New subscription-based features in Autodesk Revit software provide significant enhancements to integrated whole-building energy simulation powered by the Autodesk® Green Building Studio® cloud service. This demonstration will highlight the automatic creation of accurate energy model geometry from detailed Revit software elements, such as walls, floors, roofs, windows, etc. This eliminates the time and effort required to rebuild a separate energy model, leaving more time for design iteration and optimization. This class will also show how other energy analysis data, such as thermal properties of building materials and building/space function, can be defined in Revit for use in the energy simulation and how the Autodesk Green Building Studio cloud service supports a more collaborative energy analysis process between architects and engineers, leading to greater accuracy and better design optimization from the earliest stages in the process. Finally, the extensive validation work conducted on this new feature will also be presented. While knowledge of Revit will be beneficial for attendees, it is not a requirement.

Using only Revit software during the schematic design phase of the project enables you to quickly explore design alternatives through iterative design. Tapping into the information-rich models for quantity takeoffs helps to produce more accurate cost estimates, compressing the timeline from design to procurement to construction, virtually eliminating errors and omissions, and reducing the likelihood of RFIs and change orders. With integrated analysis for energy and carbon, you gain design insight where the most important design decisions are made. Perform wind and solar radiation analysis with user-friendly tools. Conduct cloud-based whole building energy analysis with web-based software. Optimize energy efficiency, and work toward carbon neutrality earlier in the design process. With faster, more accurate energy analysis of building design proposals, architects and designers can work with sustainability in mind earlier in the process, plan proactively, and build better.

It's raining design. This round table will discuss inventive workflows that multiple users from many firms are exploring. We will explore everything from conducting cloud-based, whole-building energy analysis to getting that perfect render—and everything in between. With these faster tools, design happens more collaboratively, and we will share our experiences using these tools. From covering the basics to exploring solar radiation analysis, everything is on the table.

It's raining design and the cloud is changing everything, from the way we communicate to the way we design. While it’s important to make things, how and where we store our creations is just as important. This roundtable will discuss inventive workflows that multiple users from many firms are exploring. We will explore everything from cloud-based, whole-building energy analysis to getting that perfect render—and everything in between. With these faster tools, design happens collaboratively, and we will share our experiences using these tools. From covering the basics to exploring solar radiation analysis, everything is on the table. How we collaborate today will be completely different in less than a year. We’ll also talk about collaboration between design professionals for a minute. We need to effectively convey ideas, designs, and content effortlessly between offices. This session is all about that transfer of data in an effective way to help enliven the design process instead of dampen it.

This lab session will focus on some of the newer features of FormIt 360 mobile and web app, as well as tips and tricks to help with your Revit software and FormIt 360 workflow. With FormIt 360, you can create conceptual designs and massing studies right on your iPad, Android tablet, and phone (if you are daring), and on any computer with a web browser, or you can use FormIt 360 for Windows. You will learn tips and tricks to help with this design process, using some similar commands and processes you may already use in Revit software. This session will also look at what the cool and useful FormIt 360 Pro features enable, like real-time team collaboration on a design, whole-building energy analysis, and solar analysis. We will also explore the new Dynamo Studio software workflow within FormIt 360 for Windows. And we will spend some time focusing on taking your project from conceptual design all the way to construction documents with these 2 connected products (Revit software and FormIt 360 mobile and web app) without having to leave the .RVT file format. This session features Revit and Dynamo Studio. AIA Approved

Wouldn't you (just for fun) like to use an application that offers true parametric modeling capability, generative geometry, and whole building performance analysis and feels like a natural extension to Revit® software? Are you a designer who is under pressure to produce designs that can convince potential clients that you have clearly addressed the ever-increasing demand for energy-efficient buildings? Do you want to enhance the level of collaboration by enabling instantaneous feedback while presenting your ideas backed by analytical datasets to clients thousands of miles away? Autodesk® Vasari™ and Autodesk® FormIt™ software open the potential for a unique workflow that is rooted in the synergy between Autodesk cloud-based technology and rapid energy modeling.

One of the most difficult aspects of performing energy analysis on existing building projects is calibrating the simulated results from the energy model to the building's actual energy use. Accurate calibration depends on utility billing data or trended performance data from the Building Energy Management System (BEMS) being properly integrated into the energy model. To the novice, this process can easily double the modeling effort, killing a project’s budget. In the first part of this session, you will learn how to build a simplified energy model in Autodesk® Vasari Beta 1.0 software and calibrate the model to monthly utility data in Autodesk® Green Building Studio® web-based software. The second half of the class will cover how to calibrate the simulated results of the DOE2 energy model to the actual building’s energy performance as captured by a properly configured BEMS system. Both of these strategies will be covered in a case study on the Autodesk headquarters building in San Rafael, CA.

