Course Reflection
This course gave me insight on the
architecture, engineering, and construction industry through the lens of
different guests’ speakers. These presentations and discussions provided me
with an idea of the future for buildings. It made me evaluate my skills and how
it could be best used. Additionally, it informed me of what skills are in
demands, signaling me to pay attention to what I should be considering on
improving on in the job market. One particular presentation on business and client
relationships struck me as extremely interesting. It provided to me perhaps
with a more jaded perspective, however, the struggles are real. Academics and
education provides students with idealized beliefs in creativity, innovation,
and how it interfaces with design. However, the stark reality of entering the
job market and becoming a slave to clients who are not so concerned with real
energy savings (rather sustainability marketing) was a little demoralizing.
Nonetheless, I learned that energy savings are tailored to individual buildings
and its operations. It taught me that the design process is a small fraction of
the bigger picture. It showed me that there should be bigger emphasis on
considering building operations and how to improve upon the control system. I
thought this was a great segue into the database part of the course. Though it
was a bit banal, I think it provided me with technical and theory based
knowledge on building a database. It made me think: how can I use this tool to
help me design?
The culmination of BIM, sensors,
databases, and intelligent buildings has resulted in a design endeavor that
goes beyond this course. Upon working on my term project- I realized some
missing links and weaknesses of Revit, especially pertaining to mechanical
design. Most engineers would think twice before using Revit for load
calculations, despite its capabilities. This is largely because it is not
reliable. So a lot of mechanical engineers tend to tediously input information from
Revit into Trane TRACE to conduct calculations. This process I have realized is
extremely fragmented and can be dealt with more efficiently. How exactly? I’m
not sure. However, I think course has provided me with some immense building
blocks to solve that issue. My future intent is to try and streamline
mechanical calculations by extract the necessary ingredients from Revit models.
Comment on Aikin's Post
Huh, I know what you are referring to as feeling jaded by one of the speakers to your previous feelings. All filled with rainbows and butterfly kisses. I felt something similar but had to realize that this is an individuals disposition, and delivered at with a bias. I think from my experience in the job market, there are lots out there based on every different personal experience.
ReplyDeleteI understand your final statement though, there are to many people willing to do whatever the computer told them to do. I think that is an epidemic as we utilize technology more, our technical background is being diminished. The technology age is both a gift and a curse!