Archinect - News

Exploring the Future of AEC Technology in the Age of AI

2024-05-30T08:46:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by
TECH Perspectives New York

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is on the cusp of a technological revolution, driven by the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). On June 20, 2024, Microsol Resources will host the TECH Perspectives New York event, bringing together thought leaders and innovators to discuss the transformative impact of AI on AEC technology.

Event Highlights

The event will take place at the Japan Society in New York, from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM EST. It promises to be an engaging morning filled with insights from industry experts on how AI is reshaping the landscape of AEC technology.

Speakers include:

Phil Bernstein, Associate Dean & Professor Adjunct at Yale School of Architecture
Steve Jones, Senior Director at Dodge Data & Analytics
Robert K. Otani, Chief Technology Officer at Thornton Tomasetti
Ayse Polat, Regional VDC Manager at Turner Construction
Charles Portelli, Associate & ...

Leading Architects Become Harvard Alums with this Executive Development Program

2024-03-21T14:55:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by
Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education

Created for global leaders in the built environment, the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP) at the Harvard Graduate School of Design leverages the school’s resources to help participants reach the absolute pinnacle of their profession. The intensive one-year program with five weeks spent on campus brings participants into contact with industry leaders from around the world via on-campus sessions, site visits, and project-based learning, culminating in graduates being granted Harvard alumni status.

This article features insights from three program alumni, Trusted Inc. Founder and CEO Michael Peters, Class of 2015, Unico Developers Principal and Co-founder Fernando Levy Hara, Class of 2010, and Raouf Advisory Founder and Chief Advisor Hussam Raouf, Class of 2017, to get an inside look at this unique educational and professional growth opportunity.

“The Most Exclusive Real E...

How Architecture Firms Should Design Their Workplace: Harvard Online Course

2024-02-13T14:52:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by
Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education

While many fields have acclimatized to hybrid ways of working, architecture and design firms have encountered persistent challenges in making this transition.

Harvard GSD’s online course Designing the Creative & Collaborative Workplace: Space, Technology, and Culture looks at the unique spaces, technology, and culture shaping the creative workplace to help creative teams answer the question: “How will we redesign our workplace and the way we work?”

This discussion will be informed by research done by Jacob Reidel seeking to understand how architects have designed new ways of practicing in direct response to the upheaval of recent years.

Image courtesy Harvard GSD Executive Education.

Divided into three modules — Spaces, Technology, and Culture — the course will use a scaffolded approach to provide participants, regardless of background, with the resources to take actionable steps towards transformi...

How Harvard GSD's Executive Education Course Explores Designing the World’s Largest Passive House Office

2024-01-22T11:15:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education

In response to global decarbonization mandates and changing occupant wants and needs, architects are racing to identify technologies, critical data, operating models, and financial cases that enable the success of building retrofits and designs. In Building Decarbonization 101: The Technology, Data, Operations, and Finances of Net Zero Development, participants will dig into groundbreaking buildings worldwide, hear from a global group of experts, and emerge with holistic strategies to apply to their projects.

Winthrop Center. Image courtesy Harvard GSD Executive Education.

A highlight of the program is Brad Mahoney, Director of Sustainable Development at MP Boston, diving into the development of Winthrop Center, the world's largest Passive House office space. Brad will use his experience with Winthrop Center to cover both smart and efficient building development and building decarbonization's financi...

Explore Harvard GSD's latest Executive Education course on Blockchain and Real Estate

2023-12-13T09:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education

While the NFT bubble has burst, the tantalizing potential of blockchain, which is the foundation of NFT’s, bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, endures. Some have even written that blockchain offers the “possibility of entirely reorganizing the profession” of architecture.

Harvard University Graduate School of Design Executive Education offers From Crypto to the Metaverse: Blockchain Applications in Real Estate to equip architects for this paradigm shift.

We asked Jose Luis Garcia del Castillo y Lopez, Lecturer in Architectural Technology at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, to introduce this January's program.

Video courtesy of Harvard GSD Executive Extension

We also asked him which applications of blockchain he is most excited about — he said (1) Tokenization (fractional asset ownership) and (2) Blockchain-enabled transfers of title and ownership claims.

