Siemens’ Building X Portfolio Manager serves as a single pane of glass for multi-site assets
Siemens to showcase innovative and sustainable building technology at ISH 2025
PRYSMIAN SIGNS CONTRACTS WORTH IN AGGREGATE AROUND €5 BILLION WITH AMPRION
PRYSMIAN GROUP COMPLETES THE FÉCAMP OFFSHORE WIND FARM CABLE PROJECT IN FRANCE
PRYSMIAN GROUP to further expand its cable-laying vessel fleet
Sally R, ELSYS, and Epishine Partner to Make the Shift to Sustainable Buildings Easier and More Accessible
Prysmian Group at Reuters’ Offshore Wind conference in Boston (11-12 July)
Garnica Expands North American Team, Bolstering Market Presence
Home101 Interior Decoration, Design & Construction Flagship Store is Now Open
Silicon Labs and Wirepas joint offering or smart buildings, smart tracking and smart metering
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Company will showcase their high quality, sustainable plywood products and introduces new North American leadership
Garnica, a world leader in premium sustainable plywood, is pleased to announce that it will be exhibiting at the 2023 Interzum Trade Fair from May 9 – 12. The company’s European team will be present alongside the newest North American senior executives, Christian Michel, Niels Boelema and Hugues Paulin who will help to support company expansion in the USA and Canada. Garnica will be showcasing its extensive collection of non-conflict panels, created from sustainable, fast-growing tree farms in Spain and France, which offer superior quality and the broadest range of dimensions and thicknesses available on the market. Perhaps most exciting is its line of Reinforced products that rivals Russian and Baltic birch plywood in terms of strength and durability, but with the added benefit of being roughly 10% lighter, readily available, and sustainably sourced and produced in Europe. Additionally, Garnica’s Reinforced line is non-tariffed and PEFC and CE2+ certified. Its maple-faced version make this product the ideal choice for interior decorative applications and its multiply composition is perfect for exposed edges in artistic furniture and fixture designs. In addition to the Reinforced line of plywood, Garnica will feature its other exciting new innovation, Infinity, a line of ready-to-use digitally printed decorative panels. This technology recreates the most in-demand designs over premium European poplar plywood, challenging the ordinary and offer architects, designers, and contractors exceptional, yet economical, solutions, no matter the scale or application. “We are thrilled to be back here at Interzum in Cologne, one of the most important industry tradeshows in the world to showcase our exciting innovations,” said Niels Boelema, Chief Commercial Officer. “In a time defined by heightened concern for the environment, we take great pride in meeting the growing demand for premium plywood that is sustainably produced and doesn’t sacrifice quality or durability. Garnica is committed to constant evolution and expansion of our product line to support the unique needs of woodworking and design professionals across the globe.” Visit Booth Hall 1.2, Stand C050 to meet the Garnica European and North American teams and learn more about its revolutionary line of non-conflict plywood products.
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Cupix Adds CupixWorks to Bentley’s Powered by iTwin Program
Cupix™, a global spatial digital twin platform that provides visualization and analytics for owners and builders across the entire built-world lifecycle, announced today the addition of its leading product, CupixWorks, to Bentley Systems’ powered by iTwin program. CupixWorks is a state-of-the-art 3D digital twin platform that enables decision-making and collaboration through all stages of a building’s life cycle. Project Managers, General Contractors, Architects, and Owners can remotely view, track, and manage on-site progress via 3D spatial contexts and life-like 3D navigation. By leveraging the Bentley iTwin Platform, CupixWorks can synchronize and visualize 3D, 360° capture data — along with BIM models plus customized data — and use georeferencing to place the capture in the site’s physical location. “We are excited to add CupixWorks to Bentley’s powered by iTwin program,” said Simon Bae, CEO at Cupix. “The iTwin Platform’s visualization and synchronization capabilities help CupixWorks to deliver life-like 3D navigation that feels like you’re on site. This improves collaboration for stakeholders—wherever they are—based on what’s actually happening at the site.” “We are very pleased to have Cupix add their CupixWorks solution to the powered by iTwin program,” said Adam Klatzkin, Vice President, iTwin Platform, at Bentley Systems. “In doing so, the company joins a growing ecosystem of developers building powerful digital twin solutions on the iTwin Platform. CupixWorks is a great example of how 3D reality capture data and BIM can be synchronized for virtual site navigation and progress tracking of complex construction projects.” The addition marks another step in Cupix’s efforts to democratize 3D digital twin adoption across the built-world industry. Last year, Cupix announced the release of their CupixWorks X 3D Digital Twin Platform, which is powered by the Gamma Engine 3rd generation AI engine. The platform launch included enhancements to spatial contexts, progress tracking and analytics, and image fidelity in 360° virtual walkthroughs. For more company news and information, visit https://www.cupix.com/news-info
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Event realized for the Italian Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2023
BELVEDERE RN-M-G-M/G-Clt UNI EN 13163:2013 is the title of the last of nine site-specific interventions for “Spaziale presenta,” the preparatory component of “Spaziale: Everyone Belongs to Everyone Else,” the project by the collective Fosbury Architecture (Giacomo Ardesio, Alessandro Bonizzoni, Nicola Campri, Veronica Caprino, and Claudia Mainardi) for the Italian Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture. This ninth intervention will take place in the heart of the Florence-Prato-Pistoia Plain and will involve the participation of the studios (ab)Normal and Captcha Architecture as designers, and artist Emilio Vavarella as advisor. The incubator of the project will be the Center for Contemporary Art Luigi Pecci, Prato. In the intermediate zone between city and countryside, BELVEDERE reveals the places and production processes of this pastoral Tuscan idyll. A typical landscape capable of self-replicating, becoming a model exportable around the world: featuring ornamental plants and styled buildings – whose aesthetic forms are strictly codified by the entities that oversee its protection – the area demonstrates the possibility of experiencing the “back room” where the nursery area becomes a vast urban garden for free time. An innovative industrial tourism interprets this productive region as a “total forest” that not only provides the aesthetic for a vast metropolitan area but also becomes its major carbon dioxide absorption center. “The building industry, like all other manufacturing sectors and as provided for in the Paris Climate Accords, aims for carbon neutrality by 2050,” underscore the curators, Fosbury Architecture. “Achieving a goal of this magnitude will require setting aside any kind of rhetoric and operating according to a secular sustainability that can adapt to all contexts, even the most controversial ones.” In its breadth, the project for the Italian Pavilion is founded on Fosbury Architecture's vision that architecture is a research practice beyond the construction of buildings and that design is always the result of collective and collaborative work that goes beyond the idea of the architect-author. According to this vision, “space” is understood as a physical and symbolic place, a geographical area and abstract dimension, a system of known references and a territory of possibilities. In the period from January to April preceding the opening of the Biennale Architettura 2023, “Spaziale presenta” sees the activation of nine site-specific interventions in as many places, each representative of the Italian territory. “Spaziale: Everyone Belongs to Everyone Else,” in the Italian Pavilion from May 20 to November 26, 2023, will be the formal and theoretical synthesis of the processes triggered in the nine regions in the previous months, providing a distinctive and original portrait of Italian architecture within the international context. The works in progress of "Spaziale presenta" and the activation of the nine interventions will be narrated step by step on the website www.spaziale2023.it and on the Instagram account @spaziale.presenta. The curatorial design of the Italian Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2023 and all related details will be announced at a dedicated press conference.
