Ideate Sponsors Leap's 34th Annual Sandcastle Classic

As architects, engineers, and designers, we are thrilled to once again sponsor Leap’s Annual Sandcastle Classic. 

This fun and educational event challenges Bay Area architects, designers, contractors, engineers, companies, and elementary school students to work together. They design, model, and create larger than life and truly stunning sand sculptures – from alien beings, mermaids, and other mythical creatures to abstract structures and traditional sandcastles. Awards will be presented in several categories, including Best in Show, Best Participation of Students, Best Site Sign, Best Team T-Shirt, People’s Choice Award, and Top Fundraising Team.

In addition to presenting a great learning opportunity for adults and kids alike, the Sandcastle Classic raises money for Leap, a Bay Area organization that works to make art a fundamental part of every child’s education. Last year’s event raised more than $262,000, making it Northern California’s largest sandcastle competition. Leap used these funds to provide art experiences and learning to more than 6,000 students in 25 schools over the course of the past year.

Ideate first jumped on board as a sponsor in 2009 and hasn’t looked back. We are excited to be a part of a fundraiser that provides enormous benefit to our schools while introducing young people to the fields we are so passionate about.

This year’s event, which is free, will be held on October 15, 2016 from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Ocean Beach near the intersection of Balboa Street and the Great highway. In addition to sandcastles, attendees will enjoy raffles, food trucks, and with luck, beautiful San Francisco weather.

For more information about the event, including details on how to get involved, visit the Sandcastle Classic website.

Attention Bay Area Foodies – Five New Choices from Boor Bridges Architecture

We take great pride in our customers. While they’re planning, designing, building, and operating structures that enhance our communities, we’re providing BIM guidance, consulting, training, and support that help them complete their projects efficiently.

Today we celebrate our long-time customer Boor Bridges Architecture. Headquartered in San Francisco, Boor Bridges Architecture works on a diverse range of projects, including restaurants, community spaces, residences, and offices. They bring a sustainable perspective and proficiency in energy-efficient building systems to every project. Over the past several months, the company has completed five new eating establishments that foodies across the Bay Area will be excited to hear about:

• Sightglass Café offers San Francisco Museum of Modern Art visitors a tranquil space to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate with coffee and light bites.



• Mister Jiu’s is a destination restaurant serving high-end Chinese cuisine with a California accent in a restored historic space.

• Waxman’s is located in historic Ghirardelli Square. Its chef, Bay Area native Jonathan Waxman, was recently named Best Chef in New York by the James Beard Foundation.


• Little Gem is a casual destination that features a bar, shelves, and ledges made from a reclaimed American elm from Marin. The restaurant was added Michael Bauer’s Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants shortly after opening.


• Flatiron Wines & Spirits serves an amazing, extensive, and superbly curated collection of wines and spirits in two beautiful tasting rooms.



When you are in San Francisco, be sure to take in the sights – and tastes – of these five new establishments.

Congratulations to Our Long-Time Customer, Kava Massih Architects

We are proud to be associated with industry leaders, and our client Kava Massih Architects (KMA) is definitely a leader. KMA has received numerous awards, including The Pulse of the City News’ “Star Award;” Building Online’s “2014 Builder’s Choice Award for Affordable or Workforce Housing” for The Ambassador housing structure in Emeryville, California; and the AIA California Council’s title of “2014 Emerging Talent Firm.” And recently, KMA celebrated its 20-year anniversary!

“We are thrilled that KMA has reached this significant milestone,” said John Hlady, senior account manager, Ideate, Inc. “Ideate has been working with KMA since the early days, and we have seen how creativity, collaborative spirit, and commitment to sustainable processes have contributed to the firm's prominence in the community.”

In addition to receiving numerous awards, KMA has been featured in several articles, including “Bay Area Crane Watch: Bay Meadows and 4 other big projects changing the region's skyline” and “Kava Massih: An architect learning to let go, and when not to," San Francisco Business Times, 01-29-16 and 03-14-14 respectively. Additionally, several of KMA’s projects have been featured in photo tours in Healthcare Design Magazine.

