IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 45

Given the disconnect between users and decision
makers, it's perhaps not surprising that the most
disruptive technologies tend to include multiple
industry segments and workflows. Real-time
communication is critical, as it helps bridge the
gaps between companies and departments.
BIM is a great example of this. With BIM, you can
build a project virtually, load it with project and
schedule information, create renderings, even
run clash-detection-but you're also using the
technology to unite all of the stakeholders in one
place, allowing them to analyze and review a
single model, streamlining communication and
collaboration in real time.
When it was first introduced, BIM was viewed
as a fringe technology. But as the speed of
construction increased, industry competition
heightened and profit margins thinned, while
expectations for quality and safety remained the
same, the adoption of BIM not only began to make
more sense, it seemed inevitable.

But maybe the most encouraging forums for
disruption have been from our own industry;
younger designers and practitioners frustrated
with the lack of technology who subsequently
leave their positions to go out and create
solutions. The founder of "Jobsite Unite" (a jobsite
communication app) started as a construction
foreman; the co-founders of Bridgit (a jobsite
closeout mobile app) were engineers; irisVR
was conceived when Shane Scranton and a few
of his architecture classmates developed a way
to convert BIM files into virtual reality that can
be used with the Oculus Rift. Using their
technology, you can virtually walk through a
finished-looking building long before the first
shovel ever hits the dirt. 
The reluctance regarding new software
development is especially curious considering
where the future of the industry is headed:
using robots to perform dangerous activities,
intersecting augmented reality with actual
reality, and 3D printing entire buildings.
And as far as materials go, we're seeing new
developments all the time in sustainable,
functional and progressive materials, bricks
grown from bacteria, self-healing concrete and
pollutant-absorbing pavement.
It would be really revolutionary to see a
construction company leveraging their current
technology to its full potential. Everyone is talking
about drones, but nobody needs a drone on their
jobsite. Let's master getting software and mobile
devices completely integrated, inter-operable
and cloud-based.

This segmentation has caused
technologies to fragment, even
within departments of the same
companies. One system might be
developed for lighting designers in
commercial environments,
another for electrical contractors
on federal projects.

The design and construction industry has a lot
of tradition and pride. So introducing something
new isn't always welcomed. But if companies are
willing to properly train their employees and equip
them with new technologies, the impact has the
potential to be tremendous.

PERSPECTIVE

45



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015

IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015
Contents
From IIDA
Behind the Issue
Contributors
Viewpoints
The Innovation Insurrection
Lens Flare
The Once and Future King of Commerce
Point/Counterpoint
All Around the World
Inspiration
Colophon
Design Buzz
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Cover2
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 1
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Contents
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 3
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 4
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - From IIDA
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Behind the Issue
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 7
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Contributors
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 9
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Viewpoints
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 11
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - The Innovation Insurrection
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 13
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 14
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 15
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 16
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 17
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 18
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 19
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Lens Flare
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 21
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 22
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 23
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 24
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 25
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 26
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 27
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 28
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 29
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - The Once and Future King of Commerce
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 31
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 32
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 33
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 34
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 35
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 36
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 37
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 38
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 39
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Point/Counterpoint
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 41
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 42
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 43
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 44
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 45
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - All Around the World
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 47
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 48
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 49
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 50
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 51
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Inspiration
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 53
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 54
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Colophon
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Design Buzz
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Cover3
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Cover4
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