Autodesk Gallery at One Market Awarded LEED Platinum Certification

By: PR Newswire

May. 20, 2009 09:01 AM

USGBC Recognizes Autodesk San Francisco Design Gallery and Office Space; Second LEED Platinum for Commercial Interiors in California

SAN FRANCISCO, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK) announced that its Autodesk Gallery at One Market in San Francisco and newly renovated office space in the historic Landmark Building at One Market has received Platinum certification in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) rating system. The Autodesk offices are one of only four Platinum-certified projects in San Francisco, and second in the state of California under the commercial interiors rating.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090520/SF20136)

Design firms Anderson Anderson Architecture, HOK, general contracting firm DPR Construction and law firm Hanson Bridgett worked with Autodesk to renovate the space using an integrated project delivery (IPD) approach – an emerging business model in the building industry that allows the entire extended team to collaborate and efficiently drive projects toward their best outcomes. Using the Autodesk Revit platform for building information modeling (BIM), the integrated team was able to exchange highly accurate project data very early in the design process and optimize the sustainable design elements in the building, such as natural daylight, and using recycled content.

“While IPD requires high levels of collaboration, BIM serves as a decision-making platform that facilitates collaboration and makes IPD possible,” said Phil Bernstein, FAIA, Autodesk vice president of industry strategy and relations. “These are concepts that we believe will change the future of the industry, and we felt it was important to use both of these methodologies as we are also advocating their use to our customers.”

One of only a handful of IPD projects across the globe, the San Francisco renovation overcame many of the common obstacles in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries, including material waste and procedural inefficiency. This IPD approach enabled the teams to fast-track the design and construction schedule and achieve the ambitious LEED Platinum certification.

“We are excited for the entire project team that the Autodesk office space in San Francisco has achieved LEED Platinum certification,” said Marc H. Flax, Associate AIA, senior vice president and director at HOK San Francisco. “From the beginning stages of this IPD project, the extended team agreed contractually to share both the risks and rewards of this ambitious project. LEED Platinum certification was a goal and certainly qualifies as a huge reward. This level of collaboration and sustainable design is something that we want to repeat on future projects.”

In the LEED Platinum space is the Autodesk Gallery at One Market, which showcases the work of Autodesk customers and illustrates the role of software in great design and the process that takes an idea and turns it into a reality. The Gallery highlights over 20 highly visual projects, such as the California Academy of Sciences, a Ford Shelby GT500, an 8.5 foot LEGO dinosaur and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge seismic retrofit. The Gallery is a location where designers can discuss the latest in technology and be inspired by others’ work.

Autodesk also completed the first IPD project in New England, a 65,000-square-foot office building in Waltham, Massachusetts, that contains the headquarters for its AEC industry group and the Autodesk Gallery Boston. Using the Autodesk Revit platform, the architecture and contracting firms were able to create coordinated, digital design information and documentation, and use that information to more accurately predict energy performance, as well as appearance and cost. Autodesk is in the process of seeking Platinum LEED for Commercial Interiors and LEED Gold Certification for core and shell. The Autodesk Gallery Portland highlights customer examples from the manufacturing industry and exhibits the most advanced Digital Prototyping technology for the automotive and transportation, consumer product and industrial machinery markets. The Autodesk Gallery Portland has recently received LEED certification.

The Autodesk Gallery at One Market is open to the public on the first Wednesday of each month from 1 to 5 p.m.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

(C) 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.