Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Architecture, Engineering and Construction
Workstation special edition 4
6
WORKSTATIONS FOR ALL BUDGETS
Solid State Drives (SSDs) to transform your workstation
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INPUT DEVICES FOR PRECISE CONTROL
Ecobuild 2013 Managing BIM content The role of the BIM co-ordinator March / April 2013 >> Vol.65 p01_AEC_MARCHAPRIL13_Cover.rb.indd 1
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Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Architecture, Engineering and Construction
editorial
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Managing Editor Greg Corke greg@x3dmedia.com
Consulting Editor Martyn Day martyn@x3dmedia.com
Digital Media Editor Stephen Holmes stephen@x3dmedia.com
Design and Production production@x3dmedia.com advertising
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Financial Controller Samantha Todescato-Rutland sam@chalfen.com AEC Magazine is available FREE to qualifying individuals. To ensure you receive your regular copy please register online at www.aecmag.com about AEC Magazine is published bi-monthly by X3DMedia Ltd Suite 77, 3rd Floor, The London Fruit and Wool Exchange, 56 Brushfield Street, London E1 6EP T. +44 (0)20 3355 7310 F. +44 (0)20 3355 7319 www.x3dmedia.com © 2012 X3DMedia Ltd All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without prior permission from the publisher is prohibited. All trademarks acknowledged. Opinions expressed in articles are those of the author and not of X3DMedia. X3DMedia cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements within the magazine.
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Ecobuild 2013 9 London’s annual Ecobuild event proves that sustainable building design isn’t just lip service in the UK.
Workstations: SSDs for CAD 11 CAD users should sit up and take notice. A Solid State Drive could be the most important workstation purchase you make this year, writes Greg Corke.
Workstation reviews 16 AEC Magazine reviews a cross section of machines from Dell, Workstation Specialists, Lenovo, Scan and Interpro.
The role of the architect 22 With the development of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is there still a need for a lead consultant?
Content is dead, long live content 25 A well planned content management strategy is essential for BIM-ready organisations.
Structures: Model advantage 28 Multidisciplinary consultancy Stopford Projects uses 100-year-old drawings to help create an intelligent 3D model of structural inspection survey results.
Design Viz 30 From planning the London 2012 site to the regeneration of a Tyneside toffee factory.
RTC Europe 34 Still pondering the path to Building information Modelling (BIM)? There is a new BIM conference for Revit users in Holland. Also this month: 4 and 6 News March / April 2013
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News
BAM looks to bring BIM into FM AM is partnering with FSI and Autodesk on a research project to bring Building Information Modelling (BIM) into facilities management, with a view to delivering buildings with fewer faults and lower operating costs. The process involves pulling information from 3D BIM models into a building’s facilities management workflow systems, improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the way clients can manage their assets. “Our COBie Extraction tool allows BAM to mine BIM data and provide handover information that meets the Government’s 2016 BIM mandate,” said Autodesk’s Paul Fleming. “BAM’s project will go beyond COBie to provide as-built data supplemented with commissioning information collected in the field using our cloud and mobile solutions; providing a complete data record that can be used for FM from day one of operations.”
B
Nvidia unveils CAD family of Kepler Quadro GPUs vidia has launched three new professional Quadro GPUs, based on its Kepler architecture, that are focused on users of CAD and BIM software. The Quadro K600 (1GB DDR3) (£149); Quadro K2000 (2GB GDDR5) (£389); and Quadro K4000 (3GB GDDR5) (£829) target entry-level, mid-range and high-end CAD users respectively. The cards join the Quadro K5000 (4GB GDDR5) (£1,559) which, in the AEC world, is really reserved for design visualisation. Power efficiency is high on the agenda with Nvidia claiming Kepler is three times more energy efficient than its predecessor, leading to more performance at the exact same or lower power requirements. Multi-display support has also received a boost. Nvidia’s Fermi-based Quadros were limited to two displays per GPU. To support more than this two cards were
N
needed, perhaps to run multiple applications on a three screen extended desktop or to co-ordinate BIM models on a 2 x 2 powerwall. This put Nvidia at a disadvantage to AMD who pioneered three or more display CAD workflows from a single AMD FirePro card with its AMD Eyefinity technology. This has all changed with Kepler and all but the Quadro K600 now support up to four displays from a single GPU. Meanwhile, AMD is looking to steal some of Nvidia’s thunder by introducing a hefty ‘cash back’ offer on its CAD-focused FirePro W-Series professional graphics cards. One individual per company can claim up to 50% off a single card purchase – that’s up to £200 off the 2GB FirePro W5000 or up to £300 off the 4GB W7000. The offer runs until 30 June 2013. ■ fireprographics.com/experience/uk/index.htm
Letter to the editor: BIM IS CAD Excellent article on “BIM is not CAD” (AEC Magazine Jan/Feb 2013 - tinyurl.com/BIMisnotCAD) It has got the social media world discussing all the aspects you raised. I don’t disagree with any of the points, although I hope you don’t mind me saying that you’ve taken the current (and I believe) slightly “bandwagon” approach that CAD Managers are not capable of delivering BIM, that it’s the responsibility of all the company, from top down. It is, no doubt, but only because we are allowing a now muted view of what CAD management should have been, and are now taking the point of view that
■ bam.co.uk
■ nvidia.co.uk/quadro
CAD systems were flawed. Building delivery did not end with CAD software, as building data and construction process does not end with BIM authoring tools. It’s how you implement them, how you use them to support your processes, how “buildings are assembled”, something that is true with BIM, was true with CAD (only now overlooked as CAD software is so ingrained in the process) and even more true with the days of the drawing board. Technology does not change that, it merely offers a more intelligent and “modern” perspective. Semantics it may be, but don’t
call uneducated draughting & poorly managed 2D “CAD” and blame that. Computer Aided Design is and was useless too without full management buyin. It should always have been top down. BIM is exactly CAD, it’s just our perspective of what CAD should be is shortsighted with the advent of modern spin. Finally the industry is being given the catalyst to return to true Computer Aided Design values that should always have been prevalent. Nigel Davies, BIM and CAD expert at Evolve Consultancy Want to voice your opinion? Contact greg@x3dmedia.com
M-Six VEO launches EO, the long awaited cloud-based platform for the design, construction and operation of buildings and infrastructure, has been launched by developer M-Six. The platform includes tools for navigation and visualisation; co-ordination and validation; scheduling and sequencing; and asset tracking. It also supports a model-linked document library and real-time sensor data. VEO is available as a free trial. Prices start at $250 per month.
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■ m-six.com
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March / April 2013
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News
ROUND UP Interactive inspection InspectTech Collector Mobile is a new iPad app from Bentley designed for ‘Interactive Inspection’. It works with Bentley’s InspectTech software, which helps asset owners streamline the planning of inspections and the collection and management of data ■ bentley.com/InspectTechCollectorMobile
3D airport planning Transoft Solutions has released a new 3D version product line for the AeroTurn software suite for airport planning and design. The Canadian firm has also completed an update to ParkCAD 4.0, its parking planning and design tool, making it fully compatible with the Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 CAD platform line ■ transoftsolutions.com
BIM survey spec Plowman Craven has established its BIM Survey Specification which is used in conjunction with all laser scanning surveys it undertakes within the BIM environment. Download the specification from ■ plowmancraven.co.uk/ bim-survey-specification
Steel / concrete design Sheffield-based Tier Consult has invested further in CSC’s Fastrak and Orion software, for steel and concrete building design, and in Tedds for general structural calculations. In this latest move, Tier Consult has made all CSC’s software available to all its engineers ■ cscworld.com
Synchro user event Synchro will host the first EU Synchro Professional User Conference on Thursday, 2 May 2013 in Birmingham. “This is a great opportunity to learn to explore how to maximize the benefits of 4D scheduling with Synchro Professional,” said CEO Tom Dengenis ■ synchroltd.com
Autodesk CEO speaks Autodesk CEO Carl Bass is one of the headline speakers at DEVELOP3D Live 2013. The FREE one day event will also feature dedicated conference sessions for 3D printing, workstations, and design visualisation / rendering. The event takes place at Warwick Arts Centre on April 16. ■ develop3dlive.com
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Tekla opens up material workflow ekla Structures 19, the latest release of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) tool for modelling, detailing, fabricating and building, welcomes better workflow for all materials, says its developer. Weld Visualisation in Tekla Structures 19 shows the welds directly in the model. Section View Creation in the drawings is visually guided. Curved shapes are smoother and, as the software interfaces to fabrication machinery, can be fabricated equally smoothly, says Tekla. With Model Organiser, Tekla users can classify and structure models by submittals, lots or sequencing. And there is a tool to quickly specify the tons and volumes for parts, groups, phases and sequences. “We want to help the construction industry to change the bottom line for the better, regardless the materials they use,” says Tekla’s executive vice president, deputy CEO and general manager of
More complex shapes, such as spiral rebar, can now be exported to IFC
T
Trimble Buildings Structures Division, Risto Räty. “Better planning and estimating, understanding what you are doing and minimising errors with Tekla definitely are competition assets.” For those who work with concrete, Tekla Structures 19 provides a number of new features. The ‘Cast in Place’ concrete capabilities of the software are designed to provide concrete builders and designers with the tools they need to model, plan and pour accurately. The software contains new and improved links directly to fabrication and other software and complex shapes such as spiral rebar are said to ‘export nicely’ to IFC to be used by other project parties. The software also includes a new interactive online help and self-support service called Tekla User Assistance ■
teklastructures.com
CIC publishes free BIM protocol he Construction Industry Council (CIC) has published its BIM Protocol alongside two further BIM documents: Best Practice Guide for Professional Indemnity Insurance when using BIM and, Outline Scope of Services for the role of Information Management. All three documents are available to download free
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at cic.org.uk. Meanwhile, the CIC BIM Regional Hubs delivered their first BIM seminar of the ecoShowcase events at Old Trafford last month. Mark Stodgell, the champion of the NW BIM Hub, gave a 30 minute interactive overview of what BIM was and how BIM can help power sustainability. Questions mainly came from manufacturers who
were confused by what they had to provide for their products to be part of BIM. The seminar was one in a series of four presentations given to specifiers and procurement professionals at ecoShowcase, others including ‘A Green Deal Update’, and ‘Energy Reduction in Existing Buildings’. Details of future events can be found at ■ cic.org.uk ■ ecoshowcase.co.uk
Hobs launches 3D print service obs Reprographics has launched a 3D print and model making service for architects. According to the firm, it can produce affordable, high quality 3D
H
models for presentations, design concepts and marketing materials from a wide range of CAD files. Hobs’ 3D design team accepts a number of 3D formats, including .STL,
.3DS, .rvt, .dgn, and .skp. Using a ZPrinter 650 it can produce models in full 24-bit colour up to 381 x 254 x 203mm in size and aims to deliver within 24hrs. ■ hobs3d.com
www.AECmag.com
11/3/13 15:05:23
Building Success
With Information Modeling for Multidisciplinary Building Teams Success from BIM that drives project and building performance – not just coordinated drawings. Success realized in buildings such as the Stone Towers in Cairo by Zaha Hadid. Success achieved through the analysis, simulation, and collaborative workflows uniquely possible using Bentley’s AECOsim software and ProjectWise’s collaboration system of servers and services.