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WSB and Bentley Systems Offer New Digital Construction Management Service Based on SYNCHRO
Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced a collaboration initiative with WSB to lead civil infrastructure owners and contractors to adopt and use infrastructure digital twins. WSB has launched a new digital construction management solution and advisory service, based on Bentley’s SYNCHRO, to help the civil infrastructure market overcome challenges of adopting model-based digital workflows and leveraging the power of construction digital twins. WSB is the first firm to join the Bentley Digital Integrator Program for construction to provide programmatic go-to-market support and knowledge transfer to eligible engineering and project delivery firms and system integrators creating and curating digital twins for their clients’ infrastructure assets. Construction work is too often based on 2D drawings, spreadsheets, and document-based workflows resulting in errors, waste, and rework that cause most projects to be over budget and schedule. Bentley and WSB will lead firms in transforming construction by adopting technology and digital delivery. “Owners and construction firms realize that new digital workflows are needed to meet infrastructure demands. Applying these digital workflows successfully requires a deep understanding of technology, processes, and data,” said Carsten Gerke, senior vice president of strategic partnerships with Bentley Systems. “The Bentley Digital Integrator Program is built around combining technology with subject matter expertise for improved infrastructure. WSB joining the program provides a leapfrog opportunity for all our transportation users.” Through a combination of industry-leading software, expertise, and innovation, Bentley and WSB’s digital construction management initiative is helping to shape the way infrastructure projects are delivered. Key services include enabling a single source of truth by connecting project, contract, and document management to the future of design—a 3D/4D/5D constructable model—as well as the ability to create constructable models from current 2D plan sets, which allows the transition to a single source of truth for all stakeholders. This initiative is committed to putting the industry-leading model-based construction management tool in the hands of those who build the work. WSB promotes advanced project delivery and knows how to apply the right technology and expertise to support their clients’ aspirations for a digital future. “WSB is committed to delivering innovative, reliable, and secure solutions through the use of advanced technology. We believe the successful deployment of an operational 3D model drives transparency, maximizes return on investment, makes possible true lifecycle planning, and drives collaboration to connect and align all stakeholders,” said Jon Chiglo, chief operating officer of WSB. “We have an entire organization that is leading, creating, and innovating into our digital future. Our partnership with Bentley is an important part of this vision and we are excited to bring this digital construction management service to market.” SYNCHRO, Bentley’s construction management software that supports the entire civil construction lifecycle with simple office-to-field workflows and gives firms insight into project performance, productivity, and financial health, is the foundation for WSB’s offering. SYNCHRO is the construction service of the Bentley Infrastructure Cloud leveraging digital twin technologies, powered by iTwin. Together, Bentley and WSB are meeting the market where it is and providing the tools, training, education, and support required to make the digital leap. Project teams will realize the value of model-based digital delivery for better project efficiency and outcomes. Civil infrastructure owners and contractors will overcome barriers to technology adoption to drive efficiencies from preconstruction planning through construction execution. Skills will improve as more projects adopt model-based delivery, resulting in it becoming the common standard. “Owners and construction firms realize that new digital workflows are needed to meet infrastructure demands, but they often face issues when determining how best to adopt technology,” said Rich Humphrey, vice president of construction with Bentley. “In civil infrastructure, they also face unique challenges related to the nature of the design information they receive, and the spatial logistics involved. Bentley with WSB is the perfect combination to enable project teams to resolve adoption hurdles and ensure that technology results in a step function improvement in the way projects are delivered from design through construction execution.”
