Can BIM be 'Taught'?

Do you ever stop and ask yourself how you got ‘Here’?  Not in the existential sense (i.e. of the origins of life), nor in the explicit sense of reading this blog, but rather ‘How did I become a BIM-Guy/Gal?’

Some of us come from an architectural background, some an engineering, some computer science.  My mentor was an older guy who had already had a career as a dry-wall contractor and went back to school to get a Technical Degree in CAD and he just went up and onwards from there.

My background is in architecture.  I had done design work in 3D at an Architecture firm for many years.  One day the phone rang, and my mentor said “I have work and you are the guy to do it.  When can you start?”  In 2 weeks I was working for a construction company, building a model of an arena in Architectural Desktop.  I didn’t know what ‘BIM’ was, all I knew was that they had given me a substantial pay increase to engage in the same kind of activity I had been doing all along, but now it had a fancy name!  I have bounced around between design, construction and engineering ever since.

My point is that I didn’t go to school specifically for whatever this is I do now.  On my company business card it says “BIM Coordinator”.  In the past I have been called “3D Specialist”, “Design Phase Coordinator”, but my favorite was “3D Maven”  I consider myself an architect with exceptional skills at manipulating software, and lots of experience in using 3D as a design tool through all phases of construction.  If anyone dared call me a “CAD Manager”, they wouldn’t have a chance to say it twice.

I imagine that if you are reading this, you are also a person with a diverse educational/career background.  What it says on your business card and the actual value you bring to your position are probably quite different.  What ties us together isn’t limited to just software proficiency or intellectual curiosity or design creativity or a love for Star Wars…I think there is something unquantifiable that under-girds it all.  Dare I call it ‘Passion’?

So if we take a moment to consider ‘How did we get here?’ I have been thinking that the next question might be ‘How do I bring others?’

Which brings me to the spark for this missive in the first place:

Can BIM be taught?

How is BIM being addressed conceptually in schools?  For that matter, is there a ‘Theory’ behind what we are doing?  I know there are many PHD’s out there studying the quantifiable effects of BIM, but that’s not what I am referring to at all.

In an institutional setting what would a BIM course or curriculum look like?

(I wonder if Carl Bass is reading this and thinking to himself “It looks like AU!”) 

A quick search online yeilds some interesting results...

They are teaching BIM in Texas High Schools:

Dallas News on BIM in High School

An online BIM University with zero class offerings:

BIM Education University

The USC School of Architecture does an annual Symposium, as do several other colleges I imagine:
USC BIM Symposium

They even offered one with a great name:
USC's "KILL BIM"

But really the offerings are kind of slim.

Along my journey, I’ve met some younger people who I have mentored and tutored along this path, but finding someone who shares “The Passion” is not easy.  I think that's the crux of the matter.  No matter what happens, "Passion" can't be taught...its gotta come from within...its gotta be inspired.

Does anyone else think about this at all?  I am confident someone else reading this has.

It’s not just training someone to use Revit/ADT/Rhino/Catia/Bentley, but coaching them to see the possibilities our tools bring to the table.  How do we inspire passion and innovation for the next generation(s)?

Looking forward to any and all comments/opinions/shared experiences,

TBT

Conquering the Last 100 Feet

It ain't Revit but this is very cool....

http://www.irhino3d.com/en/

Curtain Panels for Analysis Part 1

I'm an architect by training and education, but i work at an engineering firm....a BIG engineering firm....the engineering firm you call when your design is so wacky, you don't know who else to call...so i get exposed to alot of problems that need solving.

One of the problems we grapple with constantly is figuring out how to get architectural models into our analysis software.  We have a couple of different programs that we use for analysis and they all want line segments.  Not faces....not arcs....and most assuredly, NOT SPLINES!!!!

On the infrequent occasion that we get an architect who will actually share a model with us, its some big mess of nurbs and splines and faces that get me nowhere.

If Revit is supposed to be all about collaboration, how can the tool be exploited in order that the architects model can be sent downstream without adulteration?  How can we streamline the process from conceptualization to analysis?

First off, here's a curvy-sexy form, straight out of the conceptual mass editor...nothing too fancy:

And this is what it looks like in Autocad...When I export as AICS Element, it calls the element a 'BODY', exporting as Polyface Mesh gives me a mesh with millions of faces.  Neither of these elements help me at all for analysis:

 

Next, I'll apply a curtain panel using the rectangular pattern to the form: 

This is now what i get in ACAD...at first look, it isn't very helpful.  Whats up with all those diagonal lines?!?!?

ACAD Brought in all the 3d faces, but if i select all the faces and delete them, voila!  I get this, the division lines as perfect segments:

Now I can bring the form directly into analysis based completely upon the design intent, which should make everybody happy.

The point isn't that everybody whould model "this way", but rather I want to know what's the downstream potential to export from revit directly into analysis or manufacture....Stay tuned, this idea has some legs....

Rejection Hurts

Dear [BIM Troublemaker],

Thank you for your proposal to speak at Autodesk University 2010.

