SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 9, 2023 – When Corstorphine & Wright, an architectural practice with design studios across the United Kingdom, hired a new head of digital, it learned of the time savings possible with tools from Ideate Software, an Autodesk AEC industry partner and Autodesk authorized developer.

Neil Carter, head of digital at Corstorphine & Wright, said, “When I joined Corstorphine & Wright in April of 2022, I brought along experience with Ideate Software tools that I used in my previous role. I had used Ideate Explorer to keep models performing effectively by finding and deleting unused elements and fixing Revit warnings. I had used Ideate BIMLink to export data from Revit to Excel for editing as well as to create unplaced rooms, unplaced spaces, sheets, masses, and areas.”

After talking with a representative from Ideate Software, the company decided on a three-year bundle subscription that includes:

• Ideate Explorer for access to all elements, even those excluded from the Revit browser
• Ideate BIMLink to pull data from a Revit model into Microsoft Excel for editing, and then push volumes of updated data back into the model
• Ideate Sticky to link Microsoft Word and Excel as well as PDF documents to Revit projects
• IdeateApps to streamline the tasks that Revit users perform most often
• Ideate StyleManager to easily analyze, delete, and merge non-standard styles

They also subscribed to Ideate Automation, a scripting solution that runs time-intensive BIM tasks in the background.

Neil continued, “The value of each of the tools was clear, and access to all of them would enable our architects to quickly get through so many different tedious data management tasks that historically have taken a lot of time.”

Read Spotlight on Corstorphine & Wright.

Visit www.ideatesoftware.com to learn how Ideate Software add-ins for Revit help users save time, increase model accuracy, improve deliverables, and elevate design. Give them a try by downloading trial versions or purchasing the bundle for access to Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, IdeateApps, and Ideate StyleManager for six months.

About Ideate Software

Ideate Software, an Autodesk AEC industry partner and Autodesk authorized developer, empowers Revit users to gain unprecedented control over their data. They developed Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, IdeateApps, and Ideate StyleManager to solve persistent problems in architecture, engineering, and construction, and owner-operator (AECO) workflows. They developed Ideate Automation to boost the power of their Revit plugins by running time-intensive activities in the background.

For more information, visit www.ideatesoftware.com.

EDMONTON, Canada; NEW YORK, NY and CHICAGO, IL, June 9, 2023 – Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, has signed an agreement to acquire Environmental Systems Design, Inc. (ESD), a 270-person engineering firm headquartered in Chicago. Founded in 1967, ESD has built a reputation for excellence and innovation in high-performance design with a roster of industry-leading clients. The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Interior office space seating area with views to the cityscape

The acquisition of ESD significantly deepens Stantec’s expertise in mission critical facilities and data center design. Mission critical facilities represent a rapidly growing segment of purpose-built infrastructure that require an increased level of reliability. These facilities—spanning nearly every major industry—are designed to maintain building infrastructure, emergency dispatch, data storage, or other critical functions in the face of inclement weather and utility outages. Data centers, such as hyperscale facilities, require special, resilient design considerations developed by uniquely qualified teams with regular exposure to the evolving needs of large-scale companies.

The acquisition of ESD expands Stantec’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) and structural engineering practice by 40 percent in the US. These added resources significantly deepen the firm’s smart building engineering capabilities that support the workplace of the future and the emerging trends of decarbonization, building repositioning, and adaptive reuse.

“Merging talent with ESD positions Stantec as one of the top integrated design firms in the US market,” said Leonard Castro, executive vice president and business operating unit leader for Buildings at Stantec. “Our expanded services in data center, smart building design, and high-performance buildings will offer our clients the flexible and stable facilities that meet their operational needs into the future.”

“Stantec is a top-tier firm that shares our vision to improve society through the built environment,” said Raj Gupta, executive chairman at ESD. “ESD has increased the depth and breadth of its services in recent years. Joining Stantec expands our offering globally and creates exceptional career growth opportunities for our employees.”

Critical Project Experience

ESD provides data center design services for several industry-leading technology clients. ESD was recently retained by a confidential client to provide peer review and hyperscale data center design services and subsequently engaged in multiple hyperscale data centers on its behalf across the US. Hyperscale campus developments scale from a single 500,000 square foot (20 to 30 megawatts capacity) facility to multiple facilities spanning several million square feet (300+ megawatts capacity). Multiple sites throughout the country share a baseline design with local adaptations and are designed for efficient phased buildouts without interruption to live facilities.

Additional projects in ESD’s portfolio include

• MEP and mission critical engineering for the United Airlines Network Operations Center in Chicago, a vital component of the airline’s day-to-day operations. Building Information Modeling (BIM) was used to route new systems through the existing structure and around existing systems. ESD worked closely with the City of Chicago and provided specialized consulting services in the areas of electrical and fire alarm codes to provide a unique furniture wiring design that met all of United’s needs.
• MEP and fire protection engineering for the 1,400,000-square-foot expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center, one of the largest convention centers in the world. The new West Hall includes 600,000 square feet of flexible exhibition spaces with multiple infrastructure services including a variety of electrical power voltages and capacities, telecommunications, water and drainage, and natural gas. Ancillary program and support spaces include a concourse, meeting rooms, lobbies, and café/kitchen space.
• MEP and fire protection engineering and energy modeling for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital in Illinois. The 201-bed hospital was designed to meet future demand and modeled to achieve LEED Silver Certification. Energy conservation measures included optimizing the thermal performance of the façade while balancing the solar heat gain of the glass, external shading techniques, LED lighting, and more. ESD also reduced water-fixture use by 20 percent and domestic hot water usage by 26 percent.

