The Future for Architects, Justin Bieber, and BIM...

How are they all connected?  Who knows.  But the title sure grabbed your attention. The title "Justin Bieber: Aspiring Archtiect" grabbed my attention in the most recent Architectural Record Newsletter...

So, it turns out that Bieber wanted to be an Architect.  Had it now been for YouTube he very well might be applying to an Archtiecture College.  Beyond that, there is no real value to knowing this piece of information (although, think of what a great title for a blog "Bieber BIM" would be...).   Within the Off the Record post I found some great articles and links:

• The Future of Architects
• Star Architects Urged to Stop Exploiting Student

I found these two articles very interesting and had to share them.  I am still reading the report on The Future for Archtiects (it is quite a few pages) and it is very interesting.  Not only do they mention BIM quite a bit but also the roles an Archtiect could play in the future global market of Archtiecture. 

The second article speaks for itself.  Two main points I dragged out of the article were the idea that students were not being prepared properly when the graduate and they exploitation of the students once in the workforce is hurting the profession.  I agree 100% with the idea that students are not fully prepared when graduating.  I look back on all of my architectural education so far (3 years in high school and 5 years in college) and my professional work experience (7 years at professional firms).  When I think about how much I learned about construction, the profession, wall sections, budgets, phasing, proposals, consultants, fees, etc... I learned it all in the field.  If I had to chose a percentage, 10-20 percent was learned in school.

The way I see it, a BIM based education can solve this.  In order to do BIM you must know how a building goes together, is scheduled, constructed, and how consultants do their jobs as well.  You must actually decide how that corner you cannot see in elevation looks. 

Now, go register the domain Bieber BIM and start the Revit-lution.

2010 America's Architecture Schools

When I was choosing colleges I never looked at rankings like this. I don't fully believe in them but I know lots of perspective students look at stuff like this. I enjoyed the preface that was written on Architectural Record and Design Intelligence released the list (if you have followed my blog you know how much I enjoy Design Intelligence). I also like the "Skills Ranking" portion of it.

• Click here to go to the Architectural Record Article.

TOP 10 UNDERGRADUATE ARCHITECTURE SCHOOLS

1. Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
2. Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
3. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
4. Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.
5. University of Texas, Austin, Tex.
6. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kans.
7. University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore.
8. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I.
9. Rice University, Houston, Tex.
10. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.

TOP 10 GRADUATE ARCHITECTURE SCHOOLS (M.ARCH.)

1. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2. Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
3. Columbia University, New York City
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
5. University of Texas, Austin, Tex.
6. University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
7. Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
8. Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, Va.
9. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
10. University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

SKILLS RANKINGS

1. Computer applications
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Carnegie Mellon University
4. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
5. Columbia University
6. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

And some interesting survey results by students...

What students do after graduating (%)

33 - Pursue an advanced degree in architecture
6 - Pursue an advanced degree in something else
50 - Work in private practice
3 - Work for a corporation
3 - Self-employment
3 - Undecided or other
1 - Work in government
1 - Community service
85 - Planning to take the Architect Registration Exam
77 - Planning to become LEED certified

Continue Reading Results...

I find the last results very interesting. 77% plan to be LEED AP, only 3% want to be self employed, and 85% plan to be licensed. Interesting results...

Helmut Jahn, FAIA - Sustainable and Modern Building

From Off the Record:

In the 45 minutes that followed, Jahn outlined his strategy for creating architecture that is both sustainable and modern. Such buildings are naturally dependent on material selection, orientation, and management and operations, he said. But most important, they require a deep integration with structural and climate-control engineering. “When architecture and engineering speak the same language, there is no demarcation between where architecture ends and engineering begins,” said Jahn... Continue Reading...

BIM Promotes Sustainability and Effects Design Culture.

I found a couple great articles revolving around BIM that I wanted to share with you all. The first is a four page article by B.J. Novitski. It is worth reading and has some great images. To summarize I will quote his conclusion:

"The perfect ideal of BIM may not be attainable, but pieces of it are definitely coming together. Projects—and the environment—are benefiting from more cohesive teamwork and a greater degree of interoperability among software systems. Architects are receiving better, earlier energy-related analysis; engineers are providing more focused expertise during design; builders are reducing waste in construction; and facility managers are increasing the efficiency of their operations. And many of those experiencing the benefits of technology and teamwork have visions of still more capabilities and benefits in the future."

Read the Entire Article here.

The second article is written by the President of HDR Architecture, Inc. HDR is an A/E/C (Architectural, Engineering, and Construction). Get used to that acronym because I have a feeling it will be more and more popular in the years to come. The article explains how HDR adopted BIM and its influences on the firm.

Read the article here.