Autodesk Estimate, a new cloud-based estimating solution that connects 2D and 3D takeoffs to costs, materials, and labour calculations, officially launched this week.

The software, which part of Autodesk Construction Cloud, aims to help general contractors and sub-contractors produce more accurate estimates and proposals.

According to Autodesk, Estimate eliminates the need for manual merges, juggling spreadsheets, and switching between disconnected tools.

Teams keep takeoffs in the same system, which can help cut down on errors, manual entries, and reduce duplicate work.

Discover what’s new in technology for architecture, engineering and construction — read the latest edition of AEC Magazine

Subscribe FREE here

Autodesk Estimate supports various data organisation structures such as Uniformat, MasterFormat, or custom formats.

The software enables cost library setup at the account level, helping teams maintain consistency across all projects. Autodesk says this centralised approach supports standardised estimating practices, promotes data accuracy, and enhances collaboration by ensuring everyone is working from the same reliable cost data.

Autodesk Estimate also centralises cost data helping teams manage labour rates — including standard, union, and prevailing wage rates — as well as equipment and material costs.

To help ensure that estimates are always current, the software offers real-time tracking and notifications for changes in connected takeoff quantities.

Finally, estimators have control over line items and can update costs for materials, labour, equipment, and subcontractors directly within the estimate table.

“I’m excited to see Autodesk take a truly holistic view of the construction process — not treating design, preconstruction, and construction as separate silos, but as interconnected phases within a unified lifecycle,” said Brian Alama, virtual design and preconstruction specialist, Jacobsen.

“Autodesk Estimate is a key part of that transformation — it helps bridge the gap between design intent and construction reality, bringing greater clarity, collaboration, and confidence to early project decisions.”

The post Autodesk Estimate launches for contractors appeared first on AEC Magazine.

At AU 2025, Autodesk took a significant step forward in its AI journey, extending far beyond the slide-deck ambitions of previous years.

During CEO Andrew Anagnost’s keynote, the company unveiled brand-new AI tools in live demonstrations using pre-beta software. It was a calculated risk — particularly in light of recent high-profile hiccups from Meta — but the reasoning was clear: Autodesk wanted to show it has tangible, functional AI technology and it will be available for customers to try soon.

The headline development is ‘neural CAD’, a completely new category of 3D generative AI foundation models that Autodesk says could automate up to 80–90% of routine design tasks, allowing professionals to focus on creative decisions rather than repetitive work. The naming is very deliberate, as Autodesk tries to differentiate itself from the raft of generic AEC-focused AI tools in development.

Find this article plus many more in the September / October 2025 Edition of AEC Magazine

Subscribe FREE here

neural CAD AI models will be deeply integrated into BIM workflows through Autodesk Forma, and product design workflows through Autodesk Fusion. They will ‘completely reimagine the traditional software engines that create CAD geometry.’

Autodesk is also making big AI strides in other areas. Autodesk Assistant is evolving beyond its chatbot product support origins into a fully agentic AI assistant that can automate tasks and deliver insights based on natural-language prompts.

Big changes are also afoot in Autodesk’s AEC portfolio – developments that will have a significant impact on the future of Revit.

The big news was the release of Forma Building Design, a brand-new tool for LoD 200 detailed design (learn more in this AEC Magazine article). Autodesk also announced that its existing early-stage planning tool, Autodesk Forma, will be rebranded as Forma Site Design and Revit will gain deeper integration with the Forma industry cloud, becoming Autodesk’s first Connected client.

neural CAD

neural CAD marks a fundamental shift in Autodesk’s core CAD and BIM technology. As Anagnost explained, “The various brains that we’re building will change the way people interact with design systems.”

Unlike general-purpose large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Claude, or AI image generation models like Stable Diffusion and Nano Banana, neural CAD models are specifically designed for 3D CAD. They are trained on professional design data, enabling them to reason at both a detailed geometry level and at a systems and industrial process level.

neural CAD marks a big leap forward from Project Bernini, which Autodesk demonstrated at AU 2024. Bernini turned a text, sketch or point cloud ‘prompt’ into a simple mesh that was not best suited for further development in CAD. In contrast, neural CAD delivers ‘high quality’ ‘editable’ 3D CAD geometry directly inside Forma or Fusion, just like ChatGPT generates text and Midjourney generates pixels.

Autodesk has so far presented two types of neural CAD models: ‘neural CAD for geometry’, which is being used in Fusion and ‘neural CAD for buildings’, which is being used in Forma.

For Fusion, there are two AI model variants, as Tonya Custis, senior director, AI research, explained, “One of them generates the whole CAD model from a text prompt. It’s really good for more curved surfaces, product use cases. The second one, that’s for more prismatic sort of shapes. We can do text prompts, sketch prompts and also what I call geometric prompts. It’s more of like an auto complete, like you gave it some geometry, you started a thing, and then it will help you continue that design.”

On stage, Mike Haley, senior VP of research, demonstrated how neural CAD for geometry could be used in Fusion to automatically generate multiple iterations of a new product, using the example of a power drill.

“Just enter the prompts or even drawing and let the CAD engines start to produce options for you instantly,” he said. “Because these are first class CAD models, you now have a head start in the creation of any new product.”

