By Bentley SystemsLearning Objectives
- Understand what OpenSite+ does and what civil site design involves
- Evaluate how generative AI changes grading and drainage design
- Assess where OpenSite+ fits in a civil engineer's workflow
What Is Bentley OpenSite+?
Bentley OpenSite+ is a civil engineering application for site design — the work of shaping a piece of land for development, including grading, earthwork, and stormwater drainage. From Bentley Systems, an infrastructure-software company, OpenSite+ is notable as one of the first engineering tools to put generative AI at the center of this work, which Bentley has described as the first generative-AI application for civil site design.
Site design is one of the most iterative parts of a civil project. An engineer has to balance cut and fill so the earthwork is economical, route stormwater so the site drains correctly, and meet grade and accessibility requirements — and every change to the layout ripples through all of it. That iterative, constraint-heavy search is exactly what AI is good at accelerating.
💡Key Concept
Grading and earthwork: Shaping the ground surface so a site drains properly, supports structures, and minimizes the expensive moving of soil. Balancing "cut" (soil removed) against "fill" (soil added) across a site is a costly optimization problem — and a prime target for AI.
How AI Changes the Workflow
OpenSite+ embeds an AI copilot that automates large parts of drainage and earthwork design and can evaluate thousands of grading scenarios to find efficient options — work that would take an engineer far longer to explore by hand. Bentley reports the tool can produce site designs up to ten times faster than traditional methods.
The effect is to shift the engineer from manually drafting one grading plan toward steering the AI across many options and judging which best fits the site, the budget, and the regulations. Because OpenSite+ is part of Bentley's broader infrastructure platform, its designs connect to the company's wider modeling, drawing-production, and digital-twin tools.
Who Uses Bentley OpenSite+?
OpenSite+ is aimed at civil engineers and land-development firms designing sites for commercial, residential, institutional, and infrastructure projects. Its users are the engineers who turn a raw parcel into a buildable, drainable, code-compliant site — and who benefit most from compressing the slow grading-and-drainage iteration loop.
Company Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Product | Bentley OpenSite+ — generative-AI civil site design |
| Developer | Bentley Systems (founded 1984, Exton, Pennsylvania) |
| Focus | Site grading, earthwork, and stormwater drainage design |
| AI feature | AI copilot that evaluates thousands of grading scenarios |
| Reported speed | Site designs produced up to ten times faster |
| Platform | Part of Bentley's infrastructure modeling ecosystem |
| Target users | Civil engineers and land-development firms |
| Website | bentley.com (OpenSite) |
Strengths
- Generative site design — evaluates thousands of grading and drainage options automatically
- Major speed gains — Bentley reports designs up to ten times faster
- Civil-specific — purpose-built for grading, earthwork, and drainage, not generic CAD
- Platform-connected — ties into Bentley's modeling, drawings, and digital twins
- Iteration relief — automates the slowest, most repetitive part of site work
Limitations and Considerations
- Enterprise software — quote-based licensing aimed at engineering firms
- Newer AI capability — the generative features are recent and still maturing
- Engineer still owns the design — AI proposes options; a licensed engineer approves and seals
- Best within the Bentley ecosystem — most valuable alongside its other infrastructure tools
Pricing
Bentley OpenSite+ is enterprise software licensed through Bentley Systems, typically via subscription or the company's consumption-based licensing, with pricing based on usage and the broader product mix. Contact Bentley for a quote.
Key Takeaways
- Bentley OpenSite+ is a civil site-design tool that Bentley describes as the first generative-AI application for the discipline
- Its AI copilot automates drainage and earthwork and evaluates thousands of grading scenarios to find efficient designs
- Bentley reports site designs produced up to ten times faster, compressing one of the most iterative parts of civil work
- It shifts the engineer from drafting one plan toward steering and judging AI-generated options, within Bentley's infrastructure platform
