The days of architects using blueprints to construct buildings have all but vanished.
New software boasting movable 3-D building materials allows for more efficient designs and revisions that occur with the click of a mouse.
Autodesk, a world leader in this kind of software, recently helped design a new building at 1560 Trapelo Road that shows off the next generation of design.
An environmentally conscious software company, it celebrated the grand opening of its Autodesk AEC Solutions Headquarters on March 27. AEC stands for architecture, engineering and construction.
Because of its design, site placement and construction, lights don't turn on inside the 65,000-square-foot office building until close to dark and optimum sunlight makes for lower heating and electricity bills.
Paul Sullivan, a spokesman for the company, said they placed office cubicles on the outer-ring of the building, so each desk is close to a window.
"So what happens is as a result of all the workers having windows close by, we don't have to turn on the lights," he said. "Most buildings today are battling themselves. You turn on the electricity, you turn on the lights and next thing you know you're turning on the air-conditioning. It's an immense waste of energy."
Sullivan said the layout of the facility, which has an interactive gallery showing examples of design projects created using Autodesk software, has also been an incredible enhancement for productivity for the facility's 200 employees.
"The employees are so enthused about this," he said. "Even though from the outside it looks like a normal square building, inside it's very lean. It's a fun, energetic, lively, healthy facility."
Autodesk is not new to Waltham. The company was previously leasing office space in a building off of Rte. 128. Sullivan said before the company's lease was up, it began planning the move into a new headquarters.
"The reason we're out here is because there's a very high population of highly educated architects and engineers," he said. "We also want to be near universities because we have a very strong university program."
Sullivan said the company is 26 years old.
"Most people know us as a result of our first product, AutoCAD. It was a way to move from a paper-based design to a computer design. It was basically a way to update an architect's desk," he said. "Twenty-six years ago everyone did their drawings by hand. Then we provided what was called a 2-D platform that automated everything to make an architect's job easier. Now we're into this 3-D model, which makes it more accurate and much higher quality."
According to Sullivan, Autodesk is now the industry standard software for not only architects, but for many design professionals in the manufacturing, building, construction and media entertainment markets.
"Autodesk is the world leader in 2-D and 3-D design software. It's a software that's used to design buildings and skyscrapers as well as roads, highways and bridges," he said.
"Blueprints was the old way of doing things. What we're doing now with this software is instead of having a line or a square represent something like door or window, the software actually uses real images of different doors or window (for the user to design with)."
Sullivan said Autodesk software allows architects, contractors and engineers to experience a building or other construction project before it's built.
It also helps the user predict things like energy savings and optimum placements for construction projects.
"Our software allows you to do all this before the fact. Instead of guessing your energy savings, you know what your energy savings will be," he said. "In the old days, architects were guessing what the cost of a project would be over the lifetime of a building."
The software has an option for an analysis "of a building to see where there is sound coming in and which direction should you place the building to get optimum amount of sunlight," he said.
Sullivan said Autodesk has also been working with government organizations such as the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to promote what they refer to as "green building" or environmentally conscious construction.
Autodesk representatives recently held a roundtable discussion on the topic with Philip Giudice, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.
"Basically a green building is really a building that's energy efficient, provides more sustainable site development, meaning you look at all of your material and ensure a high percentage is recyclable," he said. "The third aspect is saving on water."
Sullivan said they hope their own building will serve as a model for what others will be able to achieve using their software.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com.