www.Bentley.com/AECMagazine © 2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo and ProjectWise are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
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ArchiCAD® 16 introduces a comprehensive ecosystem of solutions to simplify the creation and sharing of custom parametric BIM Components. With ArchiCAD 16, GRAPHISOFT® delivers important workflow and productivity updates to its growing portfolio of solutions. These include the intelligent BIM Server™, built in Energy Evaluation, Renovation/Refurb/Retrofit workflow, iOS and Android BIM model viewers and support for IFC to promote Open BIM exchange.
For further information please phone GRAPHISOFT Connect on 020 7734 1837 or 0121 447 7747 or visit www.gsconnect.co.uk
Copyright © Graphisoft UK Ltd 2012. All rights reserved world-wide. All other company and product names may be tradenames or trademarks of their respective owners. Image: © Emirates German Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Engineering Adnan Saffarini Office www.saffarinidxb.com
Feature
Ecobuild London Every year London plays host to Ecobuild, a show that proves that sustainable building design isn’t just lip service in the UK by Martyn Day
W
alking around Ecobuild at London’s Excel centre, it was clear to see where most sustainable efforts are being made — heating systems, building energy control, solar geothermal and wind power, water management, insulation, new low carbon materials, construction systems, ventilation and waste management. There was some concentration on refurbishment, although the UK populace has seemingly ignored the Green Deal from the government. This could be due to the high interest rates (7%) on loans to install up to 40 different energy saving technologies in their homes. The government hopes to have over one million energy improvement devices in homes by 2015. The single biggest challenge for the UK is bringing the current building stock in line with low energy targets. The majority of buildings and the building codes they were built to fall way below what is now standard. There is a huge part to play for energy analysis software in the retrofit market. My favourite stand was a ‘materials of the future’ display, which included an array of wonderful technologies that are just becoming available, such as flexible concrete (yes, it bends), invisible photovoltaics that can be built into glazing, turning every window into a power source and my all time favourite: transparent concrete. Transparent concrete has layers of fibre optics and concrete, to create concrete with ‘pixels’ that from a distance appears to glow. I’m not sure how load bearing such walls would be. And as to how it would be rendered in a BIM tool, I have no idea.
Transparent concrete has layers of fiber optics and concrete, to create concrete with ‘pixels’ that from a distance appears to glow
in AEC magazine; Graphisoft, Cadfaster, Tekla, Solibri, Vectorworks and IES to name a few. It was good to see the exhibitors operating under the OpenBIM umbrella (buildingsmart.org/openbim) and even sharing stands. Autodesk and Bentley were conspicuous by their absence; with VectorWorks really having the biggest presence at the event. From what I could see, the BIM arena was very popular on the day I visited, with a prime position in the main hall. The CAD vendors have been quick to include retrofit tools into their core applications as well as energy analysis tools, or links to tools. With BIM now very much in the spotlight, modelling and analysing new and retrofit designs is a clear advantage over traditional 2D documentation strategies. A number of people I talked to were SketchUp users who were using some of the free building performance analysis tools available, including the IES VE SketchUp plug-in, which reports annual energy consumption, C02 emissions and UK SBEM compliance.
and optimise energy usage across existing building portfolios, comparing reality vs expected performance. It can be used to define refurbishment strategies to maximise cost savings in energy usage. According to Dr Wheatley this technical capability has never before been available to the construction industry and includes special cases such as data centres, factories and warehouses, where operational processes need to be integrated within the building model. Energy analysis has traditionally played a role in the design of buildings or in confirming design changes to existing buildings. IES is moving analysis from design to operations. Here Dr Wheatley explained that the ultimate goal is to have real-time building analysis throughout the lifespan of a building to assist in efficient running, as well as identifying when there are potential problems, such as failure of building components or changes in usage, which require upgraded systems. This would be possible with remote sensors and regular input of other data such as energy bills.
IES
Conclusion
IES made announcements on its new consultancy service, which is aimed at finding hidden costs and energy savings in existing building operations. I talked with Craig Wheatley, director, about the new service BIM at Ecobuild and the Scottish firm’s future strategy. The service will allow owners, operators, There was plenty of design technology on show from a host of tech firms that we cover sustainability and FM managers to manage www.AECmag.com
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Design decisions make all the difference between an inefficient and an efficient building. It was an eye opener to see so much focus on control, measurement and management at the event. It was enlightening to see that analysis, which is not used enough at present, may become embedded within the fabric of future buildings, as a real time system. March / April 2013
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PNY’s PREVAIL and PREVAIL ELITE Professional SSDs are designed to provide professionals with an eMLC NAND Flash memory drive, designed for use in workstations, servers, storage and NAS solutions. Workstations can benefit greatly from an SSD, and the PNY Prevail Elite is an example of a drive that can drastically increase productivity and creativity. Professionals such as designers and engineers require both reliability and excellent performance when using the most demanding applications. When compared with HDDs, PNY Prevail SSDs will significantly increase a workstation’s random read/write speeds, allowing users to optimize their workflows. Time to open applications
Time to open large assemblies 140
120
100
109 98
100
80
60
600 79
69
37 40 16
20
16
16 7
16
7
0
20
HDD + HDD SSD + HDD SSD + SSD
|
SOLIDWORKS
|
CATIA
Time in seconds Test done by Mr. Rick Schulz, working as an editor for CAD.de
DABS
www.dabs.com T 0870-429-3825
336
300 29
200
19
92
100 0
0
INVENTOR
500 400
60 40
698
700
102
83 80
842
800
120
96
92
Time to save large assemblies 900
131
INVENTOR
|
SOLIDWORKS
|
CATIA
7
5
92
49
2
INVENTOR
|
SOLIDWORKS
|
CATIA
Test Setup : Intel Xeon E5-1650 / Intel C606 chipset / 32 GB – NVIDIA Quadro 4000 - HDD Seagate ST1500DM003 1,5 TB / 7200 rpm / 64 MB cache - SSD PNY Prevail 240 GB - Windows 7 64bit SP1 Autodesk Inventor 2013 64bit 533 parts / 320 MB - Dassault SolidWorks 2013 64bit 1317 parts / 403 MB - Dassault CATIA V5 R19 64 bit 770 parts / 424 MB
Insight
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Misco
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Scan Computers www.scan.co.uk T 0871-472-4747
To learn more visit www.pny.eu /quadro - Contact us: quadrouk@pny.eu © 2013 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, NVIDIA Quadro, Tesla, and CUDA are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation. All company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.
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Feature
SSDs for CAD
CAD users should sit up and take notice. A Solid State Drive could be the most important workstation purchase you make this year, writes Greg Corke
W
hen choosing a CAD workstation, storage frequently plays second fiddle to the CPU and GPU. Buy from a tier one vendor — the likes of Dell, HP, and Lenovo — and the default option is often a single 7,200 RPM SATA hard disk drive (HDD), even on some quite high-end machines. The reality is, unless you are buying from a specialist system builder — Workstation Specialists, Scan, and InterPro, for example — high-performance Solid State Drive (SSD) storage is still considered a bit of a luxury. But it should not be like this. Prices of SSDs have dropped considerably and longterm reliability has improved. SSDs should now be considered a stock component for the modern workstation. But what exactly is an SSD and how does it differ from a standard HDD?