It’s important to understand that the AI doesn’t just create dumb 3D geometry – neural CAD also generates the history and sequence of Fusion commands required to create the model. “This means you can make edits as if you modelled it yourself,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the world of BIM, Autodesk is using neural CAD to extend the capabilities of Forma Building Design to generate BIM elements.

The current aim is to enable architects to ‘quickly transition’ between early design concepts and more detailed building layouts and systems with the software ‘autocompleting’ repetitive aspects of the design.

Instead of geometry, ‘neural CAD for buildings’ focuses more on the spatial and physical relationships inherent in buildings as Haley explained. “This foundation model rapidly discovers alignments and common patterns between the different representations and aspects of building systems.

“If I was to change the shape of a building, it can instantly recompute all the internal walls,” he said. “It can instantly recompute all of the columns, the platforms, the cores, the grid lines, everything that makes up the structure of the building. It can help recompute structural drawings.”

At AU, Haley demonstrated ‘Building Layout Explorer’, a new AI-driven feature coming to Forma Building Design. He presented an example of an architect exploring building concepts with a massing model, “As the architect directly manipulates the shape, the neural CAD engine responds to these changes, auto generating floor plan layouts,” he said.

But, as Haley pointed out, for the system to be truly useful the architect needs to have control over what is generated, and therefore be able to lock down certain elements, such as a hallway, or to directly manipulate the shape of the massing model.

“The software can re-compute the locations and sizes of the columns and create an entirely new floor layout, all while honouring the constraints the architect specified,” he said.

This feels like a pivotal moment in Autodesk’s AI journey, as the company moves beyond ambitions and experimentation into production-ready AI that is deeply integrated into its core software

Of course, it’s still very early days for neural CAD and, in Forma, ‘Building Layout Explorer’ is just the beginning.

Haley alluded to expanding to other disciplines within AEC, “Imagine a future where the software generates additional architectural systems like these structural engineering plans or plumbing, HVAC, lighting systems and more.”

In the future, neural CAD in Forma will also be able to handle more complexity, as Custis explains. “People like to go between levels of detail, and generative AI models are great for that because they can translate between each other. It’s a really nice use case, and there will definitely be more levels of detail. We’re currently at LoD 200.”

The training challenge

neural CAD models are trained on the typical patterns of how people design. “They’re learning from 3D design, they’re learning from geometry, they’re learning from shapes that people typically create, components that people typically use, patterns that typically occur in buildings,” said Haley.

In developing these AI models, one of the biggest challenges for Autodesk has been the availability of training data. “We don’t have a whole internet source of data like any text or image models, so we have to sort of amp up the science to make up for that,” explained Custis.

For training, Autodesk uses a combination of synthetic data and customer data. Synthetic data can be generated in an ‘endless number of ways’, said Custis, including a ‘brute force’ approach using generative design or simulation.

Customer data is typically used later-on in the training process. “Our models are trained on all data we have permission to train on,” said Amy Bunszel, EVP, AEC.

But customer data is not always perfect, which is why Autodesk also commissions designers to model things for them, generating what chief scientist Daron Green describes as gold standard data. “We want things that are fully constrained, well annotated to a level that a customer wouldn’t [necessarily] do, because they just need to have the task completed sufficiently for them to be able to build it, not for us to be able to train against,” he said.

Of course, it’s still very early days for neural CAD and Autodesk plans to improve and expand the models, “These are foundation models, so the idea is we train one big model and then we can task adapt it to different use cases using reinforcement learning, fine tuning. There’ll be improved versions of these models, but then we can adapt them to more and more different use cases,” said Custis. In the future, customers will be able to customise the neural CAD foundation models, by tuning them to their organisation’s proprietary data and processes. This could be sandboxed, so no data is incorporated into the global training set unless the customer explicitly allows it.

“Your historical data and processes will be something you can use without having to start from scratch again and again, allowing you to fully harness the value locked away in your historical digital data, creating your own unique advantages through models that embody your secret source or your proprietary methods,” said Haley.

Agentic AI: Autodesk Assistant

When Autodesk first launched Autodesk Assistant, it was little more than a natural language chatbot to help users get support for Autodesk products.

Now it’s evolved into what Autodesk describes as an ‘agentic AI partner’ that can automate repetitive tasks and help ‘optimise decisions in real time’ by combining context with predictive insights.

Autodesk demonstrated how in Revit, Autodesk Assistant could be used to quickly calculate the window to wall ratio on a particular façade, then replace all the windows with larger units. The important thing to note here is that everything is done though natural language prompts, without the need to click through multiple menus and dialogue boxes.

Autodesk Assistant can also help with documentation in Revit, making it easier to use drawing templates, populate title blocks and automatically tag walls, doors and rooms. While this doesn’t yet rival the auto-drawing capabilities of Fusion, when asked about bringing similar functionality to Revit, Bunszel noted, ‘We’re definitely starting to explore how much we can do.’

Autodesk also demonstrated how Autodesk Assistant can be used to automate manual compliance checking in AutoCAD, a capability that could be incredibly useful for many firms.

“You’ll be able to analyse a submission against your drawing standards and get results right away, highlighting violations and layers, lines, text and dimensions,” said Racel Amour, head of generative AI, AEC.

Meanwhile, in Civil 3D it can help ensure civil engineering projects comply with regulations for safety, accessibility and drainage, “Imagine if you could simply ask the Autodesk Assistant to analyse my model and highlight the areas that violate ADA regulations and give me suggestions on how to fix it,” said Amour.

