WAVING ACROSS TIME

 

This was another early concept design in Revit for Brian. I don't quite remember what his input was. He had the design very clearly in his mind for sure and probably provided an enigmatic sketch plus some verbal direction.

After that I would have fed him periodic images from the model and gradually grasped his intentions. At this stage, I was so blown away by the way you could set up a series of views on sheets then update the model and re-export the booklet without leaving Revit.

I couldn't understand why anyone would fail to see the power of this approach. But people become attached to the processes that have worked in the past. Project leads who mostly supervise teams often prefer them to use software they were familiar with when they were more hands-on (Sketchup /Autocad).

 

 

So this booklet from 2006 represents the period when I was pushing hard for a BIM - centred process from cradle to grave. This proved much harder than I had imagined. I think many others will have had similar experiences. Sadly, instead of the continuity that was implied in various diagrams that circulated at the time, the cycle has been chopped up into distinct phases, with completely different teams, often different software packages and skillsets.

Whether software - agnostic cloud platforms can solve this issue, or whether they just chop up the work between ever more specialisations (Information Management etc) Time will tell.

I do have a nostalgia for the heady days of 2006 when I was so excited about the digital transformation. There is still hope, if we keep that flame alive.

 

 

I guess we all share the aspiration to some extent, to live the hero's journey, to imbue our life with meaning, age gracefully, relish the boundless energy of youth, savour those years of parenthood, remain true to ourselves.

This song uses a couple metaphors to convey that idea. The shape of a wave. The close fit of a glove. I was quite young when I first conceived the idea as a lyric, but I didn't know how to develop the musical interpretation.

I'm an ageing hippy, an old boomer, and the Blues was always my first love. But I do enjoy collaborating with musicians from completely different traditions, especially where there is scope to improvise. I haven't really followed popular music trends since about 1979, but every now and then someone introduces me to something interesting.

U2 is a case in point. The guitar work here is influenced by the guy in the woolly hat. Long echo with a slow decay. I had a Zoom effects unit at the time.

Acceptance. I doubt I will put this much effort into crafting a multi-track recording ever again. Incomplete as it is. If I am to continue playing music, I have to grasp the creative energy when I have it. Embrace the rawness, the stumbling along.

Meanwhile, here is a "third time lucky" reworking of a 45 year old idea.

 

 On the left is me. On the right the work environment I was plunged into 21 years ago. Clockwise from top left.

Sketches and notes from 2012, my first Revit Technology Conference in Atlanta. It was a chance to see my daughter, explore New York and get to know some of the BIM guys that I had begun to meet online.

Part of my ongoing fascination with the Way We Build has to do with the little details of everyday life that make different cities around the world feel different. That sense of familiarity with home and curiosity when travelling.

Keith's details for Bab Al Shams. Hand drawn on squared paper. I was in awe. How could BIM ever achieve this level of fluency? Then a scheme from before my time. The type of residential project I would soon have to tackle in Revit. The biggest challenge was the cavity walling with external recesses.

Finally, part of my presentation at BIM show live in London in 2013. The emergence of the BIM pencil idea. Going through old papers is such fun.