Autodesk to Open New AEC Headquarters in Waltham, MA

The interior of the building is being designed and constructed with Autodesk's portfolio of products for building information modeling (BIM) and is the first project in New England to use the integrated project delivery (IPD) model, an innovative approach to design and construction that can accelerate project timeline and reduce costly errors. Autodesk Vice President of Industry Strategy and Relations Phil Bernstein, FAIA, LEED AP, discussed the use of IPD on this project today in a keynote address at the Integrated Practice Symposium at the Build Boston Conference.

The building is located at 1560 Trapelo Road in Waltham, Mass., and the interior was designed by architecture firm KlingStubbins and built by general contracting firm Tocci Building Companies. Using the Autodesk Revit platform for BIM, the firms were able to create coordinated, digital design information and documentation, and use that information to more accurately predict energy performance, as well as appearance and cost.

"Autodesk has been advocating the use of BIM for sustainable design and construction to our customers for many years, so it is exciting to be able to adopt these practices on our own project as we work towards a Gold LEED rating," said Jay Bhatt, senior vice president, Autodesk AEC Solutions. "What makes this new building especially significant is not only that Autodesk is reinforcing our commitment to the Boston area, but that we're also partnering with local architecture, engineering and construction firms who use our software to achieve the sustainability goals of the project."

During the design of 1560 Trapelo Road, KlingStubbins and Tocci Building Companies used a variety of Autodesk solutions collaboratively in the BIM process. Revit Architecture software and Revit MEP software were used to create a coordinated, consistent model with which to work. Autodesk Inventor software was leveraged to create digital prototypes of pre-fabricated materials, such as an intricately-detailed wood ceiling. The builder, architect and Autodesk also used Autodesk Quantity Takeoff software, which was instrumental in model based quantity extraction that supported the budget process and Autodesk Navisworks products to extend project design data to all stakeholders.

The new office space will feature state-of-the-art sustainable features allowing for the comfort and health of the employees. Some of the amenities of the building include: a 4,000 square-foot customer briefing center and gallery, a cafe with a focus on local and organic offerings, and a high definition TelePresence video conferencing system that will be used to interact with other Autodesk offices around the world.

An Integrated Project Delivery Approach

In addition to the project's sustainable design attributes, the project is the first in New England to be built using the IPD process, which integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a collaborative process that harnesses the talents and insights of all the participants to reduce waste and optimize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication and construction. By doing so, the integrated project teams helps ensure that the design, schedule and budget were agreed upon by all involved parties throughout the process, with the goal of optimizing efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication and construction. Using the IPD process, team members were able to reduce waste by using materials more efficiently, as well as the expectation of reducing construction change orders.

"We've learned a lot about the process that we believe our customers are going to use in the future on their projects by being the client on an IPD project," said Bernstein. "We wrote our own contract, and had to make decisions on a number of issues. We've been deeply involved in the decision-making process and have watched the use of our technology; it's been an experience that's allowed us to really feel how the nature of the building process is going to change."