Betaboston
Autodesk planning collaboration center for building industry in S. Boston
NEW KID ON DRYDOCK AVE.
Scott Kirsner
Only a few blocks from where Boston Mayor Marty Walsh worked his first union construction job as a teen, the software company Autodesk plans to open a new innovation lab focused on new technologies that are changing the building industry. Walsh plans to speak this evening at an event announcing the new facility, located on Drydock Avenue in the Marine Industrial Park, which will also house about 200 Autodesk employees who currently work in Waltham.
Autodesk, which makes design software used by architects, contractors, and structural engineers, among others, will initially occupy 70,000 square feet on three floors, but has an option to occupy an additional 50,000 square feet, according to Autodesk vice president Jim Lynch.
In addition to providing office space for Autodesk’s local employees, the new site will also house the new Building Innovation Learning and Design Space (aka the BUILD Space) that will bring together students, entrepreneurs, and researchers to explore new tools and ways to make design and construction more efficient. Lynch says that people using the BUILD Space will have access to tools like laser cutters, programmable milling machines, and robots. They may look at possibilities like 3D printing or mass-producing building elements — or entire buildings — as a way to control the cost and quality of construction projects.
