CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

9 December 2009

Events News

SmartGeometry 2010 Workshop on Advanced Design Exploration Heads to Barcelona March 19-22

Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced that the SmartGeometry 2010 Conference workshop will take place March 19-22, 2010, at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona, Spain. Organized by the SmartGeometry Group (www.smartgeometry.org), sponsored by Bentley (www.bentley.com) , and hosted by IAAC (www.iaac.net), the four-day workshop carries the theme “Working Prototypes” and focuses on functioning prototypes developed to prove and test concept and design.

The workshop features 10 hands-on design studios, each led by preeminent professionals representing multiple disciplines from architectural practices and design institutes on the cutting edge of generative design. Among these professionals are Shane M. Burger, associate and head of the Computational Design Unit, Grimshaw; assistant professor Axel Kilian, Ph.D., School of Architecture, Princeton University; professor Achim Menges, director of the Institute for Computational Design, Stuttgart University; Brady Peters, Ph.D. Fellow, CITA, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture; and professor Robert Woodbury, Ph.D., School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University. The studios will facilitate the development and testing of working prototypes and provide a nucleus for exploration, discussion, processes, and techniques. Each will embrace a wide spectrum of approaches and engage 8 to 16 participants. Bentley will provide participants with GenerativeComponents – Bentley’s generative design software – for use in the workshop.

Huw Roberts, Bentley global marketing director, said, “Bentley is proud to sponsor, for the sixth straight year, the highly anticipated SmartGeometry Conference workshop. Seats are limited and, given the heavy attendance of past workshops, will undoubtedly fill up quickly. So I encourage those interested in participating to apply as soon as possible. This is a unique opportunity for architects and design professionals, along with architectural and engineering students, to explore advanced design objectives enabled by the latest technology. The studios will be led by renowned experts actively and enthusiastically engaged in the practice of generative design. They represent organizations that are already employing advanced computational and parametric design tools, technologies, and methodologies in delivering inspiring real-world projects.”

Roberts continued, “The workshop will be followed by a two-day conference and reception, also sponsored by Bentley. The conference will focus on new trends in design and the huge potential of digital manufacturing and parametric modeling that now can be realized with advanced generative tools such as GenerativeComponents.”

Admission to the workshop is based on an application process and selection by the SmartGeometry Group. The application deadline is Jan. 10, 2010.

Workshop participants will use GenerativeComponents as their platform. Applicants unfamiliar with this software will need to complete training in advance of the Barcelona event so they can focus on design exploration during the workshop. Applicants can contact events@bentley.com for information on no-charge GenerativeComponents downloads and training opportunities available to them. Additional software complementary to GenerativeComponents, along with software plug-ins, will be supplied to participants for particular design studios.

For additional information about the SmartGeometry 2010 Conference workshop application process and format, and to apply, visit www.smartgeometryconference.com/2010.

For additional information about the workshop and conference and to view past presentations from the 2007, 2008, and 2009 events, visit www.SmartGeometryConference.com.

About the SmartGeometry Group

The SmartGeometry Group is firmly committed to the belief that computer-aided design should lend itself to capturing, expressing, and enriching the geometric relationships that form the foundation of architecture. The group is dedicated to educating the construction professions in the new skills required to effectively use advanced design systems such as GenerativeComponents. The directors of the SmartGeometry Group include Lars Hesselgren of PLP Architecture, Hugh Whitehead of Foster + Partners, and J Parrish of ArupSport. For additional information, visit www.smartgeometry.org.

About GenerativeComponents

GenerativeComponents – Bentley’s generative design software – enables architects and engineers to pursue designs and achieve results that were virtually unthinkable before. Empowered by computational methods, the designers can direct their creativity to deliver inspired, sustainable, high performance buildings that are freer in form and use innovative materials and assemblies. GenerativeComponents facilitates this by allowing the quick exploration of a broad range of “what-if” alternatives for even the most complex buildings.

This generative design software captures and exploits the critical relationships between design intent and geometry. Designs can be refined by either dynamically modeling and directly manipulating geometry, by applying rules and capturing relationships among building elements, or by defining complex building forms and systems through concisely expressed algorithms.

To inform decisions, GenerativeComponents is integrated with software for building information modeling, analysis, and simulation, providing feedback on building materials, assemblies, systems performance, and environmental conditions. This integration also ensures that intent becomes reality by enabling designs to accurately and efficiently flow through to detailed production and fabrication.

GenerativeComponents is enabling leading architects and engineers around the world to deliver inspired sustainable buildings. Among them are Aedas, Arup, Buro Happold, Foster + Partners, Gensler, Grimshaw, Henning Larsen Architects, Morphosis, PLP Architecture, SHoP Architects, and TVS.

For more information about GenerativeComponents, visit www.GenerativeComponents.com.

For additional information about Bentley, visit www.bentley.com.

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