Autodesk, a world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building, and media and entertainment markets, has announced an aggressive campaign to promote sustainable design principles within the UAE construction industry.

The company will focus on driving awareness and adoption of conscientious building practices among developers and contractors by delivering solutions that help in making implementation of these practices easier and more efficient.
The announcement was made at a press conference held last month in Dubai, where officials of the company highlighted its industry-leading Autodesk Revit solutions and Autodesk 2009 portfolio.
“The UAE is witnessing the development of many innovative and landmark projects, which have adopted sustainable design principles in line with the directive issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,” says a spokesman for the company. “At present, there are over 70 buildings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi awaiting green building certifications, which is a clear indication of the industry’s steady movement towards the total adoption of green building guidelines. A part of Autodesk’s strategy in further driving the awareness for sustainable design is highlighting the outstanding benefits of its solutions, which enable architects and developers to minimise water and electricity usage, thereby leading to significant savings for property developers over the long term and the lessened production of harmful pollutants.”
Christian Rust, AEC sales development manager, Autodesk, EMEA Emerging, says: “As the largest construction market in the region, we have identified the UAE as a strategic location to launch our regionwide campaign to encourage the adoption of sustainable design principles in the construction sector. Amidst the growing popularity of sustainability principles, regional and international property developers are seeking advice on green building compliance, which presents us with a perfect opportunity to disseminate vital information. Additionally, our collaboration with the world’s leading architects, engineers, and product designers to develop our Revit solutions and the Autodesk 2009 portfolio attests to our commitment to ethical construction strategies for a cleaner and healthier environment.”
Designed for building information modelling (BIM), the Revit solutions comprise Revit Architecture, Revit Structure and Revit MEP, which enable testing and analysis of new and better materials, while considerably reducing waste production.
Providing efficient conceptual design, drafting and detailing solutions, AutoCAD 2009 facilitates efficiency and productivity by improving the output of veteran users while allowing new users to become prolific more quickly.
Recent industry statistics show that a building in the UAE uses up to an average of 30,000 kilowatt hours (KWH) of electricity per month, 70 per cent of which is allocated for air-conditioning. According to Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC), a structure constructed in accordance to sustainable principles can achieve energy savings of up to 50 per cent, bringing significant cost cutbacks for property developers.
“By utilising Autodesk’s building design software, which has been purpose-built for building information modeling, developers can further benefit from a multitude of technologies that will ensure a significant reduction in time, resources and costs necessary to create truly sustainable buildings,” says Rust.
“Green buildings increase the property’s asset value for developers and offer numerous environmental advantages and hence are the focus of our efforts to bring our Revit solutions to a larger number of developers across the region. Our goal is to help customers incorporate sustainable design principles into their practice, thereby increasing their energy efficiency while facilitating a more accurate evaluation of their project’s lifecycles,” says Louis Khoury, industry sales development manager, Autodesk, Middle East.
Autodesk is committed to driving awareness and adoption of sustainable design through public and private partnerships with organisations such as the US Green Building Council and Integrated Energy Solutions.
Since it introduced AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed a broad portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualise, simulate and analyse real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation, says Khoury.
Meanwhile, Autodesk has appointed ProMedia as its new value-added reseller in Qatar to penetrate the country’s booming construction market.
 “As we seek a stronger presence in the region, we have made a decision to add ProMedia into our pool of resellers,” says Manish Bhardwaj, field marketing specialist, Autodesk, Middle East. “We have confidence in ProMedia’s capability to capitalise on the booming market in Qatar. At present, we are gearing up for a massive penetration drive in this market, and we are looking forward to aiding the Qatar Government’s initiatives to enforce the implementation of sustainable design solutions for current and future developments.”
“From a technology point of view, our focus is to provide state-of-the-art design solutions and innovative technologies, which will meet our customers’ needs, amidst the surging demand for built space and for ‘green technologies’ implementation. With our fresh approach for the Qatari market, and the deployment of a strong team that will provide service, insight, training and support to our Qatar-based customers, we are expecting our partnership with Autodesk to yield favourable results,” says Nidhin Raj, business development manager, ProMedia.