Is free, is high tech and is high end, the building is fantastic, the view very nice and you will get to know all you want about 3D printing, design and the latest in that industry. It truly is an inspiring place. I check a wheelchair very modern, kind of futuristic, and useful. Design should not be antagonist of practicality, and in Autodesk Gallery you will find many examples of that. A must visit and remember you don’t have to pay anything for it.
Jacqueline S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Mountain View, CA
This is a great museum, it has something for everyone. Good geeky fun, great models of buildings, movie insights and gadget close-ups, medical devices, art, and philanthropy. The museum has a monthly design night. This is an inspiring place to learn more about many areas of technology, electronics, innovation and much more. It’s free and you can schedule a docent for a group(give a weeks notice). Our team-building event was great here. Kids will love the Lego dinosaur, sort of Nikes, photo booth and soccer ball powered light!
Bunny B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Jose, CA
I work for Autodesk. But that’s not the reason I love this gallery. Here are the reasons: 1. Prime location. Very convenient. 2. Beautiful view from the gallery 3. Free 4. Interested in how 3d printing works? 5. How design software can change our life in architecture, entertainment, biotech? 6. Want to feel inspired? The list goes on and on A truly inspiring gallery. My friends love it.
Benita M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Francisco, CA
Awesome art gallery located on the second floor. The people there are super nice and helpful. I found out about this place through SF Funcheap and was interested in their Disney Virtual Tour. During the time I went, the gallery had a lot of futuristic models of cars, cities, gadgets, etc. Really amazed by all the cool stuff here. One perk is that this is free to attend! All you have to do is sign in at the front desk and they will let you in. If you have time, should definitely come check this place out.
Brittany C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Francisco, CA
This is not a huge place by any means, but worth checking out if you’re at all interested in design. You’ll realize after checking this place out just how much of the world Autodesk technology helps to build — buildings, cars, consumer products, movies, and more. It’s quite impressive. Granted, this gallery is kind of a marketing strategy for Autodesk, but it’s very well organized and presented! I recommend visiting twice if you can find the time, once during public visitor hours and once on a Design Night. On Wednesdays and Fridays during the day, the museum is open to the public(for free!), and you can spend an hour or so wandering around, learning about interesting design projects that feature Autodesk technology. Once a month, there’s a «Design Night»( ) at the gallery featuring a particular theme in design — examples from past nights include design for social good, product design, and animation design. There’s usually a speaker(all of the ones I’ve heard have been really great) as well as tables featuring fun DIY projects. Oh, and I’ve forgotten the most important part: there’s an open bar and great food. Design Night tickets are around $ 25 and sell out quickly, so grab your tickets for the next one before they run out!
Arthur Y.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Emeryville, CA
Not sure what to say — I was only here for a conference event. But WOW, is that an amazing space with tons of really cool stuff inside!!!
Jean K.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Francisco, CA
Cool to see all the ways to use Autodesk — from designing airplanes, cars, wheelchairs, skyscrapers, entertainment special effects. Don’t bother with the docent led tour — it doesn’t add any info to what you could read on your own. There are a bunch of interactive exhibits in the back that no one else seemed to care about(or maybe they got tired of me hogging all the fun?). There’s a maze that you can control through a balance board — harder than it looks. Tip: keep it mostly horizontal and slowly move the ball, sudden movements will just send it flying as it’s not accurate enough to respond quickly. There’s also a photo booth with special effects though I didn’t see a way to get the photos online — just printouts. Hours — Wednesdays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guided tour at 12:30 p.m. Fridays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery is closed on federal holidays.
Dani P.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Arlington, VA
This place is a neat stop when you’re already by the water in SF. My cousin works for Autodesk and thought it’d be nice to beat the heat and take a tour inside. They have a lot of 3-D printed models, before one could obtain a 3-D printer at home. My favorite part was the lego dinosaur that you can add pieces to. I’m pretty sure once the dinosaur is close to completion that they just remove the legos to let people start over again.
C J.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Berkeley, CA
Very cool design gallery. I went here today with some graduate-level art students and they loved it. It’s free, right downtown by the ferry plaza building, and not crowded at all. We checked out the art and design pieces for about an hour and a half. The gallery featured a diverse array of exhibits: from 3D printed art, functional designs like an energy-generating soccer ball, a model of a Ferrari sports car, some photography– all designed using the Autodesk simulation software. It was lots of fun. I highly recommend it if you are interested in art or design and looking for an enjoyable, interactive afternoon.
Zahin A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Ramon, CA
Awesome gallery showcasing the best projects and work from different groups utilizing auto desk software. Came here for their monthly design night featuring the exhibits plus open bar and dinner from Osha Thai. There were a couple workshops allowing visitors to build their own drinking straws from copper pipes. There was a talk featuring the founder of Frog design but I couldn’t hear anything despite the aided video and audio outside the tiny conference room. This was a great experience and I would definitely return. Beats the pants off of the exploratorium’s child like exhibits.
Jon A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Mission, San Francisco, CA
Amazing interactive design and pleasant refuge from noisy market street. Great views over street and port of San Francisco building.
Dmitry S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Mountain View, CA
I’m expect more software specific and technical, cause I’m working in Maya many years, but anyway interesting for all. Tour start at 12.30. A lot of 3D printing stuff(full sized futuristic motocycle), 123D software examples.
