Autodesk

Launched in 2013, Autodesk Pier 9 was designed as a place to explore every stage of the process of making things, from idea to digital model to real-world physical product. In our state-of-the-art digital fabrication workshop, our community of technical experts and creative partners collaborate on projects that dissolve the boundaries between software and hardware.

What we learn at Pier 9 influences and inspires us to develop useful tools for the future of making things. Together, we’re discovering ways to advance 3D design and fabrication technology, to change design, engineering, and manufacturing as we know it.

The Gold Rush that began in 1848 brought tens of thousands of people to California in search of riches, and the influx helped build San Francisco into the pre-eminent port in the West. The city’s population boomed from fewer than 1,000 in 1848 to over 149,000 in 1870.

Rapid growth throughout the state fueled the development of manufacturing plants and other industries along the San Francisco waterfront. A profusion of mining machinery and equipment factories sprung up near the port and thrived as mining expanded in countries such as Australia and South Africa, making San Francisco the world center of this trade by 1875.