At a holiday party the other week I ended up talking to my girlfriend's sister's father-in-law, a retired architect, a lanky man with waves of distinguished white hair and black-framed glasses. I was trying to demonstrate some competence on the subject of architectural practice so I said something about computer modeling, meaning building information modeling. The words got stuck in my teeth with a chunk of chicken parmesan and I didn't make myself clear enough.

"Modeling's not new," the gent pointed out. He had been a partner at a substantial New York City practice that had designed one Manhattan skyscraper but lived off schools and public buildings. The practice had 75 to 100 people and was still going strong.

"Modeling started with engineers doing nuclear plants," he added, saying something about engineer-contractor Foster Wheeler in New Jersey and the need for a 3-D view of complex pipe plans.

The retired architect went on to point out that what's new is called building information modeling, which is what I had meant. I wanted to know what he knew about its progress and acceptance in the profession. "I had been pushing for it and trying to get the staff interested," a necessary step before making a substantial investment, he said.

I expected him to say next that it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Instead, he said, "I wanted it and always thought architects needed to stay out front as far as technology. But I couldn't get the young people on the staff interested."

That got my attention. The young architects? Not interested?

"They'd grown up learning to draw on computers," the man said. "But they just weren't comfortable with the new system and we couldn't invest in something expensive that we weren't sure would be used."

So much for the old guard standing in the way of progress. One generation of computer technology can get stuck, like the piece of chicken parmesan in my teeth (I think there's still some in there) without being willing to move on. Old apparently has nothing to do with age.

Happy holidays to everyone in construction land. My best wishes that our far-flung, confounding and fascinating industry gives you everything you need and want in this coming year.

Coming in the next Kormantary: New Year's resolutions.

December 30, 2006

Someone of my generation who too believes in Digital design and construction (Interoperability).

Norbert Young
McGraw-Hill Construction
New York NY