Leading Industry Firms RTKL, Mestergruppen, A3, Bentel Use Autodesk Revit to

Build Their Businesses, Deliver Higher Quality Design, and Reduce Costs

CHICAGO, AIA 2004 National Convention and Expo, June 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc., (Nasdaq: ADSK) the world's leading design software and digital content company, is reporting accelerated global adoption of its Autodesk(R) Revit(R) building information modeling platform. Architects, engineers, builders, and building owners worldwide are embracing the benefits of this new way of working.

"The combination of globalization, continuous process innovation, and clients' increasing expectation of intelligent buildings has forced design firms around the world to re-evaluate their practices," said James Cramer, chairman and CEO of Greenway Group. "Building information modeling, with its ability to address these challenges, is perceived as an important tool of change in the A/E/C industry, and the trend is toward continued worldwide adoption of this revolutionary approach."

First introduced to the industry by Autodesk in 2002, building information modeling has changed the way building professionals around the world think about information technology for building design, construction, and management. By supporting the continuous and immediate availability of the best possible information for making design decisions, purpose-built building information modeling provides significant advantages over traditional drafting software or object-oriented CAD. Greater productivity and fewer errors reduce design costs; projects are delivered more quickly; and higher quality work is produced. Firms are also finding new revenue and business opportunities from expanded service offerings using building information modeling. Leading firms, such as RTKL, Mestergruppen, A3, and Bentel, are using Autodesk Revit building information modeling to achieve the full benefits of this way of working.

"We're poised for a fundamental process change in the global building industry as design and construction professionals around the world begin to realize the benefits of building information modeling," said Phillip G. Bernstein, FAIA, vice president of Autodesk's Building Solutions Division. "This transformation is currently being fueled by the many individual successes firms are experiencing in implementing this new way of working within their practices."

RTKL Moves to Autodesk Revit

RTKL Associates Inc. is one of the world's foremost architectural, engineering and planning firms, with over 700 employees in 10 offices worldwide. The company's portfolio of large-scale projects include the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington D.C., the Chinese Museum of Film in Beijing, and the Maryland Museum of African-American History and Culture in Baltimore, MD. RTKL is currently in the process of converting its offices to Autodesk Revit after experiencing the benefits of building information modeling on four major projects. These projects included a 400,000-square- foot, five-story office building, an 88,000-square-foot data center, and the exterior cladding for a major parking facility. The company goal is to have each large RTKL office complete a significant project with Revit this year.

"The Autodesk Revit database concept is the future of architectural design and document software," said Bill Houston, PE, a principal at RTKL, and a recognized pioneer in the development of computer-based architectural documentation. "Revit is very effective for RTKL's large-scale projects, and the coordinated design information ensures we're delivering the highest quality work."

Leading European Builder Standardizes on Autodesk Revit

Mestergruppen AS, a large residential builder based in Norway, is an umbrella organization of the companies Mesterkjoep, Mesterhus, Byggeriet, Systemhus and Unikus. Mestergruppen standardized on Autodesk Revit based on the software's advanced building information modelling capabilities.

"Revit is far more powerful and flexible, and solves tasks faster and more elegantly than any other CAD software we've seen," said Arve Solheim, chain manager at Mesterhus, a Mestergruppen subsidiary. "For example, when importing and exporting quantity data generated in drawings, with a few key strokes, you easily make energy calculations, light area calculations, and other important calculations for consideration in the building process."

Successful Large Projects Drive Adoption of Autodesk Revit in South Africa

Autodesk Revit adoption in South Africa has provided extraordinary benefits to several firms working on large hospital and university projects. A3 Architects (Pty) Ltd., a Johannesburg-based architectural practice, recently designed a $5.45 million hospital project using Autodesk Revit. The project was completed in three weeks and included the delivery of 3D images, plans, sections, and multiple elevations.

"We've put Autodesk Revit through its paces on a very large project and it's come through with flying colors," said William Ackerman, principal architect at A3.

Another South African firm, Bentel Associates International (BAI), also in South Africa, used Autodesk Revit to design a 1.1 million-square-foot mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

"Autodesk Revit allows us to explore spatial designs, with changes reflected immediately in all views, and to quickly generate client presentation material," said Edmund Batley, director for Middle East projects, Bentel Associates International.

Industry Applications Increase Value of Autodesk Revit

Architects using Revit can also benefit from third-party applications that extend the Revit building information model. e-SPECS(R) for Revit by InterSpec, LLC. instantly updates project specifications to the requirements of the building model, ensuring document coordination and accuracy. Green Building Studio by GeoPraxis, utilizes the building information model to quickly perform building energy performance evaluation and validation of design options. By leveraging the power of the Revit building information model, third-party application providers further enable design professionals to achieve competitive business advantages.

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 Autodesk's building information modeling, see http://www.autodesk.com/buildinginformation

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

    (c) 2004 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Contact:  Brian Baker, 415-547-2451
    Email:    brian.baker@autodesk.com

SOURCE  Autodesk, Inc.
    -0-                             06/10/2004
    /CONTACT:  Brian Baker of Autodesk, Inc., +1-415-547-2451 or
brian.baker@autodesk.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.autodesk.com /
    (ADSK)

CO:  Autodesk, Inc.
ST:  California, Illinois
IN:  CPR STW CST
SU:  TDS PDT

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9620 06/10/2004 08:30 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com