Autodesk is going green

Computer-aided design (CAD) software manufacturer Autodesk is sponsoring a new PBS television series about sustainable design.

The program is entitled “design: e2,” the Economics of Being Environmentally Conscious. It will be narrated by film star Brad Pitt and is scheduled to air this month.

The television documentary series will highlight the positive impact sustainable building design has on the economy, our health and the planet. It will chronicle green design buildings and designers around the world. Autodesk has also unveiled its Sustainability Center as an online resource on the role of technology in sustainable design (www.autodesk.com/green/)

“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.

The 2005 Autodesk Green Index, an annual study of the implementation of green design principals by architects, indicated that the use of sustainable design principals has grown 50 per cent since 2000, and estimates that it will increase 100 percent by 1010.