10 minute read
NXT BLD preview
The future of AEC technology
The construction industry is on the verge of a revolution which will change the way buildings are designed and built. New technologies are having a profound impact on architecture, engineering & construction. At NXT BLD you will find out how
NXT BLD is AEC Magazine’s annual event where we examine the disruptive technologies coming to the architecture and construction space. We look beyond today’s BIM adoption challenges to smarter, intelligent digital workflows, from concept through fabrication to operation.
Last year, the pandemic forced us to go virtual but the incredible vaccine roll-out means NXT BLD 2021 will now take place at the prestigious QEII Centre in London on 9 November 2021 and we can’t wait to meet you all again in person.
The last eighteen months are already starting to feel like a dystopian VR dream, being confined to our homes for so long and only able to connect virtually. It was certainly the year in which the Internet rescued the AEC industry, with various cloud platforms enabling projects to keep going, despite working together, apart.
This experience has changed attitudes to where we work, how we collaborate and how we make our IT backbones more resilient. We will be addressing this subject within the conference with our partner, Lenovo, and others.
In terms of core AEC technologies, we have an inspiring roster of speakers for our two conference tracks, covering a wide range of hot topics — off-site construction, computational design, collaboration tools, robots and construction, VR, mixed reality, digital twins, extremely high-resolution reality capture (photogrammetry) and the latest in powerful workstations. Each talk include an audience Q&A. See pages 46-49 for more details.
Event details
Tuesday 9 November 2021 8:30am - 5:30pm (conference starts 9:30am) Queen Elizabeth II Centre London SW1P 3EE
For all the latest information and to see our enhanced COVID safety procedures visit
nxtbld.com
Exclusive 2-for-1 offer for AEC Magazine readers
For readers of AEC 2-for-1 Magazine, we are offer ing a strictly limited tickets number of tickets on a special 2-for-1 offer. Simply use the promotional code 241AEC and you can pick up a pair for £69.
Tickets include full access to the conference and exhibition, refreshments, lunch and drinks at the networking reception. When they’re gone, they’re gone!
nxtbld.com/register-2
The NASA control room for construction Dr. Marzia Bolpagni // MACE
How can NASA control projects in real time and predict events, while in construction we are struggling? Is it possible to create a control room for our sector? In this presentation Marzia will present the work that Mace has been leading together with other industry and academic partners to solve such a challenge. The work aims to help UK construction be more efficient and proactive rather than reactive with a scalable and repeatable plug-and play construction management and reporting platform known as the AEC Production Control Room.
Marzia works as Head of BIM International at Mace where she develops and implements digital construction solutions for public and private international clients in five international hubs. She holds a PhD in ICT and Smart Construction and she is passionate about filling the gap between industry and academia.
Autonomous robots in construction David Burczyk, Trimble
Robots in construction have the potential to enhance fieldoriented workflows, reduce the amount of rework, and facilitate on-site tasks. Utilising robots for routine tasks in hazardous environments such as construction sites can improve safety, efficiency, and data capture consistency.
Trimble and Boston Dynamics announced an exclusive alliance agreement for Trimble to be the sole integration partner for construction data collection technologies, including 3D laser scanning, GNSS, and robotic total stations with Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot. With a focus on building construction and civil construction workflows, Trimble and Boston Dynamics will introduce new products and services to advance the use of robotics in the construction industry.
Design and code across realities Andreea Ion Cojocaru, Numena
Numena, a design and software development company with a pioneering approach to the practice of architecture, comprises coding architects that both design and develop. The company works on spatial experiences and interactions across multiple dimensions and modalities.
Projects range from custom VR and AR applications, to virtual architecture, to physical architecture. Numena XR, a VR design tool at the heart of the company’s workflow was born out of its belief that architects should also design and code their own tools. Cojocaru will do a live demo and argue for two major propositions VR has to offer beyond visualisation.
Dimitrie Stefanescu Speckle Systems
A shared mission, a common greater good, collaboration, and passion are key ingredients of Open Source. In this presentation, Dimitrie will untangle what it means for the AEC industry, and how Speckle is attempting to transform the industry with those values in mind.
Alex Coulombe Agile Lens
Alex Coulombe will discuss how the rapidly evolving landscape of emerging tech has presented myriad opportunities for architects to apply their skillsets to the digital realm. What happens when a virtual space needs to provide the same functions as a real one for hundreds of people?
David Weir McCall Epic Games
David will explore how real-time technology is transforming the AEC industry, enabling faster, more iterative design solutions and bridging the gap between an idea and reality. The boundaries and output of the traditional architectural deliverable is evolving, giving new life to your digital models after design.
In this unmissable presentation, expect some hugely important news for the AEC software industry. Greg Schleusner, director of design technology and innovation at HOK will explore the necessity and opportunities for architecture and engineering practices to work together to solve the challenges facing our industry.
You will not want to miss this!