So how does Autodesk ensure that Assistant gives accurate answers? Anagnost explained that it takes into account the context that’s inside the application and the context of work that users do.

“If you just dumped Copilot on top of our stuff, the probability that you’re going to get the right answer is just a probability. We add a layer on top of that that narrows the range of possible answers.”

“We’re building that layer to make sure that the probability of getting what you want isn’t 70%, it’s 99.99 something percent,” he said.

While each Autodesk product will have its own Assistant, the foundation technology has also been built with agent-to-agent communication in mind – the idea being that one Assistant can ‘call’ another Assistant to automate workflows across products and, in some cases, industries.

“It’s designed to do three things: automate the manual, connect the disconnected, and deliver real time insights, freeing your teams to focus on their highest value work,” said CTO, Raji Arasu.

In the context of a large hospital construction project, Arasu demonstrated how a general contractor, manufacturer, architect and cost estimator could collaborate more easily through natural language in Autodesk Assistant. She showed how teams across disciplines could share and sync select data between Revit, Inventor and Power Bi, and manage regulatory requirements more efficiently by automating routine compliance tasks. “In the future, Assistant can continuously check compliance in the background. It can turn compliance into a constant safeguard, rather than just a one-time step process,” she said.

Arasu also showed how Assistant can support IT administration — setting up projects, guiding managers through configuring Single Sign-On (SSO), assigning Revit access to multiple employees, creating a new project in Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), and even generating software usage reports with recommendations for optimising licence allocation.

Agent-to-agent communication is being enabled by Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), including the AEC data model API, that tap into Autodesk’s cloud-based data stores.

APIs will provide the access, while Autodesk MCP servers will orchestrate and enable Assistant to act on that data in real time.

As MCP is an open standard that lets AI agents securely interact with external tools and data, Autodesk will also make its MCP servers available for third-party agents to call.

All of this will naturally lead to an increase in API calls, which were already up 43% year on year even before AI came into the mix. To pay for this Autodesk is introducing a new usage-based pricing model for customers with product subscriptions, as Arasu explains, “You can continue to access these select APIs with generous monthly limits, but when usage goes past those limits, additional charges will apply.”

But this has raised understandable concerns among customers about the future, including potential cost increases and whether these could ultimately limit design iterations.

The human in the loop

Autodesk is designing its AI systems to assist and accelerate the creative process, not replace it. The company stresses that professionals will always make the final decisions, keeping a human firmly in the loop, even in agent-to-agent communications, to ensure accountability and design integrity.

“We are not trying to, nor do we aspire to, create an answer, “says Anagnost. “What we’re aspiring to do is make it easy for the engineer, the architect, the construction professional – reconstruction professional in particular – to evaluate a series of options, make a call, find an option, and ultimately be the arbiter and person responsible for deciding what the actual final answer is.”

AI computation

It’s no secret that AI requires substantial processing power. Autodesk trains all its AI models in the cloud, and while most inferencing — where the model applies its knowledge to generate real-world results — currently happens in the cloud, some of this work will gradually move to local devices.

This approach not only helps reduce costs (since cloud GPU hours are expensive) but also minimises latency when working with locally cached data.

AI research

Autodesk also gave a sneak peek into some of its experimental AI research projects. With Project Forma Sketch, an architect can generate 3D models in Forma by sketching out simple massing designs with a digital pencil and combining that with speech. In this example, the neural CAD foundation model interacts with large language models to interpret the stream of information.

Elsewhere, Amour showed how Pointfuse in Recap Pro is building on its capability to convert point clouds into segmented meshes for model coordination and clash detection in Revit. “We’re launching a new AI powered beta that will recognise objects directly from scans, paving the way for automated extraction, for building retrofits and renovations,” she said.

Autodesk has also been working with global design, engineering, and consultancy firm Arcadis to pilot a new technology that uses AI to see inside walls to make it easier and faster to retrofit existing buildings.

Instead of destructive surveys, where walls are torn down, the AI uses multimodal data – GIS, floor plans, point clouds, Thermal Imaging, and Radio Frequency (RF) scans – to predict hidden elements, such as mechanical systems, insulation, and potential damage.

The AI-assisted future

AU 2025 felt like a pivotal moment in Autodesk’s AI journey. The company is now moving beyond ambitions and experimentation into a phase where AI is becoming deeply integrated into its core software.

With the neural CAD and Autodesk Assistant branded functionality, AI will soon be able to generate fully editable CAD geometry, automate repetitive tasks, and gain ‘actionable insights’ across both AEC and product development workflows.

As Autodesk stresses, this is all being done while keeping humans firmly in the loop, ensuring that professionals remain the final decision-makers and retain accountability for design outcomes.

Importantly, customers do not need to adopt brand new design tools to get onboard with Autodesk AI. While neural CAD is being integrated into Forma and Fusion, users of traditional desktop CAD/BIM tools can still benefit through Autodesk Assistant, which will soon be available in Revit, Civil 3D, AutoCAD, Inventor and others.

With Autodesk Assistant, the ability to optimise and automate workflows using natural-language feels like a powerful proposition, but as the technology evolves, the company faces the challenge of educating users on its capabilities — and its limitations.

