This past week I had the pleasure of attending Autodesk’s AEC Division Headquarters in Waltham, MA for a press technology day. The building itself on Trapelo Road is a showcase for what can be done today with new approaches and technology.  An unassuming, box-like, 61,000- square-foot office building that required an entire build-out, the building now is a testament to the use of integrated project delivery (IPD), sustainable design, digital-design-to-fabrication, and of course BIM. Local architectural firm KlingStubbins and Tocci Building Companies were instrumental in bringing these concepts to fruition with their experience in successful deployment of BIM and IPD.

Inside, there are spacious training rooms and conference rooms with 90% natural daylight, as well as a “Telepresence” room where global meetings can be held and everyone “present” can be seen on a wall-sized screen.. Phil Bernstein, FAIA, vice president, Industry Strategy and Relations for the AEC Solutions Division, said this has cut down on their travel expenses as they can now hold virtual meetings.

I am not sure what local materials might have been used, it did seem more of a display of Autodesk technology rather than an implementation of local resources, other than local architectural and building companies.

The meeting was intended as a way to introduce press to the building and to demonstrate the 2011 product line.