Reducing energy use and carbon emissions from buildings is essential for solving the global climate crisis. Although the earth's atmosphere just exceeded the critical threshold of 400 ppm of carbon in the atmosphere, many of today's architects and engineers are not equipped to tackle this problem with sound building science and useful energy analysis. This is true for both graduating students and practicing professionals. In response to this need, the Autodesk education team, sustainability team, and product teams are working together to deliver a suite of educational programs. Hear from the people creating these programs and the people using them, and learn how they can help you, your classroom, and your firm.

Buildings are highly complex and dynamic systems. As such, determining the most effective ways to reduce energy use can be very challenging. This is especially true in design when there are many different factors to consider—unknowns will reveal themselves and things will change rapidly, all in a compressed time frame. In this class you'll achieve greater ease, continuity, confidence, and flexibility with a range of energy analysis, from concept to detailed modeling in the FormIt mobile app to Revit software. This is all made possible through recent and ongoing advances being made in automatic energy analytical model creation; use of cloud computing for parallel simulation processing of simulations; and more intuitive, interactive, and customizable reportage. This class will comprise largely of live demonstrations that will show the ease and possible depth of energy analysis, what to focus on when, and ultimately how you can trust the data in order to make better design decisions sooner.

This session is not for people who are heavy Dynamo software users. This session is for people who aren’t programmers (visual or other), but from time to time may need to use Dynamo as part of their workflows. It’s also for people who have heard of Dynamo, or visual programming, but never thought it was something they could do (but it totally is!). It’s also for those who just don’t think Dynamo can help them in their everyday workflows (don’t be so sure). By the end of this session, you will have an introductory understanding of Dynamo. You will learn that Dynamo can be used to create geometry with parametric relationships, and that this geometry can then be pushed into a Revit software project or family using the Revit software database. You will learn that Dynamo can do more than just geometry. It can also help with everyday tasks like creating grids and levels, adding some trees to your site, performing an energy analysis, or even changing your text from sentence case to all CAPS. This session features Revit and Dynamo Studio. AIA Approved

In this class you will learn how to set up your Revit software model for energy analysis within Revit and export out for analysis within Green Building Studio web-based energy analysis service. Learn where to go and what to do in order to set up the Building Information Modeling (BIM) information you need to generate a complete energy analysis. If we have enough time, we will look at Energy Analysis for Revit software from within the cloud.

Energy analysis has typically been a complex and time-consuming endeavor. At its foundation lies an Energy Analytical Model (EAM) and while advances in BIM have made significant gains in collaboration and productivity, EAM creation is still largely a skilled manual effort and subject to wide variability in BIM and energy analysis practices. A new feature in Revit 2014 Energy Analysis software that uses architectural building elements now greatly simplifies and standardizes EAM creation and subsequent analysis. This class provides background on what an EAM actually is, current industry practices and standards, and a comprehensive walkthrough of numerous worked examples directly in Revit 2014 to highlight how this new feature actually translates different architectural building elements and configurations into a high quality EAM, all without having to add, rebuild, or do any other bespoke model preparation, thereby helping you to deliver higher performing buildings more cost effectively and with greater confidence.

Your firm signed up for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2030 Challenge . . . so now what? In this presentation, a building performance specialist from Dekker/Perich/Sabatini will outline how they’ve implemented the 2030 Challenge. In this 90-minute session, we’ll discuss key considerations, from becoming a 2030 signatory through the software and best practices implemented during reporting. We’ll then dive into how to investigate early model analysis and how to convey valuable feedback to clients and design teams, including how to lower the predicted energy use intensity (EUI) while targeting the reduction goals set by the 2030 Challenge. We’ll also cover the deliverables provided to project design and engineering teams to ensure confidence in proposed energy-saving tactics and paths. This presentation will provide attendees with the tools needed to not only implement 2030 at their firms, but to also make a difference by reducing their carbon footprint!

FormIt 360 software is a fairly new player to the Autodesk, Inc., field. FormIt 360 is a powerful design-visualization and simulation software that parties nicely with Revit software. Its mobile application and cloud storage make it easy for users to modify designs, whether they’re in the office or on the go. In this session, we will show you how to develop and use a FormIt 360 model for analysis. We will discover how FormIt 360 building models interact with Revit software and its materials. FormIt 360 software’s applications within the Building Information Modeling (BIM) realm, along with its built-in energy analysis functions, are sure to become much-used design tools. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll win over some other “sketchy” application users! You’ll want to RSVP to this design party! This session features FormIt 360 and Revit. AIA Approved

This hands-on lab covers Autodesk® software workflows to quickly create 3D building models and perform conceptual energy analysis using existing building geometry, operational characteristics, and local weather data. Resulting energy reports can indicate which buildings perform poorly compared to modeled energy use; managers can then prioritize retrofits and renovations by evaluating various energy conservation measures. We examine use cases and workflows for each solution and use Autodesk® Green Building Studio® to explore potential energy savings and sustainable design alternatives. We also cover best practices, benefits, limitations, and workarounds of various modeling methods. We use examples of real projects, including a U.S Department of Defense project. Attendees get hands-on experience building 3D models of existing structures, running energy reports, and exploring design alternatives to save energy and water and reduce carbon emissions and operating costs in this hands-on lab.