New G.E.M. Translator Supports Industry Foundation Classes 2x Standard Data

Exchange Mechanism for Latest Autodesk Building Information Modeling

                                 Application

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. and NEUSTADT, Germany, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, and G.E.M. Team Solutions GbR, an expert in data exchange for the AEC industry, announced today that the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) has granted final certification for the G.E.M. Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) Utility 2x for Autodesk(R) Architectural Desktop software. The translator allows building industry professionals to freely share intelligent data created in Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3.3 and 2004 software with all project team members by using the IFC open data standard developed by the IAI, an alliance of construction and facilities management organizations dedicated to process improvement through information sharing. A founding member of and long-time contributor to the IAI, Autodesk supports the IFC data exchange mechanism as part of its comprehensive strategy to promote openness and facilitate industry adoption of building industry modeling -- an approach to building design, construction, and management first introduced by Autodesk in 2002.

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"We are in the process of converting over 1000 projects from ALLplan and other formats to the Autodesk Architectural Desktop format," said August Pries, Dipl. Ing., from CAD Stelle Bayern, an internal service provider for the Bavarian Building Authorities. "Our first tests of the Inopso GmbH IFC-Utility 2x for Architectural Desktop have yielded excellent results, with a transfer quality up to 85-95 percent. With this translation resource, our office will be able to move forward very quickly in using Architectural Desktop on existing building projects in Bavaria."

"Building industry professionals have responded enthusiastically to the release of our IFC-Utility 2x for Autodesk Architectural Desktop," said Gamal Kira, managing director of G.E.M. Team Solutions GbR in Neustadt, Germany. "Our partnership with Autodesk on this project will ensure that over a quarter of a million of Architectural Desktop users worldwide will be able to freely share intelligent building information."

Autodesk Support for Openness

As the design and construction industry moves from traditional CAD to building information modeling, software interoperability is becoming increasingly important. Autodesk is committed to supporting industry standards for integration and interoperability as demonstrated by its active participation in the IAI and long-time support for IFC as a data exchange mechanism. To further this shared industry of vision of openness, Autodesk promotes a variety of interoperability and integration standards, including IFC, ODBC, DGN, XML, DWG, and DWF(TM). The DWF open, non-editable file format helps customers share data for seamless design collaboration and communication throughout project lifecycles, allowing designers, engineers, developers, and their colleagues to quickly and easily communicate design information to anyone needing it. In conjunction with these standards, Autodesk also provides an open API in Architectural Desktop for third-party development of niche applications that extend its value in such areas as building performance analyses.

"As we work to develop the best possible building information modeling tools for our customers, openness will remain a key component of our vision," said Phillip G. Bernstein, FAIA, vice president of Autodesk's Building Solution Division. "The success of our partnership with G.E.M. Team Solutions in developing an IFC translator for Architectural Desktop is a demonstration of our commitment to this approach for our entire portfolio of building industry products."

Product Availability

The IFC2.x plug-in utility for Autodesk Architectural Desktop is currently available for download from the Website of Inopso GmbH (the distribution partner of G.E.M. Team Solutions) at http://www.inopso.com . For more information on Architectural Desktop and the IFC2x plug-in utility, visit http://www.autodesk.com/archdesktop .

About G.E.M Team Solutions GbR

G.E.M. Team Solutions GbR offers consulting services and software development, mainly in the CAD and AEC industry. Because of the active commitment of the Industry Alliance for Interoperability to Industry Foundation Classes, and our experience in the implementation of IFC translators for different systems, G.E.M. Team Solutions GbR is an expert in data exchange for the AEC industry. For more information about the company, see http://www.team-solutions.de .

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/buildingdesign.

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

    Autodesk Contact:
     Carol Lettieri (415) 507-6908 or carol.lettieri@autodesk.com

    G.E.M. Team Solutions Contact:
     Eberhard Michaelis (+49) 6321 385690 or info@team-solutions.de

SOURCE  Autodesk, Inc.
    -0-                             12/04/2003
    /CONTACT:  Carol Lettieri of Autodesk, +1-415-507-6908, or
carol.lettieri@autodesk.com; or Eberhard Michaelis of G.E.M. Team Solutions,
(+49) 6321 385690, or info@team-solutions.de/
    /Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000518/SFTH083LOGO
             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
             PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840/
    /Web site:  http://www.team-solutions.de /
    /Web site:  http://www.autodesk.com /
    (ADSK)

CO:  Autodesk, Inc.; G.E.M. Team Solutions GbR; International Alliance for
     Interoperability
ST:  California
IN:  CST CPR STW MLM
SU:  LIC



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