The design and construction industry has no shortage of challenges - from the pressure to build more while costs are skyrocketing, labor is difficult to find, and waste is more costly than ever before. In this business environment, you might expect a company like Autodesk to play it safe. But instead, at Autodesk University, it is clear that they are not shying away with bold moves that are intended to take full advantage of technological advancements.
“The choices we make over the next five years will shape our world for the next fifty,” said Andrew Anagnost, President and CEO of Autodesk, “and we’re on the knife-edge.”
Autodesk Forma goes End-to-End
Nowhere is this attitude more apparent than with the announcement of the expansion of Autodesk Forma. Forma is evolving from a conceptual design application into an end-to-end industry tool for the AEC Industry. The goal is to connect the entire project lifecycle from initial design through construction and into operations on a single, AI-enabled platform. This is being accomplished through the integration of Forma into Autodesk Construction Cloud. This unification creates a common environment for projects, which makes sure that data is passed seamlessly between design, construction and operation teams.
"Forma will become the first comprehensive AEC industry Cloud, an industry Cloud that connects design and make processes on a single AI enabled platform,” said Anagnost.
The keynote included several live demonstrations of Forma’s capabilities, a return to a “Less TED and more Apple” (per Aganost) style of keynote, where showing the actual software is emphasized.
The demo began with an architect starting a fictional sustainable multi-family housing project, the "Snowden Towers". They created the site using not only standard terrain data but also rich site data from an expanded Esri ArcGIS extension, demonstrating how partners are building onto the Forma ecosystem.
The next segment featured a live, on-stage demo of brand-new, pre-beta "Forma Building Design" capabilities. A product expert selected conceptual assets and, with one click, converted them into detailed buildings, complete with facades, windows, and balconies. She then showed how an architect could explore facade ideas by applying different window variations and adding exterior features without tedious manual modeling.
"She's exploring ideas. She's not modeling the system's modeling for her." - Andrew Anagnost
The demonstration continued with a fast daylight potential analysis. When the analysis showed a building was performing poorly, she adjusted the design and reran the analysis in real time to show the improved conditions.
Generative AI "Neural Technology"
The connections enabled by the Forma and Autodesk Construction Cloud connection were not the only feature of the demonstrations. From this talk and later announcements about Autodesk AI Assistant (more on that soon), there has been a big reveal of AI and generative technology from Autodesk this year. An over eight-year effort has lead to the launch of Autodesk Assistant, which is capable of performing generative tasks within contexts and parameters that are industry and project-specific.
In another portion of the demonstration, they moved inside the building to showcase the neural technology and generative AI capabilities within Forma. After setting a few key parameters for a floor plan - “residential multi-family” for the building type and “wood” for the structural material, the AI then generated a complete interior layout with 36 units. The building shape was then adjusted slightly, and other parameters changed, and the layout was regenerated to reveal a layout for 56 units, that were then also editable and tweakable by the designer.
Connecting to Revit
In another change that has been a long time in the making, Autodesk announced and demonstrated that there is now a seamless, two-way bridge to connect Forma and Revit. They are even referring to Revit as a “Forma connected client” - any changes made in Forma are visible in Revit and vice versa, ensuring a single source of truth. The model can also be queried with Autodesk Assistant, for example to create a new floor plan view or to create a sheet and place the view on it, complete with the naming conventions and company info - saving time in the documentation step as well.
The platform is built on a common data management layer (formerly Autodesk Docs), which allows granular data to flow seamlessly between different stages and tools. This moves away from brittle, file-based workflows to a "single source of truth" where all team members access live, up-to-date information.
Human-in-the-Loop and No One Left Behind
In his keynote, Aganost emphasized that the AI is always designed to have a human in the loop. The goal is to present options for the professional to evaluate and make final decisions, not for the AI to make the decisions, says Anagnost.
"The goal is to make it easy for the engineer, the architect... to evaluate a series of options, make a call, refine that option and ultimately be the arbiter."
The advancements showcased by Autodesk, particularly with the evolution of Forma and the integration of generative AI, signal a transformative era for the AEC industry. By fostering a "human-in-the-loop" approach and ensuring accessibility for existing subscribers, Autodesk is not only addressing current industry challenges but also empowering professionals to navigate the complexities of design and construction with unprecedented efficiency and creativity. This unified, AI-enabled platform promises a future - that’s already mostly here - where data flows seamlessly, decisions are informed by intelligent analysis, and innovation is at the forefront of every project.
