What BILT Europe is packing under the kilt this year!

Corny and clickbaity headlines aside; the program for BILT Europe 2019 is anything but. With the program now released; let me guide you through a long-awaited peek under the hood of what’s in store for you in Edinburgh come October 10 when we dedicate close to 9,000 minutes of classes to the digital built environment over three days (yup, we got 9 classes running simultaneously).

Because our environmental impact matters

It is no secret that the construction industry is a massive contributor to global waste and a deteriorating climate. It is also no secret that digitalization and BIM is the guiding star that the world economic forum is looking for as the most positively impactful thing to happen to the built environment. And with these words it’s also no longer a secret that we have classes dedicated to sustainability. In fact, long-time speaker Connor Shaw is picking up the mantle from last years UN Climate Summit COP24 in Katowice to lead a discussion on how we link the summit debates to our industry. We’ll also have Pedro Santiago run a double lab on Sustainable Building Design in Graphisoft. You’ll also get the opportunity to learn why and how steel structures can be reused in Ricardo Pimentel’s class. Reuse is also a core ingredient in the circular economy, so when Maarten van den Berg wanted to kickstart that discussion we were happy to make space for a class dedicated to managing the exchange of materials. In the end, environmental impact can be boiled down to proper life cycle assessments, a topic Martin Röck will dive into on the third day, where you’ll also find Giacomo Bergozoni teach how BIM can support the LEED certification process.

The future will be computationally designed

So how are we going to build a better future? Visual programming has been a massive influence and contributor in recent years; and now we begin to see computational design being picked up at an unprecedented rate. The ability to quickly generate a mind-blowing amount of solutions to a design challenge is one thing. The capability to just as easily select the right solution that delivers an optimal result – now that is a gamechanger. We are diving into this headstrong with numerous classes dedicated to the field of computational design and analysis this year. Be it Dieter Vermuelens ‘Generative Design for AEC’ that will focus on Autodesk’s Project Refinery; which is followed up by a double lab by Refinery mastermind Matt Jezyk. You can also start your BILT Europe experience by jumping right into Nuno Gaspars ‘Gridshell form finding using computational tools’ or take a broader perspective later that day with Peter Dragovic’s ‘Infrastructure…Computational Design…Revit..MEP…is it possible?’ (we’re certainly eager to hear the answer). We close the day with Adam Sheather’s ‘Machine Learning: Getting Started with AEC data’ in our LAB environment. And the classes mentioned here is just a peek of what’s in store – enough to say, if you’re looking to educate on computational design; BILT Europe 2019 has you covered.

Seeing is believing (and fun)

Addressing a more sustainable future is one thing. We also need to be able to envision it (and at this point we don’t know if we should be glad that Smell-o-Vision™ did not mature since the 1960’s), so for now Augmented, Mixed and Virtual reality and visualizations will have to do. There are numerous platforms of choice for the connoisseurs out there. If you want to get into Unreal, Dan Chasteen and David Sewell have got you covered with an opening lab session – and if you want to move into mixed reality space Johan Haanegraf will blend that with some nifty simulations. Writing of mixed reality, we’ll also be sure to cover what’s new around HoloLens.

Content is (still) king

Very close to my heart is making all Building Content Summit classes available to all BILT attendees. This special two-day stream features some of the best and most exciting ideas when it comes to content. The first day will focus on perspectives ranging from data management and content use in ENGIE, one of the world’s most influential corporations within energy services. This is followed up by Christopher Shafer showing how HDR manages content in a multi-disciplinary firm – and followed up by Adam Krug from Wavin sharing their perspectives from a manufacturers point of view. On the second day we dive deep into content practices, kicking off with IFC legend, Jon Mirtschin discussing why object libraries are not more common, followed by a deep dive by Vincent Bleyenheuft from CADatWork into how you can unleash the potential in Revit families through Mathematics before closing with a very special double session (be sure to bring your own device) from Desiree and Brian Mackey ‘From our Family to Yours’ where they’ll be sharing their vast knowledge and tips on creating world-class content.

That ain’t all folks

We’ve got loads more in store for you. With the full program available here

For senior participants BILT serves as a great opportunity to simply stay connected with what is going on out there, what the technologies, trends, business realities are.

For all our students and in-betweens – BILT Academy rocks big time, that is where you find senior BILT participants like the author of these lines more than happily sharing with you. And if that is just the latest trick of how to get some model that originated in software xyz to render beautifully in software zxy. Happy to share.

And that is BILT for you. I am very excited, and I am even more excited to see you all at the event in Edinburgh.

Registration Opens on Wednesday, 10 April so make sure you get cracking!