A new chapter - Dublin and some BIM expertise

Having just returned from Dublin I saw it fit to make some announcements and wrap up what was an informative and well received event in regard to BIM. The conference was organised by Ralph Montague from ArcDox and sponsors included Autodesk, diatec, NBS and Faro. As usual it was a good mix of the usual suspects in BIM in the UK and was a great chance for us all to share our knowledge on an informal platform to those willing to learn.

Dublin is quite special. Not only because my good friend and honorary #UKBIMcrew member Dave Leyden lives there but because its a beautifully layered city of some fantastic monumental architectural gems as well as grounded and friendly people. Ill be returning in September for a TEDx event hosted there.

The conference began with a keynote from Autodesk evangelist and thought leader Dominic Thasarathar. He touched on many Interesting and relevant future concepts whilst pointed out four future topics, which I tend to agree with, in terms of how our industry will evolve and change. These were digital reality, infinite computing, digital realisation and crowd and social networking. I couldn't agree more that these areas are going to shape the way we work in future and are already beginning to affect how we communicate and interact. The only barrier I feel to these changes is how we embrace and acknowledge them as early as we possibly can in regard to the way Education and schooling are developing, not only in the UK but on a global level. 

Following the keynote was the first panel and the one I was involved in with how Revit and various technologies improves and changes design workflow and how we utilise the tools we have to deliver informed design processes. Here I felt the perfect opportunity to announce my next move in the BIM transfer season that has been shifting the industry over the past year or so. I was representing the CIC and BIM2050 and ensured the crowd understood where our group was headed and what we were doing to influence change in the UK and I formally announced my Role as Associate Director for David Miller Architects.

A session I found worthwhile was the embedding of BIM into the education within the Dublin Institute of Technology presented by Cormac Allan. With this presentation came the same question of why the Architectural Degrees in the varying institutions were not engaging in this process. I was led to an interesting video by Malachy Matthews by an Architectural Lecturer Peggy Deamer at the Yale BIM Symposium from 2011. The video touched on a few very interesting points and some of which I agree with - some i disagree with but worth watching. See link: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=CWQkYb9OeLE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DCWQkYb9OeLE

The day followed with a few more great presentations and discussions - some heated and some not so heated but we all gained something from the day and learnt from each other. Having returned and back in London before heading off again tomorrow (this time a BIM2050 meet in manchester) I have to acknowledge two valuable lessons:

 1. Always be honest and truthful and share what you know. The BIM community is amazing because we are all driven by passion and interest in the topic and its something very few people find in their lives and for that I am grateful.

 2. Do not drink Guinness ever again ;)

Till next time...

 

Guest Post by Keith Chan- Toward BIM Architecture

Keith joined KSS in 2012 as an architectural assistant for his year out in practice, after completing his RIBA Part I BSc degree at Welsh School of Architecture. Having spent his childhood in Hong Kong and grown up in the UK, he has developed interest in contextual architecture design.  Studying and working at the same time in pursuit of RIBA Part II, he has become analytical on how architectural education links to the construction industry and seek to explore the role of the architect nowadays. He is now gaining valuable experience with BIM and construction process, particularly through helping with co-ordination in sports and retail projects.'

 

TOWARD BIM ARCHITECTURE - Keith Chan

 

What I liked about my architecture school was the balance between ‘theory’ and ‘practice’, highlighting how interdisciplinary architecture can be, and how the industry is developing across the world, sparking students’ interests in the vernacular, place-making, fabrication and at the same time drags us back into the reality of what is going on in the industry.

 

BIM was mentioned in my Part I degree - Revit was taught to us basically, along with other powerful packages such as Ecotect, 3DStudioMax that we have all produced designs with. We were focusing on how powerful the programs can be and how they can be used as ‘Design Tools’ to help us design sustainably and analytically, at the same time exercising the more ‘traditional’ or ‘good-old’ drafting and sketching by hand. Still, we designed in our ‘architectural wonderland’ with limited constraints for our school projects.

 

One thing I have learnt a lot from working at KSS was how BIM aims to embrace the collaborative nature, across all parties of a project, across the same software platform, and the convenience of exchanging information and modeling. Still learning much about the trade, I came across the recently published NBS BIM report. I had a glance over the statistics and the ‘perceptions of BIM’ and general hesitation for practices adopting BIM caught my eye. Personally, as a fresh university graduate, instinctively I believe education can play a part, in particular at universities and vocational colleges. After all, new comers joining a firm can always bring new knowledge and skills.

 

When I say education, I do not only refer to the ‘skills’ element of using software, undoubtedly it would help increase user-confidence, but instead to teach by painting a comprehensive picture of BIM - nothing religious or brain-washing, just through a handful of sessions of role-playing seminars with case studies to discuss the general status quo, honest and hard facts of what works now and what needs improving, that may suffice for now. I believe that the awareness is the catalyst, university graduates in this job market are eager to make themselves more employable, with the availability of resources (Youtube & forums) on the web to pick up software skills in their own time, ‘BIM-thinking’ could easily be embedded within the new breeds for the industry.

