ALEXANDRIA, VA. — CADD Microsystems, Inc. (CMI), said that it sees indications that the building industry in the Washington, D.C., area is rebounding. At the CMI Tech Tour on Aug. 25, 2009, in Washington, D.C., more than 200 architecture, engineering, and construction professionals spent the day learning how design and construction software can optimize the process of design and construction.

"This Tech Tour was one of the largest events our company has ever hosted," said Jeff Gravatte, CEO of CMI, "and we are pleased with what that says about the state of the design and building industry. To have more than 200 people spend a day learning the latest trends in BIM and design technology speaks volumes about the strength of the building industry and its promise for a speedy recovery."

Several of the sessions focused on building information modeling (BIM) applications, which was especially timely in the weeks leading up to a briefing offered to Congress, organized by the High-Performance Buildings Congressional Caucus Coalition and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). The briefing on BIM and High Performance Buildings, which took place on Sept. 2 in the U.S. House of Representatives Cannon office building, is evidence of the importance of the use of technology in the building industry. The briefing introduced the opportunities that BIM can provide to support the overall goal of providing high-performance buildings for our country.

One of the most popular sessions at the CMI event, Rapid Building Performance Analysis, addressed this topic and covered how Autodesk Revit software, Autodesk Ecotect Analysis, and Autodesk Green Building Studio work together to support sustainable design within a building information model.

Because of the great response to the session content at the Tech Tour, CMI is also offering this free event in October 2009 in Baltimore, and in Herndon, Va.