Vico Software Inc. provides 5D Virtual Construction™ software and services to the building construction industry. Building owners, general contractors and construction managers use Vico's software to reduce risk, manage costs and optimize schedules on large, complex building projects. Vico's integrated solutions, first released in 2005, pioneered the 5D category. The benefits of our solutions and services have been proven with more than 300 customers and 200 completed building projects to date.

• BIM protocol aids integrated project delivery
  The American Institute of Architects has produced new contract documents, including its "Building Information Modeling Protocol Exhibit" aimed at making it easier for project managers to define a BIM plan for integrated project delivery. "One of the great benefits is that it lays out for the various parties involved what their individual responsibilities are in developing the model," says Bradley Milton, a principal with RDG Planning & Design. "It's a relatively simple way to commit that to paper." Architectural Record/Engineering News Record (free registration) (10/23)
• Museum's design incorporates features of an ecosystem
  See-through curving walls, an indoor coral reef, and a green roof with seven hills make up the California Academy of Sciences. Renzo Piano's $488 million design for the building works to bring the world's ecosystem to life. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (10/22)
• 3-D stadium models keep project team on same game plan
  Building-information modeling is a powerful tool because it allows builders to detect issues with aesthetics, estimate materials and make speedy updates to such large projects as stadiums and arenas. However, another important aspect of BIM is how it allows sharing of information among various segments of a construction team -- from designer to contractor. GoStructural.com (7/31)
• Kaiser Permanente rethinks hospital design in battle against infection
  Kaiser Permanente is among a number of California hospitals using new design principles to improve patient care. Standards developed by the American Institute of Architects include single-patient rooms and better ventilation systems to curb the spread of airborne pathogens. Los Angeles Times (7/28)
• BIM is unique for its information potential
  Building information modeling is more than just 3-D visualization, experts say. The technology's "information" component offers a database platform for shared knowledge about a facility. "As architects are starting to adopt BIM, the trade contractors are following. They're realizing that they may have to invest a lot more time and money up front to create a more intelligent drawing through a 3-D model, but it's going to save them a lot of time in the field with rework and rerouting," says Paul Hedgepath, BIM senior engineer, Holder Construction. Buildings magazine (7/2008)
• Vico creates comprehensive virtual construction software
  Vico Software's Virtual Construction Suite 2008 is among the most comprehensive virtual construction products currently on the market, writes Jerry Laiserin in Cadalyst. He notes that the software "goes significantly beyond ArchiCAD to include all of the structural and mechanical-electrical-plumbing engineering disciplines and objects necessary to fully describe any building for construction purposes." Cadalyst (7/2008)