We received an overwhelming response from potential speakers—more than 2000 proposals from over 830 professionals. With only about 600 class slots available, we could not accept everyone’s good ideas. We regret to inform you that your proposal was not chosen for one of this year’s classes.

We used several criteria when choosing speakers and topics. Conference experience, evaluations of presenters from past Autodesk University conferences, and proposed topics were all primary factors. Due to the large number and high quality of proposals we received, we even had to disappoint some speakers with excellent scores from previous AU conferences.

Again, thank you for submitting a proposal. We hope to see you at Autodesk University in Las Vegas this fall.

Sincerely,

AU Speaker Management Team

Oh well...the AFTER DARK CALENDAR Giveaway will have to wait until next year.

But there are 2 upsides to this.

First, I get to go to AU and make trouble in other people's classes...(i wonder how Matt Dillon deals with hecklers?)...seriously though, I can go and learn, learn, learn.  I take the event really seriously and when i went in 2008, I didn't step outside the hotel until it was time to go to the airport.

Second, I was saving up a bunch of material for the classes i was going to teach which i can now use on the blog.

So thanks AU Speaker Management Team for taking a little bit of work off my shoulders during my next trip to America.  Just another reason why Autodesk rules.

The Lost Art of Lunch & The Imperial Samurai Boba-Fett

Howard Stern went to Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago.

(...any BIM-Blog post that starts off like this is bound to be interesting so bear with me)

As he was discussing the trip, Howard talked about how Jimmy Kimmel has a vintage WELCOME BACK KOTTER lunch box on the shelf in his office.

Which really got me thinking about my childhood lunch boxes.  And I'll tell the truth here and say that i can't remember a single one of them.  But there is something about this genre of art that, in adulthood, i find quite compelling.  So i started looking around and i found this joker, whose collection is significantly larger than Jimmy Kimmel's:

A Man Amongst his Boxes

But here is where it gets juicy...with a little more searching i found this blog post...and links to any blog featuring STAR WARS kitsch absolutely belong on my BIM site:

Vintage STAR WARS Lunch Box Art

I don't think i actually had a STAR WARS box, but i am sure that if i saw one, i envied the owner.  And by clicking through a link on that page, i found what is probably the geek-iest damn thing i have ever seen.


But it is sooooo cool....


I am confident that anyone who makes their living off BIM and actually reads Revit oriented blogs, will think so as well...The Imperial Samurai Boba-Fett:

I will never need another desktop wallpaper.....

Large Projects in REVIT - Information Compilation

I am getting ready to do a pretty large project using Revit.  Since i generally spend more time engaged in 3d monkey-business, rather than setting up projects, I knew i needed to do some research.

As I poked around on the web, I saw the same 2 questions over and over:

The Pessimists: "Can REVIT do large projects?"

or

The Optimists: "What are the setup techniques for a large project in Revit"

I gathered alot of very helpful data and i think i am off to a pretty good start.  In the spirit of peace and love, I wanted to post links to all the document's i found because it might be helpful to others.

AU 2006 - Techniques for Managing Large Projects in Autodesk® Revit®.pdf - Handout for AU Presentation by James Vandezande - Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

AU 2008 - Managing Large Projects in Revit® Architecture.pdf - Handout for AU Presentation by Lonnie Cumpton - BIM Traininer, Friedmutter Group

AU 2008 - Managing Large and Complex Revit® Models.pdf - Handout for AU Presentation by Erleen Hatfield – Thornton-Tomasetti

AU 2008 - Collaboration and Large Project BIM.pdf - Handout for AU Presentation by Elizabeth A Chodosh & Gary T McLeod – Cannon Design

AU 2009 - Chaos__Multidiscipline, Multi-Firm, Multi-Location.pdf - Handout for AU Presentation by Eric Kuszewski + Eric Mitchell + Liz Raycroft - KlingStubbins

Sharing the Work in Revit - AECbytes Tips and Tricks by Bill Knittle - Synergis Design Applications Engineer, Building Solutions  This is a really thorough explanation of worksets.  Its a little old but the fundamental concept is explained quite well.

36 Best Practices for Large Projects in Revit  - Concise and to the point blog post from Revitize

And last, a paper from the Mothership about getting Revit to work real good:

Autodesk Revit 2010 - Model Performance Technical.pdf - Starts with a section on system and network setup but then gets into some very good guidelines for model setup and modeling techniques for better performance

To those who actually did this work, i offer my thanks.  It has helped me alot and i hope others will find this compilation helpful as well.

And finally, some ridiculous pictures:

The Wackiest Olympics Ever

Have you guys seen this monkey business? The 2012 London Olympic Mascot's will be....these guys!

Full story is here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/19/london-olympics-2012-mascot

London Olympics 2012: Meet Wenlock and Mandeville, drips off the old block

Organisers have unveiled their mascots – creatures supposedly fashioned from droplets of steel used to build the stadium

...With a metallic finish, a single large eye made out of a camera lens, a London taxi light on their heads and the Olympic rings represented as friendship bracelets on their wrists, they resemble characters dreamed up for a Pixar animation....

As if the logo design of Lisa blowing Bart wasn't bad enough...