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Industry partners use ORNL software to trim carbon footprint of buildings
Two years after the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory provided a model of nearly every building in America, commercial partners are using the tool for tasks ranging from designing energy-efficient buildings and cities to linking energy efficiency to real estate value and risk. International companies like Google and SmithGroup are sharing the benefits by making the resulting data publicly available. Since the buildings sector accounts for 40% of American energy consumption, increasing its efficiency is vital to national decarbonization goals. Dozens of companies have requested data from ORNL’s Automatic Building Energy Modeling software suite, or AutoBEM, said project leader Joshua New. He and his team developed AutoBEM using high-performance computing to process layers of imaging data with information about individual buildings, such as their size, use, construction materials and heating and cooling technologies. “The unifying theme is to create a digital twin of our nation’s buildings,” New said. “We can simulate market-relevant ways to reduce energy use and offset with renewable sources.” The software has simulated energy use for 123 million structures, representing 98% of U.S. buildings. New’s team is updating the software this year for even greater building detail and accuracy. Google is using AutoBEM to improve its free Environmental Insights Explorer tool, which launched in 2018 to help cities worldwide recognize sources of greenhouse gas and reduction opportunities. Saleem Van Groenou, product manager for Environmental Insights Explorer, said Google wants to incorporate more precise energy efficiency simulations for buildings. “Oak Ridge has much deeper expertise in building energy systems and modeling management and action than we do,” Van Groenou said. “We can now help cities focus more on what changes should be made, then track the impact of those changes over time.” Google is combining its trove of building data with ORNL’s ability to scale up energy models and develop machine-learning algorithms, Van Groenou said. Google is one of five major companies contributing data, staff time and equipment to AutoBEM partnerships. Most users of AutoBEM focus on existing buildings, but SmithGroup, an international architecture and engineering firm, takes the approach of incorporating efficiency from the first blueprint. “Our interest in AutoBEM and working with the lab stems from a dramatic need to scale the work we’re doing in response to climate change,” said Stet Sanborn, who oversees the ORNL collaboration for SmithGroup. “The number of buildings we need to touch, and the pace we need to do it, exceeds what an individual could do in their lifetime. And we need to do that in the next five years.” He pointed out that AutoBEM’s ability to run 200,000 energy models in less than an hour equals the output of one employee working full time for 365 years. For SmithGroup, ORNL simulated every possible combination of design parameters, building types and U.S. climate zones. This information was used to train an artificial intelligence tool, essentially allowing the company to pre-simulate the energy impact of every design possibility for any building. AutoBEM also incorporates climate change scenarios identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, modeled by the Climate Change Science Institute at ORNL. This feature attracted the attention of partner LightBox, which offers a platform for mapping and analyzing real estate information. “As a leader in the commercial real estate and location intelligence industries, we offer new data sets that are critical for understanding new risks,” said Zach Wade, LightBox vice president for data science. “LightBox plans to use AutoBEM to model the long-term energy and operation costs of buildings and to support understanding and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, providing valuable information to real estate investors, brokers, lenders and banks, appraisers, engineers and environmental consulting firms.” LightBox and other partners will provide benefits to AutoBEM in turn by contributing data sets like building footprints, interior details, property parcel boundaries and financial information to improve future simulations. In addition, partners such as SmithGroup and Google have committed to sharing data sets created using AutoBEM. “The entire market needs to shift, and that's where the relationship with AutoBEM becomes incredibly important,” said Sanborn. “We don't want to hold a secret sauce or limit everyone’s ability to drive efficiency in response to what is really a climate emergency.” Other AutoBEM partners include glass manufacturer Cardinal Glass Industries and Bentley Systems, an infrastructure engineering software company. Cardinal Glass, which supplies window manufacturers, is using the tool to understand the energy performance of various window types in different regions and climate scenarios when compared to other efficiency upgrades. Bentley Systems is researching how to leverage city-scale digital twins and building energy models to optimize building design and decarbonization. "The biggest surprise has been the amount of interest from companies and the array of data modeling or analysis they request,” New said. AutoBEM’s development, expansion and collaborations are funded by DOE’s Office of Electricity, the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Building Technologies Office and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The research team leveraged supercomputing resources from Argonne National Laboratory. UT-Battelle manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science
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Europe’s first 3D printed office extension is now complete in Austria
Europe’s first 3D printed office extension has opened in Hausleiten in Austria. The project is a result of a collaboration between the construction technology group STRABAG and the scaffolding and formwork manufacturer and 3D concrete printing pioneer PERI. The building is a 125 m2 office extension to an existing building in Hausleiten. "The building in Hausleiten is a milestone for STRABAG, for PERI, for all involved. And a milestone for the Austrian construction industry as a whole," said Thomas Imbacher, Member of the Board for Innovation & Marketing at PERI SE. "We are convinced that 3D printing of buildings will be part of the future of construction as this technology offers solutions for challenges that are currently occupying our industry: Digitalization, efficiency, shortage of skilled workers and much more." The extension building was printed with a BOD2, the best-selling 3D construction printer globally from COBOD. The maximum printing speed of the BOD2 3D construction printer at one meter per second is the fastest in the world, and consequently the shell construction in Hausleiten was completed in around 45 hours of pure printing time. In addition, 3D printing in general allows design freedom compared to classic concrete construction, such as architecturally appealing rounded shapes. This office building in Austria impresses with its unusual architectural form and the structures of the printed concrete are recognizable as a design element on the facade, which gives the building a special appearance in addition to the cloverleaf shape. Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Founder & General Manager of COBOD International, said: “We are proud to see more and more buildings being 3D printed with our BOD2 printer as a consequence of our leading position in the market”. He continued: “Our superior technology is documented by COBOD’s technology 3D printing multiple applications other than just low-rise residential buildings, such as windmill tower bases, concrete pipe supports, schools and now an office building. We firmly believe that 3D construction printing will revolutionize the construction industry due to its ability to automate and industrialize the construction process”. In 2018 PERI Group acquired a minority stake in COBOD. Since then, both companies have worked closely together to push the boundaries of 3D construction printing. With the printing project in Hausleiten, the PERI 3D printing team have now successfully completed six printing projects with COBOD’s 3D construction printers. These include the first 3D printed house in Germany, the first 3D printed multi-family house/apartment building in Europe and now the office extension in Hausleiten.
