Berkeley Group has been constructing residential properties in the UK for more than 40 years using traditional approaches. Berkeley Modular is a startup that will deliver off-site manufactured housing products, but at levels of productivity normally associated with other sectors such as automotive. This off-site manufactured housing product is intended to be safe, high performing, high quality, and comfortable where actual performance matches designed intent. The class will chart the development of a new factory build and cover lessons learned, including planning of the layout, specifying the flexible manufacturing system and development of productive workflow, and the development of a technology platform that supports the concept of mass customization and uses conversion velocity. The digitally enabled agile manufacturing platform includes BIM 360 software as the CDE, as well as a suite of integrated manufacturing systems based on Vault software, Inventor software, coBuilder Collaborate, Oracle Fusion, and Siemens MES.

This year’s Design Computation Symposium will feature a number of different presentations from accomplished researchers, practitioners, and educators who will focus on the fascinating relationship between mathematical, geometrical, and architectural form.

We will discuss modeling pro tips and advanced skills for generative design workflows.

Integrating building performance analysis results in the early stage of conceptual design supports effective design exploration and decision making. Such integration requires domain expertise and can be technically challenging, time consuming, and computationally expensive. Machine learning demonstrates great potential for building seamless workflows that provide faster analysis feedback. However, one of the challenges in the architecture domain is the lack of diverse data sets to train effective prediction models. This talk will provide a brief overview of the potential of machine learning in building analysis-prediction models and demonstrate how we can capitalize on generative design to compensate for the lack of data. We will present a workflow where generative design features for Revit software, Dynamo software, and Insight software are used to generate a synthetic data set for training a machine-learning model for energy-analysis prediction.

The South China University of Technology (SCUT) robotic team never stop seeking brand-new solutions for improved efficiency and quality workflow from design to manufacturing. Zhen-Po led his team, the South China Tigers, to a first-place RoboMaster 2019 regional championship through the adoption of generative design tools in Fusion 360 software. Zhen-Po was hired by the RoboMaster’s organizer, DJI, an electronics manufacturer in China after graduation. Combining 27 parts to only a single part for the stabilizer mount achieved a final weight of 170 grams—a 42% weight reduction compared to the original computer numerical control (CNC) process. Reducing the material waste while enhancing the strength by generativity adding support, therefore reducing the mass of the robot while ensuring structural integrity, the mechanical team’s entire iterative cost was reduced by 80%, which would not have been possible before.

For years Dynamo users have achieved productive gains in their project teams with visual scripting. But what if the whole team was using it? Now is the time to move this tool from the individual to the collective by enabling every user to use Dynamo systematically in the company. See how it’s possible to help organizations with hundreds of designers access shared Dynamo scripts and resources in a coordinated and effective way. This includes centralized script repository, templates for Dynamo scripts, how to vet content suitable for your company, version control of scripts, and managing third-party packages for everyone. By enabling everyone access to Dynamo and getting them to use it, the gains in productivity for your teams will be felt and digital transformation will get a boost. Learn how to make it happen with this class.

Dynamo for a long time has been the go-to tool of Revit users to quickly script solutions to time-consuming routine problems. However, there is much more that Dynamo can do beyond scripting. There is a whole world to explore with packages and integrations which you may not be aware of. See what is possible with AI, geometry manipulation, coding, generative design in Autodesk software, and document updates, as well as accessing web APIs with Dynamo. If you think you know Dynamo, then you’ve only scratched the surface. Check out this class to see the true potential of Dynamo and visual scripting.

Generative Design has brought a paradigm shift in the way we design. In early 2019 we launched a Proof of Concept for this new approach, taking advantage of our BIM and Station concept expertise. Having disseminated state-of-the-art Generative Design knowledge among our technical team, we began an ‘awareness phase’ and chose a subject for Proof of Concept from a range of study cases. The test application that we present today aims to help architects in Functional Program of Metro Station. We would like to share with you our experience from the last 12 months of experimentation.

For the last couple of years, the speaker has taught generative design classes at Autodesk University. The first years, we did an “Introduction to Generative Design” lecture; last year we did a lab showing the process and setup for applying a generative design to a part. This year we want to look at the results that you get from running the part and talk about how to interpret the information that you get back. We also want to look at how to download the desired result as a solid model, modify the file for any needed cleanup, and use it in an assembly. We are going to start by submitting a file to Generative Design in Fusion 360 software, then we’ll look at the results that are returned for strength, weight, and even cost. We will review sorting the results to get the best possible option for what we want, then we will download the file and talk about what you can do with the file. We’ll finish up by talking about changes to Generative Design in Fusion 360 that have come out this year.

How cool to watch or drive a drone! Well, there is a cooler way to think drones: You’ll be able to create a drone chassis after attending this hands-on lab! Fusion 360 software is an amazing product, with lots of environments to master. Generative Design in Fusion 360 is also available. Using the power of Generative Design, you can discover lots of details on how to use Fusion 360 to create a specific product. No matter if you’re a beginner or a seasoned veteran, this will be a detailed course that everyone can understand. Come along for an action-packed 90 minutes of learning, and find out how to create a design using Generative Design in Fusion 360!

