The future of buildings is low-tech and dumb
Good Star Wars movies give clues on how to design buildings to last for centuries.
Is BIM making you a better designer?
Why aren't more people talking about BIM and design? How to design better. How to be a better architect. How to make beauty and art. How to be awesome.
Listen, Watch, Read
Is there a difference between the various ways we consume information? Is one objectively superior? Here's an example for you to ponder.
To be a better Architect, learn how to talk to computers
Not so long ago if you tried to talk to computers, people laughed at you. Now if you aren't teaching yourself that skill, it might be too late to catch up.
Roommate Test of Manhood
Two projects from my time at school show how a strict adherence to digital or analog tools can lead to trouble. I learned a lesson and went with the tool that failed.
ArchiCAD Basics: Undo and Redo
In this blog post I convince you to watch an (almost) 11 minute video on the Undo and Redo commands in ArchiCAD by talking to you about time travel.
How to Sharpen Pencils
Everything is about craft. Whether you are doing BIM or sharpening pencils, there is a right and a wrong way. There is a way to do it with care and a way to just half-ass it.
Design like an Architect
How does one design like an architect? Here's a spoiler, the answer isn't tool specific.
Unconscious BIM and Ugly BIM
Some lessons from being too busy to write: remembering shortcuts by forgetting that I had forgotten them and suffering through the ugly BIM phase.
Making BIM the Best Tool for Design
BIM should be the best tool for design, but it's not. What's holding us back? A lack of creativity isn't helping.
One day I will teach this architecture class: Sketching without Sketching
If I get the opportunity to teach a studio or lecture class in an architecture school I know EXACTLY what I'd do. I even know the title of the class.
Analog – Digital – Organic
The organic future will not be what Hollywood has been telling you. Nor will it be like what most architects assume. This is a good thing. Here's my article from the SCI-FI issue of CLOG that explains why.
Self-awareness vs Environmental-awareness: A working definition of BIM
From pencil to CAD to BIM, we have come a long way in the past fifty years. What makes BIM so special & different? Here is my working definition of BIM.
Another Architecture website with images of architects sketching
What does an architect look like when working? Architecture websites with images of architects sketching paint a pretty clear (and misleading) picture.
Creation, Movement, and Revision: Simple Architecture Tool Tests
Can we distill the benefits of ArchiCAD, Revit, Sketchup, Hand drafting, etc. down by looking at simple architecture tool tests? I think so. Here's why.
How NOT to talk about BIM: losing control of the message
Two upcoming seminars on BIM reveal some problems we have in the architectural community.
CLOG: SCI-FI
I just got my copy of CLOG: SCI-FI. It's time to get yours. You did know I wrote an article for this issue, right? If not, learn more here. I can't tell you how excited I am about that. Oh and
From Film to Digital Cameras & a Free Copy of OrthoGraph Architect 3D v7
I talk a lot about the future of practicing architecture. I'm really interested in how our tools and processes evolve. I am curious about what common frustrations we will soon no longer need to deal with. A lot of these
Could a 21st century pencil be the better tool Architects are looking for?
There are a lot of architects, designers, and drafters out there that aren't convinced by my ruminations on better tools. Either they refuse to be persuaded or just feel the pencil has some ineffable qualities about it. Ineffable doesn't cut
The irony of using technology to write about the benefits of technology
On Tuesday my plan was to eat breakfast, make dinner, take care of some admin stuff (emails, responding to post comments, order new business cards, etc.), finish a blog post, and then spend the rest of the day working on
Beyond Haptics
In my post about haptic feedback and architecture tools, I really wanted to go beyond haptics, but the post was already long enough. Haptic feedback is great and I am confident it is coming. But we can go further than
Architects are really just asking for Haptic Feedback
I spend a lot of time thinking about architects and their tools. Why? Because architects struggle to separate themselves from their tools. We see this regularly with job postings that stress software knowledge over process understanding. I find those postings extremely frustrating
It Happened Again: someone reminded me that Computers are Just Tools
Today on Twitter, in response to this post about the most amazing BIMx model I've seen, I saw a Tweet that went like this: "4all their power computers are just tools #architects still need 2do the hard work of #design" Yes, but.
CLOG SCI-FI ready for Pre-Order (and guess who’s a contributor)
One of my goals this year was to write articles for places other than Shoegnome and BIM Engine (though I love writing for both those places, and you'll start seeing new posts by me on the GSNA blog hopefully next
Digital vs Analog: Lessons from Daft Punk
“We never want to do something twice