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Cementos Progreso spearheads use of COBOD’s 3D construction printers in Latin America to solve the housing deficit
Latin and South America has been relatively slow to pick up the emerging 3D construction printing technology that elsewhere has gained a lot of momentum, but that is destined to change now. Cementos Progreso is leading the way for 3D concrete printing in Latin America with the installation of the first COBOD International 3D construction printer in Guatemala. For more than a century, Cementos Progreso has been committed to the production of cement, concrete and other building materials and solutions in Guatemala. The company has been recognized for its high-quality standards and innovative approach. In 2021, Cementos Progreso decided to move a step further into 3D concrete printing and became COBOD’s first Latin American partner. The collaboration is a milestone that paves the way for the application of new construction technology in the region. Plinio Estuardo Herrera, Head of Concrete at Cementos Progreso said: “COBOD is the world leader in 3D construction printing solutions. We are confident that it is the best technology on the market. We have watched with our own eyes the buildings printed with the technology. That gives us certainty that Cementos Progreso has chosen a globally leading ally in implementing the technology in our country.” Cementos Progreso’s R&D team has been working for more than three years to research, develop and implement a 3D printable cementitious material and is leading the way in the application of 3D construction printing in Guatemala to reduce the housing deficit in the country and region. This week, Cementos Progreso confirmed its firm commitment to the 3D construction printing technology with the official opening of the new Center for Innovation and Development aimed at contributing to the development of the construction printing industry in Latin America. Emanuel Ovalle, Industrial Designer at Cementos Progreso said: “I am excited to be working with this exceptional 3D concrete printer from COBOD International for our innovation and research project in the region. We are excited about the possibilities that additive manufacturing opens and with this technology we can build new things and transform the reality in which we live.” Cementos Progreso is currently working with 3D modeling for urban and habitable projects that they plan to manufacture with the 3D construction printer from COBOD International. Philip Lund-Nielsen, Co-Founder & Head of Americas at COBOD International said: “At COBOD International we are proud to have Cementos Progreso among our partners. It is an innovative company which is leading the 3D construction printing industry in Latin America. With our technology, we are excited to see Cementos Progreso enable faster execution of construction projects, as well as more efficient construction at a lower cost”.
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North America’s first 3D printed 2-story building erected by nidus 3d in ontario, canada
While the US and Canada have seen several 3D printed buildings in recent years, until now all of these have been single-story buildings. Now Canadian 3D construction printing company, nidus3D, is proving, that there is much more to 3D construction printing, than just smaller one-story houses. The completion of the printing of this 2-story building in Ontario, marks the building as the first multi-story 3D printed building in North America. Nidus3D used the BOD2 printer from COBOD, the world’s leading company in 3D construction printing solutions, whose technology has already been proved in several countries and used to 3D print the first 2- and 3-story buildings in Europe. As another advantage of the COBOD 3D construction printer, the BOD2 can print with real concrete with a particle size up 10mm and 99% based on locally found raw materials. COBOD developed this low cost solution, which is called D.Fab in cooperation with the cement giant Cemex. The 2-story house is the second structure nidus3D built, the first being earlier this summer 2022. The building will have a studio on the ground floor and a residence above, and the area of the building will be 2,300 square feet of mixed-use space. One of the new innovative methods nidus3D developed in the project was a 3D printed horizontal beam printed on site and lifted into place by a crane. With the COBOD International 3D construction printing technology, nidus3D has set out to address the current housing gap in Canada. COBOD and nidus3D both believe this new way of building will be a game changer for the housing crisis. "We have critical shortfall of skilled laborers, and a massive and growing demand for housing all across Canada," said Ian Arthur, one of the nidus3D founders and continued: "So, if we do not begin to look at new ways of building, we’re never going to catch up. It is part of our core values, to seek solutions to address the housing crisis and to help build affordable housing with the help of 3D printing”. One of the many advantages of 3D concrete printed houses is that they can be built quickly. The complete building took only 80 hours to print, down from the 200 hours of the first building and nidus3D is convinced that future buildings will be made even faster. Philip Lund-Nielsen, Co-Founder & Head of Americas at COBOD International said: “Our technology and 3D construction printers enables faster execution of construction projects, as well as more efficient construction at lower cost due to the lower labor requirements and usage of low-cost concrete. COBOD’s 3D construction printers have been used all over the world, and while this two-story building in real concrete is a first and a great success for us in North America, the world-wide success of our technology proves the wide scale applicability of our technology.”
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Expert: Roads need to be ‘smart.’ Here’s why.
Constant construction on your vacation route, jarring potholes during the winter and bridge collapses will continue until roads are “smart enough” to better prevent their own damage, says a Purdue University civil engineer. This wouldn’t mean making roads look like the flashy, computerized highways you see in science fiction movies depicting the future. In fact, roads might look exactly the same. But the materials the roads are made of would have the ability to digitally communicate through technology embedded beneath the surface or repair themselves. “Our roads won’t get safer if we continue fixing potholes or building infrastructure as we have been building it. We need to think about how to incorporate a digital transformation,” says Luna Lu, a professor in Purdue’s Lyles School of Civil Engineering, who is an expert in innovating concrete to improve roads. Lu directs the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure at Purdue. She gives three reasons why roads need a digital facelift: 1. Roads that “talk” might cut down on construction – and traffic. Lu has developed sensors that can more accurately “tell” engineers when freshly paved concrete is ready to take on heavy traffic, reducing the likelihood of the concrete developing cracks and needing to be repaired again. Fewer repairs throughout the year would mean fewer traffic slowdowns due to construction. “We don’t need to completely rebuild existing infrastructure to make it smarter. Implementing sensors is low-hanging fruit,” Lu says. 2. Smarter roads could be better for the environment. The process of producing one ton of cement can generate up to one ton of carbon dioxide. Less road repair would reduce cement production. Lu and her collaborators are working on materials that would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide generated in the production of cement. Lu’s lab also is developing a way that concrete could heal its own cracks. 3. We’ll be using roads differently in the future. Population growth patterns change over time, affecting the flow of traffic. Electric and autonomous vehicles would also change the layout of roads and how they are used. “Infrastructure shapes us, and we shape infrastructure,” Lu says. “When a lot of our roads were first built in the U.S., we didn’t have tools that could collect data and inform decisions. Now we do have those tools. We need policies and regulation that are more adaptive to human needs.”
