Leading Architectural and Design Practices Credit Bentley AECOsim Building Designer''s BIM Advancement

LONDON – The Year in Infrastructure 2014 Conference – 5 November 2014 – Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, today announced that its emerging pacesetter AECOsim Building Designer V8i is delivering significant advantages for the world''s leading architectural and design projects. This collaborative BIM advancement for the architectural design and multi-discipline engineering of facilities spans architecture, engineering, and construction in a unified environment. It supports an increased depth of information modeling that affords users the analysis and simulation needed to interactively converge towards better-performing assets through optioneering. At the same time, AECOsim Building Designer supports an increased breadth of information mobility – from design through construction – for better-performing projects, especially through Bentley''s ProjectWise collaboration services for information mobility with integrity.

Thirty-nine of the 2014 Be Inspired Awards project nominations credited AECOsim Building Designer''s pacesetting capabilities on projects spanning 17 countries and ranging from office buildings, hospitals, campuses, and underground rail stations to bridges, power generation plants, wind farms, mining facilities, and wastewater treatment plants. Organizations nominated for these projects included Arabtec Construction, Arup, Bechtel India, Byggnadstekniska Byrån i Stockholm AB, CH2M HILL, Guangdong Hydropower Planning & Design Institute, ENERGOPROJEKT-KATOWICE SA, HDR, Ineco, John Wardle Architects, Morphosis Architects, MWM Architekci, PowerChina Hubei Electric Engineering Corporation, and signum+ architects.

Huw Roberts, Bentley vice president, platform advantage, said, “Increasingly, AECOsim Building Designer is setting the pace for the unconstrained architectural design and engineering of buildings of any size or scope. Its use among top and rising firms expands with each new release as we continue to bring innovations in support of BIM advancement to the users of this single, integrated application. AECOsim Building Designer provides users with architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical systems design, simulation, and analysis tools, as well as construction documentation. Among the firms whose projects are benefiting from its use are Foster + Partners, Robin Partington & Partners, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and Building Studio Architects of Australia.”

Foster + Partners is one of the most innovative architectural and integrated design practices in the world. Counted among its many achievements is the sustainable approach to architecture that it pioneered over the past four decades. Last year, Foster + Partners joined Bentley''s Enterprise License Subscription program, giving the firm unrestricted access to Bentley''s comprehensive portfolio of architectural, engineering, construction, geospatial, and operations software and learning offerings. Commenting on the firm''s use of Bentley''s BIM advancement, Foster + Partners CIO Graham Young said, “We''ve been using AECOsim Building Designer for more than two years now to exploit its integrated multi-discipline capabilities and support our ultra-fast-paced, technically innovative projects. We have also been pleased to provide input and feedback into its development, which has been a characteristic of our relationship with Bentley over many years.”

John Ball, partner, Robin Partington & Partners, a leading architectural firm that prides itself on combining the benefits of a design-led approach with sound commercial sensibilities, said, “The combination of AECOsim and excellent Bentley support has enabled our Merchant Square project in Paddington, London, to quickly evolve into an integrated BIM workflow.” Merchant Square''s masterplan comprises four new buildings on a 1.6 hectare site: 1 Merchant Square, a 42-storey mixed use tall building, hotel, residential with skybar; 2 Merchant Square, a 17-storey office unit with commercial retail and two further residential buildings; 3 Merchant Square to the east and 6 Merchant Square to the west, with commercial and community facilities at their lower levels.

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners is an international architectural practice that for more than three decades has attracted critical acclaim and awards with built projects across Europe, North America, and Asia. Its design work includes the iconic Leadenhall Building and Millennium Experience, both in London, U.K. Commenting on the firm''s first integrated BIM project, a GBP 160 million cancer treatment center in London, U.K., Willem Kok, associate, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, said, “Bentley''s AECOsim Building Designer provides an increasingly flexible platform for successful collaborative BIM. It enabled Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to deliver high quality, integrated design on The King''s Health Partners Cancer Centre for Guy''s and St Thomas'' Hospitals.” The software''s interoperability and consequent information mobility across this project enabled the accurate integration of various models and drawings in different file formats to facilitate successful collaboration with the Cancer Centre project stakeholders using third-party software.

