Autodesk University 2006 Day 3 - Thursday 30th

Sessions Planned;

• 8:00am  General Design Industry Main Stage
• 10:00am  Autodesk® Revit® for Business and Project Managers
• 11:30am  Networking Lunch "AUGI Birds of a Feather"
• 1:00pm  Leveraging BIM Downstream: Real-World Examples of Using BIM Data Throughout the Project
• 3:00pm  Beyond Autodesk® Revit®: Where is all this Going?
• 5:00pm  Destination CAD: Creating a Successful Work Environment
• 8:00pm  AU Evening Event – The Blue Man Group

After a brisk walk in close to 0 deg c temperatures, it was nice to get a warm welcome at the General Design mainstage. The AutoCAD platform group featured many wishlist responses that may be seen in  future releases of AutoCAD. There was also a great demo of Impression.

I then had a session on facilities management which raised some rather topical issues. Lots to consider when I get home. At lunch I spent most the time in the exhibit floor and managed to catch up with Architect/Writer Ed Goldberg and meet Roopinder Tara of Tenlinks.com. I also met Autodesk DWF Blogger Scott Sheppard for the first time which was great. There was some big DWF news with the announcement that Microsoft will support DWF in Windows Vista:

EXTRACT ONLY FROM:
PRESS RELEASE: Autodesk Unlocks Design Data for Windows Vista and XPS Users

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 30, 2006 - At Autodesk University, Autodesk, Inc, announced a collaboration with Microsoft Corp. to seamlessly integrate DWF technology with Windows Vista using the XML Paper Specification (XPS). This initiative will provide users with the ability to view and manage DWF detail-rich design information without requiring additional downloads of plug-ins or special viewing software..."

See Scotts Beyond the Paper Blog for the full release and his own post details on this:

AU Update: Microsoft Announces Support for DWF via XPS - Beyond the Paper

Just came out of an interesting session/discussion on BIM & the future of Architecture. As an outsider, I'm not an Architect, watching this technology impact their role in the whole construction process and how the profession is adapting to the new economic, technological & environmental demands that are arriving, ready or not, reminded me of the sort of discussion seen in manufacturing 15 years ago. BIM's drive, and need, for integration is smashing cross discipline barriers.

Tonight the entertainment is The Blue Man Group. Shaan has been hinting that something special is planned but given all I know about them is: The are Blue and are Men not sure what to expect!

Edited for Typos & photos added 09–12–2006