Video courtesy of Harvard GS...

For the first time in almost 10 years, the World Architecture Festival is returning to Singapore!

2023-11-21T10:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by World Architecture Festival

World Architecture Festival (WAF) is where the world architecture community meets to celebrate, learn, exchange, and be inspired. This year, for the first time since 2015, the festival returns to Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on 29 November – 1 December.

WAF is the world’s largest annual, international, live architectural event. It includes the largest live architectural awards program in the world, dedicated to celebrating excellence via live presentations to an audience of high-profile delegates and international juries.

Alongside the awards sits a talks program with a stellar line-up of 75 speakers and presenters across two stages over the three-day event including established architects such as Charu Kokate, Senior Partner/Director at Safdie Architects; Lily Jencks, Keeper of Vision at The Cosmic House, The Jencks Foundation; Patrick Bellew, Founder and Executive Chairman, Atelier Ten; Mario Cucinella, Founder, MCA Mari...

Harvard Graduate School of Design Offers Online Course on AI for Architects

2023-11-13T09:15:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education

A year after the launch of ChatGPT and the proliferation of generative AI tools, there remains enormous potential for architects able to harness AI-driven tools to solve their core challenges. That is why Harvard University Graduate School of Design Executive Education offers a course on AI, Machine Learning, and the Built Environment to design leaders seeking to understand this transformative technology better.

We asked Jose Luis Garcia del Castillo y Lopez, Lecturer in Architectural Technology at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, questions about AI in preparation for this January's program.

Courtesy of Harvard GSD Executive Education

Question: “I’m an architect. Can AI design buildings? Is my job getting replaced by AI?

Answer: “AI cannot design entire buildings, but it is true that certain aspects, more and more aspects of the architectural design process are being automated using A...

From Blueprint to Breakdown: 5 Signs Your Architecture Firm’s Resource Management is Off the Rails

2023-07-13T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Birdview PSA

In the world of architecture, where every project is a confluence of art, science, and logistics, resource management practices and discipline stand as the pillars holding the structure together. Without solid resource management practices, even the most visionary architectural project risks collapsing like a house of cards. On the flip side, architecture firms with mature resource management practices not only avoid this pitfall but actually thrive, growing faster and enjoying higher profit margins.

In this article, we explore some of the signs that your resource management might be in need of fortification and how embracing a strategic approach can be the bedrock of your firm's growth and profitability.

Sign #1: Your Billable Utilization Is Low

Resource utilization report. Image courtesy of Birdview PSA.

In architecture firms, billable utilization is a critical metric. When it’s low, it means that employees are spending a significant amou...

CupaClad's natural slate rainscreen cladding system aims to improve facade design for the elements

2023-07-03T12:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by CupaPizarras.

CupaClad, a leading provider of innovative and sustainable building solutions, has launched a new product that promises to improve the world of architectural cladding with its Natural Slate Rainscreen Cladding System.

A system that offers provides a durable and sustainable option for design projects while creating a unique combination of aesthetic appeal and superior performance, the natural slate material provides an ideal material facade and cladding solution for architects and design professionals.

CupaClad's system is designed to provide superior thermal and acoustic insulation while also protecting the building from environmental elements such as moisture and water damage. Their Natural slate system is also made from non-combustible materials that are impact resistance and earthquake resistant. According to CupaClad, their systems have been "specially designed to resist structural movements without cracking, providing stability and s...

Explore SCI-Arc's 2023 Summer Programs for high school students and adults

2023-05-10T14:15:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by SCI-Arc, an Archinect School Partner

Registration for SCI-Arc's landmark summer programs Making+Meaning (M+M), Design Immersion Days (DID), and Introduction to Digital Design (IDD) are open.

Open to creative individuals, inspired professionals, and current college students and graduates, Making+Meaning is a four-week career exploration and portfolio-building summer studio program that introduces students to architectural experimentation and transformative design techniques in a unique and lively studio setting.

From July 5 - July 28, 2023, Making+Meaning will expose participants to a wide range of tools and techniques that integrate digital representation, architectural design, and fabrication methods, culminating in a public exhibition where students present their design work and receive feedback from noted architects and design professionals. College students, professionals, and students looking to apply to graduate architecture programs may register.

