Congratulations to TLCD Architecture!

Sincere congratulations to our friends at TLCD Architecture!

The North Bay Business Journal announced the winners of the 2010 Top Project Awards and TLCD Architecture had two winning projects. The McCarthy Library at Napa Valley College was selected in the Education category, and the Kaiser Permanente Hospital Expansion in Santa Rosa was selected in the Medical category.

Click here to check out the TLCD TODAY blog and read more.

We're pleased to work with the pros at TLCD Architecture.

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Get AutoCAD® for Mac® software with up to $400 in savings for Subscription customers

The wait is over. And the savings are big. AutoCAD® for Mac® is here, and for a limited time Autodesk® Subscription customers can save $400 on a new seat of this highly anticipated software.

Together at last: Best-in-class 3D design tools from AutoCAD and the simplicity of Mac.

Now, you can shape the world around you, explore ideas and share data seamlessly — while working in a native Mac environment. From Multi-Touch™ for simple pan and zoom to graphical browsing of files with Cover Flow®, you'll quickly feel right at home with AutoCAD for Mac — which means you can get to work fast.

Contact sales@ideateinc.com today and experience the power of AutoCAD on the platform you love.

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eLearning – Upcoming Revit Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning - live 90-minute online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education.

Upcoming classes include:

11.2	Revit: Site Tools
11.9	Revit Architecture: Family Editor Basic
11.16	Autodesk Network License Manager

Each class is only $99 and is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Are you an Ideate Premium Support customer? You qualify to register for many of our eLearning courses FREE as part of your contract!

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Chuck Mies/Autodesk: BIM and the Application to the Building Lifecycle (11.2 Portland, 11.3 Seattle)

I am really excited that Chuck Mies, Autodesk BIM Solutions Executive will be joining Ideate at our offices in Portland and Seattle next week, November 2 and 3. Chuck is a guy who understands clearly how to provide targeted business solutions in the AEC space. Chuck understands business drivers and how design technology can solve business problems.

- David Haynes, Ideate Director of Services

BIM and the Application to the Building Lifecycle: overview of BIM, proceeding into some specific recommendations and observations from other owners on their use of the technology.

• What is BIM, an overview for the owner to understand lifecycle benefits.
• The effect of process interoperability issues through design and construction and the impact on owners, and how BIM can be used to address these issues.
• The BIM-Based lifecycle strategies that are emerging from large owners.
• The position of the industry to support these initiatives.
• The benefit of developing deliverable standards.
• The use of documents like the AIA E202 and other examples to do so.

Who Should Attend: Contractors and architects seeking ways to win business by differentiating themselves from the competition, offering insight to building owners on the gains to be realized with BIM. Building owners who need to learn why BIM is important and how it will improve business.

• November 2, Portland Oregon
  
• November 3, Seattle Washington

Complete BIM event details and registration link.

Autodesk Seeking Mobile AutoCAD Users in the Bay Area for Paid Research Study

The Autodesk User Research team and is conducting a series of in-person research visits to learn about people who need access to AutoCAD or AutoCAD drawings when away from their primary workstation. The details are below…

Who they are looking for: People in the San Francisco Bay Area who do a significant percentage of work away from their primary workstation (e.g. at client meetings or job sites), and need to access or work on AutoCAD drawings when away.

What's in it for you: You will be compensated with a $150 VISA gift card for participating in the Autodesk study.

What it involves:

· Two Autodesk researchers will visit you at your main workspace or remote working location (e.g. construction work site)
· The session will take about 90 minutes
· There will be a 30 minute homework assignment that needs to be completed prior to the session
· The session will be video recorded

Dates: November 1st - 12th, 2010. Autodesk will arrange a convenient time depending on your schedule.

How to Sign Up: If you are interested in participating, please complete the following brief survey (should take less than 5 minutes) and Autodesk will get in touch if you fit the study criteria: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TF2KDN8

If you know of others who might be interested, feel free to forward the survey link to them.