Stantec has three existing offices in Chicago, for a total of five in Illinois. With a large concentration of employees in Chicago, ESD also has offices in New York City, San Francisco, and Phoenix. The acquisition will grow Stantec’s presence in Chicago to nearly 600 and to more than 2,050 in the broader US North Central region, which covers 12 states.

The acquisition is expected to close on June 30, 2023.

About Stantec

Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That’s why at Stantec, they always design with community in mind.

Stantec designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

For more information, visit www.stantec.com.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 9, 2023 – OpenSpace, the global leader in 360° reality capture and AI-powered analytics, introduced OpenSpace BIM+, a suite of easy-to-use 3D tools that helps field teams and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) teams get work done faster by unlocking BIM coordination on the jobsite. Announced at its Waypoint customer conference, this is the third product from OpenSpace that uses cutting-edge technology to empower project teams to get things done faster, together. OpenSpace Capture, introduced in 2018, is used to fully document construction sites in over 93 countries, and OpenSpace Track, introduced in 2021, automatically quantifies progress on those sites. OpenSpace BIM+ adds to this portfolio with tools that accelerate BIM and field coordination workflows.

Click here to view OpenSpace BIM+ product – BIM Element Overlay feature.

Working in both 2D drawings and 3D models is not new to OpenSpace customers. The popular BIM Compare feature in OpenSpace Capture allows field teams to navigate and compare site conditions to the project’s BIM, with the model fully aligned to the OpenSpace 360° capture. Last quarter, OpenSpace observed more than half its customers using this feature, and they represented the most active OpenSpace customers.

“We recognized that many of our customers were seeking more powerful, yet easy-to-use BIM tools from OpenSpace,” shared Neel Sheth, vice president of product at OpenSpace. “Our customers’ BIM usage in OpenSpace was outpacing the industry’s overall rate of BIM adoption. That told us that OpenSpace might be able to help drive BIM utilization for those teams that are adopting and investing in BIM. With OpenSpace BIM+, we have partnered with VDC leaders and their project teams to help them work with BIM as easily as navigating a Google Street View.”

OpenSpace BIM+ is an add-on product to its popular OpenSpace Capture product, with the following capabilities:

1. BIM analysis tools: Navigating and analyzing BIM in the field often requires the time and expertise of a VDC manager. OpenSpace BIM+ analysis tools speed up this communication by allowing field teams to easily work in the BIM and compare that to what they are building. Any project team member can click and navigate to saved views in the BIM, review model elements overlayed within the 360° photos, and access the model from any iPhone, iPad, or Android device when offline. Point cloud data can also now be stored, viewed, analyzed, and shared in OpenSpace from mobile and terrestrial laser scanners and OpenSpace’s 3D Scan feature, bringing reality capture data to one central location.
2. BIM coordination tools: Construction projects require tremendous coordination and OpenSpace BIM+ includes features designed to help teams quickly solve problems by aligning design intent with on-site conditions to speed up responses, approvals, and project schedules. OpenSpace Capture’s popular field note feature is now part of BIM workflows with OpenSpace BIM+, allowing field teams to add detailed images and notes during site walks or back at their desks. BCF file export is also included, enabling streamlined workflows with leading BIM coordination tools like Revizto, Navisworks, and BIM Track.
3. Seamless model management: Keeping the BIM model up-to-date can help to streamline the design and construction process, as it ensures that everyone has access to the most current information. OpenSpace BIM+ makes it easy to manage updates to the BIM with Autodesk model import, support for multiple models, and model usage reporting.

While BIM has gained widespread adoption among design and engineering professionals, its use in the field has been limited, partly due to the complexity and skills required to navigate and understand the building information model.

“With the implementation of OpenSpace BIM+, our project teams will gain the ability to swiftly address inquiries directly from the field, significantly minimizing the time-consuming exchanges they encounter while resolving challenges,” explained Breawn Felix, regional support services manager at Swinerton. Mrs. Felix plans to measure the time savings OpenSpace BIM+ can provide to her field teams during OpenSpace’s early access program, which kicks off next quarter.

For further details on OpenSpace BIM+ and to sign up for the early access program, visit OpenSpace’s BIM+ website or talk with an OpenSpace representative.

About OpenSpace

OpenSpace, the global leader in reality capture and AI-powered analytics, empowers construction and real estate companies of every size to create an interactive 360° digital view of their built environment. Customers have used OpenSpace to operate more efficiently and reduce risk, capturing more than 17 billion square feet of imagery from construction projects across thousands of sites in more than 93 countries.

To learn more, visit www.openspace.ai.