Proceedings—UIA/PlanCom 2002 Berlin UIA, part 2—Autodesk in Wonderland UIA, part 3—Graphisoft: 20/20 Vision UIA, part 4—Nemetschek: Another Chip in the Wall LaiserinLetterLetters™ Laiserin's Lemma™—Achtung, Baby! Today's Top-Level Take-Away: Save these Dates > January 29, 2003—Technological Innovation in Design and Construction 2003, The British Institute of Architectural Technologists, London, UK. > February 12-15, 2003—IT and Communication Trade Fair for the Construction Sector, Build-IT Berlin, Berlin, Germany. > April 3-5, 2003— Advanced Computing and Information Technology in the AEC Industry, International Society for Computing In Civil and Building Engineering, Taipei, Taiwan. > April 16-19, 2003—Architecture and Information Technologies, European Center for Architecture and Information Technologies, Prague, Czech Republic. > April 28-30, 2003—Digital Decade, Collaborative World, Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures, Taipei, Taiwan. > August 11-14, 2003—Building Simulation 2003, International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA), Eindhoven, Netherlands. JL Proceedings—UIA/PlanCom 2002 Berlin Mixing ten thousand architects from a hundred countries sounds like a sure-fire recipe for ideological controversy, but everyone seemed tranquilized by the shared experience of black turtlenecks and geometric haircuts. Away from the conference center's grand global debates about urbanism and the environment, the nether reaches of the adjoining Berlin Messe, or exhibition center, echoed with the hum of disk drives and the clacking of keyboards. The Welt Weit Web, among other technological wonders, is alive and well in the wide world of AEC. More... UIA, part 2—Autodesk in Wonderland In a July 22 press release, the company announced "that it will present its technology vision for the global building industry" in a July 24 talk by Phillip G. Bernstein, vice president of the Building Industry Division. Even though I'd missed an entire night's sleep during the 18-hour portal-to-portal trek from New York via Frankfurt, I went directly to Phil's venue upon arrival in Berlin. Now, Phil is a great speaker, and delivered an engaging presentation to a packed auditorium, but the specifics of the "technology vision" may surprise you. More... UIA, part 3—Graphisoft: 20/20 Vision Let's see: a plenary keynote by Chairman Gabor Bojar (right before the French Minister of Culture and Communication); the formal announcement and unveiling of ArchiCAD8.0; and a corporate twentieth anniversary celebration that was a highlight of the entire week. Don't these folks have any news? More... UIA, part 4—Nemetschek: Another Chip in the Wall Always pushing the edge of technological innovation, Nemetschek AG opted for an understated display of its AllPlan FT, PlanDesignFT, and other (soft)wares, giving pride of place in their stand to the digitally enabled InteracTable and InterWall—part of an emerging trend to project digital information into the work environment and integrate user feedback into the digital workflow. More... LaiserinLetterLetters™ An occasional sampling of reader electron-mail, or "keep those waves and particles pouring in, folks!" More... Laiserin's Lemma™—Achtung, Baby! Seen from the perspective of a New Yorker writing from the "East" portion of this formerly divided city of Berlin, the American debate over the future disposition of the World Trade Center site takes on an almost surreal character. Here, where the urban fabric was systematically mutilated (over four decades) out of ideological spite, construction cranes sweep the horizon, as if every load they carry will help sweep away the cultural and political traumata of the past. Perhaps there's a lesson unter den linden. More...