J. Conner, KMA principal, said, “We turn to Ideate Inc. for advice with our Autodesk purchases. John Hlady knows the software inside and out, and he is deeply connected to the industry. He also stays current on our company vision, goals, and projects. With his depth of knowledge, he is able to help us make sound business decisions.”

Those sound decisions have earned the firm a reputation in the Bay Area as a driving force behind a wide range of innovative architectural designs with a solid capability of delivering on time and on budget.

Congratulations KMA! Here’s to many more decades of working together.

Ideate, Inc. Publishes Ideate Software Presents: Spotlight on Aperte Design

San Francisco, CA, 11/25/2014–Ideate, Inc., a multi-decade veteran Autodesk Developer Network member and Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller today announced the publication of its latest “Spotlight on” customer success profile featuring Aperte Design and its use of Ideate Software. Of specific focus is the firm’s use of Ideate BIMLink. 

Ideate Software is a set of far-reaching Building Information Modeling (BIM) data management tools that help the Revit community clean up models, delete problem items, analyze files quickly, improve speed and accuracy in data flow, increase collaboration and overcome repeated workflow interruptions. 

San Francisco, California-based Aperte Design, headed by Revit Specialist BIM consultant Nancy McClure, CSBA, LEED AP, works with multiple design teams to define workflow processes that leverage software tools to streamline tasks, which in turn allows teams to spend more time focusing on their designs. On projects ranging from government research labs to grand scale transit-oriented housing developments, McClure integrates Ideate BIMLink into many workflow processes, from early stage Programming through to documentation data management. 

McClure notes that with the help of Ideate BIMLink, she is shifting teams away from isolated design tasks to workflow methods that leverage data more globally. She explains, “Ideate BIMLink breaks down key category barriers in Revit, allowing project data to be broadly referenced without duplication and risk of error.” 

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc., says about the shift away from tedious, error-prone data entry toward higher value design tasks, “It is a source of great delight to know our Revit-based solutions are helping our customers continually improve and enhance their Revit workflows. “ 

Ideate has published “Ideate Software Presents: Spotlight on Aperte Design” online. Download the Customer Spotlight Success Study.

Ideate BIMLink carries a five star rating on the Autodesk Exchange Apps Store, and is available with a non-commercial free trial. For more information, call 888.662.7238, or contact sales@ideatesoftware.com.

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM). As an Autodesk solutions provider, Ideate has offered quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in California, Oregon and Washington, Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization. 

Ideate Software is a comprehensive set of far-reaching BIM data management tools. Ideate BIMLink powers the “I” in BIM, allowing users to pull data from an Autodesk Revit file into Microsoft Excel for fast and precise editing, and push the data back into Revit with equal ease. Ideate Explorer for Revit lets users search, filter, quantify and select to easily manage the 100,000+ elements in a Revit model. Both solutions help Autodesk Revit users solve problems in AEC workflows and help the Revit community leverage BIM to its fullest advantage.

Autodesk, Autodesk Revit and ATC are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Microsoft Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

This post was originally published on the Ideate Software Blog.

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Ideate, Inc. Tech Team Member Kate Ming Earns California Engineering License

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 01/21/2014 - Ideate, Inc., an Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller, today announced that Ideate AEC Application Specialist Kate Ming, having passed all required Professional Engineer (PE) and Civil exams, was awarded her Civil Engineering license through the California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and Geologists (BPELSG) on December 18, 2013. 

Kate Ming has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to joining Ideate in May of 2013, Ming was engaged in general civil design on large infrastructure projects for a multinational company. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. As a Civil 3D Autodesk Certified Professional Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and InfraWorks.

“We congratulate Kate on this achievement,” says Bob Palioca, President of Ideate, Inc. “Her continued professional growth only enhances the expertise she brings to the Ideate team and her ability to assist our customers as they implement fast-evolving BIM technologies to maximum advantage.”

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk solutions provider, offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting to AEC professionals. Established in 1992 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Ideate is recognized as a Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk's highest levels of authorization. Ideate, Inc. operates Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATC) in California, Oregon, and Washington. For more information visit www.ideateinc.com

Ideate, Inc. is also an Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and Ideate Software has specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM).