Autodesk University 2017 Roundup in GIFs
The poetic Zen-like nature of GIFs is an excellent counter to the craziness of Las Vegas. That place just never stops! Hopefully readers will enjoy this round up because I’m picky as sin when it comes conferences. I’m on the side that being exceptionally critical is a good characteristic in a writer. Happily I can report that Autodesk University exceeded my expectations — it was great meeting everyone — and my presentation on The Value and Cost Drivers of BIM was well attended. But on to the highlights!
One imagines a +10000 person conference as a bit chaotic, but nothing could be further from the truth. Arriving a day early, getting credential and having a few questions answered by the organizers about my presentation all went smoothly. I was lucky to present on the first day because it lifted that important commitment early from my limited time in Las Vegas. I was so excited to present. As the room was filling up, I took a moment to decorate the podium with some artwork from family that I had brought with me for good luck. Finally 100 people as excited as me about the economics of BIM. I felt relaxed with the material but still managed to it present enthusiastically. Early feedback was that my energy for the subject matter was appreciated.
For those who’ve never been to Autodesk University before, I learned it’s sort of broken down into two main parts: The classes and the keynote speeches (which lead into the exhibition hall). Addressing the classes first: there are a lot of them, from all branches of design, manufacturing and construction, from the general to the specific. I was thankful to not have any obligations on behalf of an employer to take certain classes which gave me the freedom to pick classes I felt were important to staying at the sharp point of the AEC industry, in this case mostly revolving around the programming language Dynamo and Generative Design. Taking in six classes, I feel much better prepared now to collaborate on these subjects in any Canadian project. Because I’m naturally attracted to these topics — there’s a lot to design and build — the presentations easily kept my full attention from start to finish. One presentation worth noting was Marcello Sgambelluri’s Dynamo for Structure (which he presented twice if I recall correctly). Having programmed a complete structure in Dynamo before, the class was still helpful because it offered insight into more advanced Dynamo techniques from a world class expert in the field, while still using approachable examples anyone taking the class could understand. Marcello’s enthusiasm for Dynamo and structure matches my own. Heaven knows we both speak with our hands when talking about about the subject. The seventh class was probably more accurately defined as a “social”, but I was intrigued by the LEGO design challenge. Our team team submitted an abstract sculptural representation of collaborative design.
One of the main highlights from the exhibition hall was a feature called The Future of Making Things. It focused on multiple disruptive case studies in automation, optimization, and advanced manufacturing techniques. And by “advanced” I mean absolutely state-of-the-art. Virtual reality and augmented reality headsets were everywhere at the conference if that’s your thing. I’ve yet to actually ever put one on but have written before about their benefits in the design process––of that I have no doubt. Personally, however, I was drawn to the generative design and machine learning projects. For example, the shape of the motorbike swingarm was first 3D printed, then a negative sand model made before finally being cast in aluminum and installed. 3D printing is an excellent method for being able to capture its complex shape, but it’s through sheer computation that material is left only exactly where forces are present. The similarities to organic natural evolution is striking, but perhaps not surprising, since the same mechanism of refining generation upon generation is used in nature and in computational design.
Longtime readers will know I constantly pine for robots that build. The example below is getting close. Off screen someone is actually controlling the robotic arm in a virtual environment. There is an element of machine learning persent however, since the program controlling the robot actually learns the task first from human input, and then automates the complex building task.
Collaborative design was also represented in The Future of Making Things exhibit with the participation of the rLoop hyperloop team. During conference hours people would gather to watch their functioning prototype glide across the track. One of the organizers was telling me it started as a small group on the r/spacex subreddit that morphed into a 1200 strong volunteer force with its own Slack channel. It was a tactile example of the cohesion that collaborative projects cultive when everyone feels they can contribute significantly.
Another trend as popular as VR+AR technology at Autodesk University was drones. Mostly used for 3D scanning or different types of photogrammetry (where the 3D model is derived from images computationally), Autodesk had wisely set up a netted area with some sample topography and a bridge. Vendors took turns demonstrating their drones capabilities and it was mesmerizing to watch. Also, though I came back several times to watch during operational hours, I myself never saw a #dronefail, though there were rumours of some on social media.
One reason I don’t think I’d ever be a good party planner is because it would have never occurred to me to plan an activity around the popularity of makerspaces to highlight the different types of manufacturing possible with Autodesk products. Several vendors coordinated to allow attendees to make a little bluetooth speaker with each station contributing a part, the final assembly of which was carried out with help from instructions on an iPad. One station contributed little wooden speaker housings machined by robotic arm; the speaker grill was 3D printed; and the base laser cut and etched with Autodesk University’s logo. Such a cool idea. It really seems like Autodesk thought of everything: For a couple of hours each day you could even pet the friendliest calmest dogs from a non-profit Autodesk supports year round!
I also doubt I’d be a particularly effective social media manager. As one can see from the examples provided above, there are no selfies to prove my attendance. This isn’t for lack of trying however. Normally I’m just too engrossed in the process of learning and meeting new people it never occurs to me to take out my phone and take a picture of myself. In fact, I only barely remembered to get the footage included in this post. My love of architectural writing, on the other hand, is deep, and I enjoyed writing this piece. Over the coming weeks I plan to put up several long form posts about design and sustainability, so if those topics inspire you too, please feel free to connect up with me on Linkedin or Instagram and follow along.
