AU Learning from the Autodesk Technology Centers

At its best, innovation happens through connection and collaboration, through sharing inspiration and discussing ideas. It happens through mentorship and casual conversation, quick tips and focused instruction. It happens by getting your hands on the most innovative tools and seeing what they can do for you after seeing what they’ve done for others.

The Autodesk Technology Centers bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and industry disruptors to catalyze new possibilities for making through connection. With a global network and physical locations in San Francisco, Boston, Toronto, and Birmingham, UK, they offer residency opportunities, digital experiences, global mentorship and subject matter expertise, and access to the latest data-enabled technologies to help teams from industry and academia accelerate their R&D efforts and turn bold ideas into businesses and real-world projects.

This virtual walkthrough of the Autodesk Technology Center in San Francisco shows the tools and technologies that residents can use during their stay. You can also take a virtual tour.

Big ideas come out of the Autodesk Technology Centers—and some great AU learning, too. Check out these sessions from AU 2021:

Harnessing the Power of the Ocean to Decarbonize Our Energy Grid

CalWave, a resident at the Autodesk Technology Center in San Francisco, is pioneering a green energy system powered by ocean waves that could become an important complement to wind, solar, and other renewable sources. In his Theater talk, co-founder Marcus Lehmann shares how it works and the possibilities it creates—especially for island communities that are home to a full tenth of the world’s population.

Computational Design for a Nonprofit—Data Driving Form and Performance

Build Health International (BHI) began their residency at the Autodesk Technology Center in Boston in 2020 to find innovative ways to create resilient healthcare infrastructure in low-resource communities where electricity, piped water, and paved roads are scarce. In this class, Allison Denisky and Luc Wing discuss the collaboration between BHI and Microdesk. Using computational design, they optimized passive design strategies to address infection control concerns, increase comfort for patients, and improve sustainability, too.

Collaborative Estimating Workflows for Preconstruction and VDC Teams

BIM managers and VDC managers are often the ones who end up leading their organizations through the process of digital transformation, since it falls to them to investigate the latest technologies and explore the ways to improve processes. In this panel discussion, Amr Raafat of Windover Construction, a resident at the Autodesk Technology Center in Boston, and other BIM and VDC managers share best practices for getting buy-in from leadership and helping teams ease into new ways working.

Adventures in Convergence: Sustainable Design, Data, and Procedural Modeling

Tyson Fogel and Matthew Spremulli both work in the Autodesk Technology Center in Toronto, helping residents bring their ideas to life. They share the case study of one resident who blended traditional industrial design processes with procedural modeling workflows from media and entertainment to make better decisions in product development.

Interested in learning more about opportunities at the Autodesk Technology Centers? Explore other residents and projects and learn more about the application and selection process. And check out more AU learning content from the Autodesk Technology Centers for free anytime.