ANAHEIM, Calif., Jun 4, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Worldwide Engineering Firm Gains Substantial Time-Savings Through Increased Accuracy and Documentation Support

Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced that Flack + Kurtz Inc., an international consulting engineering firm, has purchased Autodesk Building Mechanical 2 and Autodesk Building Electrical 2 applications and plans on standardizing on the software by the end of the year. Flack + Kurtz selected Autodesk's latest version of Building Electrical and Building Mechanical software because it provides fast, simultaneous production of construction documentation, accurate 3-dimensional data models for multiple-discipline coordination and quantity take-offs to support cost estimating.

The San Francisco Flack + Kurtz office tested pre-release versions of Autodesk Building Mechanical 2 and Autodesk Building Electrical 2 software before their general availability in March 2002, using the Autodesk applications to design a San Jose housing project and a University of California project. The firm plans to purchase seats of both software applications and incorporate the features by year-end. Engineers were impressed with the time-savings benefits from using model-based systems, specifically interference detection, which confirms that the design meets code and that there are no conflicts among duct work, lighting and plumbing, etc.; clearance check capabilities, which red-flags potential design conflicts in advance; and cut section capabilities, which allows the designer to see the same drawing from various angles. All of these features allow designers to design more quickly and accurately.

"Using Autodesk Building Electrical and Autodesk Building Mechanical has allowed us to work faster and smarter. We no longer have to duplicate efforts as we go from schematic design to design development to construction documents," said Norman Kurtz, president and CEO of Flack + Kurtz. "We can see both short and long-term ROI benefits, reaffirming our decision to standardize on these building systems applications from Autodesk."

    Benefits of Autodesk Building Systems Applications

Autodesk Building Mechanical 2 and Autodesk Building Electrical 2 provide several new features including a performance enhanced interference detection capability; and graphics caching and fitting selection are also much faster. These overall performance improvements allow mechanical and electrical engineers to detect building system and architectural building structure interferences earlier, which is especially helpful when designing complex building systems found in healthcare and government projects.

    About Flack + Kurtz

Flack + Kurtz Inc. provides complete planning, design, and construction engineering services for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, life safety and fire protection systems. Founded In 1969, Flack + Kurtz Inc. has offices in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Paris, and London, as well as a permanent joint venture in Sydney. The New York office serves as the corporate headquarters. Since 1983, Flack + Kurtz Inc. has also provided comprehensive telecommunications, data, audio/visual, security, and lighting systems design with services ranging from planning to comprehensive bid documents and construction administration.

    About Autodesk

Founded in 1982, Autodesk, Inc., is the world's leading design and digital media creation, management, and distribution company. The company serves a diverse portfolio of markets, including building design, geographic information systems, manufacturing, digital media, and wireless data services. By delivering tools that foster innovation and creativity, Autodesk helps customers throughout the value chain leverage digital design data to work better, faster, and smarter. With annual revenues of $936 million, Autodesk is one of the largest global software companies. More information about Autodesk can be found on its web site at www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

CONTACT:          Autodesk
                  Shannon Hart, 415/507-6241
                  shannon.hart@autodesk.com
                  or
                  Flack + Kurtz
                  Diane Deremer, 415/398-3833
                  diane.deremer@sf.fk.com

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