Grimshaw, SHoP, Zaha Hadid, and Other Leading Organizations to Speak at SmartGeometry 2008 in Munich

Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced that registration is
now open for SmartGeometry 2008, an eight-day, four-event program on
the latest developments in computational and parametric design for
infrastructure. These much-anticipated events, sponsored by Bentley
and hosted by the SmartGeometry Group, run Feb. 27 through March 5 in
Munich, Germany. The premier event - the Conference and Reception on
March 5 - will feature a full day of sessions, open to all attendees,
led by renowned experts on advanced 3D design. The other events
include the GenerativeComponents Pre-Workshop Training Class, the
SmartGeometry Workshops, and the SmartGeometry Alumni Summit.

"SmartGeometry 2008 will focus on innovative design tools,
technologies, and methodologies that allow and encourage new forms of
architectural and structural expression - forms that are radically
changing the world of the built environment," said J Parrish,
director, SmartGeometry Group, who is also a director at ArupSport.

The speakers at SmartGeometry 2008 will include some of the
world´s preeminent authorities on the theory and practice of advanced
3D design applications such as generative design. Among them will be
the SmartGeometry directors and their teams from Kohn Pedersen Fox
Associates, Foster + Partners, and Arup; Patrik Schumacher of Zaha
Hadid Architects; Brett Steele from the Architectural Association
School of Architecture; Professor Helmut Pottmann from Vienna
University of Technology; Professor Grossman from Bollinger + Grohmann
Ingenieure; as well as representatives from Schlaich Bergermann und
Partner, Herzog & de Meuron, Grimshaw Architects, SHoP Architects PC,
Gramazio & Kohler, Aedas, and others. Their insights will provide
attendees with a broader understanding of innovative and enabling
technologies and methodologies that are currently changing modern
architectural and structural practice.

Speaker presentations will address new issues arising from
generative technology and the underlying architectural goals. The main
session topics will include:

-- Form as Art - digital tools allow a new aesthetic

-- Form as Craft - digital manufacturing is opening up new
avenues of expression

-- Form as Computation - computational tools, such as
optimization and simulation, are increasingly important

-- Form as Negotiation - the digital era introduces emergent
strategies that promote collaboration and participation

The schedule of events for SmartGeometry 2008 is as follows:

-- GenerativeComponents Pre-Workshop Training Class, Feb. 27-28,
ArabellaSheraton Grand Hotel Munich - In these sessions
participants will learn about, or improve their skills in the
use of, GenerativeComponents - Bentley´s new generative design
software.

-- SmartGeometry 2008 Workshops, Feb. 29-March 3,
ArabellaSheraton Grand Hotel - The workshops will provide four
days of highly rewarding hands-on work with tutors drawn from
the design and research communities. These leading
practitioners and educators will work with participants to
explore their advanced design objectives. The session projects
will be drawn from the hundreds of innovative and challenging
design ideas submitted by prospective workshop participants.

-- SmartGeometry 2008 Alumni Summit, March 4, ArabellaSheraton
Grand Hotel - The first-ever SmartGeometry Alumni Summit will
enable attendees to see what participants in past
SmartGeometry conferences are currently achieving in practice.
Its full-day agenda will offer attendees a unique opportunity
to learn about best practices and innovative applications of
these advanced technology approaches, as well as to network
with their peers. The event is open to all workshop and
conference attendees.

-- SmartGeometry 2008 Conference (at BMW Welt) and Reception (at
Deutsches Museum), March 5 - This crowning event of
SmartGeometry 2008 features a full day of presentations and
discussions dedicated to advances in computational and
parametric design. Inspiring sessions will highlight the
results from this year´s workshops and then move on to the
latest developments in innovative design tools, technologies,
and methodologies - as presented by industry experts and
directors of the SmartGeometry Group. The SmartGeometry
Conference and Reception is open to all who share an interest
in the theory and practice of generative design.

The site for this year´s SmartGeometry Conference - BMW Welt - is
a paragon of high-performing design, making it an ideal venue for this
program. The BMW Welt event and delivery center in Munich was designed
by Professor Wolf D. Prix and the Viennese architecture firm COOP
HIMMELB(L)AU. The building´s fascinating architecture features a
distinctive Double Cone, floating cloud roof, free sight lines, and
visual interaction between the various areas within BMW Welt and with
the building´s immediate surroundings. The transparent glass facades
permit views of the landscape of the Olympiapark from inside the
building. The Four Cylinders building, headquarters of the BMW Group,
is honored with a special wedge cut out of the roof shape, through
which the entire high-rise can be viewed from within BMW Welt.

To get a feel for the events at SmartGeometry 2008, you can review
all of the presentations from SmartGeometry 2007 at
www.SmartGeometry2007.com. For complete details on SmartGeometry 2008
and to register, visit www.SmartGeometry2008.com.

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 Kohn Pederson Fox
Associates, Hugh Whitehead of Foster + Partners, and J Parrish of
ArupSport. For more 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 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.

This unique generative design software captures and exploits the
critical relationships between design intent and geometry. Designs can
be refined by either dynamically modeling and directly manipulating
geometry, by applying rules and capturing relationships among building
elements, or by defining complex building forms and systems through
concisely expressed algorithms.

To inform decisions, GenerativeComponents is integrated with
building information modeling, analysis, and simulation software,
providing feedback on building materials, assemblies, systems
performance, and environmental conditions. This integration also
ensures that intent becomes reality by enabling designs to accurately
and efficiently flow through to detailed production and fabrication.

GenerativeComponents is already enabling leading architects and
engineers around the world to deliver inspired sustainable buildings.
Among them are Arup, Buro Happold, Foster + Partners, Grimshaw
Architects, HOK, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Morphosis, and SHoP
Architects.

For more information about GenerativeComponents and the
forthcoming GenerativeComponents Discovery Subscription program, visit
www.bentley.com/gc.

About Bentley

Bentley Systems, Incorporated provides software for the lifecycle
of the world´s infrastructure. The company´s comprehensive portfolio
for the building, plant, civil, and geospatial verticals spans
architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and operations. With
revenues now surpassing $400 million annually, and more than 2,400
colleagues globally, Bentley is the leading provider of AEC software
to the Engineering News-Record Top Design Firms and major
owner-operators, and was named the world´s No. 2 provider of
GIS/geospatial software solutions in a Daratech research study.

To receive Bentley press releases as they are issued, visit
www.bentley.com/bentleywire. For more information, visit
www.bentley.com. To view a copy of Bentley´s April 2007 Annual Report
online, go to www.bentley.com/April2007annualreport.

Bentley, the "B" Bentley logo, 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. All other brands and product names are trademarks of
their respective owners.