AU Beat | The Voice of AU

Design West Engineering and LEGOLAND - Part 2

aoul — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:45:43 +0000

Find out how Design West Engineering incorporates sustainable design strategies into their practice and the role that Revit MEP played in the construction of the SEA LIFE™ Aquarium at LEGOLAND® California Resort in Carlsbad, CA. In 2008, Design West received the Revit BIM Experience Award from Autodesk.

Design West Engineering and LEGOLAND - Part 1

aoul — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:23:36 +0000

What McKinstry Looks For in College Grads

aoul — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:32:54 +0000

Ralph Bond of Autodesk interviews McKinstry principals David Allen and Tony Stewart about what they look for when hiring college graduates. Find out what it take to become part of this Seattle company, renowned for its focus on sustainability and green building technologies.

Milltechnology: Using Revit MEP in the Real World

aoul — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:04:49 +0000

Ralph Bond of Autodesk interviews Chris Milford of Milltechnology Ltd, a London-based, building services coordination company. MillTechnology works with the building services contractors that provide the HVAC ductwork, pipework, fire systems and electrical installations, providing clients with a single, fully coordinated, 3D building model for the complete project. Chris discusses how they incorporate sustainable design strategies into their practice, their most interesting projects using Revit® MEP, and what he sees as the biggest trends in his industry right now.

Keeping AutoCAD Fresh, Cool, and Relevant

aoul — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:23:53 +0000

Listen to Guri Stark, VP and General Manager, Autocad and Platform Products, talk about where Autodesk is taking AutoCAD®. Stark says Autodesk wants to make sure AutoCAD remains a vibrant product not only for its 9 million current users, but for new generations of designers coming out of college. Scanning capabilities and photogrammetry are only two of the new interesting applications and functionalities Autodesk is exploring as it continues to invest in the things customers care about.

Talk to Us!

aoul — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:22:43 +0000

If you want to influence development of Autodesk® products, you need to know about myfeedback.autodesk.com. Shaan Hurley, Platform Technology Evangelist at Autodesk, describes all the ways customers can communicate with product design teams.

What’s Autodesk Doing on Easter Island?

aoul — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:12:02 +0000

Easter Island/Rapa Nui is the most remote inhabited island in the world, but it’s inundated with tourists. What’s a community to do? Pete Kelsey, Key Accounts Technical Manager at Autodesk, has made it a labor of love to help Rapa Nui cope. Using some fancy GPS equipment, laser scanning technology, and, of course, Autodesk software, Kelsey has produced a 3D survey grade model of the island that planners can use to assess development impacts.

Drawings with Soul

aoul — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:09:13 +0000

It’s easy to use, it’s free with AutoCAD®, and it gives your drawings that hand-drawn look. What’s not to like? Ged Trias of the Larsen & Darby Group talks about using Autodesk® Impression to draw your customers into the design process. Trias says that when you show customers a crisp, finished drawing or a 3D render, they feel less comfortable asking for changes. Impression enables you to give your drawings a looser, sketchier look that customers just want to draw on.

Neoscape’s Recipe for Excellence

aoul — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:08:23 +0000

Passion for what they do, sticking to a disciplined creative process, communicating and collaborating with customers, and a commitment to quality. Nils Norgren shares his secrets of success from Neoscape, one of the world’s leading architectural visualization firms.

Seeing the Future of Digital Design

aoul — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:51:52 +0000

What’s on the horizon in digital design? Jim Balding of WATG talks about both the next step in digital design and what designers are looking for in the future. Hot topics: Better ways to display, cloud computing to enable collaboration, and algorithmic design.

Getting Personal with Customers at AU

aoul — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:50:14 +0000

Kevin Breslin of Avatech Solutions talks about putting faces to names at AU. Reporting from their signature event at the exclusive TAO nightclub in Las Vegas, NV, Kevin details the ways Avatech connects with its customers at AU.

NZ’s ArcHaus Combines Revit and 3ds Max to Win the Contract

aoul — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:01:56 +0000

The building modeling capabilities of AutoCAD® Revit® and the presentation WOW of Autodesk 3ds Max® proved to be a winning combination for New Zealand firm ArcHaus. Associate Jason Howden talks about how Autodesk software enables his firm to get their designs out in hours instead of weeks while avoiding expensive showroom models.

Revving Revit and the Promise of BIM

aoul — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:44 +0000

“We no longer have to imagine. With BIM, we can see it as we design,” says Jay Zallen, senior virtual design and construction manager for Gensler. “Virtual tools make the whole industry more productive.” Zallen outlines his several AU Unplugged sessions, including a redesign session for AutoCAD® Revit®.

Eddy Krygel: Using BIM for Sustainable Building Design

aoul — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:14:47 +0000

HNTB sustainability specialist Eddy Krygel talks about using BIM to design high-performance buildings. With Autodesk BIM technology, designers can combine several models (daylight, energy, indoor air quality) into one, using iterative design to create buildings that are both sustainable and appropriate for their environments.

McKinstry: Energy Savings Add Up to Two New Schools

aoul — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:13:07 +0000

McKinstry’s David Allen and Tony Stewart describe how applying energy-saving technology and building performance modeling gave an Idaho school district enough surplus funding to build two new schools.

Data to Design, Data to Build, Data to Operate

aoul — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:58:17 +0000

Seattle firm McKinstry principals David Allen and Tony Stewart describe McKinstry’s unique approach to high-performance building design—starting with operating data and working up to design. They point out that the cost of designing and constructing a building is only about 30% of the cost of operating it for 25 years, making the case for considering operating data in the design process. Allen and Stewart also provide a short history of the McKinstry company.

Obama Finds Green at McKinstry

aoul — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:55:58 +0000

How did Seattle firm McKinstry end up in an Obama campaign commercial? Listen here while McKinstry’s David Allen and Tony Stewart tell the exciting tale of Obama’s visit to McKinstry and explain why Obama wants to use McKinstry as a model company for green jobs.

NavisWorks Works for Autodesk Clients

aoul — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:41:24 +0000

Paul J. Walker, a technical marketing manager at Autodesk and a speaker at AU 2008, talks about NavisWorks® project review software. This Autodesk product imports design data from different design applications and uses it to create a complete picture of a project. Listen as Paul describes how it works and provides insight into how it can help clients successfully complete their projects.

Innnovation at Sound Devices

aoul — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:08:43 +0000

Jason McDonald, design engineer at Sound Devices, explains how his company uses Autodesk® Inventor® to produce truly innovative products and why his company was named Autodesk Inventor of the Month. The Inventor of the Month program recognizes innovative design and engineering advancements made by the community of customers using Autodesk Inventor software.

Education Innovation in Canada

aoul — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:51:01 +0000

Alissa Perlstein, Director of Worldwide Education Marketing at Autodesk, interviews Mike Santalupo, an educator at John Paul II Secondary School in Canada. Mike, who gave the Education keynote at Autodesk University 2008, talks about the successful Technological Design program at his institution.