In the biggest news for this year’s Autodesk University (AU), Autodesk acquires Spacemaker in a deal worth USD 240 million. The Oslo, Norway-based cloud-based software company utilizes artificial intelligence (AI), and generative design technologies to enable rapid building design and urban design parcel testing for professionals in the AECOM market.
Spacemaker
Based in Oslo, Norway, Spacemaker’s fully cloud-based, web-browser platform for generative design enables architects, urban planners, and real estate developers to make rapid decisions in early-stage development for built projects. The data-driven and AI-assisted software help evaluate “best-case” or scenario options from the outset, saving clients time and money on long-term property investments.
A view of Spacemaker’s user-interface, this one looking at the effects of noise on building design and parcel development decisions.
From a modern web browser, Spacemaker software helps design professionals rapidly create and evaluate building and urban design scenarios that must meet optimal data targets dependant on the building and use types. Rather than directly modeling 3D buildings in a BIM or CAD software and then tabulating critical spatial data, Spacemaker generates scenarios automatically in both 2D and 3D using key input from the user, targeted at specific outcome-based goals for the project. It does this while considering other key design criteria like terrain maps, wind, lighting, traffic, zoning, and other criteria. Spacemaker quickly generates alternative designs optimized for the full potential of the site, from which design professionals further interrogate and evolve as part of their normal creative workflows.
“Spacemaker is a lesson in the power of insights and automation, giving designers the ability to create and test urban design ideas in minutes,” says Andrew Anagnost, CEO, and President of Autodesk. “With two billion more people expected to call our planet home by 2050, speed of design and sustainability in urban planning must be priorities. Spacemaker technology offers a fundamental shift in how we imagine and build cities to keep people and the planet healthy.”
“Four years ago, we set out on a mission to help design, engineering, and project teams reinvent the development of more sustainable cities and neighborhoods worldwide while maximizing the investment,” said Havard Haukeland, CEO and co-founder of Spacemaker. “Autodesk shares our goal to create a healthier planet for everyone and is uniquely positioned to more rapidly place our product in the hands of planning teams everywhere. This is a proud milestone for our team and those who supported us from the start.”
More details about Autodesk acquiring Spacemaker will be coming up at Architosh in another report published later today. You can view that report here.
Closing Details
Typical customary closing conditions apply and are expected to close during Autodesk’s fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, ending 31 January 2021.