Gerard Outram, founding director of Building Studio Architects, a rising Australia-based, innovative practice focused on the design and delivery of complex buildings for corporate, institutional, and government clients, said, “Good design does not occur by chance, nor is it driven by preconceptions. It arises from an iterative process of working with clients, asking questions, listening, targeting research, and applying rigorous problem solving strategies. AECOsim Building Designer is the key creativity tool in our office. It seamlessly integrates iterative design thinking to building production.” The firm recently used AECOsim Building Designer, along with ProjectWise, to facilitate collaborative BIM workflows on the AUD 45 million Lantern Building project at the gateway to the Melbourne Docklands in Victoria, Australia.

For additional information about AECOsim Building Designer V8i and details on the features and capabilities included in the SELECTseries 5 release, visit www.bentley.com/ABD.

About AECOsim

AECOsim products deliver Bentley''s collaborative BIM advancements for architectural design and multi-discipline engineering of facilities. The AECOsim brand signifies two important requirements of next-level BIM: the ability to span Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations in a unified environment providing information mobility and intra-operability; and the simulation needed to computationally support better-performing assets through optioneering.

AECOsim Building Designer, in particular, addresses the different disciplines typically engaged in facilities projects, including architectural design and structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering. In addition, it fully supports the many campus dependencies of today''s built facilities, including utilities, access, drainage, and more.

For additional information about AECOsim, visit www.bentley.com/AECOsim.

About The Year in Infrastructure 2014 Conference

Bentley''s Year in Infrastructure 2014 Conference, taking place this week at the Hilton London Metropole in London, U.K., is a global gathering of leading executives in the world of infrastructure design, construction, and operations. The conference features a series of presentations and interactive workshops exploring the intersection of technology and business drivers, and how they are shaping the future of infrastructure delivery and investment returns. The Year in Infrastructure 2014 Conference includes: the Project Delivery Summit, the Infrastructure Asset Performance Summit, the Building Forum, the Rail and Road Forum, the Oil, Gas, Chemical, and Mining Forum, the EPC and A/E Forum, the Utilities Forum, the Visions for the Future Forum, and the Be Inspired Awards finalists competition and ceremony recognizing the award winners. In addition, on Nov. 3, more than 100 journalists from leading media outlets around the globe gathered at the Hilton London Metropole for Bentley''s annual Media Day briefing. For additional information about The Year in Infrastructure 2014 Conference, click here.

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems is the global leader dedicated to providing architects, engineers, geospatial professionals, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure. Bentley users leverage information mobility across disciplines and throughout the infrastructure lifecycle to deliver better-performing projects and assets. Bentley solutions encompass MicroStation applications for information modeling, ProjectWise collaboration services to deliver integrated projects, and AssetWise operations services to achieve intelligent infrastructure – complemented by worldwide professional services and comprehensive managed services.

Founded in 1984, Bentley has more than 3,000 colleagues in over 50 countries, more than $600 million in annual revenues, and since 2006 has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.

Additional information about Bentley is available at www.bentley.com and in Bentley''s annual report. For Bentley news as it happens, subscribe to an RSS feed of Bentley press releases and news alerts. Visit The Year in Infrastructure 2014 Conference for highlights of Bentley''s premier thought-leadership event. To view a searchable collection of innovative infrastructure projects from the annual Be Inspired Awards, access Bentley''s Infrastructure Yearbooks. To access a professional networking site that enables members of the infrastructure community to connect, communicate, and learn from each other, visit Bentley Communities.

To download the Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top Owners ranking, a unique global compendium of the top public- and private-sector owners of infrastructure based on the value of their cumulative infrastructure investments, visit www.bentley.com/500.