Virtual Compatibility at Autodesk University 2021

This year marks the second year that Autodesk University was held entirely online as a virtual conference due to the pandemic. Registration was free and every session was recorded to allow for asynchronous viewing (available through Oct. 31).

First held in San Francisco in 1993, AU has grown into an annual series of global events, with conferences in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The event provides the opportunity for the San Rafael, Calif.–headquartered software company to spotlight new initiatives, announce new products and acquisitions, host user-led training sessions, and gather feedback through customer workshops with software development teams. And, importantly, AU serves as a social meetup for tech-savvy AEC professionals and the companies that market to them.

The online format of AU provides several benefits, including ease of attendance. Instead of traveling to Las Vegas, where the North American AU typically takes place, attendees could log in from their desk. According to Autodesk, more than 100,000 attendees and 200 sponsors and exhibitors registered for this year’s three-day event, with more expected as the event continues overseas.

Through the AU conference platform, users could watch the keynote and user presentations as well as meet up informally through the platform’s Community Zone. Fitness-minded attendees could even participate in a virtual 5-kilometer Fun Run by joining Autodesk’s free Strava club. Other conference staples, such as networking and socializing, were more difficult to replicate in a large online event.

News and Updates
The AU keynote addresses, typically given by Autodesk executives, offered an overview into the company’s priorities and future initiatives. At this year’s keynotes, Autodesk described major initiatives through its new product offerings and recent acquisitions. The company also focused on making project data more accessible with emphases on common data environments (CDEs) and digital twins.

A CDE is a shared repository of project information in which team members and stakeholders can contribute and consume data as needed. A key part of CDEs is making data accessible “from the top floor to the shop floor,” Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost stated in the general session keynote. He and other keynote speakers, such as Autodesk vice president of AEC strategy Nicolas Mangon, frequently pointed to Autodesk’s Construction Cloud platform, which includes the Build, BIM Collaborate, and Takeoff products, as a means to create a CDE for design and construction teams.

Likewise, digital twins—digital models of buildings that represent their physical counterparts in real-time—intend to provide building owners and operators tools to manage and optimize their properties. Autodesk’s new Tandem software provides a cloud-based digital twin platform.

An essential part of Autodesk’s open data initiative is the Forge platform. Forge provides software developers with a collection of web-based application programming interfaces (APIs) that connect Autodesk’s cloud and desktop software. Though it has been in use for several years, Forge has matured into a key technology underpinning Autodesk’s effort to facilitate data sharing. As Mangon stated in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction Design keynote, “Forge is the foundation for data sharing and is used to manage all project data.”

Autodesk sees Forge as the way to provide greater interoperability. While Revit cannot work directly with Civil3D files, for example, Forge makes this data transfer possible through its various APIs. Users may not be aware they are using Forge, but it will be the technology behind many of these new capabilities. “We need to shift from being a company with a large portfolio of products to a company underpinned by one platform, which is Forge,” stated Autodesk chief technology officer Raji Arasu during AU’s General Session Part Three keynote.

In addition to announcing new product offerings, Autodesk highlighted two recent acquisitions, Spacemaker AI and Innovyze. Spacemaker AI, acquired in 2020, provides software that facilitates early stages of design, namely site planning and site selection. The latest version of Spacemaker’s software offers a microclimate analysis, which simulates and visualizes thermal comfort in urban spaces using location specific data, allowing designers to design more comfortable outdoor areas. Innovyze, acquired this year, provides asset management software for the water industry. Its Info 360 Asset software provides tools for water professionals to better manage and assess the condition of pipes and equipment.

User Presentations
With more than 700 classes in its lineup this year, AU also offered the opportunity to learn from other software users. The company launched a call for proposals earlier this year with the final selection determined via an online voting process. All classes had a fixed time slot so attendees could ask questions and interact online with presenters.

Courses covered software specific topics, such as BIM 360 Workflows: A Case of Noida International Airport. Focusing on Autodesk’s BIM360 platform, this class provided a detailed case study on how Nordic—Office of Architecture used the platform to share and manage project files across dispersed teams for a large and complex project in the Delhi region, India. In addition to serving as a central file repository, BIM360 was used to track drawing package deliveries as well as to perform clash detection.

Several AU courses covered equity and inclusion such as Becoming a True JEDI: Allyship for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The five speakers in this class discussed their own experiences of equity and diversity in the AEC industry and how those in positions of privilege can support members of oppressed groups. As speaker and architect Elaine Lee stated, “If we can learn to be open to each other, we can give and receive information freely and really enjoy the diversity that comes with our differences rather than fear them.”

Generative design classes were well represented. A course titled Moving Toward the Future of Design with Generative Design in Revit illustrated practical applications using generative design workflows for building mass generation, MEP ceiling coordination, and road layout. Likewise, several classes focused on using software to aid sustainable design. Implementing Early Energy Modeling in an Architectural Practice spotlighted Lake|Flato’s approach to integrating energy modeling into its design process, while Using Technology and Software to Create More-Sustainable Designs focused on Buro Happold’s processes, documentation, and software to create environmentally sensitive designs.

From its opening keynote presentations to the user classes, this year’s Autodesk University made clear the value of collaboration, communication, and data-sharing among project team members. Recognizing the limitations within its own software as well as the business potential in facilitating greater data sharing, Autodesk seems to be doubling down on its Forge platform as a Rosetta Stone for AEC data. While end users might be unfamiliar with Forge, they will likely be using it more often soon, if not already. Whether this initiative gathers steam over the coming year will be interesting—and it may provide future talking points, hopefully in person, at next year’s AU.