Welcome to the buildingSMART International Newsletter for September 2020. This edition covers some important news from around the community including the exciting announcement that Early Bird tickets are available for the buildingSMART Virtual Summit.

There is also an update from the Awards Program 2020, with an announcement of all the finalists.  Each session has been scheduled as part of the virtual summit and a single ticket gets you access to the whole program.

There is also news covering on-demand webinars, invitations to join our partner events and new content available for the community.

The buildingSMART Virtual Summit 2020

buildingSMART International will host its second Virtual Summit in October and November 2020. This event will start on the 26th October 2020 and will conclude on the 6th November.

Early Bird tickets are now on sale for a limited time only. Early Bird registration will close on the 6th October 2020. Hurry, don't miss out!

Use the code: EARLYBIRD when you get to the checkout or take advantage of some of the price bundles.

The event includes opening plenary, partners and program plenary, the awards program 2020 finalist presentations and ceremony, Rooms sessions and more!

A single ticket covers the full event. That's right, 10 days of content for one single purchase. Join in with the fastest growing BIM community and see what exciting things are happening in buildingSMART!

For more information, visit the site below.

The Awards Program Finalists for 2020 are Announced

buildingSMART International is delighted to announce the full list of finalists for the Awards Program 2020. With 20 finalists, this years program is bigger than ever. Each finalist will present during the Virtual Summit and registrants can view the finalists during the event.

This year the categories were focused on:

• Project Delivery
• Operations
• Research
• Technology

The Awards ceremony will take place on the evening of the 29th October once all finalist presentations are complete and the jury has decided on the winner for each category.  There are also special mention winners so be sure to not miss out on this exciting event!

Sponsor the Virtual Summit

There are still some Silver and Bronze sponsorship packages avbailable for the upcoming summit. Sponsor the event and get:

• A virtual booth for 10 days
• Brand exposure
• Personalised email to the full audience
• A live webinar scheduled within the program
• Free tickets
• And more!

On-demand Webinar Available

Bentley Systems, bSI multinational member delivered a webinar on the 16th September 2020. This webinar is now available on-demand. This webinar titled "Digital Feedback Loops: How to Track Integrated Engineering Change in AEC Projects Without the Heavy Lift" was delivered by Pavan Emani – Vice President of iTwin Software Development at Bentley Systems.

Bart Brink Appointed Leader of the Digital Twins Working Group

buildingSMART International has appointed Bart Brink, Global Director, Digital Twin at Royal HaskoningDHV as the leader of the buildingSMART Digital Twins Working Group (DTWG). Bart will lead the important initiative and work on supporting the buildingSMART programs.  Read the press release below.

buildingSMART International Welcomes UAE as a New Chapter in Development

buildingSMART is a Supporting Partner to Bentley's YII Conference

For the second year in a row, buildingSMART International is a supporting partner to Bentley's Year in Infrastructure Conference which is Going Digital for the first time ever in 2020. Register today for a complimentary access to a grand digital experience. Register below.

ODA Announces IFC 4.3 RC1 Support

Open Design Alliance (ODA), the leading provider of CAD and BIM interoperability solutions, announced today the release of IFC 4.3 RC1 support in the ODA IFC SDK (Software Development Kit). ODA IFC SDK is a complete solution for professional IFC development that is widely used within the BIM industry. IFC 4.3 RC1 is the latest candidate release of IFC, published by buildingSMART® International (bSI) in April 2020.

Interview: Aidan Mercer and Richard Kelly speak to Teknisk Ukeblad Media AS

Aidan Mercer and Richard Kelly, both of bSI discussed the role of open standards in accelerating BIM for infrastructure. This article explores why buildingSMART enables the full value of digital data to deliver more value. This article is in Norwgeian but there is a translation option. 

Blog: InfraBIM Open 2021 Lyon

You are invited to the 4th edition of InfraBIM Open (IBO) taking place for the first time in France. This event will focus on the progress and benefits of the digital transformation in the built asset industry paying particular attention to infrastructure domains and assets. Read more...

Call for Participation

The Regulatory Room has a call for papers in multiple languages. The Regulatory Room of buildingSMART International is currently working on a new survey to better understand the role of openBIM in the regulatory process. Infrastructure and building domains are heavily dependant on on compliance requirements and approval processes that are often time-consuming and complex.

Call for Papers

There is a call for papers from the Product Room Steering Committee. The team is currently working on a new positioning to generate maximum value for the community and the other bSI Rooms. 

IFC Bridge- New Webpage Available

IFC Bridge became an official project in buildingSMART in October 2016 following the MoU supported by the Infrastructure Room. The project was initiated following the IFC alignment work and harmonization opportunity presented by the IFC 4 release. The project team also recognized the importance of gaining support from software vendors, addressing missing property sets and the scope for overall extensions.  Learn more below.

IFC Road- New Webpage Available

IFC Road has been a significant project for buildingSMART since it began. It has gone through a variety of changes and has evolved significantly, aiming to find alignment, harmonization and cross-collaboration with other Rooms.

The team has also aimed to deliver the final standard in-line with the IFC infrastructure Deployment project, extending the schema to be fit for purpose for road infrastructure. 

buildingSMART Turns 25

Happy Birthday, buildingSMART International! After demonstrating the first version of Industry foundation classes (IFC) in May 1995, the founders began international membership in September 1995 when it became a public organisation. The 'Industry Alliance for Interoperability' later became 'International Alliance for Interoperability' and is now called 'buildingSMART International'. A lot has happened in 25 years. Today, a lot is going on with an exciting outlook, including the new Technical Roadmap highlighting the many great things on the horizon!