Need more info? Contact Eunice Chang, User Researcher at Autodesk, 415.547.2303, eunice.chang@autodesk.com

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AGC Webcast: Laser Scanning, BIM and Machine Control - 11.3.10

Sign up now for this free AGC webcast on 3D model-based construction automation on heavy roads and highways projects, designed to help you improve productivity, deliver roads and highway projects more effectively and efficiently, and more easily implement 3D model-based processes in your heavy construction workflow.

Construction Automation: Laser Scanning, BIM and Machine Control
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
10:00am Pacific Time

In this webcast, Autodesk will present technologies and processes that can help you better run your project.

With all of the recent advances in laser scanning, machine control, and building information modeling, it's no longer a question of whether surveyors, civil engineers and contractors are going to adopt these new, more efficient—and more profitable—ways of completing heavy highway and land development construction projects. It's only a question of when.

Register for this FREE educational webcast now.

The Best of the Best Revit BIM Resources - by William Spier

Check out William Spier's great post today on the blog Family Jewels - Creating Quality BIM Content.

He's put together a list of Revit MEP resources he's stumbled over in his last 3+ years with Autodesk: The Best of the Best Revit BIM Resources out there. His list includes links to Autodesk blogs, AIA whitepapers and more!




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2011: What AutoCAD features are not available in AutoCAD for Mac?

Familiar with AutoCAD 2011 (for Windows) and want to know which features are not available in the first release of AutoCAD 2011 for Mac?

Check this update from AutoCAD for Mac Services & Support for a comprehensive list, plus a survey link to provide input on priorities.



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Webcast: 10.26 – How Building Information Modeling Solutions Transform Sustainable Design

Register now! Learn how BIM is empowering design professionals to more effectively implement sustainable design for greater building energy efficiency.

This hour-long webcast will discuss how architects, designers, engineers, contractors and building owners are using BIM solutions to improve predictability around building performance and costs for new and existing commercial buildings. Through a series of real-world examples, you will learn the benefits of BIM for:

Rapid energy modeling of existing buildings

Visualizing, simulating, and analyzing a project digitally

Helping building owners reach goals for sustainability and energy efficiency for new and existing building projects.

Reserve your seat now to attend on Tuesday, October 26. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the webinar.

Video - Updating the Revit Architecture Toposurface with an AutoCAD Civil 3D Site Design

Collaborating across Autodesk Revit and AutoCAD Civil 3D platforms? Check out this great Autodesk video. The upload to Google Earth feature is particularly compelling.

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Ideate BIMLink - It Slices, It Dices, It Spellchecks

Kudos to our friend Ishtmeet Singh at GBJ Architecture who suggested we try Ideate BIMLink to spell-check our projects. Sometimes it's the simplest things that are the most useful. I'm embarrassed to say that I did not realize Autodesk Revit Spell Check only works on a per sheet basis. Thanks to Ishtmeet for the great idea. I'm happy to report that Ideate BIMLink handles text like a charm. Being able to utilize my Microsoft Office dictionary on all my Autodesk Revit text is VERY useful. What about handing the full list of text off to your spec writer?? This video shows using Microsoft Excel to catch spelling errors and other great Microsoft Excel text editing tools like changing the case from Sentence Case to Upper Case.



- Glynnis Patterson, Ideate Director of Services
www.ideatebimlink.com

Push. Pull. Power.

eLearning – Upcoming Revit Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning - live 90-minute online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education.

Upcoming classes include:

10.28	Revit: Worksharing Best Practices
11.2	Revit: Site Tools
11.9	Revit Architecture: Family Editor Basic
11.16	Autodesk Network License Manager

Each class is only $99 and is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Are you an Ideate Premium Support customer? You qualify to register for many of our eLearning courses FREE as part of your contract!

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Learn About Bluebeam Q - November 9 Webinar

PDF is rapidly eclipsing paper as the most universally used form of captured content.

Bluebeam has just released Bluebeam Q - the enterprise solution for creating high quality PDFs in a centrally managed environment by automating the production of PDFs from original source files. Bluebeam Q is installed on a server and powers PDF processing and publishing through 4 different options: Network PDF Printer, Watched Folders, Script Engine and API (Application Programming Interface).

Watch the Bluebeam Q overview video here

Download a free 30-day trial of Bluebeam Q here

With Bluebeam Q, you can:

• increase productivity
  
• gain cost savings on printing, shipping and storage
  
• speed communication
  
• have easy archiving integrated with your existing document management system

Learn more about how Q can streamline your workflow by attending a webinar, hosted by Bluebeam, on Tuesday, November 9, 2010. Register here now – space is limited.

In addition to all that Q can do, it is impressively affordable. Contact Tim.Teigen@ideateinc.com with any questions about Q or Bluebeam’s other PDF solutions.

Job Opportunity: AEC Intern (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)

Do you love technology and helping people? If so, Ideate might have a part-time or full-time position that is just right for you! We're looking for an AEC Intern in the San Francisco Bay Area (Financial District.)

Requirements

• Functional knowledge of AutoCAD
  
• Education in Autodesk Revit desirable
  
• Understanding or desire to learn about 3D printing
  
• Good technical communication skills - both written and verbal
  
• A solution-based approach to solving customer requirements
  
• Outstanding problem solving skills with a “get it done” attitude and strong self-motivational attributes
  
• The aptitude and patience to provide over-the-phone technical support
  
• High standards for yourself, Ideate products, and Ideate services
  
• The desire to learn and thrive in a team atmosphere
  
• Minimum of a three-month commitment

Responsibilities

• Process incoming (via web, email, and phone) support issues
  
• Ensuring that data entry into customer relation management software (CRM) is as detailed as possible so that it may be quickly addressed by technical staff as required
  
• Assist with 3D print shop duties
  
• Resolves AutoCAD calls either directly or indirectly (via Knowledge Base)

Visit the Ideate careers page at http://www.ideateinc.com/about/careers/index.html or click here for hours, compensation and additional details.

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Ideate BIMLink - You Asked For It

Well, Ben just squeezed in one last new feature before our new Revit tool, Ideate BIMLink, gets locked down.

The ability to generate "Unplaced Rooms" from an Excel-based Space Program was a top-rated request by many of our customers. I think this video says it all - nice job Ben! We hope you'll find this latest feature useful AND easy to use. The video demonstrates a small program (100 rooms). For larger programs you can choose to import into Autodesk Revit all at once or in logical chunks to keep the list of unplaced rooms to a manageable size. One of the benefits of this process would be to confirm that all programmed rooms are "placed" while checking your Target Area against the actual Area helps you stay on track with your clients.



Let us know what you think!

Push. Pull. Power.

eLearning with the Ideate Tech Experts - Upcoming Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning - live 90-minute online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. Each class is only $99 and is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Upcoming classes include:

10/19	Revit: Rapid Detailing
10/28	Revit: Worksharing Best Practices
11/2	Revit: Site Tools
11/9	Revit Architecture: Family Editor Basic
11/16	Autodesk Network License Manager

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Are you an Ideate Premium Support customer? You qualify to register for many of our eLearning courses FREE as part of your contract!

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New McGraw Hill Construction Green BIM Smart Market Report

Autodesk recently participated as the premier corporate sponsor for the Green BIM Smart Market Report. Key findings from the report demonstrate:

• Green building sector will drive adoption of BIM - 7 out of 10 respondents report medium to high green project involvement.
  
• Opportunities in Green Retrofit - 88% of non-green BIM users believe they will use it for retrofit projects during next two years.
  
• Energy Performance Monitoring - Owners have low awareness of the benefits of BIM.
  
• Energy Performance Simulation - Green BIM users are simulating energy performance, including lighting/daylighting, whole building analysis, and energy code compliance.

Learn more about Green BIM opportunities from these various resources:

• Guide to Sustainable Design
  
• Success Stories: DesignGroup, ARBA Studios
  
• Conceptual Energy Analysis video
  
• Rapid Energy Modeling information
  
• Green Retrofit Smart Market report

Ready to get hands-on? Join Ideate for our Green BIM Basics course.

Hands-on exercises demonstrate how to utilize BIM along with other design and analysis tools such as Autodesk Green Building Studio and 3ds Max Design to maximize efficiency, functionality and most importantly, beauty. The focus will initially be on preparing simple models for analysis, modifying and saving multiple design iterations and reports in Green Building Studio.

Click here for details and upcoming class dates.

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Ideate Explorer for Revit - Use Cases

We thought we'd share a couple of recent Q&A about Ideate Explorer for Revit, the Revit tool which gives you an easy, intuitive way to search, quantify & select elements in your Revit model

Q: I need to confirm that all of the Revision numbers have been referenced within my Revit Project. Can Ideate Explorer help me determine this?
A: The Ideate Explorer for Revit 2011 tool can list all instances of Revision Clouds and Revision Tags. By using the "View:Instance List" it is possible to quickly determine whether or not each Revision number has been used.

Q: I keep having problems with deleting a block of text. It kept coming back. Finally I realized that there were 16 copies of that same block of text. It wasn't that the text kept coming back, I was just removing the duplicates, one after the next. I know that people have written code for AutoCAD to delete duplicate items. Any such animal for Revit?
A: We use the Ideate Explorer for Revit add-on to hunt and eliminate multiple copies of many types of entities, including text. You can search for key words to identify the text and then select all within Explorer for deletion within Revit.

Do you have questions about how Ideate Explorer for Revit can manage your Revit models? Contact us at sales@ideateinc.com.

Search. Filter. Finish.

Ideate BIMLink - Share MEP Data

Push. Pull. Power.

We've wrapped up our beta testing period for Ideate BIMLink and are pushing towards the finish line. Our developer Ben Bishoff has his nose to the grindstone catching bugs and trying to incorporate all the great feedback we've had so far.

As promised, here's another short video that demonstrates how Ideate BIMLink can be used. In this example, information about the diffusers is being shared externally with an engineer who doesn't have Revit. After reviewing and modifying the Specified Airflow values within Excel, this data is then pushed back into Revit via Ideate BIMLink.



Let us know what you think!

Best Regards,

Glynnis Patterson, Architect, Director - Services Development


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East Bay Revit User Group: Mission Critical – Navisworks for Architects

Mission Critical – Navisworks for Architects
Navisworks has long been a tool within the construction space, but Navisworks has tremendous benefits for Architects. This benefit is increased when Architects are part of a Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) team. The lecture will provide insights on tools and workflow processes that have been used by architectural firms to decrease headaches, increase communication, and dramatically reduce those construction request for information (RFI). Navisworks is a multi-faceted tool and the lecture will provide information on how Architects can leverage this tool for their greatest benefit.

Who Should Attend
This User Group is intended for Architects and Engineers who have heard about Navisworks and believe that it is for Contractors. As Integrated Project Delivery increases as an industry best practice, Navisworks is a key technology.

About the Moderator
David Haynes, AIA, LEED AP, Ideate Director of AEC Services, is a Registered Architect and a LEED accredited professional who previously had his own practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer, educator and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently develops and implements targeted AEC business solutions – including Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, AutoCAD Architecture, and Navisworks – for clients across the United States involved in the design and building process.

DATE/LOCATION
Monday, 10.18.10
AIA East Bay
1405 Clay Street
Oakland, CA 94612

**Please note that this month’s meeting will be on Monday, not Tuesday.**

TIME
11:30am to noon: networking + lunch. Lunch provided by Ideate, Inc.
Noon to 1:30pm: presentation

REGISTER ONLINE
**Registration required. We’ll have your seat reserved and lunch ready.**

For details Email Moe Kress or call 888.662.7238 x4151

SPONSORED BY Ideate, Inc. and AIA East Bay

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Ideate BIMLink - Launch Scheduled for December 2010

Wow, we're so glad that our sneak peeks about the Ideate BIMLink got picked up online & in the blogosphere. What a great response from everyone!