Meanwhile, data interoperability remains front and centre, with Autodesk routing everything through the cloud and using MCP servers and APIs to enable cross-product and even cross-discipline workflows.

It’s easy to imagine how agent-to-agent communication might occur within the Autodesk world, but AEC workflows are fragmented, and it remains to be seen how this will play out with third parties.

Of course, as with other major design software providers, fully embracing AI means fully committing to the cloud, which will be a leap of faith for many AEC firms.

From customers we have spoken with there remain genuine concerns about becoming locked into the Autodesk ecosystem, as well as the potential for rising costs, particularly related to increased API usage. ‘Generous monthly limits’ might not seem so generous once the frequency of API calls increase, as it inevitably will in an iterative design process. It would be a real shame if firms end up actively avoiding using these powerful tools because of budgetary constraints.

Above all, AU is sure to have given Autodesk customers a much clearer idea of Autodesk’s long-term vision for AI-assisted design. There’s huge potential for Autodesk Assistant to grow into a true AI agent while neural CAD foundation models will continue to evolve, handling greater complexity, and blending text, speech and sketch inputs to further slash design times.

We’re genuinely excited to see where this goes, especially as Autodesk is so well positioned to apply AI throughout the entire design build process.

Main image: Mike Haley, senior VP of research, presents the AI keynote at Autodesk University 2025  

The post Autodesk shows its AI hand appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Autodesk has introduced neural CAD, a new category of 3D generative AI foundation models coming to Fusion and Forma, which the company says will “completely reimagine the traditional software engines that create CAD geometry” and “automate 80 to 90% of what you [designers] typically do.”

Unlike general-purpose large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, neural CAD models are trained on professional design data, enabling them to reason at both a detailed geometry level and at a systems and industrial process level – exploring ideas like efficient machine tool paths or standard building floorplan layouts.

According to Mike Haley, senior VP of research, Autodesk, neural CAD models are trained on the typical patterns of how people design, using a combination of synthetic data and customer data. “They’re learning from 3D design, they’re learning from geometry, they’re learning from shapes that people typically create, components that people typically use, patterns that typically occur in buildings.”

Learn more about neural CAD and Autodesk’s evolving AI strategy in AEC Magazine’s in-depth report

Autodesk shows its AI hand

Autodesk says that in the future, customers will be able to customise the neural CAD foundation models, by tuning them to their organisation’s proprietary data and processes.

Autodesk has so far presented two types of neural CAD models: ‘neural CAD for geometry’ and ‘neural CAD for buildings’.

With neural CAD for geometry, designers using Autodesk Fusion will be able to use language, sketching or imagery to produce ‘first-class’ CAD geometry which can then be used directly in manufacturing processes.

With neural CAD for buildings architects using Forma will be able to ‘quickly transition’ between early design concepts and more detailed building layouts and systems with the software ‘autocompleting’ repetitive aspects of the design.

“If I was to change the shape of a building, it can instantly recompute all the internal walls,” says Haley. “It can instantly recompute all of the columns, the platforms, the cores, the grid lines, everything that kind of makes up the structure of the building. It can help recompute structural drawings.”

At Autodesk University this week, Autodesk will be demonstrating Project Think Aloud, a new research project that explores how generative AI neural CAD models can help with architectural blocking.

Designers create buildings by sketching with an electronic pencil and talking at the same time. “The AI is able to take the speech and the text and reason about what your intent is to produce, building directly in Forma,” says Haley.

Meanwhile, in related news, Autodesk has announced Forma Building Design, a detailed building design solution that is said to offer LOD 200/300 detail, ‘AI-powered’ automation and integrated analysis.

Find this article plus many more in the September / October 2025 Edition of AEC Magazine

Subscribe FREE here

The post Autodesk unleashes neural CAD appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Autodesk is reshaping its AEC design software portfolio, introducing a new suite of Forma solutions, while making desktop products like Revit more deeply connected to the Forma industry cloud.

At Autodesk University today, the company unveiled a new product, Forma Building Design, and announced that its existing early-stage planning tool, Autodesk Forma, will be rebranded as Forma Site Design.

Launching in beta in the coming months, Forma Building Design is billed as an easy-to-use detailed building design solution, offering ‘BIM-level’ LOD 200/300 detail, ‘AI-powered’ automated design tools, and integrated analysis capabilities.

Nicolas Mangon, VP of AEC industry strategy, explained that with Forma Building Design users will be able to check facades, explore interior layouts, and optimise performance with carbon and daylight metrics.

Learn more about Forma Building Design, Revit Connected Client and Autodesk’s AEC strategy in AEC Magazine’s in-depth report

“Forma Building Design is just the first of many new Forma solutions that will support a broader range of industries and project phases, all powered by AI,” he said.

Meanwhile, Autodesk is continuing to develop its desktop design tools while working to bridge the gap between desktop and cloud-native workflows. The company announced that Revit will be the first official Forma Connected Client — a designation for desktop products deeply integrated with the Forma industry cloud.

Revit users will be able to utilise shared, granular data and Forma’s cloud capabilities, such as environmental analyses, directly within the desktop BIM tool, without the need for exports, imports or rework.

Autodesk plans to bring more desktop solutions into the Forma Connected Client ecosystem but did not name which ones.

