Autodesk Gallery @ One Market: From idea to reality
By Cindy Beckman

What do a hollow-body wooden surfboard, a Shelby Mustang GT500, and a 9-foot-tall Lego dinosaur have in common? They all required computer-aided design to take a complex idea from concept to reality. The new Autodesk Gallery @ One Market provides a glimpse into the processes used to create such extremely diverse designs.

Autodesk manufactures 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Their new gallery is based on a showcase that was put together for an industry tradeshow a few years ago. Carl Bass, Autodesk’s president and CEO, thought a year-round venue for the display would be appropriate, and the Gallery @ One Market was born.

“The Autodesk Gallery is an inspiring space where we can also interact with the community – schools, industry groups, and local and visiting designers,” said Bass.
The vast gallery presents the work of artists, architects, engineers, and consumer product designers in a way rarely seen by the public. Local designs are a focal point, including Renzo Piano’s Academy of Sciences building design, showing how a napkin sketch was developed into the final project, and the new Bay Bridge design with prototypes used to explain the massive structural supports and cables.

Gallery curators were initially concerned about how to get designers to agree to have their thought processes revealed in these displays, but were excited when only two of the original 21 designers approached declined to participate. The gallery has since been contacted by several designers who would like to have their work featured in future exhibits.

The interactive displays explore how similar the design process is among vastly different fields of study, yet high-light the ways in which an individual’s creativity ultimately molds the final creation. The plan is to have both permanent and changing exhibits throughout the year, with an area of the gallery reserved for cutting-edge design hardware that visitors can try out for themselves.

Autodesk Gallery @ One Market: One Market (at Steuart), open the first Wednesday of each month, 1 to 5 p.m., and by appointment. For more information or to set up an individual or school visit, contact Jason Medal-Katz at 415-356-0700 or jason.medal-katz@autodesk.com