When Hurricane Sandy struck New York in 2012, nature exposed the fragility of one of the world’s greatest cities.  Power stations flooded. Critical infrastructure failed. Entire neighborhoods were left vulnerable as a storm surge overwhelmed systems designed for a different era. The disaster went on for weeks and cost billions of dollars.  It forced city leaders to confront a difficult reality: the future would bring more uncertainty, more extreme weather, and greater pressure on infrastructure.

The result was the Big U, an ambitious flood-protection system that wrapped around Lower Manhattan. In the latest episode of the Bentley Horizons podcast, we discover that the story of the Big U is about much more than flood walls; it’s about the way resilient infrastructure is being conceived, designed, built, and operated.

It is a story about how architects and engineers are demanding more holistic systems thinking from their software providers, as they design infrastructure for a changing planet.

Recorded at the Architect Network (ATN) Summit in London, the episode brings together architects, engineers, technologists, and innovators grappling with a common challenge: how to design resilient infrastructure in an age defined by climate change and artificial intelligence. What emerged from those conversations was a surprisingly consistent message.

The future belongs to connected systems.

Across the built environment, professionals are pushing back against fragmented workflows, disconnected software, and isolated data silos. They want information to flow seamlessly from design to construction, operations, and maintenance. They want openness, interoperability, and transparency. And increasingly, they see AI as the catalyst that can finally make that possible.

At the summit, Bentley Labs showcased an immersive visualization of the Big U using technologies such as Gaussian splats, digital twins, and AI-driven experiences. Visitors could stand inside a virtual reconstruction of flood events and understand the human impact of infrastructure decisions in ways that drawings and reports alone cannot achieve.

Yet technology is only part of the story.

Again and again, speakers returned to a larger idea: coherence. AI delivers its greatest value not when it automates individual tasks, but when it connects across entire systems. That means open APIs, shared languages such as the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and the ability to move information across organizational boundaries. As Bentley CTO Julian Moutte explains, infrastructure assets will outlive today’s software platforms, making openness essential as the data that describes infrastructure will remain valuable for decades to come.

The lesson from Hurricane Sandy is not simply that cities need stronger defenses.

It is that resilient infrastructure requires resilient information. And in a world where climate chaos is growing, and AI capabilities are accelerating, the organizations that embrace openness may be best equipped to build the future we all need.

Tomas and Paul would like to thank those who agreed to be interviewed for this Episode:

• Liana O’Cleirigh, UX Designer, Bentley Labs, Bentley Systems,
• Greg Demchak, Vice President of Emerging Technologies, Bentley Labs, Bentley Systems
• Silvia Rueda, Creative Director, Journey
• Oliver Thomas, Founder & CEO, ArchiTech Network
• Julienne Moute, Chief Technology Officer, Bentley Systems