News Alert


Program Engages Teams of Architecture and Engineering Students in the Planning and Design of Sustainable University Campus of Tomorrow That Helps Resolve Inner-City Challenges

BEIJING – 27 April 2010 – The Center for International Business Ethics (CIBE) in Beijing China, the Dynamic City Foundation, and Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for the infrastructure that sustains our world, today announced the inaugural Future Cities China design competition for students studying architecture and engineering in institutions of higher education. The program encourages the students to use their design skills, along with Bentley’s software for infrastructure, to provide a master plan for the sustainable university campus of tomorrow. This campus will be the cornerstone of the modern “green” Chinese city and help address the many challenges associated with complex, inner-city environments. Through their participation in Future Cities China, the students will gain hands-on experience in the use of world-class design and simulation applications and best practices to enhance their technical skills and knowledge and better prepare them for careers in the infrastructure professions. The winning teams also will be awarded internships at Bentley Systems. The deadline for student registration and project submissions is 30 June, but early registration is encouraged.

“Future Cities China provides tremendous opportunities for not only the talented and imaginative architectural and engineering students who participate in the competition, but also for China’s rapidly expanding cities,” said Dr. Liu Baocheng, director of CIBE in Beijing. “The students will gain valuable knowledge and build confidence in their capabilities, which will serve them well in their pursuit of careers as infrastructure professionals. China’s cities will benefit from the creative master plans developed and presented by these very bright young people to further improve and sustain our country’s urban infrastructure. We wish the best of luck to each of the student teams.”

The multidiscipline teams will consist of up to three students, plus a professor or infrastructure professional who serves as mentor. Each team is required to submit a proposed conceptual master plan for the sustainable university campus with the following elements:
•        A logistic concept for the public space of the Future Cities campus, including its connections to the surroundings and a basic understanding of the landscape;
•        A general massing study for the school’s architectural program;
•        A 380-word essay that describes the proposal’s core concept, how the campus relates to the surrounding area and infrastructure, and how the proposal is sustainable.

“There isn’t a higher priority, nor is there a more complicated challenge for Future Cities China to embrace, than sustainability,” said Dr. Baocheng. “The scale and speed at which China’s cities have developed over the past two decades have produced an urban complexity far beyond the traditional scope of the design and planning disciplines. This is exactly what architects, engineers, and city planning students will confront as they begin the competition, which is designed to engage our future designers and engineers to formulate an effective model for sustainable planning.”

The university campus the students are being asked to plan and design must cultivate an integrated or holistic approach to urban issues. The project site, Shuang Hua Yuan, is an underdeveloped plot in the heart of Beijing. It is disconnected from the city by large arteries, yet accessible by public transportation. The heavy infrastructural lines increase the complexity of the site, dividing it into four plots, typical of post-industrial cities in China. Alternatively, the site offers an open and green area on the edge of the central business district.

The students’ designs will be judged by an independent panel of distinguished jurors, who initially will select 10 teams to join a three-day design forum, 24-26 August 2010. At this forum, the students will further develop their proposals with the support of specialists in the field. The winning team, which will be announced at a time and place still to be determined, will receive an all-expense-paid, one-month internship at the U.S. headquarters of Bentley Systems, in Exton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The second- and third-place teams will receive a one-month internship at a Bentley office in China.

Dr. Jean-Baptiste Monnier, senior vice president, Bentley Asia-Pacific, said, “Our experience sponsoring the National Engineers Week Future City Competition in the United States and launching, with the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, the Future Cities India 2020 competition in 2006, has enabled Bentley to expand this unique and important educational program to other regions.”

Dr. Monnier continued, “This contest will give competing students an opportunity to collaborate on a singular goal, enhance their technical knowledge and skill set, and showcase their accomplishments and capabilities before their peers and top architecture and engineering organizations in China. At the same time, it will provide them with experiences they will never forget, including opportunities to meet with government dignitaries, business leaders, and members of the media.”

A group of finalists in this year’s National Engineers Week Future City Competition were invited by the White House to meet U.S. President Barack Obama and to speak with astronauts orbiting the Earth. At the Future Cities India awards ceremony, Shri. Kapil Sibal, the Honorable Union Minister for Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, spoke to and personally congratulated the winning team.

About the Center for International Business Ethics

The Center for International Business Ethics is a research and training organization that aims to promote business ethics and corporate responsibility awareness in business, student, academic, and public circles. CIBE engages in a number of projects toward this aim through research, outreach, and student development. CIBE is part of the University of International Business and Economics, and was founded by several schools and organizations in 2004. For additional information about CIBE, visit www.cibe.org.cn.

About Dynamic City Foundation

The Dynamic City Foundation (DCF) is a research and design institute focused on the rapid transformation of China’s urban landscape. In 2003 the DCF began the Urban China 2020 project, an in-depth study of the effects of China’s flash urbanization and how designers can respond to this process. To achieve this, the DCF established www.BURB.tv, an online collaboration platform for open-source research and design. The objective of building 400 new cities by the year 2020, as formulated by the former Chinese Minister of Civil Affairs, provides this project with its research framework. For additional information about DCF, visit www.dynamiccity.org.

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 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.

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