The Lenovo ThinkStation P620
George Matos Nvidia
Nvidia Omniverse is an open platform built for virtual collaboration and real-time physically accurate simulation. Nvidia’s George Matos will explain how the platform allows teams to piece together many different tools, in an open and extensible way to focus on what matters most. BIM street: what’s around the corner?
Robert Jamieson AMD
How the Lenovo ThinkStation P620, powered by AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors, is the platform of choice for demanding AEC professionals. By combining high CPU clock speed and industry leading core density, Threadripper Pro processors deliver the full spectrum of compute capability. . • Workstations / visualisation / simulation
Mike Leach Lenovo
With a major shift to hybrid working, it is important to understand how technology can streamline new & key business processes. How do you build on existing IT infrastructure, how do you better manage a growing hybrid workforce and can you still leverage immersive technologies whilst working remotely?
Foster + Partners Applied Research and Development (ARD) Group
The in-house Applied Research and Development team (ARD) at Foster + Partners is legendary. Comprising, architects and engineers who can program, the multi-disciplinary team are tasked with solving complex design problems, developing tools for teams, as well as evaluating the latest hardware and software.
NXT BLD will feature two talks from ARD. The first, on its real-world evaluation of using robots in construction. The team (pictured right with Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot) will relay the positive and negative findings of their experiments with automation.
For the second talk, Martha Tsigkari and Francis Aish will highlight some of the research projects the team has undertaken to resolve complex design issues. ARD’s work covers: computational design, performance analysis, optimisation, fabrication, AR/VR, machine learning, and realtime simulation.
Both talks are not to be missed.
Martha Tsigkari Sherif Tarabishi Khaled Elashry
Francis Aish Anders Rod Adam Davis
Hilmar Gunnarsson Arkio
Hilmar is the founder of Arkio, a collaborative VR/AR design tool that allows designers to quickly prototype and validate designs with project stakeholders, wherever they are in the world. Designers can sketch out buildings and entire urban plans while experiencing and adjusting their designs at human scale.
Johan Hanegraaf Arkio
Regular NXT BLD visitors will be familiar with Johan Hanegraaf, the Dutch architect who presented a concept of what an architectural virtual reality design system would look like, at the first NXT BLD. This year his prototype turned into a product and Arkio has become so much more.
Rob Harrison Epic Games
Rob is connected to many of the leading architects and engineering teams, as well as a host of specialist firms that deliver real-time experiences, such as digital twins and immersive collaboration environments. At NXT BLD Rob will be joined on stage by one of these customers to explore their use case in detail.
Digital twins within hands reach: remote inspections with mixed reality Greg Demchak, Bentley
Very high resolution photogrammetry is bringing Digital Twins to life, with exceptional detail and accuracy. Greg Demchak, director of Bentley Systems’s digital innovation lab, looks at the latest mixed reality technology to aid construction planning and virtualised inspections.
IMAGE COURTESY OF FACTORYOS Amy Marks VP of industrialised construction strategy and evangelism, Autodesk
Amy Marks, Autodesk VP of Industrialised Construction Strategy and Evangelism, will be talking about integrating with off-site construction and prefabrication, together with sharing her industry experience at XSite Modular.
Get hands-on with the latest technology
NXT BLD isn’t just about its inspirational conference; it’s an incredible opportunity to get hands on with the latest technology in our exhibition.
Whether you’re starting out in arch viz / VR, want to push your workflows to the limits, or simply explore new tech for collaboration and more, then you’re in for a treat. Here’s a run down of the key exhibitors you’ll see on the show floor. Lenovo will showcase the latest in virtual reality along with its powerful desktop and mobile workstations, including the new ThinkStation P620 with AMD Threadripper Pro CPU and Nvidia RTX GPUs.
Unreal Engine is the ‘world’s most open and advanced’ real-time 3D tool.
Cerulean Labs All great architecture starts with a sketch. Spaces by Cerulean Labs is bringing conceptual design to iPad. 3D Repo will show how its digital construction platform can transform workflows using live collaborative tools in a web browser.
Bluesky uses the latest in airborne sensor technology to capture current, accurate and integrated geospatial datasets. Bricsys is focused on making cost-effective, unique CAD, BIM and CDE products. Cadline provides guidance on the latest design, analysis, data management, collaboration and business process platforms. Cadventure will be demonstrating the latest Bentley Systems software portfolio and its wider industry software solutions. Correvate offers cloud technology that enables the automatic registration and subsequent analysis of 3D point cloud datasets. Graphisoft says its award-winning solutions provide unrivalled open BIM workflows. Leica Geosystems prides itself on precise and accurate instruments, sophisticated software, and trusted services. Revizto provides a BIM collaboration platform for 3D and 2D workflows that enables users to work with all project stakeholders. StrucSoft’s solution allows users to model their framing systems in Revit and then export data into a format readable by CNC machines. SystemActive, the leading workstation hardware and immersive solution provider, will be showcasing the latest from Varjo. Topcon provides end-to-end business solutions by integrating high-precision measurement technology, software and data. Vectorworks is an award-winning design and BIM software provider. Xinaps creates smart data validation and design automation solutions for professionals. in the AEC industry.
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