As the title states, this is in response to an article over at BIMstop, found here. I post this response here, as I use a dirty word and, well that's all...
Regarding "The Next Generation of Obsolete
Professionals" article I will take a different tack and pose that schools are not putting out possibly "obsolete" professionals by not teaching Revit or Archicad or whateverCAD, it is rather by not preparing these young people for the realities of the current and future state of Architecture...which is the future of AEC and AECO...all together, not independent!!!
The learning of software-x in schools is needed but there is a larger
conversation in the context of "The Next Generation of Obsolete
Professionals", namely the need of Architects/Engineers as independent
factors at all. Looking out 10 to 50 years, will society need (NEED) the
Architecture or Structural firms as stand-alones or would civilization be
better served if AEC firms become the predominant building creators?
Do Automotive designers work in companies independent from the Automotive
manufacturer? For the most part No.
The 500# gorilla in the room called possible obsolescence of our industry may
be that the future will see Architects/Engineers working in AEC offices and not
necessarily being or needing to be independent entities -from the owner's $$$ perspective at least this seems optimum. I
argue that from the Architect, Engineer and Contractor’s perspective this be
seen as optimum as well.
BIM and further IPD, as we move closer to that industry wide, create a scenario
where teams must be truly integrated for optimum efficiency and value (not to
mention profit). It is increasingly more prevalent that those integrated firms will
surpass what independent or ‘anarchist-process’ firms can possibly produce. I
say Anarchist-Process since each independent player (A, E and C) each model for
differing bottom lines and the use cases for BIM are so numerous that these
different ‘bottom-line’ models or BIM are usually competing with one another’s
use case or at best only marginally integrated. AECO needs completely
integrated BIM, not marginally integrated BIM.
If Architects or "Designers" do not know how buildings 'go together'
they are not much more than illustrators at best -and there is dwindling need
for them (unless they want jobs in AEC offices to provide pretty pictures
alone).
There are already too many folks that call themselves designers yet who are not;
those who do not know or care how the "design" can possibly be built
(if it even can be for the given budget). These Architectural Illustrators are
part of what is keeping the wastefulness alive in AECO and that waste must
surely stop.
The waste must stop, not because I am stating it, the waste
will stop because it will be increasingly unacceptable by those in power (read
as Owners (AKA: The $$$)).
BIM can empower the Architect and designer, Engineer and Contractor; therefore,
BIM is needed to be studied and mastered in both higher education and in our
industry.
BIM is not about making document sets and the example you provided of a set
made in Adobe Illustrator looking unrecognizable from a Revit (for instance)
set is arguably, if not technically preposterous.
Does Adobe Illustrator count anything? Does Adobe Illustrator have any ability
to parameterize the objects for any number of AECO needs? No and NO.
Technically a piece of printed paper can belie it’s
originating creation software (etc.) so ontologically you have a minor point. Now
expand that point to be a serious one, as we do not only print once for
instance… Make a change to the amount and kind of windows in a building (late
in CD) and re-print...tell me how long those changes take in AI, how many views
and schedules and calculations are incorrect (or how much more time (read as
budget) is wasted using an inappropriate tool)... and then try and argue of the
differences being imperceptible. I say that would be dramatically perceptible
in every way, including graphic ‘look’.
Other than making pretty pictures of abstracted things that 'appear' to be
buildings and document sets Adobe Illustrator is a meaningless point to raise.
So too are the other non-BIM tools. Shit,
I have seen a survey (graphically) created in Excel and although it ‘looked’ and
‘printed’ like a proper digital survey, it had absolutely zero usefulness
outside of that print. It helped the project zero percent and actually cost
time and more money since a real digital file was commissioned, therefore I
would argue that the Adobe Illustrator set of documents is a tenuous point to
attempt… BTW: that Civil Engineer is no longer doing business as far as I know,
I suspect due to the inane nature of his software and process choices.
Only those software that support object-based information and data
embedding are true BIM authoring tools. That is simply what BIM is after all.
Building
Information
Model
Rhino, 3DMax, Maya, Sketchup, Maya, etc. are generic modelers and
do not even say they are BIM authoring tools, no matter how useful they may or
may not be in an Architectural or even as bit players in a BIM process.
BIM is intrinsically so much deeper than just paper output. If Architects truly
adopt BIM, they would have to agree that the best course for the project is an
integrated approach. A, E and C and even O being in tight collaboration, if not
the same companies.
Those that hold the view that the Architect's function is to
create design intent document sets, are most likely going to see the demise of
the standalone Architect and possibly usher that in to existence.
Tell me one building of any importance, created in the past decade that was
drawn by hand...the whole CD set... That scenario is where we may find
Architects who do not comprehensively adopt BIM and IPD workflows in the years
to come...BTW: This point is software independent…it is Process Dependent.
There are plenty of programs, even in Universities that teach software usage, even
BIM software, but the needs and issues facing AECO is not in learning any one
software, the issue needs to be learning the BIM and IPD processes... software(s)
can always be learned inside or outside of school.
During the course of a discussion in a recent Revit class for Project Managers that I was presenting, I reiterated the benefits, actually the mandatory use of 'help' and of the Internet, for finding multiple sources of workflows, best practices, how-to's, pitfalls and every bit of help, etc. The like as can also be found in my article: The Ultimate Revit Hand: Every Tip, Trick, Technique & Workaround (Known & Unknown)...
Additionally, and to make your obtaining these and other materials for Revit, BIM and more; easily available: Here are all those forementioned materials, including handouts, the presentation's recordings as well as the other documents -the image (left) also gets one there... 
