Opening of New Bentley UK Headquarters

Bentley Systems celebrated the opening of its new UK headquarters at 20 Gracechurch Street in the City of London on Tuesday 6th September. CEO Greg Bentley and COO Malcolm Walter hosted the event, which included a reception for Bentley users and colleagues and more than 30 members of the media. The office overlooks London's inspiring skyline comprising many landmark structures designed and built by leading user organisations with the help of Bentley's information modelling and collaboration software.  

Bentley's new premises, in the former Barclay's Bank headquarters building, were designed by BDP, Europe's most progressive interdisciplinary design practice, and in keeping with Bentley's commitment to sustaining the environment, the project is expected to achieve a 'Very Good' BREEAM rating and 'Silver' LEED certification.

Malcolm Walter's welcome address to those gathered at the opening highlighted the history of innovative infrastructure development within the U.K., dating back to Stonehenge. He closed with a few words about Bentley's important role in sustaining the infrastructure of modern-day London. Said Mr. Walter, "Leading AEC organisations, empowered by Bentley Systems software, have been instrumental in shaping and sustaining London's world-renowned infrastructure for more than 25 years. Among such structures iconically identified with the London skyline are 30 St Mary Axe, London City Hall, the London Eye, and the O2 Arena. Representative work in progress includes Crossrail, the largest construction project in Europe, and the Thames Tideway Tunnel, an environmental sustainability megaproject. Both take full advantage of a broad selection of information modelling software from Bentley's comprehensive portfolio, including our ProjectWise project team collaboration and work-sharing platform."

During his address titled 'Working Smarter, Together (in the UK),' Greg Bentley said, "Our expanded investment in London is consistent with the U.K.'s aggressive commitment to continued sustainable infrastructure development to underpin its long-term economic growth."

Mr. Bentley highlighted three current examples of new innovations from Bentley Systems that stem from thought leadership in the U.K. and which achieve global 'firsts' on behalf of infrastructure constituents. The new software and service offerings include:

ProjectWise Business Process Template for BS 1192; Roadworks Online and Intelligent Trench Service.

Following Mr. Bentley's presentation, Graham Daines, technology manager for CH2M HILL and technical director of the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, along with Simon Williams-Gunn, engineering technical lead, London Tideway Tunnels Delivery Team, provided insights on the Thames Tideway Tunnel Scheme. This massive engineering project aims to improve the water quality of the River Thames for future generations.