Finally Autodesk is rolling out the AI-powered Autodesk Assistant to Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D, allowing users to automate tasks and surface insights through natural language prompts. In AutoCAD, for instance, Autodesk explains that users can check projects against drawing standards while Autodesk Assistant flags violations immediately.

In related news, Autodesk has announced neural CAD, a new category of 3D generative AI foundation models coming to Forma and product design sofware Autodesk Fusion, which the company says will “completely reimagine the traditional software engines that create CAD geometry” and “automate 80 to 90% of what you [designers] typically do.”

Find this article plus many more in the September / October 2025 Edition of AEC Magazine

Subscribe FREE here

The post Autodesk targets BIM with Forma Building Design appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Ever since Autodesk launched Forma in 2023, several questions have repeatedly come up: how will the early-stage design tool evolve, how will it integrate with Revit, or will it even replace Revit?

Fast forward two years and we are now starting to get some clarity. At Autodesk University this month, Autodesk unveiled Forma Building Design, a new browser-based tool which targets detailed design, albeit at a moderate Level of Detail (LoD) 200.

Find this article plus many more in the September / October 2025 Edition of AEC Magazine

Subscribe FREE here

Forma Building Design, due to launch in beta later this year, signals the start of a new wave of Forma design solutions. According to Nicolas Mangon, VP of AEC industry strategy, these tools will support a broader range of industries and project phases, all powered by AI. Given the growing competition from ‘BIM 2.0’ startups like Motif, Arcol, Snaptrude and Qonic, Autodesk will feel the timing is good.

While Forma solutions that cover MEP, structural, and fabrication level of detail are obvious candidates, new products won’t necessarily be limited to buildings. Amy Bunszel, executive VP, AEC solutions, hinted that they could also extend to transportation, civil and infrastructure. “We need to get to some of those workflows, and we’ll probably do the same thing, we’ll start conceptual,” she says.

Meanwhile, the existing Forma product will be rebranded as Forma Site Design, picking up where it left off with ‘data-driven’ site planning and design.

So why is Autodesk choosing to develop multiple Forma products rather than a single monolithic BIM tool? “We’re trying to be persona-based instead of overloading everything we don’t need into one application, which is kind of a problem with Revit today,” admits Bunszel.

The idea is that a designer would work within the application best suited to a specific task, while data flows between each tool via the Forma Industry Cloud – or more specifically, via Forma Data Management, the new name for Autodesk Docs, the common data environment.

By keeping everything in sync, designers will get access to the latest model data, wherever it’s needed, instantly appearing in other connected applications.

These multi-application workflows aren’t limited to the browser-based Forma design tools. Revit will also play in this new collaborative world, as Autodesk continues to build a bridge between Revit desktop and the Forma Industry cloud.

Revit will soon become what Autodesk calls a Forma Connected Client — a new ‘gold standard’ designation for desktop products that are deeply integrated within the Forma industry cloud.

Revit users will be able to utilise shared, granular data, regardless of where it was authored – in Revit, Forma Site Design, or Forma Building Design.

In addition, Revit users will be able to use some of Forma’s cloud capabilities, such as wind analysis, directly within the desktop tool. Results generated in Forma Site Design or Forma Building Design will also be accessible in Revit.

Over time, additional sustainability and building performance analyses from Forma will become available within Revit.

While Revit will be the first official Forma Connected Client, Autodesk plans to bring more of its desktop applications into the mix, although it has not yet named which ones.

Of course, many AEC firms also play outside the Autodesk world, so could Forma Connected Client status extend to third party tools? From a technical standpoint, this is possible: “The data model is open if they wanted to participate in that way,” says Bunszel.

If Autodesk truly delivers on its promise of ‘‘ seamless data flow between Forma, Revit, and other tools, the question of where design work is done will become less important

However, third parties are more to likely integrate in other ways, such as through Autodesk Data Exchange Connectors, currently available for Tekla Structures, Rhino, Power Bi and IFC.

To encourage firms to get on board with this new collaborative way of working, Autodesk will give Revit users access to the new Forma design tools and the Forma Industry Cloud.

“Everyone will get data management, at some level,” explains Bunszel. “We’re building, what’s called [Forma Data Management] Essentials. There’s not everything that’s in Docs today, but there’ll be an Essentials version that goes to all the standalone customers, so that they can participate and start to get their data in the cloud.”

However, participation in the Autodesk cloud will require API calls, which will be monitored. Autodesk has said customers will receive ‘generous monthly limits,’ though some customers have expressed concern about escalating costs in the future once they those limits are reached.

Moving into detailed design

Forma Building Design is said to combine easy to use modelling tools, generative AI and real time analysis, “So whether you’re shaping facades, exploring interior layouts or optimising performance with carbon and daylight metrics, users of all skill levels can design with intent and deliver with impact,” says Bunszel.

The emphasis on ‘all skill levels’ is deliberate, as Autodesk also sees Forma Building Design as a way of encouraging AutoCAD users into the world of 3D design by ‘making BIM less daunting’.

Forma Building Design is focused on what Autodesk describes as outcome-based BIM. As an architect designs, they’ll get real-time feedback on analyses like indoor daylight, operational carbon and sunlight exposure. “You can make precise design changes while instantly validating their impacts downstream,” says Racel Amour, head of generative AI, AEC.

