Vegas!

Ponti di Vegas

Two weeks ago I was in Vegas for a conference with the grand title of AutoDesk University. Autodesk is the company that produces the software my office and thousands of offices around the world use when designing, analyzing and documenting their work (i.e. buildings). AU, as it is know to the nerderati, is attended about about 9,000 people each year and has been held in Vegas for the last two. The mass of people was pretty overwhelming as can be seen below between class sessions.


You might ask what kind of space can feed 9,000 people for breakfast. Why an endless space, of course. Deep in the bowels of the Venetian Casino is this cavern staffed by sleepy butlers.


The classes were quite good and the tools to facilitate more sustainable design (e.g. low energy consuming buildings) are finally rolling out. A plus is that these tools finally have a good visual component and don't require a degree in mechanical engineering to use.

"Ecotect" application being used to analyse
energy use relative to building orientation

With all the classes and events there was little time for gambling but I did manage to leave about $40 at the blackjack tables. I caught some pros playing for a television audience (and got yelled at for my pains).