SSD vs HDD HDDs store data on platters that spin at high speeds (typically 7,200RPM). In order to read or write data, the drive head has to move across the platter, much like a laser moving across a CD when skipping from track to track. When data is accessed from the same part of the platter, sequential read / write performance is pretty good. However, when data is more random, perhaps when retrieving multiple CAD parts that are stored on different parts of the platter, performance can be extremely poor. The reason for this is the drive head has to physically move into all the different positions, which can slow things right down. SSDs are different insofar as they contain no moving parts at all. Data is stored on an array of NAND flash memory, which is managed by a controller, a dedicated processor that provides the bridge to the workstation via the SATA interface. SSDs offer faster read and write transfer rates than HDDs — Operating Systems will boot quicker and applications will load faster. The time taken to open and save CAD data will also be reduced. www.AECmag.com
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These are all important for CAD users, but the biggest advantage of an SSD over a HDD is when it comes to latency and random read / write performance. Latency (the time taken to respond to a read / write request) is vastly superior in an SSD and it is this that makes the workstation as a whole feel incredibly responsive. Much superior random read / write performance also means multi-tasking workflows are lightning quick. Opening apps, loading and saving data all at the same time should not cripple your workstation as it often does with a HDD. SSDs are also more durable than HDDs and handle shock and vibration much better. As there are no moving parts, they are silent in operation.
and CPU, while changing a hard drive tends to be about increasing capacity. But upgrading to a SSD can offer huge performance benefits. Swapping out a HDD for a SSD should be pretty straightforward for most IT savvy users, but if you are a small architectural firm with limited technical knowledge it can be a daunting task. First off, it needs to fit your workstation’s drive bay. Most SSDs come in a 2.5-inch form factor, which is fine for laptops, but a 3.5-inch adapter will be needed for most desktop workstations. Adapters sometimes come with the SSD drive, as part of an addon kit, or are even included with your workstation chassis. Setting up the drive is the next step. Off the shelf backup and recovery software from Norton or Acronis, for example, can handle migration from your HDD, but additional technical knowledge can be required. Some SSD manufacturers also develop dedicated migration tools, which are bundled in with their drives. Of course, if your workstation has slowed down from years of abuse, there is much to be said for starting over from Power con- scratch with a fresh install of Windows and sumption is also applications. significantly reduced, as is heat production. All of these Size matters characteristics make them an excellent A popular choice in CAD workstations is to choice for mobile workstations. have two storage devices. An SSD for operThe main downside of SSDs is the price ating system, applications and current per GB is quite high (approx £0.60 per GB datasets, and a HDD for other data. compared to £0.04 per GB for HDDs). SSDs A 256GB SSD is a good size for the primaalso have a limited maximum capacity, ry disk, supplemented with a 1TB or 2TB peaking at 512GB, compared with 2TB or HDD. There are caveats to this and those on 3TB for HDDs. This can be a big limitation a strict budget may look to invest in a 128GB unless you have a huge budget. As a result, drive. However, some manufacturers offer most CAD users will supplement a SSD reduced performance at lower capacities so with a HDD to store a significant part of check out the specs first. their CAD data. It is also important to know that an SSD’s performance can slow down when it Upgrading to an SSD becomes too full. Workstation Specialists, When upgrading a workstation most one of the UK’s leading workstation manuusers tend to focus on memory, graphics facturers, recommends that drives should March / April 2013
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Feature be kept no more than two thirds full for optimal performance. Those with bigger budgets may look to 512GB drives. At this capacity it is also feasible that a HDD will not be required, particularly if a lot of data is stored on servers. For high-end workstations it is possible to boost performance by combining two SSDs to create a RAID 0 array. While this may improve sequential read / write rates, we have heard mixed reports about the benefits for random read / write performance. We have not tested this at AEC Magazine.
Reliability and endurance For professional architects and engineers, endurance and reliability is every bit as important as performance. And while SSDs are much better than HDDs at withstanding shock, vibration, and temperature extremes, they are by no means immune to failure. The good news is flash technology is getting better all the time and the controllers becoming more advanced with features specifically designed to prolong the life of the drive. Wear-leveling, for example, helps
PNY Prevail Elite Capacity (GB)
240GB
(also available in 120GB and 480GB)
move program / erase cycles around the drive to ensure even wear. Most professional SSDs come with a fiveyear warranty, compared to three in most consumer models. Manufacturers define drives by their mean time between failures (MTBF) predicted in millions of hours. Some manufacturers also give their drives an ‘endurance rating’. Monitoring software is sometimes bundled with SSDs to keep track of drive health. This can help predict when a drive might fail, helping minimise the risk of
Samsung SSD 840 Pro 512GB
(also available in 128GB and 256GB)
Interface
SATA 6Gb/s
SATA 6Gb/s
Controller
SandForce SF2281
Samsung 3-core MDX controller
Memory Type
Enterprise Multi-Level Cell (eMLC)
Three-Level Cell (TLC)
Warranty
5 year limited
5 year limited
Manufacturer’s quoted Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
2 million hours
1.5 million hours
Manufacturer’s quoted sequential read/write performance (MB/s)
Up to 550 / 520 MB/s
Up to 540 / 520 MB/s
Manufacturer’s quoted 4k random read/write performance (IOPS)
Up to 85,000 / 85,000
Up to 100,000 / 90,000
Website
pny-europe.com/ssd
samsung.com/ssd
Windows load (secs)
37.5
37.5
CAD application launch (secs)
6.9
6.2
CAD dataset open (secs)
43.3
42.8
Pack and Go (secs)
35.7
17.5
Sequential read / write (MB/sec) (AS SSD benchmark)
516 / 310
513 / 453
Sequential read / write (MB/sec) (CrystalDiskMark)
513 / 324
537 / 518
4k random read / write (MB/sec) (AS SSD benchmark)
21 / 73
29 / 73
4k random read / write (MB/sec) (CrystalDiskMark)
31 / 92
33 / 88
512k random read / write (MB/sec) (CrystalDiskMark)
459 / 322
489 / 503
4K-64Thrd random read / write (MB/sec) (AS SSD benchmark)
201 / 74
373 / 210
4K QD32 random read / write (MB/sec) (CrystalDiskMark)
208 / 255
408 / 363
Access time read / write (ms) (AS SSD benchmark)
0.114 / 0.222 (lower is better)
0.066 / 0.040 (lower is better)
Price
£149
£346 (256GB model = £158)
Application benchmarks (lower is better)
Synthetic benchmarks (bigger is better)
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unplanned downtime or catastrophic loss of data for those that do not follow a strict backup regime. There is also the important issue of drive performance slowing down over time due to the NAND flash cells wearing down. Workstation Specialists says low cost SSDs can slow down by as much as 50% within a year of use. Suddenly the high performance drive you bought could actually be slowing your system down. To assess long-term performance and reliability there is no substitute for broad test-
ing out in the field. Workstation Specialists has worked closely with Intel, Kingston, Corsair, Crucial and OCZ over the years and has found that Intel and Kingston are by far the most reliable, suffering from the least failure rates and long-term performance problems. The Derby-based firm is currently investigating PNY and Samsung, which are relatively new to professional-grade SSDs.
