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Bentley acquires LEGION, launches OpenBuildings

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
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The acquisition of a pedestrian simulation software provider and the launch of a new design application are helping Bentley Systems Inc. integrate comprehensive digital workflows into passenger railway station design.

Bentley has acquired LEGION, a pedestrian simulation software provider to more than half of the world’s 40 largest transit agencies. Bentley explains that the acquisition “augments our comprehensive modeling environment with collaborative digital workflows to explore and validate comparative simulations of pedestrian traffic scenarios.”

LEGION founder Douglas Connor said, “Pedestrian flows should be considered fundamental design criteria for infrastructure assets like train stations or airports, which are intrinsically meant to serve the needs of pedestrians. We’re excited to join with Bentley to provide designers, engineers and owners with pedestrian simulation applications that are integrated with market leading design modeling offerings. Next, we can advance LEGION’s ‘Science in Motion’ vision to incorporate pedestrian simulation quite cohesively—from the strategic and capital planning of an infrastructure project, throughout its design, subsequent retrofits and into asset operations.”

Bentley explains that by using LEGION simulation tools in collaborative digital workflows with Bentley’s OpenBuildings Designer (formerly AECOsim Building Designer), “architects, engineers and owners can consider pedestrian traffic in their development of design alternatives. The newly announced OpenBuildings Station Designer will enable collaborative digital workflows to fully model pedestrian activities and journeys to and from trains, platforms and through stations.”

“Because pedestrian traffic and capacity are major concerns for infrastructure planning and operations, collaborative digital workflows for pedestrian simulation need to be prioritized during design,” said Bentley Systems Senior Vice President Design Engineering Santanu Das. “Taking advantage of LEGION’s innovative pedestrian modeling capabilities throughout Bentley’s comprehensive modeling environment will enable better decisions to improve pedestrian circulation, throughput, and overall safety. That’s a great example of the collaborative digital workflows that our open applications, such as OpenBuildings, uniquely support.”

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