Most of what we’ve seen so far about Forma Building Design centres on AI, enabled by ‘neural CAD for buildings’, a brand-new industry-specific AI foundation model specifically trained on 3D design data and built into the heart of Forma.

This AI-enhanced CAD engine will pave the way for a range of generative AI tools, the first of which is ‘Building Layout Explorer’ which enables the ‘rapid generation and automatic regeneration’ of new interior layouts, all while giving the designer control. “Soon you can review designs side by side to evaluate against different outcomes like unit mix and daylight,” says Amour. (Learn more in our in-depth article on Autodesk AI)

Forma Building Design is intended to deliver models at LoD 200 but, according to Bunszel, in the future Forma could equal what you have in Revit.

“Depending on the type of project, some people could work almost exclusively some day in Forma and maybe not need Revit or maybe go to Revit for some very particular things,” she says.

Revit clearly has decades of development behind it, but one of those ‘particular things’ could be 2D documentation. We asked Bunszel if Forma will ever get a 2D drawing capability, or is that something that will always be exclusive to Revit?

“It’s too early for me to comment on that,” she laughs. “We still see drawings as being important. Drawings are also a huge opportunity for automation.

“We do have some customers who are now successfully delivering fewer drawings, but they’re still delivering drawings.”

But what about creating drawings in Revit? Are there plans to bring more automation to that process, similar to what Autodesk has done with mechanical CAD tool Fusion? “We’re looking into things,” says Bunszel. “You saw a couple [of examples] this week [at AU] using some of the MCP capability to automatically grade sheets. There was another one we showed on the main stage where they were tagging doors and windows and things. So, we’re definitely starting to explore how much we can do.”

An accelerated future

Forma Building Design has been a long time coming, but its arrival brings fresh clarity to the future of Autodesk’s AEC design tools. Most importantly, Autodesk is not trying to replace Revit with Forma. “We’re not trying to duplicate everything that Revit does well but reimagine some of the things that Revit doesn’t do well, and give people access to both,” says Bunszel.

AI will be central to this reimagining. While Revit will gain efficiencies through the new AI-powered Autodesk Assistant, it seems inevitable that the Forma-based design tools will go much further. Now with a neural CAD AI engine at its core, expect significantly more automation and optimisation as Forma grows.

If Autodesk truly delivers on its promise of seamless data flow between Forma, Revit, and other tools, the question of where design work is done will become less important— notwithstanding the practical challenge of training staff across multiple systems. AEC firms will be free to choose the best design tool for each task, including from a growing list of third-party Forma add-ons, such as Finch, TestFit, ShapeDiver, Chaos Veras.

Although it has taken two years for Autodesk to give Forma a detailed design capability, albeit at LoD 200, we expect it will now start to grow more rapidly, with AI-powered workflows and entirely new products.

The fact is, AI is not only promising to accelerate design, but software development as well, and as Bunszel points out, “I can’t even describe the things our developers have been doing in days that would have [previously] taken months and months.”

The post Autodesk Forma Building Design and Revit Connected client appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Global built environment consultancy Arup and Autodesk have announced a collaboration aimed at transforming carbon management across the AECO industries.

The agreement marks the beginning of a broader initiative by Autodesk to partner more deeply with industry leading companies to develop actionable tools and frameworks for decarbonisation.

By collaborating to bring streamlined AECO technology solutions for carbon assessment, the companies are seeking to drive an industry-wide scale of built environment decarbonisation in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement. This work will particularly target asset owners and investors as ultimate decision-makers in the built environment and will look to include other companies and partners as the work expands.

Key initiatives include developing BIM guidelines for carbon assessment through the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); exploring the whole life carbon data journey through industry standardisation efforts, leading to a co-authored, industry-verified whitepaper; enabling BIM-integrated automation of Whole Life Carbon Assessment methods for building projects; and collaborating on research and development to use AI to drive decarbonisation of buildings.

Arup brings technical expertise in industry practice and significant insights on whole life carbon data management from developing its global data schema, and this expertise will inform the ongoing development of Autodesk’s carbon management solutions.

“This work demonstrates our commitment to radical collaboration across the industry to tackle decarbonisation,” said Jo da Silva, Arup Fellow and Global Sustainable Development Leader at Arup. “By combining our technical expertise in whole life carbon assessment with Autodesk’s innovative technology platforms we’re creating data-driven solutions that will inform early design decisions focussed on reducing carbon and costs. Together we’re not just developing tools but driving towards a unified path for net zero buildings that aligns with the Buildings Breakthrough, coordinated by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, and delivers value for our clients and the sector.”

The post Arup and Autodesk to tackle carbon reduction appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Esri has released ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma. a new integration that brings Esri’s geospatial reference data into Autodesk’s planning and design software, providing users with a single design environment without having to switch between platforms.

ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma will also streamline the sharing of designs enriched with GIS data from Autodesk Forma to Autodesk Revit.

“AECO professionals who use Autodesk Forma will now be able to quickly update projects with the most up-to-date GIS data available,” said Eric DesRoche, director of infrastructure business strategy at Autodesk. “With access to the most accurate and current geographic information during the conceptual design stage, users can design with location in mind and ultimately deliver projects that are more sustainable, resilient and can better support local communities.”

