AEC innovators feature among the 2023 Autodesk Design & Make Awards winners

Autodesk has unveiled the winners of their annual Design & Make Awards. Formerly known as the Autodesk Excellence Awards, the series honors “an inspiring collection of innovators exploring bold opportunities with technology to transform their industries and make a lasting impact on the world.”

The winning entries are drawn from three broad categories: Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC); Product Design & Manufacturing (PD&M); and Media & Entertainment (M&E). Below, we have detailed the various AEC-related winners of the 2023 edition, which were announced at the Autodesk University 2023 expo on November 12th.

Accelerating Transformation (AEC): Walter P Moore

Autodesk citation: “350 acres of buildings, roads, and parks might sound like a small city, but it’s Walmart’s new sustainably-built home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walter P. Moore is the winner of the Accelerating Transformation award for their cloud-powered workflows on this complex project. The engineering company has done the mass grading, transportation planning, and the design and installation of underground utilities for the entire campus. And designed 10 acres of lakes for stormwater retention and re-use.”

Innovator of the Year (AEC): Aedas

Autodesk citation: “Aedas is this year’s AEC Innovator of the Year for their futuristic concept of the Trojena Ski Village, a year-round destination in Saudi Arabia. The global architecture company collaborated with teams across six continents. Aedas centralized hundreds of digital models with Autodesk Construction Cloud, giving stakeholders real-time project access from anywhere in the world.”

Making a Better World (AEC): Bridges to Prosperity

Autodesk citation: “The Making a Better World Award goes to Bridges to Prosperity, an organization that builds footbridges across rivers and ravines to connect people with the critical resources they need. The organization designs the bridges in AutoCAD so everyone can work on the same model, and uses Civil 3D and InfraWorks to collaborate with customers, partners, and governments. Bridges to Prosperity is also developing an open-source AI tool that uses geospatial data for virtual site evaluation scale operations. They’ve installed 500 bridges so far, like the Marenge Suspended Bridge in Rwanda that has cut travel time to schools and markets in half.”

Best Building Design Project: Hiten Sethi & Associates

Autodesk citation: “From the outside, the steel and glass domes look like works of art. But this sculptural architecture will be a world-class space for exploration, imagination, and learning. This year’s best building design project award goes to Hiten Sethi & Associates for their state-of-the-art Science Center, an interactive museum in Navi Mumbai, India. With Revit and BIM Collaborate Pro, the architects created a digital rendering of the futuristic domed building to ensure accuracy and efficiency through design and construction.”

Best Infrastructure Project: NORCONSULT AS

Autodesk citation: “In a country famous for its crystal blue fjords, climate change and a growing population are impacting another water supply in Norway—its drinking water. Architecture and engineering firm Norconsult is solving this problem with its innovative design for a new water treatment plant, which is this year’s winner for Best Infrastructure Project. The treatment plant is being built deep into a mountainside in Bærum. With Autodesk Platform Services, Norconsult connected hundreds of stakeholders in one ecosystem, giving them access to the latest project information and the digital twin.”

Best Construction Project: SSOE Group, Turner, and Kokosing

Autodesk citation: “In Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Ascend Elements is building a 150-acre lithium battery recycling facility designed by architecture and engineering firm SSOE Group. It’s a massive project that will create power for 250,000 electric vehicles a year. And it is this year’s Design and Make award winner for Best Construction Project. SSOE is designing the architectural, civil, and structural elements as well as the process, mechanical, and electrical systems for the 500,000 square foot operation.”

Outstanding Recognition Award: Beijing Construction Engineering Group

Autodesk citation: “With a theater, an opera house, and concert hall, the 1.35 million square foot Beijing Sub Center Theater is set to be a world-class performance and cultural center. Designed by Beijing Institute of Architectural Design and built by Beijing Construction Engineering Group, this project has earned Outstanding Recognition for accelerating transformation in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.”

Outstanding Recognition Award: PT Adhi Karya

Autodesk citation: “The East Cross Road Preservation is one of Indonesia’s larger infrastructure projects, with 34 kilometers of road construction, traffic facilities, and bridge renovations. PT Adhi Karya has earned a Design and Make Outstanding Recognition award for accelerating transformation and leveraging the cloud and digital tools to create synergy on this massive project. The company centralized over 5,000 documents in a common data environment using BIM 360. The various trades worked off the same Revit and Civil 3D models which helped resolve issues in real-time and kept the project ahead of schedule.”

In addition to awards recognized across the AEC sector, the Design + Make Awards recognized people, companies, and projects across Product Design & Manufacturing (PD&M) and Media & Entertainment (M&E) categories. The remaining winners were as follows:

• Accelerating Transformation (PD&M): Rivian
• Accelerating Transformation (M&E): Gearbox Studio Québec
• Innovator of the Year (PD&M): Ryan McClelland, NASA
• Innovator of the Year (M&E): Untold Studios
• Making a Better World (PD&M): Heirloom
• Making a Better World (M&E): Axis Studios
• Best Product Engineering & Manufacturing Project: Ameca
• Outstanding Recognition Award: Mahindra
• Education Excellence: Carla Herrero
• Community Leader of the Year (AEC): Donnia Tabor-Hanson
• Community Leader of the Year (PD&M): Alex Lobos
• Community Leader of the Year (M&E): Agnieszka Klich