8 posts categorized "Green"

29 June 2008

Autodesk Ecotect?!

Image credit squ1.comThe Green Building Studio announcement was expected but I was surprised to see* news of the Ecotect acquisition. Apart from a couple of sessions at AU2007 I haven’t seen much of Ecotect. I haven’t used it but those I know who have are struck by it’s impressive visualisation.

To date my role in building energy studies has been as a modeller (using Revit MEP) with the analysis left to those best qualified to interpret the data. However the audience for all this was a building owner/operator. With the sophisticated modelling available communicating the results seemed more of a challenge than generating them.

Since the whole business of building performance modelling is new to many anything that helps create better solutions AND communicate them is welcomed. It will be interesting to see these develop as they are merged into the Autodesk BIM family. A “green post” to match my current, coincidental, green banner image.

Autodesk Enhances Sustainable Design Capabilities With Acquisitions of Ecotect and Green Building Studio Analysis Tools - Autodesk - Press Releases

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of its on-going commitment to support the practice of sustainable design and green building in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced two acquisitions to improve building performance analysis in the building information modeling (BIM) process.

Autodesk announced that it has completed the acquisition of substantially all the assets related to the Ecotect software tools for conceptual building performance analysis from both Square One Research Ltd. and Dr. Andrew Marsh. Autodesk also announced that it has completed the acquisition of substantially all the assets of Green Building Studio, Inc., a provider of web-based whole building energy, water and carbon-emission analysis software…

Related Links: 

* I read this first at TenLinks.com

Tags:

25 March 2008

AutoCAD Architecture 2009 and BIM?

It might not be parametric but AutoCAD Architecture 2009 (ACA) has included a number of updates which enable Building Model Information to be managed and exchanged. By refining existing features like Classifications, Property Sets and IFC import/export ACA enables object and performance data to be managed in the Building Model and exchanged with other applications. 

It’s a very BIM’like focus for an application Autodesk marketing relegates to being “AutoCAD for Architects”. If you’re looking at AutoCAD Architecture as a tool to speed up drafting there is little point loading it with performance data or considering IFC exchange. If you want an AutoCAD based Building Model which manages Information…

ACA2008_CB_BuildingModel

I was going to write a longer post on the new ACA 2009 features but over at BIMology Tomislav already has!

BIMology: Smarter and Greener BIM with ACA 2009
This article might be offensive to those that are fundamentally opposed to the idea of using ACA as a BIM supporting platform, but nevertheless I cannot withhold my enthusiasm for the improvements that have been made with this new and somewhat downplayed release of 2009…

21 March 2008

Greenbuild™ New Zealand

It’s not easy being green, according to Kermit, but this resource aims to make it a little simpler for Kiwis. It’s an New Zealand specific website with green building information, specifications and products.

Greenbuild™ New Zealand - www.greenbuild.co.nz
Greenbuild.co.nz is for people who care. Architects, designers, building product manufacturers, builders, developers – anyone who wants to create more sustainably.

The leaders in the New Zealand building industry have united to make Greenbuild possible. The result? A single location for listing and assessing New Zealand’s building products, with a particular emphasis on their sustainability. It’s a simple idea. If we measure the sustainability of buildings overall, what about their component parts?

Greenbuild lists these parts (and adds more all the time), comparing their performance through independent environmental assessments.

Greenbuild is a joint venture between Building Research, Masterspec, the NZ Institute of Architects, Registered Masterbuilders and Green NZ.

11 August 2007

HOK Blog!

HOK have a couple of new(ish) blogs looking at buildingSMART (Building Information Model) and Green design. It’s great to see companies sharing their experience & knowledge!

HOK CAD Solutions - Welcome to this HOK CAD Support blog
“This is the idea: let’s use this blog as a communication track to gather knowledge and share; we hope that you will be willing to author posts and share opinions to make this work. Postings will be by HOK and invited guests, viewing is by anybody inside and outside HOK….”

http://hokcadsolutions.blogspot.com/

HOK GREEN BIM - Welcome to my new Green Blog - Miles Walker
I plan to capture my path into green design in architecture…

http://greenbim.blogspot.com/

Also check out Miles' other website on BIM:

4BIM – A web site exclusively for Building Information Modelling

http://www.4bim.com/

Via autodesk-revit.blogspot.com

15 June 2007

An introduction to the Green Building Revolution...

KQED QUEST provide a nice short, 11 minute, introduction to the Green Building revolution They cite the new California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, as new building example and Adobe Systems for retrofit. Green buildings aren’t just about saving the planet, you can save money too!

16 February 2007

Robert Scoble learns about Architecture & BIM at CleverHomes

Robert Scoble may be known to you as the PodTech, ex-Microsoft, Geek Blogger & Videoblogger but this show ventures into the world of Architecture, Construction, Green materials and Building Information Modelling with Toby Long of “CleverHomes”.

It’s a discussion about the concept of BIM for design, manufacture and estimation but the only design software seen in action, briefly, is SketchUp during an office walk-about. While most the info will not be new to CAD/BIM savvy readers of this blog it’s great that this sort of info is reaching other industries and communities. It will be interesting to see what Robert’s usual, I’m guessing this, mainly IT/Tech based audience think of BIM.

Some of the comments on integration of BIM and Estimation link into a presentation I attended earlier this week. More about that in a future post.

CleverhomesBuilding a new kind of house with CleverHomes | ScobleShow: Videoblog about geeks, technology, and developers
This is a bit different today. It's not about Web 2.0, or startups, or computer science. Instead we take a look inside the industry of home building with CleverHomes Founder Toby Long. Toby is an architect, but one that is trying to find new, more sustainable ways to build homes. If you thought you knew how homes should be built you might want to listen in here.

