Success Story | City of Grenoble’s Use of a 3D Model to Support Urban Planning

Bentley Expert

Grenoble, Isere, France

Project

With daily management of 18,000 buildings encompassing 1,850 hectares, the city of Grenoble, France, aims to explore future regeneration programs in its urban redevelopment sectors. To help maintain and optimize internal and external developments, the Urban Planning Department (UPD) was tasked with producing a 3D model of the city that could be shared with architects, urban planners, and public companies. The UPD needed a flexible, interoperable modeling and information-sharing solution to create and implement the 3D representation quickly and cost effectively, and allow them to update and maintain it autonomously.

Solution

Grenoble’s UPD employed MicroStation to reuse and integrate available information to quickly build the 3D model. Using MicroStation allowed the department to take ownership of the model and update it on a daily basis, and simplified the maintenance process without additional investments or resources for an efficient and cost-effective solution. The interoperability of MicroStation enhanced internal and external collaboration by centralizing and sharing design files in DGN format, and models in 3D PDF files, enabling users to visualize the city’s urban development projects in context with one another and the entire community.

Image: Courtesy of City of Grenoble

Outcome

Using MicroStation to create, implement, and maintain the city’s 3D model enabled the UPD and its partners to quickly build and take ownership of the model, optimize model updates, and minimize costs executing development projects. The model is relied on regularly, facilitating consistent timely delivery of projects and yielding a progressive increase in ROI with each use.

Image: Courtesy of City of Grenoble

Software

MicroStation provided Grenoble’s UPD an integrated solution to collect and manage available information quickly and efficiently to build the 3D model. The software enabled the department to take ownership of the model and maintain it autonomously on a daily basis, simplifying the update process and strengthening commitment to the project without additional investments or resources. The flexibility and interoperability of MicroStation facilitated collaboration and improved information mobility internally and externally.

Facts

Using MicroStation, Grenoble’s UPD quickly and cost-effectively produced a 3D model of the city’s internal and external urban development projects that could be shared with its partners, including architects, urban planners, and public companies.
MicroStation enabled the reuse and integration of available information to build the model and simplified update processes allowing the department to maintain the model autonomously without additional resources or investments.
The 3D model is relied on regularly, enhancing communication between the UPD and its partners, and facilitating timely execution of various projects, yielding a continuous increase in ROI with each use.

“In an increasingly complex urban environment, Bentley offers dedicated, powerful and effective tools for the development of sustainable infrastructure while also facilitating mutualization and information sharing.”