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Autodesk Sponsors PBS Television Series on Sustainable Design and Launches New Sustainability Website

Design: e2 Explores the Economies of Sustainability (narrated by Brad Pitt)
Autodesk has announced that it is sponsoring a new PBS television series about sustainable design titled “design: e2” (The Economics of Being Environmentally Conscious). Produced by kontentreal and narrated by Brad Pitt, the series is scheduled to air on PBS stations beginning in June 2006.

In association with the series, Autodesk has unveiled its Sustainability Centre (http://www.autodesk.com/green/) which will serve as a resource on the role of technology in sustainable design and profile industry leaders from manufacturing, building and infrastructure who are realising their sustainable ideas.

“Autodesk is working with the world’s leading architects, engineers and product designers to make it easier, more efficient and profitable to incorporate sustainable design into their practices,” said Carl Bass, chief executive officer and president of Autodesk. “We hope our sponsorship of ‘design: e2‘and the Autodesk Sustainability Centre will help increase adoption of sustainable design and raise awareness for this vital movement.”

Achieving Sustainability through Technology
Autodesk provides software solutions that can help design professionals measure and analyse the performance costs and occupant experience of a building, predict the efficiency and durability of a mechanical device or model the layout of a new road to better understand its environmental impact. As a result, design professionals can significantly reduce the time and resources required to create sustainable buildings, infrastructure and products.

The growing movement for sustainable architecture, also called green building, is a direct response to the need to change the relationship between buildings and the environment. According to the United States Department of Energy, constructing and maintaining buildings consumes 65.2% of the electricity and 36% of the primary energy resources in the United States. The 2005 Autodesk Green Index, an annual study of the implementation of green design principals by practicing architects, indicated that the use of sustainable design principals has grown 50 per cent since 2000, and estimates that it will increase 100 per cent by 2010.

Partnering to Produce design: e2
kontentreal, producers of “design: e2”, chose to partner with Autodesk because Autodesk has demonstrated leadership in providing architects with solutions for sustainable design. Phil Bernstein, vice president of Autodesk’s Building Solutions Division, and an AIA fellow and lecturer at the Yale University School of Architecture since 1988, served as a series advisor, and several projects featured on the show were designed using Autodesk software.

“Teaming up with Autodesk seemed like a natural fit, as we share an excitement in educating the world about the importance of sustainable design and its effects on our planet and future generations,” said kontentreal’s Executive Producer Karena Albers.

The “design: e2” documentary series will highlight the positive impact sustainable architecture has on our economy, our health and our planet. The programmes in the series will chronicle important stories of green design around the world -- including in New York, in Chicago’s city government, in homes in China -- and into the future. The series is narrated by Brad Pitt and features the most progressive minds in the green building and sustainable design movement including William McDonough, Werner Sobek, Sergio Palleroni, Douglas Durst and Michael McDonough. It is scheduled to air on the PBS television network beginning in June 2006.

Education and Inspiration on the Sustainability Centre
In connection with its sponsorship of the PBS series, Autodesk has launched its Sustainability Centre (http://www.autodesk.com/green/), a new website that will provide information and tools to facilitate an understanding of sustainable design, as well as inspire and help design professionals take advantage of this growing trend. Visitors to the website will also be able to learn more about the visionaries, issues and projects featured in design: e2.

Email: jond@whiteoaks.co.uk