CU Jan-Feb 2020

CASEstudy
Bentley OpenBuildings Designer
Rounding off a sequence of 'Open' applications from Bentley is OpenBuildings Designer - the ultimate
single multidisciplinary application
As we have seen over the last couple
of years, the trend within Bentley
Systems is towards the full
integration of related applications to
facilitate the sharing of information in order
to improve the workflows between all
members of a project. Previously this was
focused on individual project types -
infrastructure design, site and building
modelling and, most recently, flood relief
solutions - but earlier this year Bentley
released the ultimate in their 'Open'
system solutions: OpenBuildings
Designer. It seemed appropriate then that
we should wrap up the series with this
important, fundamental, Open solution.
This single application brings together all
of the separate functions that comprise a
typical construction project, with the
benefit of specialists in each area being
able to work on, or contribute to, a single
'Master' model.
The ultimate application is putting it
mildly. OpenBuildings Designer provides
access to architectural, structural,
mechanical and electrical design
solutions, as well as computational
design solutions for exploring design
variations, and energy services for
performing building simulations and
energy evaluations. Designs can be
developed in context using reality models
and point cloud data, checked in
progress using clash detection tools and,
whilst adhering to company standards,
sharing data with all common formats -
IFC, COBie RealDWG, RFA and
SketchUp's SKP - and to share models
using Bentley's iModels technology.
OpenBuilding Designer also takes
advantage of all of the latest technology
advances to produce project documents,
lifelike renderings and movies,
incorporate media files, share weblinks
and develop hypermodels. All of this
comes within a Bentley ProjectWise
environment. There's even a personalised
learning facility to accelerate and
encourage adoption of the application.
Described as a 'Design In Reality
Context', it is a multidisciplinary approach
that uses BIM workflows to build
information-rich models for the design,
analysis, simulation and documentation
of buildings. It even includes things like
computational design - or
GenerativeComponents - and energy
simulations for evaluating building
performance. As with earlier Open
Design solutions, OpenBuilding Designer
places users within a 3D modelling
environment, leveraging reality models to
place them in context.
Faced with access to such a wealth of
applications, it is only appropriate that it is
supported by Bentley's SELECT
CONNECT Edition and services - which
include Adaptive Learning Services that
provide contextual and personal learning,
and Personal Mobility Services giving
unlimited access to project information as
and when required. ProjectWise
Connection Services allows users to share
and manage issues, applications and
project information, and to handle
transmittals, submittals and RFIs.
With such a phenomenal increase in the
sharing of information between the
different disciplines, the only caveat I
suppose is the amount of data translation
required to build complex models, and the
organising required to keep all of it
relevant and up to date. By using the BIMs
federated data, however, design
components are made available to all
members of a project team, no matter
what format it was originally designed in,
and building systems using these different
technologies are coordinated to allow
users to work on any size model
simultaneously.
OPENBUILDINGS DESIGNER
COMPONENTS
OpenBuildings Designer is described by
Bentley as a single multidisciplinary
application. Besides a standard
architectural set of tools, it incorporates
structural software to model steel,
concrete and timber structures, with tools
to detail steel trusses, joists, ladders and
handrails and other assemblies. The
structural software comes with a library of
international steel and concrete shapes,
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January/February 2020