Architects Predict Significant Increases in Practice of Sustainable Design, According to 2006 Autodesk Green Index. Client demand now primary driver for adoption of green building practices. 16th November 2006 - Autodesk today announced the results of the 2006 Autodesk Green Index, which provides a measure of the adoption of sustainable design techniques by architects.

The overall Green Index number, based on a score of zero to 100, is expected to double by 2011, from 30 in 2006.

Seventy-seven percent of this year's respondents indicated that client demand is the top driver for architects to practice sustainable design, up from 64 percent in 2005's Green Index.

In last year's survey, customer demand was tied with fuel costs as leading drivers for the adoption of green building practices.

'This year's study reveals a growing commitment by architects and owners for supporting sustainable design principles,' said Jay Bhatt, vice president, Autodesk building solutions.

'By enabling our customers to collaborate more effectively and estimate more accurately, Autodesk solutions help architects predict the overall lifecycle costs of their designs'.

In 2005, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) established a goal to reduce building- and construction-related fossil-fuel use by 50 per cent by 2010.

More than 60 per cent of architects responding to the 2006 Autodesk Green Index survey predict that their integrated/high performance design work will help meet the 2005 AIA goal.

Design Software, Energy Modelling Expands and Enables Green Building Practices According to the 2006 Autodesk Green Index, architects expect to expand their use of design software for energy modelling in the next five years for a variety of tasks, including:.

- A 300% increase in the use of design software to specify material quantities and schedules to minimise waste during the construction process (to be used by 36% of architects on most of their projects in 2011, compared to 9% in 2006).

- A 258% increase to predict and evaluate solar heating (43% in 2011, 12% in 2006).

- A 176% increase to predict and evaluate solar lighting (17% in 2011, 47% in 2006).

- A 105% increase to evaluate and explore alternative building materials to maximise energy performance and minimize environmental impact (45% in 2011, 22% in 2006).

- A 112% increase to conduct energy modelling/baseline analysis (53% in 2011, 25% in 2006).

The most prevalent energy-saving initiative for architects are high-efficiency HVAC systems, with 64 per cent of the study's respondents specifying their use on more than half of their projects over the past year.

Five years ago, only 36 per cent of architects used high-efficiency HVAC systems on over half of their design project; 85 per cent expect to use high-efficiency HVAC systems on most of their projects by 2011.