By Kristina Bollin, Technical Specialist, U.S. CAD About this Blog Series: This is the second in a series of blogs that shares the extraordinary and sometimes life-changing stories and experiences of a group of CAD, AEC, GIS and BIM experts who have chosen to share their knowledge with under-served communities and nations. These volunteers work hand-in-hand with KnowledgeWell, a non-profit organization whose goal is to transform the barriers faced by under-resourced nations into opportunities for successful business enterprise and public sector programs. From Guam to Palau and beyond, KnowledgeWell helps these communities to become more self-sufficient, increase their visibility in the global marketplace and create awareness of sustainable, environmentally friendly business practices.

By Nancy Mann Jackson, Guest Blogger City and county governments are always looking for ways to plan, design, build and manage transportation infrastructure projects smarter, faster and more affordably. And many of them use various Autodesk solutions to make that happen. With Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Premium, local governments have access to a comprehensive civil engineering and transportation infrastructure solution as a single economical and convenient purchase. The suite includes six Autodesk software tools that give municipalities everything they need to plan, design, build and manage road and highway projects in house and on budget. Here’s how these Autodesk tools have helped solve transportation infrastructure challenges for some local governments.

By Pete Kelsey, Technical Account Manager, Autodesk, Inc. 2011 marked my 20th year working in the AEC space. In those 20 years I’ve been incredibly lucky to have worked on projects great and small in the private and public sectors all over the world. One might assume my proudest moments would be related to massive projects like The Bay Bridge, The World Trade Center, etc. While I am proud that I have touched many, iconic mega-projects; whenever I am asked what is the work I am most proud of my answer is always the same. I love sharing my knowledge / experience / expertise with AEC technology with folks who in most circumstances might not ever be exposed to it.

You may not be surprised to hear that Washington, D.C. leads the nation when it comes to green buildings. According to a report released this month by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Washington, D.C. has the most LEED-certified commercial and institutional buildings in the U.S. In fact, Washington, D.C. had more than 31 square feet of LEED-certified space per person in 2011. “This is a great accomplishment for the D.C. metropolitan region and a testament to the drive, commitment and leadership of all those who live, work and play in our community,” said Mike Babcock, board chair of the National Capital Region Chapter of USGBC. “We also realize there is still more to do and hope to effectively guide the effort by engaging, educating and encouraging the dialogue around the value of sustainability."

Once upon a time GIS sat in its own little bubble – mapping the world obliquely, orthogonally and with untold potential for data integration, location-based intelligence gathering and analysis, and so on. Today that little bubble has burst opening new windows of opportunity that couples the visual power of high resolution GIS imagery with the evolving needs and mandates that drive the AEC industry – sustainable design, an increasingly visually-oriented workforce and a utilities infrastructure system in desperate need of an overhaul. In light of these drivers, GIS and AEC folks are marrying up big time. Take for example a quiet little union that is happening at Autodesk. According to industry publication, GISCafé, in the past year Autodesk has quietly, yet deliberately, disbanded its GIS division and moved it under its AEC Solutions division, once the official headquarters of AEC flagship products such as Revit and Civil 3D.

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the Autodesk See the Advantage Virtual Event back on October 5th – don’t worry! All of the webcasts and documents were archived on the Website for you to view on demand. You can access the archive here: www.dlt.com/seetheadvantage . The archived event is a little hard to find, but your best bet is to navigate straight to the Auditorium in the virtual event hub where you’ll find the webcast archives. If you’re looking for a good read, go to the Exhibit Hall and click on your professional track (Buildings, Utilities, Civil Engineering, etc.) Each “booth” has its own resource section including white papers and videos. I found the Buildings booth to have the most – but all provided some useful resources.

Since the beginning of time, people have had the urge to express their opinions. Even before the freedom of expression was guaranteed by law, given an outlet people have welcomed the opportunity to share their thoughts. Fast forward 30,000 years and people still have the urge to share their knowledge. The underlying practice is still the same but the digital age has changed the medium from rock and flint to blogs and keyboards.

The AEC industry has some big challenges on its plate. Challenges like budget shortfalls, increased energy consumption mandates, and the task of integrating GIS data into digital designs, just to name a few.

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 We’re all familiar with The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but did you know that it included more than $80 billion in clean energy investments including $4.5 billion to green federal buildings? Many government entities are incorporating energy and resource-efficient principles into public works and facilities management, generating benefits for building owners as well as the public.