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DSI Columns® Feature A New System to Provide Maximum Wind Resistance for Homes in Coastal and SPA
Digger Specialties Inc. (DSI), a leading manufacturer of building materials offers an in-depth selection of beautiful, durable, and functional columns that provide upscale curb appeal to the porch, front entry, or exterior of residential homes or commercial properties. DSI Columns® offer quality craftsmanship, impeccable design, and integrated architectural elements to deliver an elegant, low-maintenance, and long-lasting column. Effective immediately, DSI is now offering Uplift Kits for most of its column designs which provide protection during high wind situations by reducing vertical movement of the column. Columns installed with Uplift Kits have been tested to an industry best 5,000 pounds of wind uplift resistance. These kits are appropriate in any geographic area are but are particularly effective in coastal areas or any locations subject to high winds. DSI columns are available in aluminum, composite, and fiberglass materials and a variety of aesthetic designs can be selected which include round, raised and recessed panels, and square and fluted columns depending on the material selected. Aluminum columns are available in 12 standard colors. These structural and non-structural columns from DSI provide numerous options for homeowners and builders. One of the major benefits of DSI Columns® is a significant labor savings compared to site built columns. All DSI Columns® products are designed for ease of installation. DSI Columns® can also serve the function of providing a wrap over existing wood or other supports for a classic and more beautiful, weather resistant, and durable upgrade. Larry G. Boyts, VP of Sales and Marketing for Digger Specialties, Inc., stated “DSI Columns® offer significant aesthetic and installation benefits unmatched in the marketplace. The comprehensive group of materials, styles, and designs are offered to provide a wide array of solutions to the property owner and builder. Uplift Kits add durability and capability to our company’s column product line”. DSI Columns® come with a lifetime limited warranty from DSI, a leading manufacturer of building products. For more information about DSI Columns® and their new optional Uplift Kits, visit http://dsicolumns.com/ DSI is an industry leading manufacturer of aluminum and vinyl railing, aluminum and vinyl fencing, gates, composite, aluminum, and fiberglass architectural columns and outdoor lighting. For information about DSI’s entire group of products visit diggerspecialties.com
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DSI’s Westbury Aluminum Railing is a Superior Choice for Decks and Porches
Digger Specialties Inc. (DSI) manufactures a variety of building products highlighted by its Westbury® brand of Aluminum Railing. DSI was founded in 1983 and has focused on the development of innovative building products. DSI’s entry into the aluminum railing business began in 2008. Today, the Westbury Aluminum Railing brand is the North American industry leader in the aluminum railing product category. Westbury® Aluminum Railing is the perfect railing system to enhance any deck or porch where wood, composite or PVC deck boards are used. Westbury® railing offers important advantages over other railing materials including durability, low maintenance and ease of installation and distinctive appearance. DSI’s proprietary 10 step powder coating process provides a long-lasting finish that is highly resistant to the elements. The Westbury® Aluminum Railing product line is the most extensive in the industry. Westbury VertiCable®, vertical cable railing and Veranda glass railing systems are designed to offer unobstructed views. Tuscany, Riviera, and Montego railing designs provide distinctive profiles for classic to contemporary elegance. For those who wish to have the benefits of aluminum railing but want screened in spaces, Screenrail presents another option. Westbury® railing systems are available in an industry leading 12 standard colors with the option to obtain custom colors through special order. Both smooth and textured surfaces are available. Westbury® Aluminum Railing is available at many lumberyards and home centers throughout the U.S. All Westbury railing systems are covered by DSI’s Aluminum Lifetime Limited Warranty. For more information about the wide array of designs and styles of Westbury® Aluminum Railing please visit westburyrailing.com
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Avvir Announces Enhanced Product Capabilities to Improve Construction Project Management and Analysis
Avvir, a reality analysis company providing a system of record for buildings to the construction industry, today announced the availability of enhanced product features to its Progress Quantification and Automatic Inspection offerings. In conjunction with these improvements, Avvir continues to create efficiencies for construction professionals as evidenced by the recent launch of its Onsite 3D scanning and photo capture services. Avvir Onsite provides enhanced findings that drive efficiency and reduce the risk of inaccuracies on construction sites through the free-flow of information. Through its new feature updates, Avvir’s Progress Quantification offering allows for the ability to use a project’s existing Work Breakdown Structure or Schedule of Values, providing the first-ever coherent and transparent link between finance and construction teams. Now, project managers can leverage the company’s enhanced offering to quantify construction progress or verify trades’ self-reported status on a line-by-line item basis. The company’s custom Work Breakdown Structures or Schedule of Values add to Avvir’s existing support for Uniformat and Masterformat. In addition, improvements to Avvir’s Automatic Inspection make it easier to find what installation errors require immediate action and act on them. “Avvir provides the richest breadth and depth of data, but knowing what to do with those insights is the key to preventing re-work, avoiding mistakes and protecting project schedules,” said Raffi Holzer, CEO and Co-founder of Avvir. “These improvements to Avvir’s offerings are ultimately driven by our desire to equip construction executives with the tools to extract data, and subsequently embolden them to make swift, confident decisions on where and how to act.” In January, the company introduced its Avvir Onsite service, which provides end-to-end reality capture and allows for the real-time extraction of data from the field for immediate analysis. Its capabilities are wide-reaching, from traditional stationary 3D LiDAR scanning, to 360-degree photo capture, to drone photography. By seamlessly integrating these real-time findings with a project’s building information model (BIM), Avvir can effectively identify any downstream effects from potential installation mistakes and better quantify construction progress and reporting. Beyond collecting project data, Avvir continues to bolster its contextual capabilities, which act as the bridge between the digital and physical worksites. The company has made improvements to its BIM interaction tools, allowing for larger model sizes while simultaneously offering more detailed viewing options, including minimaps and dynamic panels. When coupled holistically with Avvir’s suite of solutions, these updates provide contractors and managers the ability to toggle information and better orient themselves in the context of their own BIM in order to get an intimate and detailed view of the project at hand. Throughout 2022, Avvir will continue introducing much-needed tools to accelerate the development of new analyses and customizable features. A demonstrated focus on machine learning will increase prediction accuracy and decrease turnaround time to receive results. From an operational scope, the company is developing self-managed subcontractor permissions and a Do Not Track feature that will allow for added control of progress and cost tracking. In addition, Avvir is working to improve communications capabilities within its software in an effort to streamline remote coordination, assess imagery and data, and better collaborate on contextual analysis. For more information, please visit www.avvir.io