This CBS5 story shows a CleverHomes house

UPDATE 17–02–2007: I was curious what BIM applications CleverHomes use so emailed them. The response was: “Vectorworks 12.5 is our only BIM (building information management) software”

14 September 2006

"Transforming Building Process: Ideas Realised" - Phil Bernstein - Autodesk Building Solutions Division

Introduction:

2006_07_14_IMG_1968 (Small)Phil Bernstein’s presentation covered the transition from traditional drawing board, to CAD, to Building Information Modelling as techniques to capture project design information. It covered the reasons for change and the impacts of those changes on industry and practice.

These are my notes; Phil detailed these headings with examples, research and industry examples. I've added a few links – in italics –  to relevant articles/sites discovered while researching this post which were not directly quoted in the presentation.

Phil Bernstein Profile;

"Transforming Building Process: Ideas Realised"

BIM & Process Change;

2006_07_14_IMG_1973 (Small)The AEC industry is facing increased demand for productivity driven by economic demands, technological changes and new working methods. Traditional process struggles to deliver when faced with the demand for concurrent design, rich information and constant change as the project develops.

Another drive is to reduce waste, both during the design and construction and the impact of the finished building. In the US 1/3 of construction spend is wasted, finished buildings consume huge amounts of energy. Good design can reduce those impacts and to predict environmental impact & performance demands a model.

To meet these challenges the response has been distributed design teams working across companies, industries and around the world. The process is driven by concurrent demands and compressed timetables; design, energy analysis, costing and visual impact all being developed simultaneously, continuously as the project progresses.

To meet these demands the only answer is digital design and collaboration.

History;

2006_07_14_IMG_1974 (Small)We draw because it works but...  it's no longer enough. Traditional drawing, paper or CAD, does not allow the information required to be captured or shared efficiently.

Digital design allows computable simulation models, sharable information database, rapid distribution for review and collaboration that is just not possible with traditional techniques.

BIM protects project knowledge;

Traditional transfer of information in the form of drawings and documents results in loss of knowledge between project stages. A shared Project BIM aggregates project knowledge as it develops creating a resource, a bill-able resource, for the owner to use for the entire building lifecycle.

Clients demand more;

Clients expect/need to see the project before it exists. The planning process, design communication, manufacturing, construction planning, promotion/sale/leasing and operational management all benefit from a complete consistent building model.

"We must move toward more predictable outcomes, Legacy systems will kill us" – Client Quote

2006_07_14_IMG_1978 (Small)What is a Building Information Model;

  • Digital Building Representation
  • Coordinated
  • Internally consistent
  • Computable
  • Complete

AEC Industry has to change;

  • The old segregated model is failing.
  • Change being driven by: Regulation, Client demand, Project Complexity, Technology, Global Economy.
  • Answers are... Digital Solutions, Collaboration, Sharing responsibility and reward.
  • Enabled by: Open information exchange, BIM, Collaboration.

A new model for working: The Integrated Practice;

Mention of the new city project near Seoul;

New Songdo City is a master-planned international business center near Seoul, a $25 billion development.

http://www.newsongdocity.com/ 

Direct product related Comments;

  • AutoCAD - “There will always be a role for AutoCAD”
  • Architectural Desktop - “Will be developed as long as the industry demands it”, “400,000 + users”, “The AutoCAD based productivity solution for building documentation”
  • Revit - “Autodesk's BIM platform for the future”

Links;

Disclosure;
My travel & accommodation was provided by Autodesk Building Solutions Division, Asia Pacific.
I own both Autodesk Architectural Desktop & Viz Licences –
http://rcd.typepad.com/about.html
I use/manage ADT, ABS, Viz and Revit applications for The Warehouse Limited, a retail company in New Zealand.

29 January 2005

Smart Brisbane encourages Smart parking, Dumb Auckland doesn't

Brisbane encourages Smart parking, Dumb Auckland just thinks about revenue collecting.

Why not encourage smaller cars in the city especially when you consider the probability of two Smarts in Auckland  wanting to park in the same space at the same time is about zero?

Smart parking
19.01.05
Brisbane City Council is the first local government authority in Australia to endorse legal parking of two smart cars in one parking space. Brisbane city councillor Graham Quirk told the Courier Mail: "If people want to go to the trouble of buying environmentally friendly, space-saving cars, we ought to be giving them incentives."

Waste of time
26.01.05 

Owners of the new smart micro-cars will be wasting their time trying to park two of the tiny 2.5m-long vehicles for the price of one in an Auckland City parking space. "There are no designated parking spaces in Auckland anymore - there haven't been for around five years," said Auckland City Council parking services manager Chris Geerlings. "They are now called parking areas." Council replaced the single-stand metres with a pay and display system. "In theory, you could now park five or six cars in what would have been the old parking space, as long as each one shows a pay and display ticket,”
"We would like to think that by introducing pay and display parking areas, Auckland City is being more progressive and innovative than Zurich or Brisbane." Geerlings said.


Search


  • Google
    Web RobiNZ

Shop


  • Shop At Amazon.com

July 2008

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
    1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31    

What's New?


  • RobiNZ CAD Blog

  • RobiNZ Personal Blog

  • www.flickr.com
    This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from RobiNZ. Make your own badge here.

Your email address:


Powered by FeedBlitz

My Photo

Info

Blog powered by TypePad
Member since 03/2004