By : Melvin G. Calimag
Source : MANILA BULLETIN, Sunday, February 18, 2007
The emergence of environment-friendly advocacies - think of Al Gore's hit movie documentary n global warming - is driving a number of industries, particularly the construction business, to turn to technology to create "green" structures that respect nature.
This is one area which Autodesk, the world's largest maker of design software, wants to capitalize as part of its strategy to make sustainable design a popular concept in the engineering and construction industry.
The California-based company has a firm faith on the concept of sustainable design that it has conducted a yearly "Green Index" survey that measures the adoption of green building practices in the US.
In its 2006 survey, 77 percent of the respondents indicated that client demand is the top driver for architects to practice sustainable design, up from 64 percent in 2005's Green Index. In last year's survey, customer demand was tied with fuel costs as leading drivers for the adoption of green buildings practices.
Emmanuel Samuel, sales executive director for building solutions at Autodesk Asia Pacific, said in a recent visit to the Philippines That buildings are actually monsters to the environment.
Next to transportation, buildings are the greatest contributor to environmental degradation as they produce 30 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and consume 36 percent of the world's total energy requirements.
What's more, the executive stressed, the planning alone of a typical $100million building - if done via the traditional way - generates about 150,000 paper documents.
"Just imagine the negative effect that these things bring to the environment. Are we building today something that will harm our children? That is the question that we should ask," Samuel said.
By going "green" through sophisticated design software, architects and construction firms can do their part in preserving the environment, he said.
Aside from reducing the impact of natural resource consumption, Samuel said adopting a "green" policy can also help builders improve their bottom-line, enhance occupant's comfort and health, and minimize strain on local infrastructure.
"There's a lot of waste going around. It's time that architects be held more accountable for their work," he said. "It's time for the role of the architect to change - for them to become green architects and put environmental factors in their design."
According to Samuel, his company's Revit (short for revise instantly) can simulate wind flow and shadow analysis for use of natural light. It can also simulate earthquakes and floddwaters in preparation for these natural disasters.
The Revit's BIM (building information modeling) feature allows the automatic of construction requirements including the tiniest details, he added.
Despite its availability now, Samuel acknowledged that the Revit platforms has yet to gain a bigger user base in the country though a limited number of local construction firms are already using it.
"If you buy it today, you won't become productive overnight. It has a learning curve. But once you learn how to use it, its effect on your work will be exponential.
Samuel said the challenge for Autodesk is to make sure the local construction industry has enough knowledge on "green" architecture.
"But I don't really this as a problem since Filipinos are technically sound and have strong 3D adoption."
This is one area which Autodesk, the world's largest maker of design software, wants to capitalize as part of its strategy to make sustainable design a popular concept in the engineering and construction industry.
The California-based company has a firm faith on the concept of sustainable design that it has conducted a yearly "Green Index" survey that measures the adoption of green building practices in the US.
In its 2006 survey, 77 percent of the respondents indicated that client demand is the top driver for architects to practice sustainable design, up from 64 percent in 2005's Green Index. In last year's survey, customer demand was tied with fuel costs as leading drivers for the adoption of green buildings practices.
Emmanuel Samuel, sales executive director for building solutions at Autodesk Asia Pacific, said in a recent visit to the Philippines That buildings are actually monsters to the environment.
Next to transportation, buildings are the greatest contributor to environmental degradation as they produce 30 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and consume 36 percent of the world's total energy requirements.
What's more, the executive stressed, the planning alone of a typical $100million building - if done via the traditional way - generates about 150,000 paper documents.
"Just imagine the negative effect that these things bring to the environment. Are we building today something that will harm our children? That is the question that we should ask," Samuel said.
By going "green" through sophisticated design software, architects and construction firms can do their part in preserving the environment, he said.
Aside from reducing the impact of natural resource consumption, Samuel said adopting a "green" policy can also help builders improve their bottom-line, enhance occupant's comfort and health, and minimize strain on local infrastructure.
"There's a lot of waste going around. It's time that architects be held more accountable for their work," he said. "It's time for the role of the architect to change - for them to become green architects and put environmental factors in their design."
According to Samuel, his company's Revit (short for revise instantly) can simulate wind flow and shadow analysis for use of natural light. It can also simulate earthquakes and floddwaters in preparation for these natural disasters.
The Revit's BIM (building information modeling) feature allows the automatic of construction requirements including the tiniest details, he added.
Despite its availability now, Samuel acknowledged that the Revit platforms has yet to gain a bigger user base in the country though a limited number of local construction firms are already using it.
"If you buy it today, you won't become productive overnight. It has a learning curve. But once you learn how to use it, its effect on your work will be exponential.
Samuel said the challenge for Autodesk is to make sure the local construction industry has enough knowledge on "green" architecture.
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