Illusion

For some Change can’t come too quickly, then there are others for whom change is a low priority. When you peal back all the rhetoric and glossy wrappers that many package their sales pitches in you find a hollowness when it comes to the topic of BIM. Yes, there are those who are doing great things, but they do not represent the industry as a whole. The hot air spewed about BIM it’s a good thing but it can’t keep the momentum moving forward forever with out some real substance.

The thing is exaggerated truths, are necessary ingredient in moving concepts through to reality, however at some point you have to commit to realizing what you are pitching. Today our practices shuffle forward rather than commit to making the necessary strides. We fear the potential instability a revolution of change would bring and instead settle for evolution. We have successfully incorporated the power of 3D tools to improve our development of 2D documentation. Yes, the paper or the more modern PDF delivery still rules, emulating what we have always done. Why we feel it necessary to flatten models only to re-translate them into real three dimensional things perplexes me. Why must we fuss with line weights and cosmetic foolery is necessary only because we won’t let go. I have had the pleasure of working with teams that flipped this reality. Developing projects with models and providing 2D documentation to supplement the models. It can be done, but it takes persistence and a people willing to push against the norm.

I run into few who outright reject the ideals of BIM, and those who are more hesitant come across as being jaded by the status quo. I have seen in practice a way of working that proves contrary, and has shown it to be possible. Now only if we truly bought into what we pitch to clients and colleges change would come faster. Whether you shuffle timidly, or glide confidently the course has been set.

In many ways it’s happened, and we just won’t allow ourselves to admit it. How many projects have you seen where paper documents are submitted with electronic files presented under the banner “for reference only”? Not to alarm anyone but I don’t care what you label it once you release those electronic files become the primary reference no mater how your agreement reads. Think about the convince you provide with a electronic document, and along with the pressure of time and efficiency. By providing those files it becomes practice to circumvent the recreation process of reinterpreting paper documents. The result is that today more and more of the work in the building design and construction process is being done from sources other that the construction documents (technically speaking). The risk appears to be much less than many forecasted. The truth is whatever we share is covered by our redundant systems in our contractual agreements and best practices between one another. Admitting it or not we are doing things previously not possible with better coordination, higher accuracy, and lower cost.

This is what I mean when I say no matter how you manage change in practice change will happen. Further more I think we can be more aggressive about embracing a new vision of new practices, owning it and define it for ourselves. As we have already begun to see if we don’t embrace it, it will embrace us. In the fast paced world of business the window of wait and see is small. I encourage those who are apart of the building design ecosystem to walk the talk. 

appropriate tools

In the adoption of new tools and processes it is hard to keep from falling back into the ruts of our old ways. Some times this causes us to become stubbornly engaged in pushing a tool beyond it's usefulness. There is a thin line between pushing the limits of something and all out forcing it to be something its not.

I recently thought back a quote from Louis Kahn that has stuck with me since I first heard it. At the time I was slipping into a counter productive mode madly struggling to get Revit in this case to do something that was beyond it intended use.

“To express is to drive.
And when you want to give something presence,
you have to consult nature.
And there is where Design comes in.
And if you think of Brick, for instance,
and you say to Brick,
"What do you want Brick?"
And Brick says to you
"I like an Arch."
And if you say to Brick
"Look, arches are expensive,
and I can use a concrete lentil over you.
What do you think of that?"
"Brick?"
Brick says:
"... I like an Arch"”
-Louis Kahn-

As I recalled these words I smiled and thought how appropriate, and twisting a few of Kahn's words.... (my apoligies) came to this.

To express is to drive.
And when you want to give something presence,
you have to consult the computer.
And there is where Autodesk comes in.

And if you think of Revit, for instance,
and you say to Revit,
"What do you want Revit?"
And Revit says to you
"I like an Model."
And if you say to Revit
"Look, models are different,
and I can use AutoCAD over you.
What do you think of that?"
"Revit?"
Revit says:
"... I like an Model"

It is incredibly easy to get caught up in the moment and find yourself forcing old ingrained processes into a new framework that is not intended to support such things. Our evolving practice is informed by the past, but is about clearing new more efficient and relevant paths to accomplishing the means. Build models to be models, not build models to be drawings.

The Doing

The hardest part of this whole change thing is transforming all the talk, planning and vision into something real. The great thing about this BIM talk is that most of the pieces are there to make it happen, what we lack is the experience to deliver it consistently and efficiently.  It all comes down to individual people and how effective you are at motivating them to change the way they have done things in the past. I think that this is especially true in the design and construction industry as the roles and responsibilities are so diverse and very intertwined with on one another. When one group changes it directly impacts another, and it’s only to your benefit that everyone can work together to avoid friction.  The good news is that as the objective here is to holistically improve an overall process and everyone has something to gain.

I do know that one firm or group will not unilaterally be able to evoke this type of change. It will take much trial and error and banging away as a deeply rooted industry of waste, redundancy and mistrust are worked out of the system.  As overwhelming  as this could be it must begin somewhere. I am also a believer that change will happen and that it comes down to one of two things. Will you change  be driven by the need to remain viable in this market place, or will you change to be a leader to differentiate yourself?

One last thing about making reality out of what you or organization have envisioned is that it does not have to occur in one large step, or be burdensome. The last thing you want is for change to become a liability issue. Work incrementally through projects and build the experience up little by little. Take what has been learned from the previous job and push the vision a little further on the next. Manage the change such that it does not become overwhelming and turns people agents it.

Once you move past the muddy waters of trying to define what is BIM, Process, tool, Product, whatever… and focus on what can I do with the talent and tools available to provide a something better and more efficiently you will be more than capable to follow through.