Haiti

It's been over a month since the fatal earthquake and aftershocks in Haiti. Global support has come to the rescue, while Haitians try to recover physically, morally, and emotionally.
Design competitions are now coming to surface. Already google-able:
http://www.spontaneousarchitecture.net/
http://www.e-architect.co.uk/haiti/music_studio_design_competition.htm

Any lessons learned for the design sector? We will look back and reexamine current emergency facility planning and infrastructure, soil analyses, and seismic design systems to avoid repeats.

What the AIA can do

I have ran into an article about the AIA Minnesota chapter and their efforts to respond to the current times in the profession. http://www.downtownjournal.com/index.php?&story=14973&page=65&category=0

Can we turn this into a national effort?

The Minnesota chapter is giving a few great ideas. A step into responsive change. An excerpt from the link above reads:

In response to such challenges, AIA Minnesota has mounted an unprecedented strategic campaign to get architects back to work. In the winter of 2009, the organization launched its Members in Transition Group, a monthly gathering aimed at providing resources for the unemployed. Continuing education is its prime concern, and the group hosts free software training sessions, sponsored by product vendors and smaller firms. The Members in Transition arranged a deal with BWBR architects, a St. Paul firm, who over a two month period allowed unemployed AIA Minnesota members to come in and train on the firm’s computers.

Aside from software training, the group has brought in the chief AIA economist from Washington, D.C., for small group financial consultations, as well as invited high-level industry people from Minnesota’s Council of Firms to meet face-to-face with job-seekers. Other resources include interview preparation workshops and an online “skills matrix,” which allows employers a more efficient way to find talent for contract work and short-term projects.

A “Recovery Task Force” has been formed at the state level as a sort of think tank to address the larger issues facing the industry. AIA Minnesota President Rich Varda, who is also Target’s Chief of Design, has arranged for a graduate class at the Carlson School of Management to research the changing nature of the profession.

But with the outcome of these measures as uncertain as the employment picture, the only thing that local architects are certain of is the need to evolve.

How do you think the AIA can help you?

Selecting All

The Select All Instances tool does in fact select all similar elements in your ENTIRE model. If you are modifing model elements (stretchers, lavatories, windows, walls, etc), or annotation elements (dimensions, keynotes, tag, etc) and decide to ‘select all instances’, you will be modifying elements in the entire file, all floors and all sheet views.

Sure it'd be nice to Select All Instances in this view only, but that's not the case... yet.

In AutoCAD terms, Select All Instances is like CAD’s Quick Select tool across the board. Quiet useful... and potentially harmful.

REVIT Surprises 101

So this one happens a lot in Revit: “where is it? I know I drew it in there, but now it’s gone.”

A few troubleshooters:

1, change the scale

2, change the detail level

3, show hidden elements

4, check the view template or visibility graphics (VG) for the view you are in

5, check that you are in the right construction phase

6, are you looking for a model element, or an annotation element? You might be in the wrong view if you are only looking for annotation elements.

7, if possible, use the “show” button in the program

8, change the “model graphic style” of your view to “wireframe”, maybe the element you are looking for is “underneath” something else.

9, zoom out (ZE), it could be far from your building/project.

...But most importantly, whatever your solution is, think about how you can proceed next time, so you don't have to go through these steps again.

Happy 2010.

The Firm of the Future

This article was posted in the AIA Ohio Winter e-newsletter 2009.

Given the current landscape of the construction industry, the future stands with a question mark for many of us. It was no surprise that the AIA Columbus Annual Meeting focused on the big picture ahead. Raymond Kogan AIA, keynote speaker at the event, talked about the trends of the future that are shaping our design firms. Being more aware of the industry and the world trends is only the 1^st step. Are we ready?

• Mega-regions are emerging, and the value of construction will follow the population growth. Current trends in US demographics suggest cities will only get larger, and populations will become increasingly diverse (U.S. Census Bureau Population Projections). The west coast and southern US will see most of these changes. This increase in urban population density will result in the necessity for increased capacity in sectors such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and redevelopment & re-purposing building.

• On the technology side, BIM will become even more widely adopted by architecture firms. Engineering firms and consultants will follow suit. However, the BIM adoption will first be driven by contractors and owners, says Kogan. Also, technology will continue to widen the existing gap between the technically proficient , and the not-so-proficient. In addition to these technological changes, BIM will also bring changes in project management. The Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach will become a more generalized practice across the US, promoting collaboration and lean systems among team players.

• Our projects will go beyond the traditional services. And thus, firms will become more of a ‘one-stop shop’; addressing more needs of stakeholders than in the past. We will do more than design and offer front-end/back-end services. With all these new deliverables, project management will continue to be a critical success factor. At this time, PMs will require broader and different sets of skills.

• In the future, our staff will face skills and leadership shortages. Considering all current demographic projections, in the next 15 years the older population will increase by 47%, while the younger crowd will decrease by 6%. Other factors will also drive this labor shortage. Factors such as, the current recession, retention & reward challenges, compensation, and the lifestyle priorities of the younger generation will come into play. What can we do about this? Kogan suggests developing training and leadership programs, mentoring employees’ careers, and being flexible with our workforce schedules.

• Sustainability will be soon mainstream, not a trend or an option. Consumers are choosing green companies and making changes in their lifestyles (April 2008 Gallop Poll). Clients are becoming committed to LEED certification . Even our own industry is moving to ‘greener’ pastures. First, the AIA adopted the 2030 challenge: calling for a minimum 50% carbon reduction for new construction beginning immediately, and 10% reductions in the following years. And as of January 2010, all licensed architects will be required to meet the new sustainable design L.U. requirements.

We are witnessing and industry that is changing… One that is consolidating and expanding, and moving progressively and proactively. Kogan suggests thinking in wider and longer terms to have successful design firms in the years to come. We must look at our future and start planning ahead of time. After all — in Darwin’s terms — the recipe for survival is exactly that: being responsive to change.