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Let me ask you a question, if you were to take a roadtrip, would you leave without looking at a map? I’m a planner, so personally, before even packing my suitcase, I’ve spent hours planning my route. If I’m taking a drive through the country I’ll make sure I know where there are areas I can’t get fuel and have a tentative schedule for where I’ll take breaks or grab a bite to eat.
If you have taken a look in the news this week, you’ll notice record temperatures around the world. This is the first in a series of blogs that we will be writing to offer ideas on how your organization can leverage the power of BIM in order to play a part in reducing the impact we as humans have on our environment.
When we talk about climate change in our daily lives, we usually talk about pollution sources such as the cars we drive, or from burning fossil fuels to power our homes and businesses. As construction professionals however, we often forget that our industry is also a contributor. Estimates suggest that, the construction sector contributes to 23% of air pollution, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of landfill wastes. Our role as professionals related to construction and as humans who share space with others and with nature as well, is to make the most out of each of the resources we use in our projects. The question is, how can we accomplish this?
When people think of construction they imagine workers, beams, heavy equipment and, above all of those things, materials. Concrete, lime, even wood and iron might appear in their minds. However, most of the time they picture material wastes, the leftovers if you will. The real question is, where can you make a difference, and how to get started?
Hopefully, you got a chance to read our blog last week. My colleague Mike “the photographer” wrote a short piece on one of his favorite conference anecdotes: the Kodak Story and the dangers of not innovating. Long story short, if you think photography today, it’s not Kodak, but rather Apple, Sony, Samsung, or maybe Nikon. What happened? Lack of desire to be at the cutting edge of technology.
If you’re reading this today, you are probably anxious to implement BIM but are wondering how you sell it to leadership. You know that a move to BIM is more than just an update to the “latest and greatest” CAD tools. Within an organization, capital expenditure approval involves not only calculating your overall project cost but also showing the justification for spending that money in the first place. Even if you believe the purchase is necessary and reasonable, you have to convince your other colleagues.
If you’re reading this article, you probably already know that it’s essential to implement BIM, so I want you to reframe your mindset before making the business case. The starting point is a technological renovation that, far from being thought of as an expense, should be viewed as an investment in the future. You know you need to invest in your organization’s future, so the question really is: How do you prove it to skeptical stakeholders?
We operate in many markets at Voyansi, with clients in LATAM, North America, Australia, the middle east, and now the EU. This gives our team an opportunity to compare and contrast the maturity of BIM across the globe. Our observation, in many countries, even our home of Argentina, BIM remains an enigma. That is not terribly surprising. After all, the digital camera was invented in 1975, but only in the last decade or so has the technology become prevalent. If you are one of the key stakeholders, or even a decision-maker leading your companies digital strategy, you understand this better than most. If you are ready to get started implementing BIM, you are on the precipice of becoming a pioneer in your business.
Let's start with a quick exercise: think about a workplace that represents multiple challenges. Darkness, a small space, a dangerous/irregular terrain, or even a lack of communication with the outside world. All of these places are often the main obstacles we have to face at the time of working on specific projects.
Now let's create a solution. Of course, the best alternative would be to work in that space minimizing the risks and optimizing the use of resources. This way, the project could be carried on while drastically reducing the risks both for the employees and the equipment. How can you achieve this? Hololens and reality capture technology.
Santiago Calatrava, the architect in charge of designing the World Trade Center station’s entrance had an immense job requiring expertise and creativity. One bad decision could make everything go south. After a lot of thought, he came up with his final design for the project. He sought to design a structure that resembled a bird taking flight from a children’s hand. The end result: A unique and imposing structure that captures every pedestrian’s gaze: The Oculus.
You might have seen it in films, tv shows and many architecture-related websites and social media accounts. If you are lucky, you might have the opportunity to visit it in person just like we did during our BIM World Tour after grabbing a bite at the Chelsea Market.
Some people are still not aware of how BIM could make an enormous and positive difference in their professional careers, which means they are unaware of its capabilities and the role it’s going to play in the recent future.
Studying architecture is synonymous with using different software tools to design and plan. Students often render several versions of their projects so that they can see what they would actually look like once they’ve been built. However, despite all the innovations that this software has, many architects are letting go of traditional practices to focus their efforts on BIM.
Generally speaking, the buildings that impress people all around the world are architectural wonders that couldn’t be constructed without leveraging BIM. Why? There are many stakeholders involved in the complex design and build efforts of new structures. This presents many challenges for architects who are still often using tools that don’t bring to the table all of what BIM has to offer.
Reinventing spaces does not only require resources, but also tons of creativity: Where you see an old railroad, others visualize the possibility of a park, hotel, or even a culinary voyage. There are no limits when it comes to revitalization of spaces (both old and new), and the High Line park is the perfect example of this.
Making robust, rusty and old rails coexist with nature is, in and of itself, a huge task since there are many things that could go wrong: It might not be aesthetically pleasing, nor a good deal in economic terms if not correctly planned. But if the team working on that renovation is up to the task, the results can end up being game-changing in a completely urban context.
Today, we will talk about everything. Everything in the context of the Highgate Elementary School in California. We’ll start with some basic statistics. This Elementary School is made up of 6 buildings, a total of 58,335 square feet. Maybe that sounds small, maybe it sounds large. It’s all relative afterall. There is more to it than that. If I asked you to picture a school in your mind, it’s not just the buildings, it’s experiential. The laughter, recess, warm afternoons in the sun swinging carefree on a swingset with your friends. No cares in the world, other than how soon recess is ending.
Last we got a call from one of our long time customers. He had finally quit the grind of his corporate job after 20 years. After knowing them for several years both as one of Voyansi's production team members, then later in a commercial role, I knew this would not be retirement! There is an allure to architects to be able to pick and choose what you work on. As an architect myself, I know this feeling, it's experiential and almost indescribable. However, tempering that, the ability to pick and choose comes with the need for industry standard tools and workflows.
Personal feelings aside for the state of social media today, I realized there is some truth in the importance of creating content for exposure. No, I'm not suggesting you go purchase a pair of black skinny jeans, a go-pro, and quit your job to travel.
The more I learn about nature, the more coincidences I find with my work at Voyansi.