four SSD drives — the Intel SSD 520 Series, OCZ Vertex 4, PNY Prevail Elite and Samsung SSD 840 Pro. All come in a 2.5inch form factor, meaning they are suitable for laptops and desktops (with an adapter). All are SATA 3 (6GB/s), which will need to be supported in your workstation to get the best performance out of these drives, particularly with regards to sustained read / write performance. All support AES 256bit encryption to help keep data secure. All SSDs on test come with a five-year warranty. The Intel SSD 520 Series offers a huge For the purpose of this article we looked at
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
(also available in 64GB, 128GB and 512GB)
Intel SSD 520 Series 240GB
(also available in 60GB, 120GB, 180GB and 480GB)
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB
SATA 6Gb/s
SATA 6Gb/s
SATA 6Gb/s
Indilinx Everest 2
SandForce SF2281
N/A
Multi-Level Cell (MLC)
Multi-Level Cell (MLC)
N/A
5 years
5 year limited
1 year
2 million hours
1.2 million hours
N/A
Up to 560 / 510 MB/s
Up to 550 / 520 MB/s
Up to 210 MB/s
Up to 90,000 / 85,000
Up to 50,000 / 80,000
N/A
ocztechnology.com
intel.com
seagate.com
40.2
40.7
74.5
6.1
7.1
9.7
43.0
43.4
46.1
14.0
35.1
90.3
481 / 398
501 / 234
156 / 177
429 / 423
500 / 244
183 / 180
28 / 86
23 / 75
0.6 / 1.1
31 / 102
27 / 89
0.7 / 1.4
337 / 427
436 / 188
59 / 94
336 / 288
232 / 75
1.5 / 1.1
354 / 342
238 / 171
1.5 / 1.5
0.136 / 0.024 (lower is better)
0.158 / 0.199 (lower is better)
14.65 / 19.38 (lower is better)
£136
£155
£58
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Feature range of capacities but the 180GB or upgrade kit which comprises Acronis Most architects and engineers sit some240GB are likely to appeal to most CAD True Image HD software, USB and SATA where between the two. users. The 60GB and 120GB models are cables, a desktop adapter and an external Our basic real world tests record straightarguably too small for serious CAD use drive enclosure. forward metrics that everyone can relate to: Samsung is a relatively new name to SSDs the time taken to boot into Windows, to and also deliver reduced performance, as does the 480GB version. Check out but its second generation family of products launch the 3D mechanical CAD application, is already causing quite a stir. The Samsung SolidWorks, and to open a 300MB CAD intel.com for the full specs. While the NAND flash memory in the 520 SSD 840 Pro is designed for professional dataset. These tests do not really stress an Series is home grown, Intel uses a third use and is available in 128GB, 256GB and SSD, but are important all the same. 512GB capacities. Samsung is one of a rare party controller — LSI’s SandForce SF-2281. We also test with ‘pack and go’, a routine The retail box, which is about £10-£15 breed of SSD manufacturers that designs in the 3D mechanical CAD tool more than the bare bones drive, comes kit- and builds its products completely in- SolidWorks, that packages up every part ted out with everything you might need for house, combining Samsung NAND Flash within an assembly, reading and writing installation — desktop adapter, power and Memory and a 3-core MDX Controller. data at the same time. The CAD dataset The Korean firm makes some bold claims comprises a 75MB assembly, which then data cable, and a DVD of software. The Intel Migration software, which helps with regards to long-term performance. It brings in 200 part files mostly ranging transfer OS, apps, documents, and person- says its SSD 840 Pro will maintain its from 200k to 2MB. al settings from an old drive, and the Intel rated sequential read and write speeds SolidWorks ‘pack and go’ is similar to an SSD Toolbox software, which monitors over the entire life of the drive, even when AutoCAD routine called eTransmit, which and manages the health of the drive, are more than half of the drive is full. It also automatically collates all related dependent puts long term drive life in context. With files such as XREFs and font files. eTransalso available for free download. The PNY Prevail Elite is classed as an 43GB/day, what it describes as a typical mit is also available for Revit, where users enterprise SSD. PNY makes a lot of noise use scenario for heavy 3D mechanical can choose to include related dependent about its endurance, which it rates at CAD, it predicts the SSD 840 Pro would files such as linked Revit models, CAD files, 10,000 program / erase cycles. To put this last over 100 years. DWF markups, decal images, and external For this recently released product keynote files. in perspective, this is over three times that of its entry-level enterprise SSD, the Prevail Samsung has replaced Norton Ghost with Our SolidWorks tests are supplemented and ten times that of its entrywith two synthetic benchlevel consumer SSD, the XLR8. marks: AS SSD and All the other drives on test do CrystalDiskMark. Both record not rate their products in this sequential transfer rates (readHaving spent several weeks testing SSDs, way so it is not possible to give ing/writing large amounts of we are in no doubt that a drive upgrade direct comparisons. data from one location) as well The Prevail Elite’s high as random read/write rates can be one of the most important endurance rating is partly using different block sizes (4k investments a CAD user can make down to the enterprise class and 512k). NAND flash memory that it Of these, the 512k tests is uses (eMLC). However, like probably most relevant to the Intel 520 Series, it also feaCAD data, the 4k test most tures LSI’s SandForce SF-2281 controller, its own Smart Migration software, which it relevant to general system performance, which includes some advanced NAND claims is much easier to use. It is specifical- and the 4k Queue Depth 32 and flash management technology. According ly designed to make it easy to migrate sys- 4K-64Thrd tests most relevant to heavy to PNY, this helps maximize endurance tem and data files, and offers advice when multi-tasking workflows, simulating scewhile keeping the drive at top perfor- dropping down capacity. i.e. from a 2TB narios where there are a number of data HDD to a 256GB SSD. mance levels. requests in a queue waiting to be proSamsung’s Magician software includes cessed by the SSD. Finally, access time The Prevail Elite is available in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities. The retail features such as Drive Health Status, Total gives an indication of how responsive a version ships with a SATA data cable but Bytes Written (TBW), and Disk Scan & drive is when it is given a request to read does not come with dedicated software for Error Reporting. An optional install kit is or write data. also available, which comes with SATA migration or drive management. Our test machine, a Workstation OCZ’s Vertex 4 is more targeted at the data and power cables, a 2.5-inch to 3.5- Specialists WSX 6 V2, features an overhigh-end consumer market as opposed to inch adapter bracket, a SATA to USB clocked Core i7 3930K CPU, as reviewed the enterprise sector, but still comes with a adapter cable, and a mounting spacer for on page 32. We set up all of the drives in five-year warranty. According to OCZ, this mobile workstations. exactly the same way and ran the tests is made possible by its Indilinx Everest 2 multiple times. All drives were formatted controller’s dynamic wear-leveling and Performance tests with 64k cluster NTFS. Ndurance 2.0 NAND flash management Testing SSDs is far from straightforward There was very little to separate the four technology. as all CAD users access data in different SSD drives in most of our real world tests, The Vertex 4 is available in 64GB, 128GB, ways. Some have linear workflows in a sin- all launching Windows and opening data 256GB, 512GB capacities, though the maxi- gle CAD application. File > open > edit > in pretty much the same timescale. Even mum performance comes from the 256GB save. Others absolutely hammer the the SATA drive was able to keep pace when and 512GB models. machine, running multiple applications, opening the SolidWorks dataset. This is The retail kit is the only drive to include opening, copying and saving files at the probably because it was retrieving data a 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch adapter in the box, same time — perhaps running multiple from a single location on the hard drive but there is no bundled software. However, CAE simulations or renderings in the platter and a good proportion of the time is for around £10-£15 OCZ offers a SSD background, while evaluating new designs. taken up processing the files with the CPU.
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If the part files were saved in different locations on the hard drive, something that would probably occur naturally in a real world scenario, it is likely that performance would slow down. We would expect to see similar results when opening an AutoCAD file that contains lots of XREFs, or doing a final gather for a rendering in 3ds Max. However, as Revit data is largely self-contained we would expect the potential increase in performance when using SSDs to be less. According to Paul Woddy of Revit Guru, the volume of external data gathering during normal operations is absolutely minimal. However, when it comes to rendering, he adds that it would be interesting to see what impact SSD technology had when gathering decals or other project-specific image. Our SolidWorks ‘Pack and Go’ test yielded some interesting results. The Intel and PNY drives, which use the same SandForce SF2281 controller, were noticeably slower at this task. With multiple read / write requests coming in at the same time, this increased the disk queue depth. i.e. the number of read / write requests waiting in the queue for the SSD to process. Our test results correlate with the good scores enjoyed by the OCZ and Samsung drives in
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the 4k QD 32 and 4K-64Thrd synthetic benchmarks. It is with these more random read / write requests that the limitations of the HDD become more apparent as having to continually move from sector to sector literally gets its head in a spin. Looking through the results table on page 28 the Samsung SSD 840 Pro leads the pack in many of the synthetic benchmarks, topping the charts in
sequential read and write, access time, and 512k random read / write. However, it should be pointed out that we tested the 512GB capacity model, whereas all other drives were around half that size. We do not think this would have had a significant impact on our test results, but we cannot be sure. Finally, we should note that while benchmarking is important, all the performance
in the world is not worth anything if the SSD loses data or slows down over time.
Conclusion Having spent several weeks testing SSDs, we are in no doubt that a drive upgrade can be one of the most important investments a CAD user can make. At the very least, swapping a HDD for an SSD will make a workstation feel much more responsive than before, responding to requests almost instantly. But this is only part of the story. Most CAD users will experience their workstation grinding to a halt many times throughout the day. Launching multiple applications at the same time; saving a massive BIM model while opening a rendering tool; copying CAD data files from multiple folders all at the same time, to reference some common examples. Standard HDDs will struggle to keep up with these tasks. While we know the job will finish quicker if we instruct the workstation to do all of these operations in serial (i.e wait for one task to finish before starting another), as designers we simply do not work this way. Hardware should not limit the way we work. An SSD is not the answer to all workstation bottlenecks, but there is no doubt it can do wonders for your productivity.