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Avvir Launches Onsite, Turn-Key Reality Capture Services for the Construction Industry
Avvir, a reality analysis company providing a system of record for buildings to the construction industry, today announced the launch of its newest service, Avvir Onsite. The offering provides end-to-end reality capture services for construction site managers across the country, and allows for the real-time extraction of data from the field for immediate analysis. Avvir’s new Onsite service offers construction managers a one-stop shop for reality capture needs, from traditional stationary 3D Lidar scanning, to 360° photo capture, to drone photography. Additionally, Avvir is one of the only providers of 3D mobile scanning services using the high accuracy NavVis VLX. Mobile lidar scans allow for quick capture of large areas of construction projects and provide significant cost savings and benefits for the project team. Currently, Avvir Onsite’s mobile scanning service is available in the northeast region of the U.S., with plans to expand nationwide later this year. “Avvir provides value to its customers by removing unnecessary barriers in the construction buildout process, and we do that by leveraging technology in a holistic and accessible way,” said Raffi Holzer, CEO and Co-founder of Avvir. “During our conversations with construction teams, we regularly heard that they would love to effectively harness 3D data and AI capabilities, but they didn’t have the means to scan their projects in the field. We realized this was a huge obstacle to fostering more intelligent, data-driven construction sites, so we set out to create a solution for it.” Avvir Onsite’s 3D scanning and photo capture services provide enhanced findings both as a standalone product and in conjunction with Avvir’s existing offerings. This free-flow of information drives efficiency and reduces the risk of inaccuracies on construction sites because of both the high quality and sheer volume of data made available. Construction teams understand the benefits of engaging with services like building information models (BIM) and database projects, though there is still an impediment when it comes to extracting and analyzing the data. Avvir’s suite of solutions integrates seamlessly with existing models and dashboards to get an intimate and complete view of the project at-hand and its nuances, acting as the bridge between the digital and physical worksites. For more information please visit avvir.io
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EarthCam 4D Brings Construction Digital Twins to Life
EarthCam, the leading provider of webcam technology and services, today introduced EarthCam 4D, empowering virtual design and construction (VDC) teams to overlay and synch live imagery with their digital twins. An intuitive time-line allows users to scroll backward and forward in time to view live imagery in relation to their 4D models. Built on the Bentley iTwin platform, EarthCam 4D augments Bentley Systems’ SYNCHRO 4D models with high-resolution photos from multiple cameras throughout the jobsite, overlaid in precise alignment. Viewers can zoom in and out, and the associated live images remain synched. Unique transparency/opacity and model color adjustments enable new and powerful ways to compare and contrast models with reality over time. “EarthCam 4D is a great and quick tool to help communicate project schedule with our customer, trade partners and public,” said Michal D Wojtak, Mortenson’s Integrated Construction Director for sports and entertainment. “The ability to easily compare current and future states of work is valuable to project leadership teams.” “We are delighted to collaborate with EarthCam, and their EarthCam 4D application, which allows for construction teams to monitor planned construction against actual progress. In addition, EarthCam’s solution integrates time-lapse imaging with interactive 3D models that are tied to the construction schedule data, adding tremendous value to clients,” said Sheena Gaynes, Director, Business Development, iTwin platform, at Bentley Systems. “In doing so, EarthCam joins the growing innovation ecosystem building digital twin applications on the Bentley iTwin platform.” “Digital twins are radically increasing productivity in construction,” said Brian Cury, CEO and Founder of EarthCam. “Thanks to Bentley iTwin, we’re able to merge the highest resolution imagery from our cameras to SYNCHRO 4D models, and build valuable applications to increase our clients ROI.” “The partnership between EarthCam and Bentley is bringing construction digital twins to life by simplifying the visual communication of project status to all stakeholders. Now anyone can compare what is happening on the jobsite to what was planned virtually within a simple web viewer powered by Bentley’s iTwin technology. By mixing 4D models from SYNCHRO with EarthCam’s reality models, all stakeholders on the project can quickly see the progress of the project, identify issues, and keep the project on time and on budget from anywhere,” said Rich Humphrey, VP, Construction, at Bentley Systems. EarthCam 4D is the first solution that fully synchronizes time-sequenced images to 4D planning models - stakeholders no longer need multiple software interfaces and different stored image sources to access this critical comparative information. According to FMI, 13% of working hours are spent looking for project data and information. Having real-time imagery synched with a SYNCHRO 4D model in a single interface provides immediate, real-time evidence of every steel beam placement, and every window installation against 4D models, simplifying project management for SYNCHRO users worldwide. EarthCam 4D will be premiered at Bentley MOMENTUM, the developer showcase for digital twin solutions on January 26th. EarthCam’s Control Center 8 has long been the software of choice among industry leaders for smart project documentation, promotion and security. EarthCam is driving productivity for a more visually informative jobsite, providing camera rentals, same-day delivery and professional installation. EarthCam works with industry leaders around the globe to make construction project management less costly and more efficient using powerful visual data. To learn more about EarthCam 4D and Control Center 8, visit earthcam.net/earthcam4d/
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IDTechEx Talk Smart Buildings: Another Frontier for the Digital Revolution
Take a look around your room. It is likely full of sophisticated digital technology: computers, smartphones, an internet-enabled TV, and even a smart speaker. However, the building itself has not really changed since the introduction of electrical wiring and central heating many decades ago. Smart buildings aim to bring digital technologies into the fabric of the building, rather than just to objects within it. They will utilize a wide range of emerging technologies, such as semi-transparent photovoltaics on windows, moisture sensors for leak detection, and printed heaters with wall panels. Combined with changes to building construction, such as greater use of prefabricated panels with integrated electronic functionality, incorporating technologies such as these promises smart buildings that facilitate predictive maintenance, are more energy-efficient, and are responsive to the needs of occupants. [Digital leak detection] Anyone that has had a water leak at home knows that it is extremely annoying and expensive, with walls, ceilings, and flooring all needing replacement. Furthermore, the affected area is out of action while everything is dried using extremely noisy fans and dehumidifiers. Clearly, a technology that reduces the likelihood and severity of leaks would bring clear benefits to home and business owners, along with insurance companies. Printed moisture sensors are a promising potential solution, which if integrated into walls and floors would be able to detect leaks at a very early stage and alert the owner of the building. One such approach, targeted primarily at bathrooms, has been developed by the Swedish company InviSense. A printed RFID antenna coil is coated with a moisture-absorbing material. The resonant frequency changes in response to moisture, which can then be detected by an RFID reader. While testing