We're working toward the launch of our newest Revit tool in December, 2010. We'll plan to continue showing you some key features here on our Ideate Solutions blog, and will let you know when the spiffy new Ideate BIMLink website, videos, trial link and more are ready in early December. Want to be added to our Ideate BIMLink mailing list? Just complete this brief survey and provide your contact info. (And, qualify to win a free copy of Ideate BIMLink!)

Until then, be sure to learn all about Ideate Explorer for Revit – shipping today…another great tool for Revit users!

Get It (soon, we promise!) Know It. Use It.

Free Event - Redlining is Not Enough: Q/A Your RVT (Portland, San Francisco)

Redlining is Not Enough: Q/A Your RVT
Your Building Information Model contains so much more than the graphic representation of your ideas. It contains powerful data that now, or in the very near future, will be used by estimators, contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, building owners and facility managers. This is certainly part of the promise of “IPD” and with the release of AIA E202 this reality is approaching sooner than we think.

Please join us for an open discussion on the tools and recommended strategies for providing a higher level of Q/A. Moderator Glynnis Patterson will present information on using both the Autodesk Model Checker and the Ideate Explorer for Revit to automate Q/A throughout your project’s duration. Your job is to come prepared with information on other tools and strategies to share in our discussion. Hope to see you there.

Quality Assurance is more than just redlining, are you ready?

Who Should Attend
BIM Managers, Principals and anyone vested in improving the quality of Building Information Models.

About the Presenter
Glynnis Patterson, N.C.A.R.B., Ideate Director of Services is a Registered Architect and has worked within the BIM industry since 1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has worked as an architect, educator and construction site manager. Glynnis is currently the Director of Development Services at Ideate, Inc. and continues to work with AEC clients across the nation, developing, and implementing best practices solutions. In her spare time Glynnis is a member of the Morristown Environmental Commission and builds Lego projects.

IDEATE PRESENTS: PORTLAND, OREGON

DATE/LOCATION
10.12.10
Ideate Office Fox Tower
805 SW Broadway, Suite 2280
Portland, Oregon 97205

TIME
11:30am to noon: networking + lunch
Noon to 1:30pm: presentation
REGISTER ONLINE
**Registration required. We’ll have your seat reserved and lunch ready.**

For more information Email Tony DiVincenzo or call 888.662.7238 x6880

SAN FRANCISCO REVIT USER GROUP

DATE/LOCATION
10.13.10
AIA SAN FRANCISCO
130 Sutter Street, Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94104

TIME
11:30am to noon: networking + lunch
Noon to 1:30pm: presentation
REGISTER ONLINE
**Registration required. We’ll have your seat reserved and lunch ready.**

For details Email Moe Kressor call 888.662.7238 x4151

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First Look at Ideate BIMLink

Last week Glynnis Patterson, N.C.A.R.B., our Director of Services shared some insights gathered during recent focus groups for our in-development Ideate BIMLink - a tool designed to export Revit data to Excel where it can be easily modified, then pushed back into Revit. 

Here’s a partial list of the "Use Cases" for BIMLink developed during our Focus Groups:

• Export your Specialty Equipment of Door Parameters so that a non-Revit user can fill out the data using Excel
• Push calculated data, like occupancy loads, into your tags, with greater ease. Check out this short video to see what we mean.

• Clean up your templates by reviewing all parameter values (Type name and Type Mark for example) even while no instances exist. This one surprised me a little but when you're talking about pre-defining Type Marks, for the first time, it is amazing how painful it can be to edit each type manually within Revit...
• Gather data on hard to find fields like: Wall Orientation or Unconnected Wall Height

Thanks again to all the great firms who gave us their time and valuable input. Over the next few weeks we'll be sharing more videos of these solutions. Drop us a note to let us know what you think! bimlink@ideateinc.com

Where can you find out more about this exciting new Revit tool? Keep watching the Ideate Solutions blog for features and videos. And, we'll post the Ideate BIMLink website address here, along with a trial link, when we're ready to raise the curtain.

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