Implementing Simulation software early and often in the design process helps to reduce prototypes, get to market more quickly, and optimize your design for better performance. Designs are all around you—some that have used Simulation software, and some that could benefit from this optimization. In fact, most products require the use of multiple Simulation software products to achieve their best design. I know, I know . . . so where does the kegger come in to play? It might seem strange, but something as simple as a keg can be used to perfectly demonstrate nearly every Simulation software product. In this class, you will learn a bit of Simulation for Fusion 360 software, Autodesk CFD software, Autodesk Nastran In-CAD software, Simulation Mechanical software, Moldflow software, and Moldflow Design software. So, if you’re interested in how you can optimize your designs, or just want to grab a beer in one of the most entertaining classes of Autodesk University, this is the place for you! This session features Fusion 360 and CFD.

The class will provide a walk-through of a sample project that is automated in the Dynamo visual programming language extension and using the Revit software API (application programming interface). This apples-to-apples comparison will showcase the best uses for each tool, helping attendees to draw their own conclusions as to how the Dynamo extension and/or the Revit software API may fit into their current practices. When is it appropriate to learn and implement the Revit software API? Is the Dynamo extension a flexible enough environment for project-based automation or is it a stepping-stone for the API? These are just some questions we will discuss and try to answer together while discovering some of the features of each tool.

While it's not directly shown, it's likely that the teachers at Hogwarts used a lot of magic to make quick work of the mundane prep for their classes. This session will review applications of generative design from the standpoint of the graph author rather than the user. Using Generative Design in Revit software, we'll use our own brand of magic to find the optimal seating chart in potions (Revit integration), lay out the care of magical creatures OWL on the Hogwarts grounds (FormIt 360 software), and design the layout for the campgrounds at the Quidditch World Cup (Civil 3D software). This magic may not be as old as what the students at Hogwarts learn, but it will still help move your Revit, FormIt 360, and Civil 3D work to the next level via Generative Design in Revit!

Designing a virtual reality (VR) environment for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry depends greatly on content building groups. It leads to designing time consumption for the areas that are not the focus of AEC. Correlating with some level generator aspect of the gaming industry, the expense of environment generation could be reduced with highly varied environment design options. Using the algorithms of procedural generation and VR rendering options, a combination of human-generated assets using Maya software or 3ds Max software and algorithms can render an autogenerated and assorted range of VR environments in Revit software or related AEC tools. We will discuss a study of how procedural generated levels in a Spelunky game can be related to the VR environment generation for AEC, as well as how construction and building design can benefit from existing methodologies in the gaming industry.

In this session, attendees will get a look at how Generative Design in Fusion 360 software can help them improve the way they design and make engineering decisions. We will review the development progress we made throughout the year, and highlight why those features were key to improving how users capitalized on Generative Design. We will also look ahead to how we will be investing in improving our workflows, as well as growing our physics support to expand the types of problems that can easily be solved with Generative Design in Fusion 360. Lastly, we will show a sample of some of the successful customer projects that have been executed throughout the year.

FormIt Pro software is Autodesk's premier architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) 3D modeling and analysis environment for conceptual and computational design workflows. Take advantage of FormIt Pro in the Architecture, Engineering & Construction Collection to expand and diversify your services while designing with sustainability in mind. This class will show workflows that involve FormIt Pro and other products in the AEC Collection. Start your FormIt Pro model by assigning a location and importing a BIM context from InfraWorks software for 3D terrain, buildings, and roadways. Explore design options quickly and efficiently in FormIt Pro by integrating Dynamo graphs while controlling the graph through FormIt Pro software’s simple interface. Quantify and present design options by importing a FormIt Pro massing model into Revit software to quickly document space-planning and feasibility studies. Present real-time visualizations to clients by importing a more detailed FormIt Pro model into Revit for a walk-through, and continue to detail and document the design in Revit.

We’ll start by exploring the basics of Generative Design in Fusion 360 software, then look at how understanding the inputs can help us to design not only functional but also fun designs. To make our new artistic design, we need to explore how 3D printers see the designs. Small tweaks can help the 3D printer create better results. We will show examples of artistic designs and the quality of the 3D-printed outcomes.

Bonava is a leading residential developer of affordable housing units in Northern Europe. To achieve this goal, lowering costs and increasing productivity is essential. Standardized single-family housing units have been developed, with accompanying models, drawings, and documentation in Revit software. When the site layout is ready, Dynamo software helps to get the information from the houses to the site model and vice versa. While solutions for the houses are predefined, site design remains the largest variable. We use generative design tools to create more-detailed site-layout solutions in earlier stages, and measure both hard and soft values for each option. Now, numbers back up design exploration, making it possible to identify correlations between different design metrics. Furthermore, this lets us bring representatives of different disciplines to fact-based discussions very early on, to assess the plot and make informed decisions for further development.

Generative design, machine learning, algorithm, neural network—these terms flood social media and technical forums. But are you familiar with these concepts? If the answer is no, welcome to the first generative-design class for non-geeks! There is no need to hold a degree in computer science or to work on the most-innovative projects; everybody can optimize their workflows using Dynamo software and Generative Design in Revit software. In this class you will learn how to take your automations to the next level where you set the rules and select the end solution among the fittest results. After this session, you will be equipped with a set of samples to start optimizing your daily workflows.

Unlock your business potential! Discover emerging building-industry trends, scope generative-design projects, and target solutions in a 90-minute scenario-based think tank with industry peers. Last year, we introduced the idea of outcome-based design in the Autodesk University course, “The Business Value of Computational and Generative Design for Executives.” This year, we are pushing further to develop actionable plans for implementation by design technologists and computational and generative designers. Attendees will form teams to discover opportunities for automation, rationalization, and optimization with design challenges that push the limits on design requirements and process innovation. A panel of reviewers from Autodesk will award one team with the Future is a Design Challenge Award for Excellence in Strategy Development.