Find this article plus many more in the July / August 2025 Edition of AEC Magazine

Subscribe FREE here

ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma will serve as an Autodesk extension, incorporating geographic data and geospatial services to enable greater analytics and insights. According to Esri, it will give professionals a deeper, more holistic understanding of projects connected to the social, built, and natural worlds, and give direct access to maps, layers, and other spatial data.

Included are Esri’s ArcGIS basemaps and select data layers from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

The combination of GIS and BIM during early design and planning stages will also bring teams advanced understanding and visualization of projects.

“Our augmented reality technology hinges on visualizations that function as counterparts to the physical world, so the seamless use of public and proprietary spatial data is critical for customers,” said Dana Chermesh-Reshef, inCitu founder and CEO. “ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma’s interface is easy to use and responsive, while accessing data is intuitive for AECO professionals with even limited to no GIS experience.”

The post Esri launches ArcGIS for Autodesk Forma appeared first on AEC Magazine.

The startups

Breaking the compromise in digital project delivery
Erik de Keyser, co-founder, Qonic

Beyond Buzzwords: the real future of BIM
Paul O’Carrol, CEO, Arcol

Beyond Legacy Thinking
Altaf Ganihar, founder and CEO, Snaptrude

BIM 2.0: why it’s time to reinvent the tools that power the built world
Amar Hanspal, CEO, Motif

The established players

Embracing AI and Boosting Sustainability Across Project Lifecycles
Daniel Csillag, CEO, Graphisoft

AI: Our Generation’s Paradigm Shift
Tom Kurke, VP, Ecosystems & Venture, Bentley Systems

The Future of BIM: Harnessing the Power of Data
Amy Bunszel, executive VP of AEC Solutions, Autodesk

Unlocking the Future of BIM with Interoperability
Mark Schwartz, SVP, Trimble

Design transformed: 2025 predictions from Vectorworks
Dr. Biplab Sarkar, CEO, Vectorworks

Find this article plus many more in the Jan / Feb 2025 Edition of AEC Magazine

Subscribe FREE here

The post Rebuilding BIM – the AEC software industry speaks appeared first on AEC Magazine.

The Future of BIM: Harnessing the Power of Data
Amy Bunszel, executive VP of AEC Solutions, Autodesk

The AECO industry has a lot to be proud of. You have constructed iconic skyscrapers, completed expansive highway systems, and restored historic monuments like the Notre-Dame de Paris.

But there’s more work to do. We hold the responsibility of designing and making our homes, workplaces, and communities. We must also solve for complex global challenges like housing growing populations and improving the resiliency of the built world to withstand the impacts of climate change.

Connected data is at the core of how we will solve these challenges. Better access to data will enable new ways of working that improve collaboration, productivity, and sustainability.

Find this article plus many more in the Jan / Feb 2025 Edition of AEC Magazine

Subscribe FREE here

Today, AECO firms have more data than ever before, and their storage needs grow by 50% each year. While it’s beneficial to have every piece of information you could ever need about a project digitised, if the data is locked in files, teams can waste hours trying to find the specs for that third-floor utility closet door.

We’re at the start of the next major digital transformation for the AECO industry. And unlocking data’s value is the first step towards building a better future together.

The value of data openness

The ongoing transformation of BIM will empower teams to define their desired project outcomes, like maximum cost or carbon impacts, from the earliest stages of design and planning. At Autodesk, we believe outcome-based BIM is the solution for smarter, more sustainable and resilient ways of designing and making the built environment.

This future starts with data that is granular, accessible, and open. The traditional silos that have long characterised AECO are breaking down, making way for a more connected approach. For example, teams in the design phase can inform product and system performance criteria as documented in specifications – such as which HVAC systems meet the project’s sustainability and energy efficiency requirements. This aids the contractor in making the most informed decision on which product gets selected and installed. And then, in the operations phase, owners would have the spec data on hand to measure the asset’s performance to understand if it achieved its target energy usage. The benefits of enhanced data accessibility across the asset lifecycle are truly unlimited.

Just last year, we launched the AECO Data Model API, an open and extensible solution that allows data to flow across project phases, stakeholders, and asset types. Teams save time by eliminating manual and error-prone extraction of model data. And access to project data is democratised, leading to better decisions, increased transparency, and trust.

This vision is how we’ll unlock the future of BIM. In the connected, cloud-based world of granular data, teams will be able to move a project from one tool to another, and across production environments, with all their data in context. Designers will no longer have to re-create the same pump multiple times when it’s already been built by another designer. Contractors won’t need to save that pump’s spec data to different spreadsheets, and risk losing track of which version is approved.

Throughout this next year, we predict that more design and make technology companies will embrace openness and interoperability to support seamless data sharing.

Data to connect design and construction

Connected data will help our industry understand the health and performance of their business. In fact, companies that lead in leveraging data see a 50% increase in average profit growth rate compared to beginners.

Data is especially valuable in bridging the gap between design and construction. With Autodesk Docs, our common data environment, we are connecting data across different phases of BIM. It’s a source of truth for bringing granular data and files together from design to construction.  With a digital thread that connects every stage of the project lifecycle, teams can course-correct early and often to save time, money, and waste.