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Review
Workstation Specialists WSX6 V2 A very high-end CAD/BIM workstation with graphics primed for design viz Intel’s ‘Ivy Bridge’ Core i7 3770K looks to be the CPU of choice for mainstream CAD. Ivy Bridge, the codename for Intel’s third generation Core architecture, may have been available for over nine months now, but specialist system builders are still relying on the previous generation Sandy Bridge chips to drive their the top-end single processor workstations. The Sandy Bridge Core i7 3930K at the heart of this WSX6 V2 offers similar single threaded performance to the Ivy Bridge Core i7 3770K,
which is important in all CAD and BIM software, but trumps the newer chip due to the number of cores on offer. Six versus four will not make much difference to the average CAD user, but bring a ray trace rendering application into the design pipeline and you have cut 50% off your Product spec render times in one fell swoop. ■ Intel Core i7 3930K Wo r k s t a t i o n (workstation enhanced to 4.3GHz) Specialists has (6 cores) CPU turbocharged the ■ 32GB (8 x 4GB) Core i7 3930K PC3-1600MHz DDR3 memory and, by giving it ■ Nvidia Quadro its ‘workstation K5000 (4GB) GPU enhanced’ treat■ 240GB Intel 520 ment, clocked it Series SSD + 2TB 7,200RPM SATA up from 3.2GHz hard drive to 4.3GHz. ■ Motherboard (Intel X79 Express chipset) Supported by a ■ 220 x 500 x 500mm whopping 32GB ■ Microsoft Windows of RAM it is clear 7 Professional 64-bit this high-end CAD workstation ■ 3 year return to has large-scale BIM modelling base (Incl parts and labour) warranty in its sights. ■ £3,395 For graphics the WSX6 V2 workstation sports Nvidia’s Kepler-based specialists.com Quadro K5000. This double
Dell Precision M6700 A beautifully engineered mobile workstation ideal for mainstream CAD/BIM Dell’s top-end mobile workstation has come a long way since its humble beginnings, when its body was borrowed from a Dell consumer laptop. Now with a dedicated chassis, minimal in looks and solid in its construction, the Precision M6700 literally shouts quality. The keyboard is firm, the trackpad responsive and there is a reassuring solidity to the hinge that supports the 17-inch HD UltraSharp LED-backlit display. Until recently, our test machine’s quad core 2.9GHz Intel Core i7-3920XM was 16
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height board certainly delivers in powerful design visualisation applications like 3ds Max, but its high-end specification will possibly be wasted on most CAD-centric workflows. The good news is Nvidia has just launched three CAD-focused Kepler-based cards — the Quadro K600, K2000 and K4000 — so there is plenty of scope to downgrade the GPU to one more suited to CAD or BIM workflows. With Kepler, Quadro is all about graphics, but with three spare PCI Express slots there is also plenty of scope for adding multiple Tesla GPU compute boards, transforming the WSX6 V2 into high-performance Maximus compute workstation for simulation or ray trace rendering. Greg Corke
the highest spec mobile chip on the mar- sive 3D CAD work the Precision M6700 ket, but was recently trumped by the should never be taken too far away from 3.0GHz 3940XM. The good news is Dell a mains socket. charges the same for both For storage our single chips. 512GB SATA drive does not Product spec Graphics-wise, we are used really do the Precision M6700 to seeing Dell’s 17-inch mobile justice. Rip out the optical ■ Intel Core i7-3920XM (2.9GHz) workstations partnered with drive and there is actually (4 cores) CPU an incredibly high-end Nvidia support for an incredible four ■ 8GB (2 x 4GB) Quadro graphics card. For devices: 3 x 2.5-inch SATAs or 1,866MHZ DDR3 memory most users of CAD/BIM softSSDs and a solid state Mini■ AMD FirePro Card. ware, however, this is probably M6000 Mobility (2GB) graphics The final word should go to overkill, and ■ 17.3” UltraSharp memory. 8GB of very fast our tests show (1,920 x 1,080) LED1,866MHZ RAM is a good that the 2GB backlit display starting point for CAD or AMD FirePro ■ 512GB SATA hard drive BIM, but with four DIMM M6000 should ■ Dell motherboard slots the M6700 is actually offer more (Mobile Intel QM77 capable of holding up to 32GB than enough Express chipset) of 1600MHz RAM. performance ■ 417 x 271 x 33 (front) 36 (back) mm Fully loaded the M6700 for most 3D ■ Microsoft Windows can handle some sizeable 3D modelling 7 Ultimate 64 datasets and, despite being workflows. ■ 3 year Dell limited to four CPU cores, will The best ProSupport (premium support give most desktop workstanews is the from expert technicians 24x7 tions a good run for their FirePro M6000 will save you global) + NBD on site money when it comes to main£1,734 over Nvidia’s high-end ■ £4,083 stream design and engineer4GB Quadro K5000M. It dell.co.uk/precision ing workflows. should also help extend batGreg Corke tery life — though for intenwww.AECmag.com
11/3/13 17:14:12
RENDER. DON’T SURRENDER.
ThinkStations with Intel® Xeon® Processors are up to 24% more reliable than our top competitors. When your company needs a breakthrough idea, they turn to you. When it’s time to make that idea come to life, turn to the workstation offering unmatched reliability. Lenovo® ThinkStations® are designed, built, and tested to rigorous performance standards. According to an independent study, they were found to be the most reliable among our top competitors. In fact, the only thing more reliable than a ThinkStation is you. *Read the TBR report at lenovo.com/thinkstation
020 3178 6467 www.bios-it.co.uk
020 7608 7676 www.ukzones.com
The following are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo: Lenovo, the Lenovo logo, For Those Who Do and ThinkStation. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. ©2012 Lenovo.
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11/3/13 16:34:08
SHOWCASE eco Construction Roadshows “2 hours of structured learning and 2 hours informal CPD packed into one morning”
www.ecoshowcase.co.uk
BIM at UK sustainable construction roadshows ecoSHOWCASE is delighted to welcome their latest industry partner The Construction Industry Council, who will be presenting their keynote seminar ‘Sustainability by BIM means’ at eleven UK locations throughout 2013. These seminars will explain the Government’s BIM policy, the benefits of BIM to the industry as a whole and how industry members can engage with the newly created BIM Regional Hubs, which have recently been established across the UK. Attendees will be provided with case studies to illustrate experiences in implementing BIM; what business considerations are involved, how information management processes change, the legal implications and many other relevant influences that can have an effect or be affected by the BIM context. Entry to ecoSHOWCASE is free to specifiers and construction procurement professionals, visit www.ecoshowcase.co.uk to register today.
... also includes seminars presented by CIAT and a Green Deal Update from Asset Skills
Co-located with
SHOWCASE LIVE www.itshowcase.co.uk Organised by Framework Media Ltd 11 Star Lane RINGWOOD BH24 1AL Tel:01425 477565
Review
Lenovo ThinkStation C30
Lenovo’s choice of Xeon E5-2640 CPUs suggests our test machine is more suited to simulation than design visualisation, with the two six-core chips offerThe most compact dual processor ing good price / performance for FEA or CFD. Ray trace renderXeon workstation we have ever seen ing, on the other hand, thrives when Lenovo’s ThinkStation C30 is a more CPU cores are remarkable feat of engineering. thrown at a render, Two Intel Xeons crammed into so really warrants a chassis that is smaller than investment in eight most single CPU workstations. core Xeons. It is also incredibly quiet, even With this in under heavy loading. mind some might There is a trade off in having consider the rest of such a compact frame. The C30 the system to be a only supports two GPUs and little unbalanced up to 128GB of memory, but — 16GB RAM too this really should not impact light for complex most CAD/BIM workflows.
Product spec ■ 2 x Intel Xeon E5-2640 (2.50 GHz) (6 cores) CPUs ■ 16GB (4 x 4GB) PC3-10600 1,333MHz DDR3 ECC memory ■ Nvidia Quadro K5000 (4GB) GPU ■ 2TB SATA 6Gb/s
HDD 7,200RPM hard drive
■ Lenovo motherboard
(Intel C600 Series chipset)
■ 130 x 444 x 427mm ■ Microsoft Windows
7 Professional 64-bit ■ 3 year-on-site
warranty
■ £3,999
lenovo.com/uk
Scan 3XS GW-HT15 A workstation with a 46-inch powerwall for under £3,000 Scan is back with another of its trademark overclocked Intel Core i7 3930K workstations. The build quality and acoustics are superb, performance excellent and there is a good balance of RAM and storage, making it a good fit for most high-end BIM workflows. The standout component is the FirePro W8000 GPU, second only to the FirePro W9000 in AMD’s professional graphics family. It is possibly overkill for most mainstream BIM users, with the excellent W7000 demonstrating similar levels of
performance in many applications for almost half the price. However, Scan has also set its sights on low cost design review for which the Product spec W8000 is ideal. To help users really get inside ■ Intel Core i7 3930K (clocked to 4.4GHz) their designs, Scan shipped the (6 cores) CPU GW-HT15 with four 23-inch ■ 16GB (4 x 4GB) HD Dell UltraSharp displays. DDR3 1,600MHz RAM Arrange in a 2 x ■ AMD FirePro W8000 (4GB) GPU 2 array and you ■ 240GB Corsair have made Neutron SSD + 2TB yourself a 3,840 Seagate Barracuda, x 2,160 resolu■ Asus P9X79 (Intel X79 chipset) tion 46-inch ■ 232 x 523 x 464mm powerwall for ■ Microsoft Windows design review, 7 Professional 64 model co-ordi■ 3 year – 1st year onsite, 2nd and 3rd nation or client year return to base presentations. (parts and labour) It is low-cost too ■ £2,292 — a mere £596 3xs.scan.co.uk for the displays
plus an extra £300 for a stand, such as the Ergotron DS100. The experience is good — it is possible to see component clashes in a wider context. However, the bezel that surrounds each of the screens can be distracting, though compensation in the AMD driver helps remove the stepping effect. One would think that driving this many pixels would mean 3D performance takes a big hit, but we only experienced a 20% drop in frame rates in our 3D test. With a hardware bundle price of £2,888 Scan’s offering gives small firms an affordable entry into powerwalls. Forget the iPad, this is a sure way to wow clients. Greg Corke
ders. This is all backed up with 32GB ECC memory and a 120GB SSD. It costs £3,150. Unlike a traditional render node, the RS-D2850 sits on top of a workstation, making it suitable for small architectural firms who do not want to invest in a dedicated rack. For our tests, our partner WSX6 V2 workstation (p32) was connected via Gigabit Ethernet with 3ds Max rendering jobs managed by Autodesk backburner. It ripped through our 5,000 x 3,000 pixel
render in two thirds the time it took the six core 4.3GHz Core i7 machine but, with all fans at full pelt, did make quite a noise. With a combined cost of over £6,500, buying both machines is not cheap. But there are clear advantages over a dual Xeon workstation. One, being able to render without taking a hit on modelling productivity, and two, being able to share the render resource with others. Overall, it is niche, but well worth a look if you’re serious about rendering. Greg Corke
WS RS-D2850 This compact box of tricks has one role and one role only. To process network rendering jobs, leaving your single CPU workstation free to get on with other tasks. And it does it very well. With two 2.2GHz Xeon E5 2660 CPUs, there is a total of 16 cores and 32 threads to chomp through ray trace renwww.AECmag.com
