SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Oct 19, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), a world leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, and Gehry Technologies, a technology and services provider to building owners, developers, architects, engineers, general contractors, fabricators, and other building industry professionals worldwide, announced a strategic business relationship today. The new agreement will help architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals to more fully realize the benefits of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process to meet the demands of today's competitive building industry.

The agreement enables Gehry Technologies to better serve its customers by expanding its consulting services to firms seeking to transform business and design workflows with Autodesk BIM solutions.

"I started Gehry Technologies to alleviate many of the long-standing challenges that were present within the industry and to enhance best practices for each new building project," said Frank Gehry, co-founder, Gehry Technologies. "As a result, the technologies and processes that Gehry Technologies has developed over the years have been critical in helping to achieve this vision while also providing great value to our clients. Autodesk products have been in our toolbox for many years, and now this relationship will help drive our shared goal of industry transformation by helping architects, engineers, contractors and owners get better value and impact from technology."

"This new business relationship with Autodesk is a key element of our growth strategy," added Dayne Myers, CEO of Gehry Technologies. "It will enable Gehry Technologies to expand its existing consulting offerings to better assist firms across the globe that are transitioning their businesses to support a BIM workflow and attain the cost and time savings of BIM and other AEC technologies. Our proven methodology for process planning, training and project consulting has helped customers save 5-10% of project costs and reduce design and construction time on some of the industry's most challenging ventures. These innovative projects include the Beijing National Stadium, the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute in Las Vegas, the Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall in New York, and the Burj Dubai Tower in Dubai."

"Autodesk sees joining forces with Gehry Technologies' consultancy services as a powerful way to help AEC firms transition to a BIM process," said Jay Bhatt, senior vice president, Architecture, Engineering and Construction Solutions, Autodesk. "Our business relationship is designed to take advantage of our strengths as world leaders and will add additional momentum to the adoption of BIM as a process throughout the AEC industry, and the use of Autodesk's comprehensive end-to-end portfolio of BIM solutions."

Under the terms of the business relationship, Autodesk will provide Gehry Technologies' consulting division with extensive support and training in using Autodesk BIM solutions, including the Autodesk Building Design Suite, the Revit family of products, Autodesk Navisworks, AutoCAD Civil 3D and Autodesk Vault Collaboration AEC. As a part of a comprehensive agreement, Autodesk has made an equity investment in Gehry Technologies.

"We are very excited that Autodesk and Gehry Technologies have come together to deliver BIM solutions and services to customers like us," said Yoshihiro Ichioka, deputy general manager, Overseas Business Division, Obayashi Corporation. "I think the industry will definitely benefit from their ability to deliver world-class software and services to promote and implement BIM."

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding: the extent to which the relationship will help users realize the benefits, efficiencies and cost savings of the BIM process; the impact of the relationship on Autodesk's business performance and product and services offerings; and Autodesk's commitments to Gehry Technologies' customers. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: difficulties managing or unexpected interruptions in the relationship between Autodesk and Gehry Technologies; whether certain market segments grow as anticipated; the competitive environment in the software industry and competitive responses to this relationship; our success developing new products or modify existing products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance; general market and business conditions; the timing and degree of expected investments in growth opportunities; pricing pressure; failure to achieve continued cost reductions and productivity increases; changes in the timing of product releases and retirements; failure of key new applications to achieve anticipated levels of customer acceptance; failure to achieve continued success in technology advancements; interruptions or terminations in the business of our consultants or third party developers; the expense and impact of legal or regulatory proceedings; and unanticipated impact of accounting for this investment.

Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2011, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2011, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Autodesk does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

About Autodesk BIM Solutions

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an intelligent model-based process that provides insight for creating and managing building and infrastructure projects faster, more economically, and with less environmental impact. Autodesk BIM solutions for building and infrastructure lifecycles are based on intelligent models created with Autodesk Revit and AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Helping to expand the benefits of BIM is a powerful set of complementary solutions for visualizing and simulating projects virtually, documentation and professional drafting, and data management and collaboration. The Autodesk Building Design and Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suites offer a comprehensive set of tools to support BIM workflows in a single, cost-effective package.

About Gehry Technologies

Gehry Technologies provides design and project management technology and consulting services to leading owners, developers, architects, engineers, general contractors, fabricators, and other building industry professionals worldwide. Gehry Technologies solutions increase creativity and control; reduce project risks, costs, and completion times; and improve processes and decisions through collaboration, project visibility, and information access. Gehry Technologies is privately held, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Mexico City, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. More information is available at the Gehry Technologies website.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries-- including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects-- use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Navisworks, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2011 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: Autodesk, Inc.

Autodesk
Ralph Bond, 503-707-3933
ralph.bond@autodesk.com
or
for Gehry Technologies
Sarah Tonzi, 585-905-1806
stonzi@emergemedia.com