Archive for January, 2013
Tuesday, January 29th, 2013
Geodesign is a set of techniques and enabling technologies for planning built and natural environments in an integrated process, including project conceptualization, analysis, design specification, stakeholder participation and collaboration, design creation, simulation, and evaluation (among other stages). “Geodesign is a design and planning method which tightly couples the creation of design proposals with impact simulations informed by geographic contexts.”[1] – Wikipedia
Geodesign is yet in its infancy and as the conference made clear, many are just on the dawn of using it while others might be exploring its inner workings. The focus on the first day did seem very geo-centric, as of course the event was hosted by a GIS company. Ideally, Geodesign will pull datasets from geographic information systems as well as computer aided design and BIM software and other datasets to tackle big world problems such as sustainability, ecology and building tomorrow’s cities.
Bran Ferren, co-founder of Applied Minds LLC and keynote speaker for the opening session at the Geodesign Summit held at Esri’s Redlands, Calif. Campus, set the tone for the Summit that commenced Thursday, January 24th, 2013.
The Geodesign Summit, introduced by Esri in 2009, explores the concept of merging geography and design, and being able to access various datasets through the “CloudGIS,” Esri’s version of the Cloud. According to Ferren, it is a way to begin to build the cities of the future, using technologies such as geographic information, planning, building information modeling and much more.
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Tags: 3D cities, AEC, ArcGIS, AutoCAD, CityEngine, climate change, Cloud, CloudGIS, Esri, Geodesign, OpenData, SketchUp, urban renewal
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Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Arman Gukasyan, CEO of VIZERRA,spoke with AECCafe Voice about their new REVIZTO virtual reality product designed for the AEC market.
AECCafe Voice: How do you think virtual reality is game-changing at this point?
Arman Gukasyan: Thanks to virtual-reality technology such as Google Earth, people are able to explore settings that mirror our existing world of natural and built environments. People have become accustomed to exploring virtual environments, which is driving the demand for new applications of virtual reality technology. It is now possible not only to view a virtual world, but also to interact with the intricate details of buildings and cities – making it a game-changer for architects and urban planners.
How does REVIZTO fit into that picture?
REVIZTO allows design professionals to convert detailed 3-D building models into interactive, data-rich 3-D virtual environments that can be shared with others to visually explore and collaborate. This is a great way for project owners and other stakeholders to visualize their projects, and to provide feedback to designers and contractors before construction has begun.
What are the areas architects are most often using virtual reality for?
Architects have used 3-D modeling tools to develop highly detailed virtual building models for construction, and to study the way their buildings will impact the surrounding environment. REVIZTO takes this one step further by allowing anyone to easily visualize and collaborate in an interactive 3-D virtual environment everyone can understand – without having to learn how to use complex 3-D modeling software.
Do you see REVIZTO being used in the development of 3D cities and other larger planning efforts in the future, and how do you think it can contribute?
Yes. In fact, REVIZTO’s development was a direct result of the visualization services we provided for large-scale construction projects, such as city planning for a new train station in Barcelona, and the master plan for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. While working on these projects, we saw a clear need for an easy-to-use visualization platform that enabled anyone to communicate and collaborate. REVIZTO helps architects and planners easily communicate the design intent of their projects with non-professionals. 3-D visualization allows everyone to have a clear understanding of the project and to foresee problems before construction starts. REVIZTO is a powerful tool to build projects more efficiently and therefore more sustainably.
Tags: AEC, architecture, building, design, Google Earth, REVIZTO, virtual realtiy, visualization
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Thursday, January 17th, 2013
Amar Hanspal, senior vice president of information modeling and platform products group (IPG) at Autodesk, outlined his predictions for the construction industry this year. Specifically, Amar believes the following trends will drive critical change in how construction firms compete for business and deliver completed projects:
1. National Infrastructure Discussions Evolve Into Global Discussions
Discussions on national infrastructure will evolve into global conversations on interconnected transportation and financial systems. For example, completion of the Panama Canal will force the U.S. East Coast to upgrade their ports to accommodate a massive increase in traffic and ship size.