of leaks behind tiling can be performed non-destructively, it does not provide continuous feedback. An alternative approach to leak detection is being developed by UK company Laiier. It offers low-cost capacitive sensors, which are made from carbon-based inks and can be produced using conventional graphics printers. The thin-film sensor format enables them to be placed underneath appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, boilers, and pipes, or even under flooring or within walls. The sensors are connected to the cloud, and hence able to provide the property owner with an alert when an increase in moisture is detected, enabling repairs to be performed before a leak becomes significant. [Integrated heating, lighting, and wiring] Housebuilding techniques have not changed substantially in many years, with most houses still being constructed on-site using conventional building materials. Plumbing and electricity are installed during the construction process, requiring skilled manual labor during every build. While most cars have been produced on a production line with extensive automation for many years, houses are still essentially handcrafted. There is thus an excellent opportunity to simultaneously reduce construction costs and provide additional value to the building’s occupants by integrating functionality into building materials. Promising examples include incorporating electrical heaters into wall panels, thus removing the need for unsightly free-standing radiators. Electrical switches, wiring, lighting, and other sensor types could also be installed into wall panels prior to installation, reducing the need for individual fixings that increase costs and create visual clutter. Technologies for possible integration into smart buildings. Source: IDTechEx [Improved energy efficiency] Heating and powering homes more efficiently is crucial in meeting CO2 emission targets since at present around 30% of emissions in developed countries come from domestic households. While clearly greater adoption of established technologies such as thicker wall/roof insulation is important, there is also plenty of scope for emerging technologies to contribute. Photovoltaic solar panels, currently installed in around 3.5% of UK homes, are a continuing target for innovation. One emerging approach is the construction of tandem photovoltaic cells, which utilize an additional light-absorbing layer to harvest solar energy more effectively. Oxford PV are a leading player here, with its ‘perovskite-on-silicon’ tandem architecture demonstrating higher efficiencies (29.5% in a recent laboratory example). It is currently developing a production line to mass-produce these high-efficiency tandem cells. However, rigid roof-based solar panels are not a viable option for every building. Another alternative is semi-transparent solar cells, which can be applied to windows as thin films. Although less efficient, since clearly less light is absorbed, semi-transparent solar cells enable existing windows to be utilized for energy harvesting. A further development, currently in its early stages, is photochromic photovoltaics that would absorb a higher proportion of sunlight on sunny days. [Another frontier for the digital revolution] Buildings, both domestic and commercial, have been slow to benefit from the digital revolution thus far. There are many high-tech items within buildings, but generally speaking, little modern technology is integrated within the fabric of the buildings themselves. This is set to change over the coming years, with ‘smart buildings’ that enable predictive maintenance, efficient construction, and have sensing/heating/lighting/energy harvesting integrated into the building materials from the outset becoming increasingly common. [Your guide to emerging technologies] IDTechEx offers an extensive portfolio of technical market research reports covering many of the technologies required for smart buildings. These include printed/flexible sensors, smart city materials, electronics reshaped, perovskite photovoltaics, smart glass/windows, materials opportunities in emerging photovoltaics, and many more. All IDTechEx reports cover the current state and expected future developments, both in terms of technical capabilities and commercial adoption. Granular forecasts segmented by technology and application assist with planning future projects, while multiple company profiles based on primary interviews provide detailed insight into the major players. Also included in the reports are multiple application examples, SWOT analysis, and technological/commercial readiness assessments. Further details and downloadable sample pages for each report can be found on the IDTechEx website or by contacting us at Research@IDTechEx.com.
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Avvir Launches Avvir Accelerate to Support AI-Backed Planning in the Construction Industry
Avvir, a reality analysis company providing a system of record for buildings to the construction industry, today announced the launch of Avvir Accelerate. The new product is a software solution that offers planning and consulting services to help users at every stage of the project lifecycle, whether it’s from the early programming stage pre-RFP, the design development phase, or the pre-construction and construction phases. This service came to life because Avvir realized that gathering documentation, understanding design intent, federating trade-specific BIM models and translating that information into a comprehensive schedule and cost estimate is an uphill battle every project team faces. With Avvir Accelerate, customers get help streamlining their entire project with Avvir tools and best practices for finding, communicating, and acting on project information more efficiently, allowing them to gradually build up confidence and mastery to continue autonomously. In Q1 of this year, Avvir announced the close of its Series A fundraise. Since the raise, Avvir has utilized the funds to drive significant product upgrades and new capabilities, fundamentally enhancing the construction project management process. In addition to announcing Avvir Accelerate, the company launched several product upgrades aimed at creating a new level of analysis for the built world including; the addition of a 4D dashboard, updates to its robust 3D Viewer, and 4D/5D analysis that eliminates the need for weekly LiDAR scans. These product enhancements allow construction industry professionals to break down and effectively analyze a project’s progress and status through improved tracking and reporting capabilities, increasing accuracy, safety and timeliness for construction projects. “Our goal at Avvir is to create a turnkey solution for construction industry leaders that informs and supports the entire lifecycle of a project,” said Raffi Holzer, CEO and Co-founder of Avvir. “Everything that we accomplished this year is another step in that direction, allowing us to go far beyond providing only a point solution, and instead offer a full suite of tools needed to empower construction professionals with intelligent, data-driven job sites that enable them to reliably deliver on schedule, within budget and safely.” Without a unified data source to keep plans up-to-date and reflective of on-site activities, construction professionals can end up with an incomplete view of the project at hand, leading to mistakes, engineering flaws, and wasted resources. Avvir’s revolutionary platform enables complete knowledge of a project at any time by harnessing the power of reality capture data. Beta user Kevin Marren, Superintendent at AECOM, said, "I could move faster, giving updates to the project team on a weekly basis so they could proactively get ahead of predicted clashes that had to be addressed in the field." As 2021 comes to a close, Avvir is set to launch additional upgrades to its technology, including enhanced BIM integrations, updates to the user interface, and new machine learning progress analysis. These innovations are designed to provide automatic status updates across platforms and prioritize immediate tasks and actions. Looking ahead, Avvir will continue to augment its analytical technologies to increase prediction accuracy, decrease the time it takes to receive results, and accelerate the development of new analyses and features.
