BuildingTeam360
The editors of BD+C blog on key issues and trends affecting the AEC industry: Jeff Yoders on BIM, IPD, CAD, and IT; Robert Cassidy on green building, sustainability, and climate change; and Jay W. Schneider on innovative design and construction trends.
Animal shelter work a welcome trend
If the increased number of animal shelter project announcements I’m receiving is any indication, I see a mini trend where Rover and Fluffy are getting nicer digs as they await permanent homes. I like that some of these shelter projects are going for LEED ratings, thereby doubling their good deeds: helping animals and the environment. We featured Los Angeles’ North Central Animal Car ...... Read More
Comments (0)Fly through the Maricopa County Court Tower
One of the deliverables Gilbane Building Co. is providing to its subcontractors on the Maricopa County Court Tower project (page 24) is the 3D flythrough, utilizing Autodesk Navisworks Manage. This video created by Gilbane Virtual Construction Manager John Tocci, Jr., is one of many used to show MEP and structural details of the project. ...... Read More
Comments (0)BIMBoy exclusive: Autodesk releases BIM Deployment Plan
San Rafael, Calif.-based software manufacturer Autodesk released its “BIM Deployment Plan” today, a document that outlines the advantages and challenges of using Building Information Modeling on both the project and organization levels. “When we started this undertaking we knew it had to be comprehensive and include change management as an organization and on a project,” ...... Read More
Comments (0)Behold, the lifesize LEGO House
Barnaby Gunning Architects in the UK used Luxology’s 3D modo 401 software to model and visualize a full-size house made entirely out of the LEGO. The LEGO House was created for the series finale of the BBC’s James May’s Toy Stories television show, where each episode focused on the creation of ambitious projects using classic toys. The structure is a two-s ...... Read More
Comments (0)Winter Olympics—where’s the architecture buzz?
I haven’t caught Olympic fever. I almost never do. It’s not surprising, then, that I only remembered today’s the day for opening ceremonies because of relentless commercials during last night’s episode of 30 Rock. I didn’t catch Olympic fever back in 2008, either, when the Summer Games were held in Beijing, but boy was I aware of the event. That’s because ...... Read More
Comments (2)Energy-saving program sets a new PACE
A new financing mechanism called PACE (for “property-assessed clean energy”) has been gaining momentum in recent months. It uses the power of state and local governments to issue bonds; the funds are then made available to property owners to make energy-saving capital improvements. PACE goes beyond building energy lab ...... Read More
Comments (0)Not-so-cheap knock-off: Why CityCenter Las Vegas is like Jordana Spiro
Have you ever accidentally rented the wrong movie? You saw the picture, thought “I liked Amanda Bynes in ‘She’s the Man‘ and I’ll check whatever this is out, too,” and sent it off to Netflix. Then when you get and watch the movie, you realize it’s Jordana Spiro and not Amanda Bynes, at all. No matter how good of a performance Spiro gives, you still ...... Read More
Comments (1)Texas Facilities Commission recommends Autodesk products for its BIM standards
BIMBoy’s Blog reported that the Texas Facilities Commission would be requiring BIM models for all its projects last summer. Since then we’ve anxiously awaited the TFC’s new BIM standards. This week they were published on its website (#23 PSP guidelines). Notice this particular section: “All BIM Models are required to be created using BIM authoring software in native fil ...... Read More
Comments (7)Pretty BIM vs. Serious BIM
At the BIM Forum at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix last week, the education sessions ranged from design to fabrication, CNC production, and owners’ use of BIM case studies, but the best new acronym of the two-day conference came from Christof Spieler, director of technology and information at Morris Architects in Houston, in his talk on standards for construction-ready BIM models, the ...... Read More
Comments (1)BIMBoy goes to Autodesk University
I spent last week at Autodesk University, major software vendor Autodesk’s annual training and business outlook conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. More than 5,700 Autodesk software users attended the conference and took more than 500 software classes with thousands more attending Virtual AU online. Autodesk’s media and manufacturing programs (Inventor, May ...... Read More
Comments (2)BIMBoy: Tablet PC makes onsite computing fast, but …
Introduced last fall, the Motion J3400 mobile tablet PC is a sleek yet rugged machine that combines the latest in wireless technology with the lightness and point-and-click capabilities of a tablet. To test it, I used our little review PC on the site of the 90,000-sf Clearwater mixed-use project in Oak Brook, Ill., right across the street from the BD+C offices. Exterior work on Clearwater was comp ...... Read More
Comments (0)AEC strategies and tactics for 2010
OK, 2009 sucked for the AEC industry (and most others, with the exception of collection agencies and asphalt suppliers), and 2010 doesn’t look all that great either. What is your firm going to do about it? Following are some suggestions that may stimulate discussion among management and staff about how your firm can get through next year and then be prepared to take advantage of any u ...... Read More
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