California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

To advance its goal of preparing students for "the practice of the future,” the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly, SLO) uses building information modeling (BIM) in its building design degree programs. The CAED began using Autodesk BIM solutions in its core curriculum in 2007, based on the feedback from affiliated industry professionals regarding the current state of practice and projected industry trends.

About California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly, SLO has 17,000 full-time students enrolled in 6 colleges, including almost 2,000 in its CAED. The CAED is the largest program of its type in the United States with 7 degree programs in 5 closely related departments: Architectural Engineering, Architecture, City and Regional Planning, Construction Management, and Landscape Architecture.

Cal Poly, SLO Uses BIM to Prepare Students for Future Practice
Cal Poly, SLO’s CAED uses BIM to give students an integrated understanding of building design and to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. As a part of their BIM training, CAED students use Autodesk® Revit® Architecture, Autodesk® Revit® Structure, and Autodesk® Ecotect® Analysis*** software, and the Autodesk® Green Building Studio® web service in a variety of courses and design studios.

The college employs BIM solutions as a teaching tool for both architectural and structural design. By using the software for their coursework, students can learn how BIM enables collaboration and coordination throughout the design and construction process. When appropriate, CAED students use Ecotect software and the Green Building Studio web service to study sustainability and energy issues in their projects. In addition, some of the design studios are interdisciplinary studios and the students use BIM to communicate information more efficiently to the other disciplines involved in the creation of the built environment.

Educational Reseller
Cal Poly uses Visucate in Fresno, California, as its educational reseller.

* 453 Faculty:  Kevin Dong, James Doerfler, Thomas Fowler, Mark Cabrinha. 453 Project Team: Matthew Moran, Aramis Arciga, Paulina Mendoza, Idolina Benevides, David Carmona, Chris Brazell.
**410 Faculty: Kevin Dong, James Doerfler, Mike Montoya. Chorro Project Team: John Vierra, Michael Burke, Michael Vachon, Leigh Guggemos.
***Autodesk Green Building Studio web service is also available to Subscription customers of Autodesk Ecotect Analysis during the term of their Subscription.