Autodesk University 2008, and the New Version of Tekla Structures

Autodesk University was held last week at The Venetian in Las Vegas, and it attracted close to 9,000 attendees from over 74 countries, pointing to not just an increased global presence for Autodesk but also a growing internationalization of technology and technology events in the AEC industry. In addition to the general session and the different discipline-specific sessions, there were a wide variety of Autodesk products and add-on applications from third-party vendors on display in the Exhibit Hall, allowing users to get an indepth overview of the technologies available in their individual fields. The AEC section of the Exhibit Hall, in particular, was teeming with third-party solutions working with Revit, many of which were new and exhibiting at Autodesk University for the first time. AECbytes takes a two-part look at Autodesk University 2008, starting with the highlights of the general and building industry sessions, followed by a dedicated article capturing an overview of the AEC-related applications on display at the Exhibit Hall.

We will then move on to look at the new version of Tekla Structures, a BIM application for structural engineering that also includes comprehensive tools for detailers, fabricators, manufacturers, and constructors, which was first reviewed in AECbytes last year. Tekla Structures 14 features a revamped task-oriented user interface, a more flexible and efficient licensing system, improved design coordination with change management and clash detection of reference models, a new construction management module that integrates with leading scheduling applications, and a vast array of video tutorials that greatly reduce the learning curve of the application.

Also on the agenda for the month is a Viewpoint article by Linda Letourneau, director of technology of the firm LandDesign, who talks about how implementing better technologies and changing the focus of the IT group to customer satisfaction and support helped improve her firm's IT adoption. Last but not the least, we have a Tips and Tricks article on using PDF files in ArchiCAD from our ArchiCAD expert, Eric Bobrow.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very festive holiday season and a wonderful New Year! Thank you for your continued interest, which has helped AECbytes complete its fifth year of existence this month.

Thank you!

Lachmi Khemlani

Editorials > December 2008