Hari M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Union City, CA
A must-see if you are in the area
Ann L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Fremont, CA
The public is allowed to check out the Autodesk Gallery for FREE only on Wednesdays from 12−5pm. Tour is at 12:30pm, but I think the tour isn’t worth it so don’t go then. It’s in the Landmark One Market St on the 2nd Fl. Separate bathrooms available from the lobby go down a hallway on the Left. I went on the tour, it was only about 30minutes or so, you can take pictures. Too much talking, when all I wanted to do was take some pics and move on. Well, after the tour I got to really walk around & take all the pictures I wanted. Exhibits do change, but what I saw and liked: Shanghai Tower — going to be done in 2014, I need to visit it when it’s done! A car model Bay Bridge East span Dinosaur made out of Legos Pixlr-o-matic — loved the photo booth that you get instant pictures of you & your group! Fun, fun, fun and it’s FREE! They also have Design Night every First Thurs of the Month for $ 25 + online fee, but you get all-u-can-eat food & get to see the changing theme: Worth a visit! Website:
Aaron M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Rafael, CA
There aren’t a lot of free things to do in SF. If you’re a designer, or just have an interest in design, the Autodesk Gallery on the 2nd floor of the Landmark tower at 1 Market should be on your to do list. I work at Autodesk… and occasionally find myself in the gallery where its easy to get inspiration from all the items our software helps create; but you dont need to be an employee to be inspired by the designs. Guided tours are Tours are offered on Wednesdays at 12:30pm(mid-day), and one Thursday a month the gallery plays host to «Design Night».(Which for a nominal fee or ~$ 25 you enjoy a guest lecturer as well as an open bar). Tickets sell out fast, so get them as soon as you can. The gallery showcases items made using Autodesk software, from a high tech wheelchair to a 12 ft lego dinosaur. Exhibits change now and again, so its something you can do more than once without getting bored…
Otis M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Saratoga Springs, NY
This gallery is a showcase of things built by Autodesk customers, which doesn’t mean much until you realize that virtually every special effects movie and world class architectural project is produced with Autodesk software. There are amazingly intricate models and educational animation videos and you can see them all for free, in a very spare and elegant space, for five hours each Wednesday afternoon. Highly recommended: start with the 12:30 pm tour, which is a good orientation after which you can linger as long as you like. Amazingly(though maybe it was the great weather) there were only a dozen or so people on the tour today for what is probably SF’s best freebie.
Matthew M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Francisco, CA
This is a unique place to spend a Wednsday afternoon. Tucked away on the second floor of One Market Autodesk(the creators of AutoCAD and a lot of other stuff) open the doors of the gallery and offer complementary tours highlighting some of the newer displays. The tour was super crowded and there was a conference that day but there was still plenty to check out and play with. Most of the stuff is interactive and allows you a peak into how some super advanced technology works. Plus they do a great job linking everything to popular media or real world examples. Only draw back is it’s only open to everyone Wednesdays.
Tracey A.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Marin County, CA
If you think the only thing Autodesk does is vend AutoCAD software, think again. This intimate gallery gives you a sampling of what else their products are used in and how broad their tentacles are in anything design-related. For instance: * Did you know that their software has been used in each of the last 16 films awarded an Oscar for«Best Visual Effects»? or * That their CEO went to China following the 2008 Szechuan earthquake, to offer Autodesk products to help quickly and safely rebuild some of the 6 million + buildings that had collapsed? The company offers FREE«Ambassador”-led tours of the space on Wednesday afternoons. My personal favorites were 1) the chance to simulate driving across the new East span of the Bay Bridge or the simulate driving the new Doyle Drive span leading to the Golden Gate Bridge and 2) seeing the sampling of art that people have created using Sketchbook, another Autodesk product. The gallery can be fully toured within about 45 minutes, making it a nice little diversion to the middle of your work-week. Check it out and get inspired.
Dominic T.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Francisco, CA
Stunning doesn’t even begin to describe the showcase. I actually had no idea what Autodesk was until 30 minutes before the scheduled 12:30 guided tour when I was sitting at Yoppi complaining in my head how there are no AC outlets to charge my phone. I did know that the Presdio Parkway simulator was located at One Market Plaza somewhere and was open for public interaction on Wednesday afternoons. As I walked by the entrance from the direction of the Ferry Building, I noticed the Autodesk displays featuring work pieces that fascinated me beforehand. Fast forward to 12:30pm on the second floor where all the glamor is located. All visitors must sign in at the desk. There’s a sign that tells you to check-in on Foursquare(and Facebook Places, ew), hallelujah! People the venue is called Autodesk Gallery, don’t check-into the building if you don’t work here. My guide yesterday was Grace Hom and she was very knowledgeable about the exhibits from the clients of Autodesk. I’m not going to explain every display but you just have to go there to experience the thrill. I could spend hours here easily reading about technology, engineering, architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, 3D printing, etc. Of all the days of summer break so far, yesterday was probably the most meaningful day. I did hate the fact that kids were all over the gallery today for a field trip. I had to wait at least 15 minutes for the Presidio Parkway and Bay Bridge road simulator when I was clearly next in the queue. I wanted to slap every single one of them for ruining the vibe and tranquility of the place. This place is not a playground! Some exhibits were broken from excessive touching, which was disheartening. Good thing the Tesla Model S was guarded from fingerprints. There was also an event going on that hindered part of the guided tour from seeing the acclaimed iPad art. I might make another trip if I am in the area needing to do something.
Gil S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Francisco, CA
OMGOMGOMG. This is like the Exploratorium for adults. Engineer nerds especailly. You can lose yourself for a couple hours playing with stuff. How cool are they? Instead of putting out chips or pretzels, they leave buckets of green and white leggos out on the coffee tables. If you ever get invited to a meeting here, or just come by or the public viewing, this is one of San Francisco’s undercover secret treasures.