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CAE workflows and the 2TB 7,200RPM SATA crying out for a 256GB SSD to add some punch to the storage. However, if £4k is at the top end of your budget, don’t fret. For most simulation workflows, the more cost-effective Quadro K2000 or K4000 GPUs should be adequate replacements for the high-end Quadro K5000. Of course, the ThinkStation C30 can pretty much be tweaked for any processor-intensive workflow. Its beauty lies in its chassis, which as far as we are aware is unrivalled when it comes to compact dual processor workstations. Greg Corke
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Review
InterPro IPW-DX8 A very high-end CAD/BIM workstation with graphics primed for design viz When it comes to dual processor workstations, hitting the sweet spot for a pair of Intel Xeon CPUs is a big challenge. Aim too high and the top-end chips often bring the overall machine cost to over £6,000. Aim too low and the low GHz processors cannot keep up with lower cost overclocked single CPU workstations. For price sensitive users of design visualisation software, InterPro has got things just about
right. The two Intel Xeon E5-2670 processors in this IPWDX8 workstation boast 16 CPU cores between them, making light work of complex ray trace rendering calculations. This is demonstrated by putting in an excellent shift in our 3ds Max rendering test. And with a clock speed of 2.6GHz the GPU is not throttled so much that it cannot deliver the frame rates required to smoothly navigate around complex 3D models. InterPro has
Product spec ■ 2 x Intel Xeon E5-2670 2.60GHz (8 cores) CPUs ■ 64GB (8 x 8GB)
DDR-3 1600MHz ECC (PC3-12800) memory ■ AMD FirePro
W7000 (4GB) graphics
■ 240GB Intel 335
Series SSD + 2TB Seagate SATA 3 drive 7,200rpm ■ Supermicro X9DAi
mainboard
■ 193 x 424 x 525mm ■ Microsoft Windows
7 Professional 64-bit
■ 3 year return to base (RTB) (Inc. parts and labour) or “swap out” ■ £4,295
ipworkstations.com
made an interesting choice when it comes to graphics. Typically this type of design viz workstation is paired with a high-end GPU, but InterPro has opted for a mid-range card, the AMD FirePro W7000. With a list price of £499 it is significantly cheaper than an AMD FirePro W8000 or Nvidia Quadro K5000, but ticks all the right boxes in our 3D tests. The GPU also comes with 4GB of memory, meaning it is more than capable of handling some hefty scenes. The same is true of the system memory, which at 64GB should give plenty of headroom for even the largest of datasets — and with eight free RAM slots there is even room to grow. Greg Corke
Input devices: precision control TT eSports Level 10 M The Level 10 M Mouse (£83), by BMW DesignWorks, is quite a beast. Built on an aluminium chassis it includes the usual three mouse buttons plus a scroll wheel. It features DPI switching with a set of fully configurable presets, which means it can be speeded up for general computer work and slowed down for more precise CAD control. It also features a host of customisable back/
Mad Catz Cyborg R.A.T.7 The RAT7 (£67) is one of the most configurable products we have ever come across. It features a fully adjustable set of thumb and palm rests, supplied with rubberised alternatives. The device can be adjusted for weight in 30g increments by removing small weights in the unit. In terms of customisation, it has the usual three
3dx SpaceMouse Pro 3Dconnexion’s 3D control devices are used in conjunction with a standard computer mouse, providing exact control when navigating 3D CAD or BIM models. There is a comprehensive range, from the entrylevel SpaceNavigator, right up to the high-end SpacePilot Pro. All devices feature a controller cap that gives the user free control over a 3D model on
20
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forward buttons either side of the unit. To adjust, the palm rest can be raised and lowered (by 5mm) as well as tilted to find the best working position, with a single allen key included in the rather fancy packaging. Those with small hands might find it to be a bit on the big side, but for those with large bear paws, it will prove up to the job. It is a wired device, with a tangle free braided cable and enough LED lights to be mistaken for a Christmas decoration. ■ ttesports.com
buttons and scroll wheel, as well as a thumb activated back / forward buttons. DPI settings can be preset, located just behind the scroll wheel, as well as a target button that momentarily down-samples the tracking speed when the user is doing precision work. Again, the cable is braided resulting in no tangled cables if put into a bag. The same product is also available in a wireless configuration as the RAT9, if that’s your bag. ■ madcatz.com
screen. It can be twisted, turned and pulled to navigate around the model freely, while the 2D mouse is used in the other hand to work directly with the CAD geometry on screen. The SpaceMouse Pro is one of the most popular for desktop CAD — a slick, comfortable unit which has a wealth of common keyboard modifiers (control, alt, shift, escape etc) as well as fully customisable short cut keys that work on a per application basis. ■ 3dconnexion.co.uk
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Comment
With the development of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is there still a need for a lead consultant on a build? by Rob Charlton
T
he architect has always had the title of lead consultant, but with the development of Building Information Modelling (BIM) there is a justified argument to challenge this role. The title of lead consultant may in fact be divisive — is there still a need for such a title or role? There is no doubt that the architect has a central role to play in the early stages of the project and is the expert in bringing all of the parts of the process together. As the project moves beyond stage C there is a need for co-ordination and technical input, and this is where the architect starts to struggle on the bigger projects. With the adoption of BIM, the design team will have produced information digitally and included geometry. Instead of trying to co-ordinate two dimensional information, such as drawings of a three-dimensional building, a computer programme will now carry out the review and identify any issues. The lead consultant has always had responsibility of co-ordination; however a new role has come about. The BIM co-ordinator is a specialist in the use of proprietary software and has an excellent understanding of how a building should be assembled. The ideal training for such a role is as a project architect or technologist. It is a specialist role requiring specialist skill, providing the glue which can bring a project together. The architect will put the case forward that this task belongs to them. I would agree with the argument and that certainly some of them do have the skills. However, it is no different to the development if the role is taken on by the project manager or the construction and design manager. The 22
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The role of th
architect can do it but with a large complex building, they often do not have the focus to do it. On smaller projects it is easier as it is possible to be lead consultant and project manager, but on large inner city projects with complex planning issues, the reality is that the architect does not have time to carry out the role. Co-ordination is therefore done with a light touch and, even though no architect
would ever admit it, the risk is passed to the main contractor and trade. This can and does work, however it is expensive and can be adversarial. Ultimately and most importantly, it is not providing value for the client investor. The BIM co-ordinator can also take on the role of model and data manager. This responsibility has to be established at the outset of the project development if the maximum benefit is going to be derived. www.AECmag.com
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Image: David Joyner, istockphoto.com
When Sir Christopher Wren designed St. Paul’s Cathedral in the 17th century there was no such thing as an architect. Wren was in fact a mathematician and back then it was the gentlemen of the time who were involved in the design of buildings. Such gentlemen would also carry out the structural engineering and provide all construction costs, as well as project manage the build.
the Architect As with any database, it is essential that the initial outputs are understood and controlled throughout, with the BIM coordinator establishing and maintaining the protocols throughout the lifecycle of the project. As buildings have become more complex with increased systems and fabric it is no longer possible to comprehensively co-ordinate all of its elements. Two-dimensional software is available for modelling and visu-
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al co-ordination of the building geometry in a virtual environment. The three main aspects of a building’s design are brought together into a single geometry and further software has been integrated to identify issues in the model. The computer power and sophistication of this software can assist considerably in resolving issues and enable building with confidence. Architects are still keen to retain this role as it is a further erosion of the lead consul-
tant’s duties. The reality is that there are new skills required to understand and operate the software. Co-ordination of buildings is now so Rob involved that it has Charlton justified a separate CEO role. The architect can Space Architecture carry out the role but needs the specialist software skills. The other main issue is that co-ordination needs to be given an appropriate priority — unfortunately the architect often has so many conflicting responsibilities that co-ordination can become a low priority. The BIM co-ordinator or model manager can also add value to the building lifecycle beyond this. If appointed at the outset, data sets can be agreed and the information monitored throughout. The information can be used for scheduling through to costing, as built data also has yet untapped potential in operation. While an architect may have the skills to carry this out, it is not sufficiently important to be a role in its own right — this is no different to how the role of project manager or engineer was developed for that matter. The majority of architects work on small projects and operate as sole practitioner. On such projects they can carry out a wide range of services, however on more complex and high value projects there is a requirement for specialists in a number of fields. The architect should focus on the areas where he or she adds the most value and has unique skills. This is usually at the outset of a project resolving the conflicting challenges of briefing requirements, compliance and planning. March / April 2013
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Comment
Content is dead long live content A well planned content management strategy is essential for BIM-ready organisations, writes Nick Harris from design technology supplier and consultancy CADline
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f the move to model-based design is the first stage in developing a Building Information Modelling (BIM) capability, the significance of the digital components used to assemble those models cannot be overstated. www.AECmag.com
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Products such as Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD Plant 3D and AutoCAD Civil 3D are orientated around the selection and arrangement of virtual components and assemblies that exhibit the properties and behaviours of their real world counterparts.
