Excelize Directors Mr. Pratap Dhopte and Mrs. Sonali Dhopte visited the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition (Washington, D.C.) on 17th May in the US.The Theme of the convention was Design Connects meaning Design has the power to inform and connect our lives in many ways. From the first step in understanding a project’s scope to the last step in making the project a viable reality, the practice of architecture is about making connections that help build a better future. During their tour, they met a couple of existing and new clients. Excelize is now looking forward to some very innovative and competitive projects to begin in the US in a couple of months.

ASHWIN MAHALINGAM

Assistant Professor (BSB 225, Building Technology and Construction Management Division. Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India)

I am quite impressed with the use of BIM for clash detection, 4D and potential generation of BOQ items. Everyone I met is convinced that BIM has really helped turn this project around, and should be used in the future, particularly for clash detection. I also like how 4D is being used for progress reporting.In addition, I have suggested that the 4D also be used for project forecasting – e.g. a picture of what the project will look like in a week should be discussed in the weekly meetings and can be printed out by each organization to act as a target that they should look at achieving. In addition, 4D can be used for construction optimization (e.g. re-sequencing, etc), which is not being done currently.