A great example of this is WSP’s work on the Manchester Airport. The team designed a ‘kit of parts’ that includes a lift, staircase, lobbies, and openings for the air bridge as part of the new Pier 2 construction. By utilising the kit-of-parts, an application of industrialised construction, and rationalising design into fewer, much larger assemblies, WSP with contractor Mace significantly reduced the duration of work onsite. The approach also reduced the amount of construction waste. This process was made possible through the seamless transfer of data from design to construction.

Data to supercharge AI progress

Data and AI have a symbiotic relationship. Better data – both in quantity and quality – is the fuel to unlocking the potential of AI and improving workflows.

Over the next year, we expect to see more practical uses of AI continue to make big strides, such as the day-to-day applications of AI that solve real-world problems. The industry is ready, as 44% of AECO professionals view improving productivity a top use case for AI.

As we transition to more cloud-connected workflows, we’ll see more use cases of AI generated insights to inform design, engineering, and construction at the start of projects to help teams achieve desired outcomes such as minimising carbon impacts. For example, firms like Stantec are using AI-powered solutions to understand and test in real-time the embodied carbon impacts of their material design decisions from day one. This is significant because early concept planning for buildings offers the greatest opportunity for impact on carbon and the lowest cost risk for design changes.

As AI continues to progress in daily applications, it will enable our industry to optimise the next factory, school, or rail system. Because with data, AI knows the past and can help lead to a more sustainable future.

The expanding impact of legislation

To realise the untapped value of our data, it is critical to remember that it all starts with getting data connected and structured in one place.

In fact, another trend we predict in 2025 is that information requirements legislation will continue to grow with the recent introduction of the EU’s Digital Passport Initiative. Alongside existing mandates like ISO-19650, being able to classify, track and validate data across the asset lifecycle will become essential to successfully deliver on projects.

These regulations mean that AECO firms will need to invest in a Common Data Environment that will support their firm’s ability to track, manage and control project data at the granular level.

The road ahead

The AECO industry is poised for a data-driven transformation. Over the next year, we’ll see continued shifts towards connected data that will help us achieve new levels of innovation, sustainability, and resiliency for the built environment. Firms that embrace granular, data-centric ways of working will be able to use this information from the office to the job site and share just the right amount of data with collaborators anywhere in the world and with any tool you choose.

The journey ahead is full of opportunities, and together, we can shape the AECO industry’s future for the better

.

Read more opinions

The startups

Breaking the compromise in digital project delivery
Erik de Keyser, co-founder, Qonic

Beyond Buzzwords: the real future of BIM
Paul O’Carrol, CEO, Arcol

Beyond Legacy Thinking
Altaf Ganihar, founder and CEO, Snaptrude

BIM 2.0: why it’s time to reinvent the tools that power the built world
Amar Hanspal, CEO, Motif

The established players

Embracing AI and Boosting Sustainability Across Project Lifecycles
Daniel Csillag, CEO, Graphisoft

AI: Our Generation’s Paradigm Shift
Tom Kurke, VP, Ecosystems & Venture, Bentley Systems

Unlocking the Future of BIM with Interoperability
Mark Schwartz, SVP, Trimble

Design transformed: 2025 predictions from Vectorworks
Dr. Biplab Sarkar, CEO, Vectorworks

The post Rebuilding BIM: Autodesk appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Autodesk has announced a partnership with SrinSoft to improve interoperability across a range of Autodesk and third-party CAD and BIM software tools. Through the agreement users can share, via ‘seamless cloud-based data transfer’ in Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), entire files or subsets of models.

At the heart of the partnership is BIMDeX, SrinSoft’s proprietary AI-powered interoperability platform, which has been integrated with Autodesk Data Exchange (DX) and Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) using Autodesk Platform Services (APS).

BIMDex supports a range of AEC, manufacturing and process plant software, including Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Plant 3D, Autodesk Civil 3D, AutoCAD MEP, Autodesk Inventor, DS Solidworks, PTC Creo, Tekla Structure, Autodesk Docs, and Microsoft Power BI.

Utilizing the proprietary BXF file format, BIMDeX supports data exchange across local file systems, offline workflows, and private clouds.

Through the collaboration customers can use BIMDeX connectors to share subsets of their model (geometry and properties) via ACC through a Data Exchange. According to Autodesk, this exchange can be permission-controlled, viewed, and bridged across hubs, making design data accessible through APS APIs.

The data exchange can be updated, versioned, and integrated into countless automated workflows triggered by events. Additionally, customers can create visually rich dashboards using Autodesk Data Connector for Power BI.

“Customers are demanding that the industry move beyond file sharing workflows, so that granular data can flow between apps and organisations, securely. When Autodesk launched Data Exchange and the toolkits to create connectors, we anticipated the need for hundreds if not thousands more connectors to meet that need,” said Shelly Mujtaba, Autodesk VP, product data platform.

“Now, SrinSoft’s interoperability business, BIMDeX, is able to bring their portfolio of connectors to Autodesk’s platform – and to many more customers. We are proud to work with SrinSoft to broaden the scope of their business through the Autodesk platform.”

The solution is built on BIMDeX’s AI technology for advanced geometry recognition, which is designed to enhance the platform’s ability to predict and resolve complex design conflicts, automate repetitive tasks, and offer intelligent insights based on design data.

Watch the video below to see the workflow between key apps including Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Plant 3D, Tekla Structures and Power BI.

The post Autodesk and SrinSoft partner for interoperability appeared first on AEC Magazine.