2. Infrastructure Priorities: Developing vs. Developed Regions
Today, there is a marked divide between the infrastructure priorities of developed and developing countries. Developing countries are creating, funding and building brand new infrastructure systems while developed countries are trying to fix their crumbling systems in order to address the needs of tomorrow.
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Tags: 2013, Autodesk, construction, National Infrastructure, predictions
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Tuesday, January 15th, 2013
Mike DeLacey, president of Microdesk, spoke about the company’s AECO industry predictions for 2013. Microdesk provides business and technology consulting services to help firms plan, design, build and operate land and buildings. At Autodesk University 2012, the company presented their predictions, which were brought to the forefront by natural disasters such as Hurricane Isaac and Hurricane Sandy that swung the spotlight onto the country’s failing infrastructure.
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Monday, January 14th, 2013
Pictometry International Corp., inventor of measurable, aerial oblique imagery and analytics tools, launched Pictometry Integration for Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 and 2012 products at Autodesk University the last week of November 2012. Now users’ high resolution geo-referenced aerial imagery can be accessed from directly within the AutoCAD Civil 3D workspace, enabling users to visualize and take measurements of real-world field environments, helping reduce the need for field visits. AutoCAD Civil 3D use has grown phenomenally over the past two-three years, and continues to climb, according to experts in the field. It will also certainly benefit Pictometry to gain access to Autodesk’s millions of users.
According to Pictometry’s David Petterson, product manager, solutions integration, the integration with AutoCAD Civil 3D follows last year’s integration with AutoCAD Map 3D. Both of these integrations utilize the new Pictometry Connect platform that allows users to instantly access Pictometry’s 2.1 petabyte library of olique and orthogonal imagery, as well as accurate geospatial content.
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Tags: AEC, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Map 3D, Autodesk, Autodesk University, Civil 3D 2012, Civil 3D 2013, integration, Pictometry, Pictometry Connect
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Monday, January 14th, 2013
At the beginning of each year, AECCafe looks at what the current trends are and predictions for the coming year. 2012 has been an exciting year, with the acceptance of the Cloud in many facets of business, and some new areas of interest spawned from the possibilities the cloud opens up. The Cloud is still on our bucket list for 2013 because there are many uses for it that have not yet been realized. Other areas are coming forward, fueled by the urgency of the failing infrastructure and climate change that threatens existing infrastructure as well as food sources.
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Tags: 3D cities, AEC, Autodesk, B2B, Bentley, BIM, Civil, Cloud, construction, consumerization, infrastructure, Maker, security, top AEC Predictions 2013, video
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Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
Welcome to our new blog, AECCafe Voice!
With 2013, we replace our AECWeekly newsletter with a regular blog on topics of interest to Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) technology professionals. The blog format allows for information to be delivered to you in a more timely fashion, with the addition of videos and other multimedia. In fact, according to a recent report, all complex communication begins with a face to face contact, which is what video can provide. And with that in mind, the cloud delivers video, so we remain in the flow with our ability to deliver news, links, photos and video on timely topics all at the same time.
Take this recent article in The New York Times Snow Fall: Tunnel Creek which explored the opportunity to use different types of media – a feature story plus video interview clips plus photos.
With a fast moving industry like AEC, our news moves at a blistering pace. It may not have the same excitement as the extreme skiing life/death drama of Tunnel Creek, but nevertheless the editorial treatment shows just what is possible for media these days.
2013 promises to be an exciting year, with many technologies such as the cloud that has been around for awhile, but new implementations of that technology and new ways of ensuring its security. New ways of delivering and sharing AEC information and commentary are on the horizon.
In January, we will be publishing predictions of our own as well as those from different AEC organizations.
So stay tuned for what AECCafe Voice has to offer, feel free to write in and suggest timely topics. Above all: Happy New Year!
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