Revit uses predefined libraries of components categorised by function and association, while AutoCAD Plant 3D uses standardised specification-driven catalogues. As such, a BIM model is only as good as the BIM component library used to create it. March / April 2013
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Comment Fortunately the leading BIM products are version control, relevancy and currency all drawings needs detailed information about all delivered with a library of well-defined become content management consider- the manufacturer and specification of indicomponents or specifications that allow the ations. There are a number of commercially vidual components. An organisation involved in public projnew adopter to start to become productive available content management solutions. Then there is the question of intent: What ects will need to know about Construction without too much additional effort. However, for building design products is the purpose of creating the BIM model Operations Building Information Exchange especially, these vendor-supplied libraries and where is the information derived from (COBie), the schema that can be used for delivering facilities information often quickly become limiting and the increas- it destined to be employed? A workflow that does not require collab- directly from a BIM model. ingly proficient user will want to extend the I will not go into detail about COBie here libraries to use less generic, more special- oration with other BIM capable organisations has different requirements of its BIM but will point out that to create a BIM ised components. All mainstream BIM design products component library than one that partici- model that contains the information will allow fast modification of existing pates in a fully realised BIM enabled sup- required to create a COBie dataset, content components or the creation of entirely new ply chain. For example, an architect spe- must populated with COBie data. The BIM Task Group, the collection of ones as a project requires, often without cialising in domestic projects whose prileaving the design environment and with mary deliverables are visualisations pro- working parties that are supporting and an emphasis on upholding productivity. vided to the client and 2D drawings deliv- helping deliver the objectives of the UK However, this ability to modify a BIM ered to the builder, will optimise its com- government’s Construction Strategy particcomponent library, potentially without ponents for producing that information in ularly around BIM, has a wealth of inforrestriction, presents a new set of challeng- that format and will probably only need to mation on its website, including a template repository aimed primarily at manufactures. What if one user modifies a component comply with a basic standard. Conversely a building services engineer ers wishing to create BIM content that supthat is used by the rest of the organisation to the detriment of the organisation as a engaged in a centrally procured govern- ports COBie data delivery. whole? How would you know if that modi- ment project will be required to deliver fication has been made? How do you stop very specific datasets from the BIM model, Source content multiple users creating the same compo- which means the component library will Why waste effort on creating BIM content nent or share components used in other need to conform to some very specific when someone else can do it? As an industry standards. projects? Autodesk partner that implements design Content management is not a solutions to both the connew activity for a design organstruction and manufacturisation using CAD but the ing industries we have been It is important to understand that for importance and relevance of working hard to help manublock or symbol libraries was facturers understand the many, their library represents intellectual often diminished where the value of delivering BIMproperty with as much value as the BIM deliverable was a physical or ready information to their electronic document, formatted clients. project information derived from it to be consumed by the human We have been able to demeye. onstrate that designers will This aspect of planning BIM specify products from supThis variation in relevance for the same pliers that provide BIM-ready components adoption will have many associated considerations. Where will you store your core digital building component can be quanti- because of the availability of information content library? A network location acces- fied by the concept of ‘Level of and the commitment to the cause those sible to all makes sense but what about Development’ (LOD). At its simplest, LOD suppliers deliver. It is certainly worth askthose consumers of the content that use in a product like Revit can apply to the dis- ing suppliers if they are BIM ready or visit laptops and sometimes work away from the play of the geometry at different scales one of the dedicated content providers. depending on how the output is formatted. network? The NBS National BIM Library, Ductwork design in Revit MEP produc- (nationalBIMlibrary.com) and BIMStore Who should be able to create content? Should it just be those who have been ing documentation at a scale of 1:100 will (bimstore.co.uk), are two leading commertrained? But won’t that slow the users down only need a coarse representation of the run cial online providers of content in the UK if they have to find a content author when with little detail around the flanges, fixings which have an increasingly rich library of and hangers. With detailed documentation, content. Autodesk has its own content they need something new? How about restricting the submission of where the views are produced at a scale of exchange called Autodesk Seek. new or amended components to nominated 1:5, it is preferable to show the joints in a Our advice is to understand what is your librarians who can check their quality and much finer detail which does include the organisation’s ultimate BIM deliverable in add them to the organisational library? flange thickness and fixing bolts. Therefore the short and long term and plan your conThis tends to be the approach that many the same digital component within a BIM tent management strategy accordingly. organisations take when they start using model needs to support varying levels of Get a feel for what content is provided Revit and is sufficiently robust to satisfy detail depending on its application. with new BIM products; identify where to minimum data control requirements. LOD, a term used by American Institute, store content libraries and who will be However, a whole new set of responsibili- takes this concept further by considering responsible for maintaining it. ties need to be added to someone’s busy what specific information is attached at It is important to understand that for workload and as more projects produce a each level of development. The information many, their library represents intellectual BIM deliverable that workload becomes attached to conceptual models is mainly property with as much value as the BIM more significant. concerned with geometry and materials, project information derived from it. Furthermore, as components are refined, where as a model used to create working ■ cadline.co.uk
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ALL ImageS Courtesy of Bentley Systems
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1 Redundant pipework was colour-coded in the model and helped reduce the overall load on the building 2 Model geometry was directly exported to STAAD and SFRAME for structural analysis 3 During weekly client meetings, progress was monitored by reviewing the latest model using Bentley Navigator, an i-model, and progressive PDF views
Model advantage Multidisciplinary consultancy Stopford Projects uses 100-year-old drawings to help create an intelligent 3D model of structural inspection survey results 28
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Case study
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uilt in 1873, the Winnington Works at Northwich, Cheshire, was acquired in 2006 by Tata Chemicals, the second largest producer of soda ash in the world. Tata Chemicals asked Stopford Projects to perform a full structural survey of the 6,000 m sq wet-side soda ash plant as part of an ongoing asset management and maintenance strategy. Stopford delivered an intelligent 3D model created in Bentley’s ProSteel to map corroded components throughout the plant. The $1.5 million Tata Chemicals project launched in April 2011. Stopford had completed the survey by September 2011, and was awarded follow-on remediation works. Bentley’s structural steel detailing and fabrication software ProSteel was critical to success because Stopford based its winning bid on fast completion. Although Tata Chemicals did not initially specify an intelligent 3D model as the required deliverable, Stopford persuaded the client to reconsider by demonstrating ProSteel’s features — including model production speed, automatic updating, and model exporting to AutoCAD.
i-models, and progressive PDF views for dynamic project review and analysis. Being able to easily view the 3D model helped the client monitor progress, as well as visualise how the model would aid in maintenance planning. At the conclusion of the project, Stopford delivered a 12-volume survey report, the 3D model in AutoCAD, general arrangement drawings, and as-builts. When remediation commenced, the 3D model was modified to reflect current asbuilt conditions. Colour-coding facilitated prioritisation of projects, with safety issues highlighted such as spurious loads, restricted access areas, and unsafe stairways.
ings reflected the British Standards of 1906. These original plans yielded enough data for 95 percent of the 3D model. The few 2D drawings of subsequent plant modifications comprised the remaining 5 percent. Also, a fairly recent model of a large vessel was used. The first step was to create a custom library of obsolete steel and wood member sections in ProSteel, as well as a catalog of obsolete iron pipe standards in AutoPlant Piping, Bentley’s piping design and modelling software. Structural elements were produced using the ProSteel shape files. Custom pipe specifications were produced using modified ductile iron catalogs. General arrangement drawings were generated directly from the model, using ProSteel workframes clipping planes to produce plans and elevations. Column and beam annotations are read directly from the model database.
