Registration Now Open for SmartGeometry 2010 Conference Taking Place March 23-24 in Barcelona

EXTON, Pa., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for the infrastructure that sustains our world, today announced that registration is now open for the SmartGeometry 2010 Conference -- the premier event focused on innovative design tools, technologies, and methodologies that allow and encourage new forms of architectural and structural expression. The conference takes place March 23-24, 2010, in Barcelona, Spain, and carries the theme "Working Prototypes." All those who register for the conference by Feb. 19 will receive -- upon its release next fall -- a complimentary copy of the book SmartGeometry: The Evolution of Computational Design and Practice, which is being published by Bentley Institute Press. To register, visit www.SmartGeometryConference.com/2010.

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The SmartGeometry 2010 Conference opens with a dynamic and interactive "shop talk" day, during which tutors and participants in the SmartGeometry 2010 Workshop companion event present and discuss their advanced design work of the previous four days. The hands-on workshop, being held March 19-22 at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), enables architectural and engineering professionals and students to explore innovative designs and realized digital fabrication using GenerativeComponents -- Bentley's generative design software. The second day of the conference includes an enlightening symposium featuring presentations by preeminent authorities on the theory and practice of computational and parametric design approaches.

Commenting on this year's conference agenda, Hugh Whitehead, partner and head of Specialist Modeling Group, Foster + Partners, and a SmartGeometry Group director, said, "The focus of the SmartGeometry 2010 Conference shifts from experimentation to new design agendas based on the production of working prototypes. The fabrication lab at IAAC provides the ideal venue for designers who wish to become digital craftsmen. Workshop attendees will test the integration potential of Bentley's generative design software to its limits -- or perhaps beyond."

Added Lars Hesselgren, research director, PLP Architecture, and a SmartGeometry Group director, "The architecture of the 21st century will be defined by digital systems, just as surely as 20th century architecture was defined by the notions of repetition and standardization. One of the most important drivers will be the nature of digital manufacturing, which today is only beginning to be seen in rapid prototyping."

Hesselgren continued, "This year's SmartGeometry Conference explores the freedom implicit in the development of manufacturing as a creator of digital realities. This results in manufacturing reality becoming just another output, revolutionizing the nature of architecture."

The SmartGeometry 2010 Conference includes:

• "Shop Talk" Day, March 23 - Provides an opportunity for informal discussions among leading practitioners and emerging talent in digital design about the results of the SmartGeometry 2010 Workshop.
• "Symposium" Day, March 24 - Brings together expertise in the digital manufacturing area. Among the many renowned speakers will be Adrian Bowyer, senior lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath; Mark Burry, director of the Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; Enrico Dini, chairman of D-shape; and Rupert Soar, director of Freeform Engineering Ltd.
• Reception, March 24 - Ends the conference with a social gathering celebrating the innovation, creativity, and leadership of the generative design community.

For additional information about the SmartGeometry 2010 Conference, to register, and to learn about the workshop application process and format, visit www.SmartGeometryConference.com/2010.

About SmartGeometry: The Evolution of Computational Design and Practice

SmartGeometry: The Evolution of Computational Design and Practice is a thought-provoking exploration of computational design that will include contributions by architectural, civil engineering, industrial, and other design professionals from around the world. The book will highlight innovative examples of advanced 3D design approaches being employed in architectural and engineering practices, as well as in research and educational environments.

About the SmartGeometry Group

The SmartGeometry Group is firmly committed to the belief that computer-aided design should lend itself to capturing, expressing, and enriching the geometric relationships that form the foundation of architecture. The group is dedicated to educating the construction professions in the new skills required to effectively use advanced design systems such as GenerativeComponents. The directors of the SmartGeometry Group include Lars Hesselgren of PLP Architecture, Hugh Whitehead of Foster + Partners, and J Parrish of ArupSport. For additional information, visit www.SmartGeometry.org.

About GenerativeComponents

GenerativeComponents enables architects and engineers to pursue designs and achieve results that were virtually unthinkable before. Empowered by computational methods, the designers can direct their creativity to deliver inspired, sustainable, better-performing buildings that are freer in form and use innovative materials and assemblies. GenerativeComponents facilitates this by allowing the quick exploration of a broad range of "what-if" alternatives for even the most complex buildings.

Among the leading architects and engineers around the world already taking advantage of this unique generative design software are Arup, Buro Happold SMART, Foster + Partners, Grimshaw, Henning Larsen Architects, HOK, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Morphosis, SHoP Architects, Snohetta, and UNStudio. For additional information about GenerativeComponents, visit www.bentley.com/gc.

About Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Bentley is the global leader dedicated to providing architects, engineers, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. Founded in 1984, Bentley has more than 2,700 colleagues and offices in more than 45 countries, achieved in 2008 the milestone of $500 million in revenues, and, since 1995, has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.

For additional information about Bentley, visit www.bentley.com. To subscribe to an RSS feed of Bentley press releases and news alerts, visit www.bentley.com/rss/news. To view a searchable collection of innovative infrastructure projects from the annual Be Inspired Awards, visit www.bentley.com/yearininfrastructure. For information about Be Communities, a professional networking site that enables members of the infrastructure community to connect, communicate, and learn from each other, visit http://communities.bentley.com/.

Bentley, the "B" Bentley logo, Be, and GenerativeComponents are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Bentley Systems, Incorporated