented in this article are a testament to the wide range of building designs on which Bentley’s BIM solutions have being used successfully, establishing them firmly as a viable contender in the BIM marketplace.

Also on the agenda for this month is a review of Bentley Architecture V8i. In November last year, I wrote about Bentley’s launch event unveiling its new V8i portfolio of products. We saw that the “i" in V8i stands for five key new capabilities and enhancements, according to Bentley: more intuitive conceptual modeling capabilities; interactive dynamic views; intrinsic geo-coordination capability; incredible project performance and speed; and finally, a high degree of interoperability. The actual V8i applications are now available, and this review explores the new V8i version of Bentley Architecture to determine to what extent these promising concepts have actually been translated into tangible improvements for existing users and potential new ones.

The Tips and Tricks section returns this month with a detailed look at collaboration in ArchiCAD 13, as well as a tutorial on visualizing architecture with SketchUp scenes.

As always, please continue to check out the AECbytes Blog for reader comments and the VendorHub to get a consolidated view of all the technology providers in AEC.

Thank you!

Lachmi Khemlani

Editorials > November 2009