Autodesk - Better Collaboration, the Right Tools and Technology are Key to Better, Sustainable Design, says Think 07

Autodesk’s ‘from the show floor’ survey tests the mood of AEC professionals
Sustainable design and construction is now a major priority for professionals working in the built environment. This was the key message from the floor on the first day of Think 07, delivered via a survey, commissioned by Autodesk, designed to identify the mood of the AEC industry and the current challenges faced. 61% of those questioned said that sustainability was now of great importance to their organisation.
However the survey pointed out, to enable the industry to design and build responsibly – and in the greenest way it can – it needs better collaboration between the different disciplines working on a building project, as well as the right tools and technology to facilitate the testing and analysis of designs for energy efficiency and the minimisation of waste.
Think 07 is a new landmark event for the UK construction and property markets, comprising high-profile conferences, exhibitions and networking opportunities with high-profile speakers including HRH the Prince of Wales, Al Gore (via live satellite link) and Lord Coe.
When asked about the factors driving this issue, respondents saw legislation as a significant force (40%) although they also considered that public opinion was also demanding more environmentally sound buildings (25%).
The survey highlighted the fact that the industry itself has been slow to wake up to changing attitudes. Some 40% of those asked cited industry apathy and entrenched working practices as barriers to change. Cost was also mentioned as a big barrier standing in the way of greener practices (44%).
As well as effective tools and technology and more joined up thinking throughout the project lifecycle, a number of other enablers were cited by professionals. Of these skills and training was also high on the list (16%).
“These results show the growing acceptance that technology has a big part to play in the wiser and more efficient use of resources in the built environment. For a while now, Autodesk’s strategy has been to expand the functionality of its AEC solutions to enable users to conduct multiple types of analyses on their building information model,” said Pete Baxter, AEC sales director Northern Europe Autodesk. “We foresee building performance analysis will help architects and engineers design sustainable buildings in an efficient and cost-effective way – and so help overcome many of the barriers.”
The survey was carried out on the show floor at Think 07 questioning a sample of attendees including architects, engineers, suppliers and client/owners. Of these respondents 29% worked for small (1-50) organisations, 27% for medium-sized organisations (50-500) and 44% for large (500+.

Email: lauras@whiteoaks.co.uk