Maintenance and safety
Stopford produced an adaptable tool for Tata Chemicals to use in maintenance planning and personnel training. The model revealed places that were not readily visible in photoColour coding graphs or drawings, such as areas encased The general arrangement drawings had in scaffolding. Plant safety was improved numerous sectional views of each floor, and through an awareness of escape routes. All each structural element was given a unique stairways were brought up to modern stantag number. The 3D model included 13 pri- dards as a result of the inspections. Tata Chemicals can maintain the 3D mary structural steel models, 15 secondary Component survey structure models, 13 piping and equipment model in ProSteel or convert it to AutoCAD The survey team had to start from scratch at models, and all 102 staircases in the com- solids and/or ACIS bodies. In addition, the ability to interface with other Winnington Works. The wetsoftware such as Staad.Pro and side soda ash plant is a 10-stoBentley AutoPipe will help to rey steel-framed building on a Subsequent to the successful survey jumpstart future projects that T-shaped area with overall project, Stopford was awarded five require data for structural analdimensions of 90 x 75 m. The ysis, isometric generation, and structure is a mix of 19th-cenfollow-on projects in the wet-side other functions. Estimating the tury timber, early 20th-centubuilding and used the intelligent 3D cost to duplicate or expand ry columns, beams, and bracmodel extensively facilities is made easier with ing, and 1950s-era steelwork. access to an intelligent 3D The supporting structure is model. For example, the 3D now a structural steel shell clad in corrugated steel panels. Structural plex. In total, more than 10,000 structural model of the Winnington Works wet-side connections are mainly riveting, with sec- elements were modelled in ProSteel, and soda ash plant could be used to estimate the tions riveted to form composite members. 2,500 metric tons of iron pipe were mod- cost of future steelwork by extracting the data for the steel components and calculatThe building has remained virtually elled in AutoPlant Piping. unchanged since its last major expansion in Stopford took the general arrangement ing the total weight. 1950. Over time, the constant wet, alkaline drawings to the site and used the tag numatmosphere has degraded the materials. bers on the reports and photographs to Counting the cost Stopford did the structural inspection inspect the as-built structure. Degraded sec- Using Bentley software allowed the project and reviewed the major equipment and tions were mapped to create a visual repre- team to achieve their schedule for modelling pipework that impinged on the structure. sentation to develop maintenance plans. An the plant. The firm had priced the job at oneThe survey team inspected 5,750 individual up-to-date, colour-coded inspection model third less than some of the other bidders structural elements and prepared documen- was produced, and 3D PDFs were generated based on the anticipated ease and speed to tation, with every element photographed, for client review. Various colours indicated model. This was the main reason Stopford assessed, numbered, and recorded on draw- areas with no defects, minor defects, major was awarded the project, according to David ings. All secondary steelwork was inspect- defects, and severe defects. Coupe, piping department manager. ed, including platforms, walkways, concrete Subsequent to the successful survey projInspection results floors, and other load-bearing elements. ect, Stopford was awarded five follow-on The results of the survey were evaluated During the on-site inspection, ProSteel projects in the wet-side building and used for corrosion levels on individual compo- made it easy to keep the 3D model up to the intelligent 3D model extensively. These nents, so that Tata Chemicals could plan date. A change in the size of a structural sec- projects included a lateral load study associremediation work. tion, for example, automatically adjusted all ated with re-cladding the building, stairway the connecting elements to the modified replacements to bring stairs up to current 3D model size, and the respective general arrangement standards, removal of a concrete floor and replacement with steelwork, and inspection Stopford began building a basic model based drawings were simultaneously updated. At the weekly progress meetings, of the utilities building. on 671 archived drawings, including asbuilts dating back to 1908. The earliest draw- Stopford used Bentley Navigator, Bentley ■ bentley.com
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Designviz From planning the London 2012 Olympics site to the regeneration of a Tyneside toffee factory. by Stephen Holmes
Stratford Masterplan The term ‘legacy’ was bandied around the London Olympic Games well before any athlete took to the track. In order to avoid an isolated, unoccupied, publicly-funded white elephant, plans were put in place to make the site saleable even before the starter’s gun went off. As a visualisation partner, London-based Glowfrog provided CGIs for the athletes’ village, from early site-wide concept design to individual plot planning submissions and marketing. For over five years the team of 15 CGI illustrators and retouch artists worked on visualising drawings from 15 different architects. The results show the 700-acre site in various stages, including post-games design. Glowfrog met with the clients’ project management team, each separate architect and their design team to discuss their working practice, software used and setting in place data procedures for an efficient flow of information between all parties. “We shared 3D models with an animation partner on the project, Hatton Associates, who work in Autodesk Maya,” says Glowfrog managing director Nigel Hunt. “Between us we perfected a pipeline to share 3D assets and reduce the cost to the client by maintaining a single up-to-date global 3D model of the entire site that could be used for producing detailed CGI renderings and regular animation flythroughs of the project.” Working with all the different architects meant the team needed to adapt to each building plot separately. “Some architects provided 3D models from SketchUp, others Rhino, Revit, MicroStation, Vectorworks, AutoCAD 2D drawings; basically everything and, for a period of time, all at once,” explains Mr Hunt. The team first prepared the data, drawings and 3D models received from clients during pre-production. Moving into the production stage, buildings were modelled, materials and lighting were applied and the image was rendered in passes. The team primarily used 3ds Max and Vray, working on Boxx workstations, with its own in-house render farm. In post-production the image passes were composited together by retouch artists using Photoshop, adding additional details such as people, sunny skies and trees. ■ glowfrog.com 30
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Gallery
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Because the visualisation was built around a photographed background almost half the project took place in Adobe Photoshop, including post-production.
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Gallery
The semi-derelict building was surrounded by demolition works, so it was a challenge to get the right photographs to work from
The sweetest thing This regeneration project of the Toffee Factory in Newcastle upon Tyne was a bold step for regional development company 1NG’s first project. The remains of the old factory building were to incorporate bold and contemporary additions, to be planned and approved using photorealistic visualisation. The series of five images was produced over a two-month period by Newcastle-based visualisation team Eyelevel. Creative director Neil Clark led the project, taking into consideration the viewpoints for each shots that showcased the important design aspects of the proposals, with the existing building offering strong elements such as the chimney, viaduct and rooftop additions. “We prepared the 3D model from the architect’s 2D drawings and added detail after reviewing the images with the architect,” he said. Images of similar details, materials and reflections in the area were used as references in order to achieve realistic 3D rendered counterparts, using the same images to establish the mood for the lighting Eyelevel used 3ds Max Design for 3D modelling and camera match and V-Ray for lighting and rendering. Because the visualisation was built around a photographed background almost half the project took place in Adobe Photoshop, including post-production. The semi-derelict building sat on a small footprint surrounded by demolition works. This meant it was a challenge getting the right photographs to work from. The dark, northeast winter photographs had to be brightened and enlivened for the marketing material, adding greenery, removing snow and adding warmer low level sunlight flare. “We had to adjust the perspective of the available photography with some careful post-production work, which means the final image is a mix of photography and realistic textured 3D model,” says Mr Clark. “One of the shots included the River Ouseburn, which was brimming with bright, reflective water during the photography reconnaissance. When we returned for the shoot the lock gates had been opened and the river was a bed of exposed mud, so we had to superimpose a computer generated river complete with reflections.” All this extra work proved worthwhile as the completed building went on to win the RIBA Regional Sustainability Award and Building of the Year Award 2012. ■ eyelevel.biz
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Event preview
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Most of the BIM conferences I’ve been to have been free and supported by major CAD vendors, so perhaps the hard sell is going to be self evident. But perhaps BIM conferences don’t have to all be like that?
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RTC Europe Delft Still pondering the path to Building Information Modelling (BIM)? Or already on the path and need some advice? There’s a new BIM conference for Revit users in Holland. by Martyn Day
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ike me, you are probably thinking the last thing we need right now is another BIM conference. I’ve been wondering why the recent Londonbased BIM conferences have been so tiring and come to the conclusion that it’s because they are all the same and, other than hype, there’s very little information to be gained that can be practically applied. As I wrote last month, we are now at the ‘Dalek’ stage of evangelism where “resistance is useless” and failure to adapt to BIM means staff are cancerous. This week on Twitter I heard: “If the team can’t cut it, get a new team.” I am not sure if this is helpful to anyone, other than the speakers venting their frustration with dealing with internal BIM intransigence. Most of the BIM conferences I’ve been to have been free and supported by major CAD vendors, so perhaps the hard sell is going to be self evident. But perhaps BIM conferences don’t have to all be like that? Revit Technology Conferences (RTC) was set up by an Australian architect and BIM fan and trainer, Wesley Benn. With fellow users he created and ran a successful series
RTC Europe All inclusive registration and accommodation package — three nights €1,650 Full conference registration — €1,350 Group discount — all inclusive registration and accommodation package — three nights €1,525* (Four or more delegates from the one firm) * Cost is per person
of paid-for Revit Technology Conferences in Australasia and North America. With the same team and European committee members, he has announced an inaugural European Revit Technology Conference in Delft, the Netherlands, on 27 and 28 September 2013. The conference will be presented in English and will showcase a selection of premier speakers from Australasia and North America, as well as industry heavyweights within the European market. Popular AEC Magazine authors such as Paul Woddy (White Frog Publishing and Revit Guru) and David Light (BIM consul-
tant with CASE) will be presenting, along with Autodesk’s Matt Jezyk, senior product manager for AEC conceptual design products (he helped build Revit Architecture and Structure) and David Conant (principal user experience designer for Revit). Industry speakers include those from HOK, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Perkins+Will and Quille Construction. The organisers aim to help delegates to explore the latest trends and technologies in BIM. There are a number of proven BIM experts on the circuit, from procurement to construction, so attendees should be able to mine that experience. Delegates are invited to share ideas and insights with an international community of peers. To this end a number of social events have been planned. With Autodesk experts on hand there’s also the chance to get an overview of new or forthcoming features, best practices and tips and tricks. Looking through the schedule, there appear to be some interesting presentations planned, such as: How to Connect Realworld Environmental Data to a BIM; A twoyear case study of using Revit on an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Healthcare Project; IFC interoperability; and using Revit servers across the world. The programme appears to be pretty in-depth and useful to those seeking to make the most out of their Revit investment. ■ rtcevents.com
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www.AECmag.com
11/3/13 14:44:24
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