 

Note that I didn’t specify ‘architecture schools’ in particular but ‘universities’. BIM is collaborative –picture a week-long design workshop in university, where students who are interested to join the construction industry, from faculties of engineering, architecture, business or management all gather and try to design a basic house using BIM. In fact, I can picture ‘heated debates’ and frustrated faces too, but that may be the point – to emphasise that it would only work when everybody is levelled, using the same language and set up a mutually understanding workflow/protocols. CAD and technical skills can be picked up quickly, but communication and co-ordination skills must be experienced and trained. ‘Is this BIM related?’ perhaps not necessarily, but at least it dissolves the potential ‘silo’ approach from different professions early on.

 

Knowing that Norway or Finland has been using BIM throughout small and big scale projects – even taught in school; I’m intrigued to learn how and ‘why not’ for UK (more than the obvious and overused justification of ‘cultural difference’). If we still dwell in limbo, I fear (maybe a naive and distant nightmare) that sooner or later, local/global projects may one day be outsourced to other transnational design teams due to their more advanced BIM expertise, and ability to collaborate; UK local practices would lose out even more if we don’t march on, and young professionals start looking abroad to find work, some already have. Schools’ main concern was that there is no guarantee that practices graduates end up working uses/going to use BIM, and that the current school staffs are researchers/academics and external practicing tutors do not have enough time or right skills to teach.

 

For education to initiate, the industry must commit, and make institutes realize the importance of the trend, so that they feel obliged to also invest time and effort to educate the new generations. Future generations no longer simply judge the excellence of a project by its end product; they should also be able to celebrate the process of how it is conceived and built, how we used technology to improve efficiency throughout the build, in the midst of the economic and environmental difficulties of our time.

 

 

 

Libeskind and Moments

I attended the second Dream Builders session at the RIBA headquarters in London last night and I felt I needed to share a few thoughts on the process of his Architectural mindset and the way others interpret the way he designs buildings.

 

I have always been a huge fan of Libeskind's work and feel that he barely touched on his theoretical process last night in the way he designs buildings. This is a rare and unique gift. The BBC reporter Razia Iqbal questioned his approach on the process of design within his technique as highly emotive and reactionary,  but I feel that it this idea was somewhat lost in the presentation yesterday. I feel that the process of the movement of Deconstructivism that he created was also not discussed as much as it could have been and I feel that he has realised, through his years, that many of those who are filtered through a degree miss this highly thought out and theoretical approach. What dawned on me and what I never realised about Libeskind in the past, having read many of his essays, walked through his buildings and followed his incredibly successful career was that he is simply doing what he feels is the right thing to do. He is not governed by a school of Modernists who were about constructing monuments for self righteousness and fame, he believes in the spaces that ultimately give back to the people, that give back to life and humanity and in turn become engulfed in emotion and hisotrical context.

 

This was a beautiful realisation for me. I have recently been quite aware of a school of thought in the Construction Industry that promotes this self interest. That those involved in building do remove themselves from the actual fact that we as humans inhabite space differently and involve ourselves in differing ways amongst buildings and Architectural space. This is quite important in terms of how space connects to us as human beings and how we in turn feel when we encapsulate it. The discussion about entering the Jewish museum via an underground tunnel and up and into his deconstructivist space was more than just a reveal in Architectural glory, rather a moment of reflection and time and history that if not felt - you would not be human. I remember feeling that walking in there.

 

I also noted that these beautifully emotive buildings and his response to these devastating moments in history were not only about a mass ideal, rather Libeskind finds small moments of reflections, small snipets of light, of shadow, of reveal that not only occur on a large scale but touch this notion in his detail. This to me not only shows his great acknolwedgement and respect for two quite sacred sites in the world, but also his personal connection to them having been a victim of the devastation of WW2 and a migrant to the amazing city of New York.

 

Overall it was an emotional, beautifully rich and wonderful experience that I thoroughly enjoyed and will always respect the way Libeskind touches space and changes it.

 

Happiness IS

Not the day I expected. Never easy experiencing loss but even harder when you feel so connected to those who are going through the pain. I had a really horrible day but something beautiful came out of it that I had to share.

My personal nature, who I am and what I believe in was something I always felt was something everyone felt , something I believed as humans we all possessed but I was wrong in that assumption. We all connect to things differently - to people differently - to situations and life - but one thing I've worked out is that what I'm very good at is connecting to children in ways I've never realised before.

I spent the afternoon chatting with two beautiful children, Both of whom had experienced a loss that week. They are 13 and 14 years old and I realised where it is my direction and passion lies. With children. We discussed technology, I learnt Barnaby spoke at BETT and that the lovely Grace was going to be a future Olympian swimmer. One beautiful moment of pure and utter fascination on what drives them - what they believe in - how they see their futures. These two wonderful young adults saw and understood what my take on technology and life was and were equally as passionate about.

I made two wonderful friends today. I could direct and encourage and almost mentor in a way their teachers couldn't. It reinforced the strong need for external career guidance outside of school. Resources in the community outside of schools and colleges where these kids can learn and grow into adults. It's almost like having a buddy - a friend and a career guide out there in the real world who they can still connect to. Amazingly beautiful experience came out of trauma today and with that I found myself incredibly humbled and inspired by a day I thought would end in sadness.

It allowed me to understand ultimately what Happiness is.