F...

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Creating a 3D Project With Enscape

2023-03-13T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Enscape

Enscape’s in-house architect and 3D artist, Samir Mujovi, explains that a big part of his job is creating projects for the company's product releases. These projects get used in Enscape's promotional materials, including the videos that have become synonymous with each new release.

In this article, Mujovi walks us through his creative process of creating the Enscape 3.3 project. He includes a sneak peek into how he uses its real-time visualization plugin.

Conceptualizing the project

The first part of the process is to form a concept. The new features of the release influence the content created. They help me and the team decide where and how they will be showcased in the promotional video and renders. Enscape 3.3’s hero feature was the Site Context, and other features developed for this release were education-themed assets and materials and the Material Overwrite.

The video was to start with a maquette model to set the scene, then move on to ho...

MIT’s Master of Real Estate Development Program Offers Scholarships for Students Interested in Sustainability, Finance & More

2022-11-15T09:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by MIT Center for Real Estate

The MIT Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) offers an unparalleled education in real estate practice. Our groundbreaking MSRED degree presents a program that is rigorous, concentrated, multidisciplinary and geared toward direct application.

Candidates for the MSRED degree come to the Program with several years of experience within the built environment. The program offers students a chance to sharpen their skills by working with other professionals of exceptional promise. Building partnerships that will last long after graduation, MSRED students learn team building in an international context, applying research to real-world problems in a disciplined and intellectual framework.

Students listen during presentation at developer office in downtown Boston, October 2022. Image courtesy of MIT CRE.

If you would like to learn more about the MSRED Program at MIT, consider participating in one of our upcoming virtual i...

Infrastructure: What's happening now? What's happening next?

2022-08-16T16:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Microsol Resources

With the passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), expectations about the infrastructure sector in the U.S. have heightened. That legislation will be both a boon to the sector, but it also has the potential to exacerbate the challenges faced by civil contractors, creating the potential for a dramatic change in that industry.

Since 2020, Dodge Data & Analytics has been publishing data from civil contractors and engineers on the health of the infrastructure market and key trends impacting it in The Civil Quarterly.

Join Donna Laquidara-Carr, Ph.D., LEED AP, Industry Insights Research Director from Dodge, as she explores what the last two years of publication have revealed about the potential for growth, the challenges faced by contractors, and key trends that will influence this sector in the next few years. Topics to be covered include:

Current business conditions of contractors, including their expectations for ...

HP makes design engineering post-Covid easier with tools for flexible and efficient workflow

2021-07-31T15:25:00-04:00

This post is brought to you in partnership with HP

In some ways, the work world will never be the same. Here are the tools that make a flexible and efficient workflow possible.

The pandemic has accelerated the process of digital transformation across all industries including the product design and manufacturing sectors. As part of this transformation, design engineers are now creating products and systems that align with artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and advanced robotic process automation.

At the same time, the design process itself has also evolved. Workflows are now being automated to unprecedented levels. To stay competitive and allow for efficient workflows on every project, design engineers must ensure their physical processes are faster and more flexible than ever before. Chief among these physical processes is printing.

What’s needed now is a printer that seamlessly integrates with the design process. This is why HP recently released its new HP DesignJet...

Sou Fujimoto, BIG, Studio V Architecture, and 3deluxe among category winners of 2021 WAFX Awards

2021-07-06T21:07:00-04:00

The World Architecture Festival Awards (WAFX Award) has announced 12 project initiatives that aim to address "some of the world’s most pressing challenges." The 2021 awards program celebrates project proposals from across the world tackling today’s global issues, ranging from pandemic control and the climate emergency to social equity, cultural identity, aging populations, and food supply.

The Festival shares: "The WAFX Award winners are all selected from entries to the Future Projects category in the WAF Awards Program, for their ambition and scope. This year’s category winners include a fast installation modular hospital for epidemic prevention, a floating eco-campus off Manhattan Island, a grand prototype smart transportation city from Bjarke Ingles and Toyota, a zero-carbon office development in central London, the world's first high-rise data center in Shanghai, and a new eco-tourism typology at Cagbalete Island, Philippines."

The overall WAFX winner will be announced at the 20...