Writings
Below is a diverse selection of topics around BIM, Data and innovation, but also other topics beyond like identity in how teams work together, the impact of disruption on construction, and impact of BIM on standard contract deliverables. BIM has prompted a re-tooling of an entire industry with significant impact for services, deliverables and teamwork.
BI(m)
This article further develops the theme of AtomicBIM below. It examines the uses of BIM data in more detail and updates current thinking to address recent developments in data analysis tools. It describes a data-centric approach to managing building equipment data from BIM files without heavy reliance on source BIM models after design. The next wave of BIM and facilities management is one where ‘pure data’ is at the center.
Disruption
This article describes BIM as a classic 'disruptive innovation' for the construction industry. No more about drawings, now BIM tools offer all manner of downstream model uses that fundamentally create new market possibilities. When users sometimes say they still prefer to use CAD, they assume as if it were an equal choice, but this article argues that disruption changes the game so that the old model is no longer an equal choice.
A condensed version of this article was published by Building Design + Construction magazine here.
Atomic BIM
AtomicBIM began as a question about BIM and the need to transfer data. As BIM use grew, it became clear that large file sizes were going to render BIM unworkable. What was required was a more nimble and granular data structure that would allow 'lean' queries to return meaningful results. As an aside, this article also traced a history of BIM from its inception in simple 3D, to a future phase where data management would be at the center, one that is only now (2018) evolving.
Protobuilding
In ProtoBuilding, I argued that BIM is more than just a faster way to create contract documents, but needs to be thought of as 'building'. It unearths a major shift in what's possible for delivery by enabling prototype buildings. Written in 2008, the implications of BIM were huge for the industry; now all manner of simulations were possible that CAD-based delivery could never emulate.
Meso-ENVIRONMENT
mesoEnvironment examines the current trend towards High Performance Design and notes that the origins of HPD can be traced back to concepts about the nature of shelter. It also links the effects of shelter with the thinking of Bernard Maslow, who pioneered the 'hierarchy of needs'.
OneDesign
Why do I prefer to call myself a "Building Delivery Professional", and not an Architect? This article explains my thinking. In it, I argue that the construction industry is unnecessarily segmented in a way that does not optimize delivery. I propose a new universal identity - "Building Delivery Professional, with Specialty" -that would help refocus everyone back on the construction industry as a continuum from design to operations. I want to help advance an entire industry, not just a subset called a profession.
This article was published by Building Design + Construction magazine here.