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April 5, 2024Autodesk introduces Total Carbon Analysis for a more sustainable built environment
- The new offerings from Total Carbon Analysis for Architects provides insights into the carbon outputs of design decisions from day one.
- Additional updates to the AECO portfolio include the new Tandem for AEC and expanded AI capabilities for AutoCAD and InfoDrainage.
- Product updates will continue to roll out over the coming weeks to deliver improved workflows and outcomes for the industry.
The Phoenix will be built at about half the cost, time, and carbon footprint of a typical multi-family building in the San Francisco Bay Area. Autodesk technology enabled the design team to see real-time cost and embodied carbon numbers for every design option.
Our customers have told us that sustainability is increasingly important. You’re facing mounting pressure to innovate your business model in a fast-paced world. And improving the efficiency of workflows is paramount to managing costs and staying competitive.
We’ve been listening. I’m excited to share a variety of product updates across our architecture, engineering, construction, and operations (AECO) portfolio that deliver new value today while developing a path to the future for the professionals who design and make the built world. Read on to learn more about new offerings, workflows, and capabilities that I’m particularly excited about that will make our industry more sustainable, more innovative, and more efficient.
Designing with sustainable outcomes in mind
It’s no secret the built environment causes a significant carbon load, representing nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions annually. We see this data as inspiration to improve. Today we’re announcing Total Carbon Analysis for Architects for the AEC Collection, which offers new capabilities for carbon analysis that help track the carbon footprint of a building from planning through detailed design.
This includes Embodied Carbon Analysis in Autodesk Forma (currently in Tech Preview), which is supported by AI capabilities and enables architects to understand and test the carbon impact of their design decisions at the beginning of project planning. Also coming soon are new capabilities developed in Autodesk Insight, which measure carbon impacts from lighting, HVAC, architectural elements, building materials, and more. For additional information, we encourage you to attend the ‘What’s New in Revit 2025’ webinar.
With Embodied Carbon Analysis in Autodesk Forma, architects can understand the carbon impact of their design decisions at the beginning of project planning.
Total Carbon Analysis offers architects unprecedented access to carbon insights through intuitive dashboards to evaluate the tradeoffs between embodied and operational carbon. Total Carbon Analysis will empower the industry to reduce its carbon footprint and improve sustainability of the built environment.
Learn more about Embodied Carbon Analysis in Forma Autodesk.
Designing with sustainability in mind requires comprehensive data. That’s why we’re expanding our strategic alliance with Esri to release new integrations of ArcGIS® Basemaps with Civil 3D and AutoCAD to provide civil engineers with detailed geospatial data and mapping capabilities.
Enhanced visibility of existing conditions empowers users to optimize designs that minimize environmental impacts and ecological disruption. In addition to design workflows, a new update to our integration with Esri’s ArcGIS Online and Info360 Asset gives water and wastewater network operations and maintenance teams improved access to asset condition data, risk analysis, and rehabilitation plans.
The integration of ArcGIS® Basemaps with AutoCAD provides civil engineers with the foundations to make informed decisions with geographical information.
Learn more about Esri integrations.
Data to fuel innovation and improved collaboration
Building Information Models (BIM) hold massive amounts of valuable data about a physical asset. AEC firms can turn that data into a competitive advantage by offering customers a digital twin at handover.
Autodesk Tandem is our digital twin offering for buildings, and soon it will be available for all BIM Collaborate Pro subscribers as Tandem for AEC. This means AEC firms will be able to extend and diversify their services to deliver a living digital representation of projects, along with owner manuals, assets data, and warranty information all connected to the 3D model. Typically, 95% of data captured in construction goes unused, however, Tandem for AEC will put your data to work, accelerating operational readiness to bring new value to your clients.
In addition to squeezing more value from data, it’s important that this data is easier to work with. Now available, teams in AutoCAD 2025 can use the Markup Import tool with PDFs stored in Docs to maintain a live sync as markups are added. This means that Docs users can share markup PDFs that automatically sync with AutoCAD 2025 in a trace layer. These connections reduce documentation and speed up collaboration amongst your teams.
Learn more about AutoCAD and Autodesk Docs markups
AI updates to accelerate processes and creativity
It’s incredible to see the traction AI has gained in the last year. The AECO industry is continuing to embrace the power of AI to augment work, analyze data for insights, and automate processes for more efficiency.
Across the AECO portfolio, we’re releasing new features to leverage Autodesk AI across our customers’ workflows.
We first announced the ML Deluge tool for InfoDrainage last November, and we’re quickly building on its AI capabilities. Available soon, new updates will enable more interactivity with the machine learning deluge tool, providing a more comprehensive experience while users move around stormwater controls. As you stamp ponds and swales onto existing surfaces, you’ll get an updated deluge map with an analysis running automatically in the background so you can quickly and easily understand the impacts of your drainage design.
The ML Deluge tool for InfoDrainage is powered by AI and enables users to understand the impacts of drainage designs on their project sites.
AI is also bringing CAD into a new era. With AutoCAD 2025, users can improve content reuse and standardization in drawings with the latest Smart Blocks tools, powered by Autodesk AI. New features include Search and Convert, which enable you to quickly search your drawings for objects and convert them into new, existing, or suggested blocks.
With the new Object Detection tool, you can save time with automation that cleans up drawings by recognizing objects and converting them into blocks. Still in Tech Preview, Object Detection will continue to evolve and improve.
Learn more about Autodesk AI in AutoCAD.
And for construction teams, in March, we delivered updates to Autodesk Construction Cloud that help project leaders and teams have the right information at hand in order to minimize the chances of setting off a chain reaction of costly mistakes.
When I reflect on these releases and updates, I’m excited to see that how we work continues to evolve. Sometimes innovation strikes fast. Other times, innovation arrives in increments, improving your experiences over time. These updates are a combination of these two types of innovation, bringing you ever closer to a better future.
For more information on AECO product updates, visit the Tech Drop blog.
