SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Dec 18, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via Comtex/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, announced today the immediate availability of Autodesk(R) Revit(R) 6 software, the latest release of the industry's only design platform that is purpose-built for building information modeling. Autodesk Revit 6 provides architecture, interior design, and design-build firms with a competitive business advantage by assisting them in securing new projects, retaining existing clients, and increasing profitability. New features in Revit 6 enable building industry professionals to develop compelling design proposals more quickly than with traditional design and drafting software, while enhancing design decision support and client communication once projects are underway. Building industry professionals who are ready for a new way of working and want to make use of state-of-the-art parametric building modeling technology will find that Revit 6 supports the architectural design process by improving design collaboration for all members of the project team. Autodesk Revit 6 also includes enhancements that continue to deliver improved construction document coordination and quality by helping reduce mistakes and rework.

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"Revit is winning us new work and helping us deliver the best possible quality to our customers," said Larry Rocha, vice president and chief information officer for Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo. "Not only does Revit assist us in winning new business, but it is helping us turn existing clients into repeat clients."

Gain a Competitive Advantage

A key element to winning projects is the ability to develop comprehensive design proposals that differentiate one's firm from the competition. The new "design options" feature of Autodesk Revit 6 allows firms to more quickly produce and present high-quality proposals that effectively communicate design concepts to prospective clients, and it offers better decision support for ongoing design investigations once projects are secured. Beyond documenting and presenting the design itself, architects now can demonstrate the design thinking behind their proposals. The design options feature lets architects create alternate schemes inside a single project file, allowing multiple schemes to be studied in the context of the rest of the building. Multi-user teams can continue to work on schemes without disruption, and multiple options may be presented for design review. Clients can choose among the options, and the preferred option becomes part of the overall design. With the design options capability of Revit 6, building industry professionals can reduce the time required to present and achieve consensus on designs, and obtain a competitive advantage over firms using more lengthy traditional processes.

Enhanced Support for the Design Process

Autodesk Revit 6 "works like an architect" by supporting the architectural design process. In most firms, collaboration among team members is the key to success, and Autodesk Revit 6 improves design collaboration within the office and with all members of the project team. New to Revit 6, the multi-user element borrowing feature allows any team member to instantly share whichever component of the design needed to complete a particular part of the project. Along with improvements to functions such as stairs and railings, ellipses, split level plans, and curved column grids, this feature benefits users by offering better insight through the visualization and analysis of projects while they're in process. By working like an architect, Autodesk Revit 6 helps increase productivity by cutting down on time spent coordinating efforts across the project team.

Improved Coordination and Quality

As the only software designed to support building information modeling from the start, Autodesk Revit 6 has an established history of dramatically improving the coordination and quality of construction documents. The parametric change engine in Revit drives the software's ability to automatically update documents, eliminating coordination mistakes and rework that cause wasted effort and materials. Autodesk Revit 6 continues driving improved coordination and quality with a more powerful and customizable project browser; room areas that are now calculated individually by construction phase; views that more closely correspond to conventional detail documentation standards with less user effort; and more powerful schedules, including support for filtering and calculated fields directly in schedules. Improvements to these features enable timelier, higher quality decision support on project design, scope, schedule, and budget, and better coordinated documents that lead to smoother construction and reduced costs.

Increased Profitability

Throughout the building process, profitability is the result of improved productivity and lower costs. Autodesk Revit 6 delivers a significant reduction in production time from schematic design through final construction documentation with improvements to data export, including export of shared parameters and element IDs, allowing connections between business data and geometry information outside of the Revit application. Additional enhancements include the ability to save families directly out from projects and productivity tools that make both design and documentation faster and easier. These features, along with the inherent benefits of building information modeling, yield a more efficient design process-one that minimizes cost and maximizes productivity to increase profitability.

"As the global building industry becomes increasingly competitive, leading design and construction organizations are focusing on process innovation," said Phillip G. Bernstein, FAIA, vice president, Autodesk building solutions division. "Autodesk Revit 6 offers these firms a new way to use technology to expand their practices and serve as trusted advisors to their clients."

Product Availability

Autodesk Revit 6 is available to Revit subscription customers from the Web immediately in English in most countries worldwide. Autodesk(R) Subscription benefits customers with the latest releases and enhancements of Autodesk software, personalized web support direct from Autodesk technical experts, and self-paced training developed by Autodesk to help extend product skills. For more information on purchasing an Autodesk Revit subscription, contact an Autodesk Reseller (www.autodesk.com/reseller), call Autodesk at 800-964-6432, or visit www.autodesk.com/revit.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see http://www.autodesk.com . For more information on building information modeling and Autodesk's building design solutions, see http://www.autodesk.com/buildinginformation .

NOTE: Autodesk and Revit are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

CONTACT: Brian Baker of Autodesk, +1-415-507-6411, or brian.baker@autodesk.com.

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.

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