Learn about climate change in this Google Earth introductory tour narrated by Al Gore, the first in a series of Google Earth tours leading up to the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December. For more climate change tours, visit http://www.google.com/cop15
In order to understand more about what the human impact of high-end climate change might be, and, therefore, what would happen if a successful agreement can not be reached at Copenhagen, the the climate research team at the United Kingdom’s Met Office Hadley Centre has produced a map outlining some of the impacts that may occur if the global average temperature rises by 4 °C (7 °F) above the pre-industrial climate average.
The Subscription Advantage Pack is available for the Revit 2010 products. Go to the Subscription Center or within your product to download them if you are a subscription customer.
Some of the highlights are:
- Additional shortcut commands
- A UI to control the shortcuts (hooray) no more text file editing
- Model lines to Detail lines and back
- Wood Wall Framing tool
- The recently aquired technology from REALVIZ called Image modeler will now be included so you can create point cloud data from images and export this to DWG and import this into Revit (Autodesk discontinues stand-alone ImageModeler sales as of November 2)
- Revit DBlink
- Link file improvements
- Revit Structure features will now be included to in Revit Architecture (like curved beams and trusses)
Also, watch these videos on the Subscription Advantage Pack for more information about the in product and extensions that are included in the Subscription Advantage Pack.
New product functionality:
Additional extensions:
The U.S. Department of Energy has released updated versions of its popular EnergyPlus simulation software for modeling heating, cooling, lighting, ventilating, and other building energy flows, as well as its OpenStudio plug-in for Google’s SketchUp program.
Available for Windows, Linux, and Macintosh operating systems, EnergyPlus 4.0 also includes two new application guides: “Energy Management System Application Guide” and “Using EnergyPlus for Compliance.”
The total number of downloads indicates the popularity of EnergyPlus’ software:
- 22,000 downloads in 2008
- Over 11,000 downloads since the previous version was released in April 2009
- 100,000 downloads since the program was first released in April 2001
Version 4.0 has many new features as well as updated and extended capabilities throughout the existing building envelope, day-lighting, and equipment and systems portions of the program.
Key new features include:
- Energy management system Large horizontal openings added to Natural Ventilation
- Walk-in refrigeration and refrigeration secondary loop
- Evaporative fluid cooler
There is no charge to install and use EnergyPlus. Download EnergyPlus 4.0. The next version is scheduled for release in April 2010.
Key new features in OpenStudio include updates for EnergyPlus 4.0, improved parsing and caching of input and output files, support for HVAC templates, and SQLite output option. As with EnergyPlus, there is no charge to install and use this plug-in. Download OpenStudio.
EnergyPlus is a resource of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program. This stand-alone simulation software is just a part of DOE’s mission to help reach energy efficiency and renewable energy goals for the construction industry. For more information, visit the Building Technologies Program Web site.
This ongoing seminar series is sponsored by the Professional Practice Committee of the AIA Orange County, and facilitated by Digital Vision Automation. The podcasts contain compelling presentations and lively panel discussion by the top BIM movers and shakers in southern California, who have been doing BIM for a long time.
Session 1, held on November 13th, 2008 on how BIM is used during design.
Michael Hricak, FAIA speaks on the topic of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), the Team Approach to Successful Projects. Michael is the founder and Principal of Michael Hricak and Associates in Venice, CA. He served as a member of the national AIA Board of Directors from 2001 to 2004.
Duane McLeod, AIA will discuss coordination with Consultants in 3D during Schematic Design and Design Development. Duane is the Executive Director of Architecture for the Environmental Design and Engineering Division of Walt Disney Imagineering.
Alan Burks, AIA will discuss how to Master the BIM workflow, from Schematic Design to Construction Documents. Alan is the founder and Principal of Environ Architecture in Long Beach. In 1992 he led his firm’s transition to BIM in 1998 and hasn’t looked back since.
Session 2, held on December 4th, 2008 on how to transition to BIM and how BIM is used during initial project planning.
Chuck Good-Man, AIA speaks on how to lead the change in transitioning to a BIM culture within your firm and the pitfalls to avoid. Chuck is the Director of Architecture at Irwin Pancake Architects in Costa Mesa, CA and he led his firm’s total transition to BIM in less than 1 1/2 years.
Kimon Onuma, FAIA, Principal of Onuma Inc. will discuss the following topics: BIM in Programming and Master Planning, the advantages to online virtual charretting, how to start a BIM project with a spreadsheet, how to integrate a BIM architectural model with Google Earth and GIS, and the importance of energy analysis during Schematic Design.
To find out more on this podcast series visit: www.digitalvis.com/podcast
This experimental Revit Add-In was updated after the Revit 2010 Web Update 2 did not support the previous version.
With the Soar Radiation Technology Preview Add-In for Revit Architecture and MEP you can analyze the effects of solar radiation on various surfaces of your conceptual building model. It is Ecotect technology that works directly from within Revit.
“A high-tech building covered on all sides with solar cells has won an international contest for the best home powered only by the sun.
Team Germany, which also won in 2007, took first place in the Solar Decathlon, beating out teams from Illinois and California.
At a ceremony Friday in Washington, D.C., the Department of Energy announced the winners of the competition, in which student teams designed and built solar homes on the National Mall. For the past week, the homes have been scored on architecture, market viability, and a number of objective measures, such as how much hot water the house can generate.
On the final day, Germany beat out its rivals by getting the highest score in the net metering contest, or the amount of excess electricity the home produced.”
Find out more about this fascinating competition and see more photos, videos and you can even download construciotn drawings and projects manuals on the wide range of approaches at the Solar Decathlon website ..
Via Green Tech ..
“AIA Seattle’s partners in the AIA+2030 Professional Series, the Integrated Design Lab and Better Bricks, are offering an education series this fall (and again next spring) to provide a deeper level of understanding about the key topic of climate analysis.
This course will focus on the practice of climate analysis for the purposes of designing more sustainable buildings and cities that respond to local site and weather conditions to reduce their use of energy while optimizing occupant comfort.
We will define what is meant by climate, examine its constituent variables, identify sources of data, and discover and evaluate tools and techniques to display, analyze, and interpret these conditions in a useful way. The interpretation of local climate conditions will specifically focus on graphic tools and techniques to understand key climate variables. These techniques will include the use of free and commercially available software packages, but importantly will include the use of manual digital techniques such as Excel or other data management programs that allow the user the greatest flexibility in interpreting results.
While much of the class will focus on the analysis of climatic data specific to individual building projects, the course will also begin to examine issues beyond the limits of the building envelope: microclimatic interactions between buildings, their landscape settings, and the local site specific weather conditions; and the role that changing climate conditions might play for the future of a more sustainable architecture.”
Recognizing the need and opportunity to improve sustainable building practices, Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, in collaboration with the City of Helsinki, has launched a sustainable development design competition. The goal was to attract and identify the best team to design a large building complex on a reclaimed harbour at the western edge of Helsinkis central business district. Taking carbon emissions as a cross-cutting metric, competition teams developed new indicators of sustainable development, design strategies for transitioning low carbon development to no carbon development, and a vision that simplifies complex ideas to activate stakeholders. Low2No is an ongoing, multiphase project for which the competition was a first step. The scheme you see in the video (c_life) by Arup, Sauerbruch + Hutton and Experientia was selected as the winning entry.
With the selection of a winning team the competition is moving from ideas to implementation. This next phase includes not only design development of the architectural and strategic solution, but also many activities targeted at raising the level of awareness and sophistication of Finland’s national sustainability discussion.
