BIM BUDDIES AU

 

From the Vision of Volterra exhibit at Autodesk University. This is the church of San Giusto. I began the Revit model in 2018 while staying in Volterra.

More recently Paul Aubin has taken over and upgraded various elements prior to digital printing. It also features in the splendid film that the guys have put together.

Really proud to be associated with this project and the formidable group of people that has coalesced around it.

 

 

Continuing the BIM buddy series. That suave gentleman of impeccable taste, Phil Read was hanging out at the Chaos /Enscape stand as you would expect. After a bit of arm twisting, he consented to a selfie.

Great to see Phil again and to catch up a little.

Meanwhile my favourite salt-of-the-earth Aussie, Adam Sheather was dashing across the Expo floor in search of his next commitment but paused for a brief catch up when he spotted me lumbering into his path.

Impossible to convey what it means to me to encounter these two stalwart of the BIM and digital construction community once again. Just all round good guys without a doubt

 

BIM buddies continued. On day two I had the unexpected pleasure of "observing in ignorance" while Paul Aubin and Chiara C. Rizzarda chatted in Italian. Kudos to Paul and wonderful to see Chiara. Paul and I have been hanging out with the Volterra group all week of course.

Day one, I bumped into Tom Whitehead who reminded me that we met at my first ever Revit Technology event in Atlanta. Doesn't that seem like a long time ago!

 

 Back in Tampa after a wonderful three days in San Diego. I got up at 5am for my flight, just to be safe, so a very American breakfast at the gate was a fun way to fill in the extra time.

Disgorging at Tampa arrivals I was greeted by construction barriers with my name on them. I looked them up today. "Demolition Done Right" Offices in Chicago and Tampa. Random fact. 

 

In the "mail" a couple more BIM buddy pics. Great to chat with the Chaos / Enscape team here about their latest plans. Then towards the end of the conference David Fink came along to say hi. We first met at BIM Show Live back in 2013. When I was young and handsome (and fat) 🙄 🤣🤣🤣

 

TOUCHDOWN USA

 

Barely 24 hours in the US and already full of surprises. Power outages from Hurricane Milton induced my daughter to book rooms for us in Orlando.

So naturally I had to hook up with Alfredo Medina straight after breakfast. Five years since we last met I think, but straight back into the groove.

Nice pic I think.

 

I didn't plan to stay in any Florida hotels but nature intervened. Quite a thrill to experience these two very different animals in quick succession. Orlando and Clearwater. Opposite faces of the tourism coin.

 

There's a certain irony in seeing the ruthless pragmatism of Henry Ford applied to the fantasy world of themeparks but it's also very American I think. This ability to boil things down to bare essentials, to hone in on the target market. Style and finesse be damned

 

And then there's the natural beauty of a white beach. A different tax bracket. Customers who have travelled Europe.

Both hotels are generous with space. Perhaps that's just an American thing. The pioneer spirit. The open prairie. But the rationales seem different. In theme park heaven you can set up home for a boisterous family, cook meals, do your own laundry. The space is purely functional.

 

On the beach, space is a symbol of luxury and freedom. Broad horizons. Sunset over the sea. (might see that tonight, or might be doing a family dinner instead. All good either way) Once again I'm feeling, what an immense privilege my life has been. Not in the sense of "check your privilege!" but but just in the sense of appreciating each day as it comes along. Sharing moments with friends and family.

Still trying to get my head around those subtle differences between America and Europe, after all these years. It's fascinating.

 

 

Well, here I am in San Diego at day one of Autodesk University. I've been hanging out at the Volterra Exhibit, something very close to my heart.

Also posed for selfies with a whole bunch of good people who I haven't seen for several years... Gentle hint, please post the pics on here and tag me guys. These are very important memories for me.

 

 

LIBRARY STUDIES

 An orgy of tile use. Can you name the ways? 🤔

The hip tiles with broken pieces pushed into the mortar under the end tile to stop it from slumping. Tiled creasing forms a very elegant little corbels to close out the end of the eaves where it turns up into the verge.

The verge itself is very nicely formed, highlighting the double overlap typical of plain tiles. Not sure what to call the tiling of the chimney stack setback. I'm rather partial to tumbling in brick courses in this situation, but tiles seem appropriate here.

The there are the wall-hung tiles of the bay window. Not quite sure but I fancy there is a special at the obtuse angle. I do like a bit of tile hanging on a bay window. The coloration of these tiles is quite something, wouldn't you say? Hand made perhaps. You can't beat the subtlety and warmth of a clay tile.

Could say a fair bit about the use of lead in this image but I think I'll leave it there. This little gem greets me half way down the ginnel on my way to get a bottle of milk. Such a contrast with the equivalent journey in Dubai. Vive la difference!

 

 

A late afternoon foray into the reference library in Basingstoke Discovery Centre. Lots of local history books here to keep me busy once I make the move permanently.

Floor plan of St Michael's, Basingstoke, from a book about Hampshire Churches. A squirrel running around in the War Memorial Park. End elevation of a little group of almshouses at the junction of New Road and London Road. Interesting composition.

 

Isometrics of the Vyne, from a book subtitled "A Tudor House Revealed" Statue of Jane Austen in the Market Square with a nice classical door surround in the background. The War Memorial which gives its name to the Park close to my retirement flat.

 

 

Flying to Tampa today after a 3 day delay. Cutting it a bit fine, but I have to get to San Diego for Autodesk University. My main purpose is to show solidarity with the Volterra team. But also want to catch up with all the other "BIM buddies" who I haven't seen since before the pandemic.

Featuring another two sheets from my version of San Giusto. I understand the model has moved on a bit, but as shown here, all the modelling is mine. I do like to set up sheets with text and photographs around the edges. That was a technique I developed for Project Soane, continued with Project Notre Dame and try to apply to the other Way We Build explorations that I have attempted

 

Real-time models based on scan data are great and the short documentary film put out by the team recently is a thing of beauty. Also highly informative. But good old fashioned drawing sheets still have a role to play in my opinion. This way of presenting information about buildings has been around for some centuries. It's both precise and concise. Interactive, but locked down for contractual purposes.

Anyway, if you are heading for San Diego, please come up and say hi. Not sure how many more conferences I will get to, so I want to meet as many people as possible. I will be hanging out at the Volterra exhibit for much of the time.

See you there. 🙂