Inventor of the Month - February 2012

Autodesk has named 4th Dimensional Facade Solutions, a New Zealand-based design and build company, as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for February 2012. The company was recognized for its use of Autodesk Inventor software to create stunning facades for a series of projects with unique physical and environmental challenges, as well as highly complex design and build procedures.

The company’s assignments include a cafe that sits on the edge of a mountain, 6,000 feet above sea level; a Moroccan-style restaurant with an elaborate operable window system; and a stunning vacation home called Jagged Edge, where each facade on the structure is rhombus-shaped, and contains no 90-degree angles.

Using Autodesk Inventor enabled 4th Dimensional Facade Solutions to streamline its design workflow and, in the company’s estimation, effectively eliminate 10,000 hours of designing and physical labor, an approximate savings of NZD$775,000 (US$830,000) across the three particularly challenging projects mentioned above.

In the design phase, 4th Dimensional Facade Solutions used Autodesk Inventor to create 3D Digital Prototypes of the facades. By simulating and validating the accuracy of its designs, the company was able to more confidently order the exact amount of premeasured materials from overseas manufacturers required to construct the facades.

The interoperability of Autodesk’s products ensured that the company was able to work smoothly across AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Inventor software and effectively collaborate with architects, engineers and other partners during the build phase—helping to minimize on-site errors.

Inventor of the Month - February 2012 Official Press Release

Image Credits: Autodesk