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Smart Cities: Paradise or Punishment?
In the last century, the sweeping architecture of the new cities Brasilia and Canberra was found to be soulless by those required to live there. Come the weekend, Brasilia emptied as those required to work there decamped to the fun of Rio de Janeiro. Nowadays many call the equivalents smart cities because the computer industry is putting sensors everywhere for people control. Makes them happy, right? The antidote is the new IDTechEx report, “Smart City Materials, Systems, Markets 2022-2042”. The 310-page report explains that it does not have to be that way. Commercially oriented and newly prepared by Ph.D. level IDTechEx analysts worldwide, it identifies gaps in the market, potential partners, lessons from success and failure, business cases. Raghu Das, chief executive of IDTechEx advises, “The massive new challenges of desertification, rising sea levels, starvation, increasingly violent weather, dysfunctional national governments and the accelerating move to cities can be tackled on a human scale. Priorities need to be entertainment, inclusiveness, safety, zero-emission and affordability from the independence of water, food and energy supply, new faster, inclusive forms of multipurpose transport and appropriate city location and layout.” Enablers include 100% electrification startling advances in multifunctional smart materials such as metamaterial cooling. Examples include 3D printed graphene concrete in new tunnels under London and solar bodywork of smart shuttles. Renaming a video doorbell as Internet of Things will not change the fate of mankind but a seawall against rising sea levels that is made of the new “everlasting” concrete and makes clean water and considerable electricity just might. Long-life beats recycling any day. Metamaterial reprogrammable intelligent surfaces may be more key to the success of 6G Communications than big data. Compact food production in cities replaces traditional farming with its problems of manpower, emissions, water pollution, space, cost, security, and transport. Understand the relevance of saline and vertical farming, solar greenhouses, xeriscaping, cultivated cellular meat, and milk. Aquaponics grows vegetables and fish together, agrivoltaics marries electricity and food production and bioswales prevent flooding, clean water, grow food. Biocrete architecture nourishes plants. Food production delightfully integrates into living space. Ironically, Disney EPCOT Florida is nearer to an ideal smart city than most of the dehumanized ones now being erected with massively wide streets, empty skyscrapers, no center, and no soul. The report compares many, finding another irony. Most of the really-impactful, imaginative approaches are not taking place in new cities but in London (graphene concrete tunnels, every new house must have an electric vehicle charger), Beijing (robot restaurants), and New York (East River tidal power without tidal barrage). Appealing newcomers are mostly tiny – like Toyota Woven City with its multipurpose robot shuttles – but could have lessons for the needed large new cities. Best practice is identified and new ideas are proposed in the report. The Executive Summary and Conclusions is sufficient for those in a hurry. Infograms interpret pollution, desertification, sea-level rise, responses including food, water, energy independence, resilience, conservation, zero-emission, electrification. Here are required smart materials, infrastructure, transport, multifunctional composites, ultra-high-performance concretes, new air taxis, robot shuttles, energy harvesting, off-grid city electricity, indoor food production. It summarizes supporting ICT, IOT, 6G, sensors, case studies, and best practice. 25 of its 57 dense pages are new roadmaps and forecasts, mostly 2022-2042. Chapter 2 is a smart cities appraisal – old, new, and planned – illustrated with new images and commentary, lessons of failure. Chapter 3 extensively covers reinvented concrete and smart materials for smart cities. Most attention is given to cement and its derivatives such as concrete, the most-used man-made material in cities because they are more of the problem (10% of global warming) and more of the solution (many routes to decarbonization, higher strength very long life means less needed and least carbon of all, 3D printed buildings and more). However, 10 of its 42 very detailed pages cover the emerging multi-mode roads, sidewalks, parking areas, and airport runways, new metamaterials, city cooling materials, and more with a key startup appraised. The 46 pages of Chapter 5 concern food independence for cities – why, where, how, when, best practice, making the required electricity where it is needed, and new ideas with many actual layouts and successes. It ends with four pages on the robotics for the trend to unmanned facilities. Water independence takes 12 pages as Chapter 6. Raghu Das of IDTechEx points out, “Cities may never practice independence in food production or even electricity and drinking water but resilience against the much tougher challenges ahead requires them to move towards independence as a capability. Even tiny Singapore now targets one-third of food made internally.” Many smart cities target layouts that require no more than 15 minutes to get from home to work or shops. However, we shall still want to get to the historic city center, the countryside, the next cities and attractions, and that is why Chapter 7 concerns new forms of zero-emission transport eliminating congestion and getting even the poor or disabled to get to precisely where they want as with robot shuttles on plazas paths and into buildings, Hyperloop at airline speed, vertical takeoff air taxis and more. What is doomed to fail? What is promising and when? Given their relative importance, the 43 pages cover mainly new city land and air travel but touching on marine. The report finds independence of electricity production, zero-emission, to be easier for most cities than the independence of food and water because so many technologies are now available for purchase with many more coming soon. Das explains, “A windy city may have very large wind turbines where one revolution charges a house for three days but the primary trend is making electricity where it is needed, notably with solar everywhere from windows to paths, walls, vehicles, and park benches. A new challenge arises from solar weak in winter so we cover energy storage delaying electricity supply up to seasonal.” The 56 pages of this chapter embrace options for cities from both batteries and non-battery storage. Learn mostly about generation from water, wind, and daylight in many new forms but also see the place of hydrogen. For more information on this report, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/SmartCities, or for the full portfolio of Smart Cities research available from IDTechEx please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research/SmartCities
