Academics

Panel picks BIMmaculate Conception as winning team at Stuckeman event

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Penn State recently hosted the fifth-year design review and panel discussion, “BIM Scaled to Fit." Integrated project delivery (IPD) and building information modeling (BIM) are quickly reshaping the working methodologies of design firms where students will end up after graduation. They are also challenging the traditional means of teaching design to future architects, landscape architects and engineers.

A panel of invited professionals from as far away as Oslo, Norway, reviewed students’ final design presentations. Five teams of students representing six varied disciplines including architecture; landscape architecture; construction management; mechanical, structural and electrical lighting; and engineering had the opportunity to present work to the eight jurists.

Five teams created a uniquely-named team identity – CREO, BIMmaculate Conception (winner), Innovatio 6, Magnum Vis, and AEO5. The winning team’s success evolved around a poignant collaboration in communication of design ideas, receiving and responding to feedback, and refinement of final logistics to the jury. Working studio sessions every Tuesday and Thursday provided opportunities for students to personally reach each other, but by far, the most utilized communication method was the Android app GroupMe.

Following the BIM Studio 2013 reviews, Yucheng Lu, architectural engineering student, addressed the immersive experience. “As a lighting engineer I never need to worry about structural issue and mechanical loads. When I was applying for this course, I was imagining a project where each discipline generates the smartest design they can think of, and we put them together. It was not until my professor declined my design that I realized this project was nothing like what I had experienced so far. For every single idea, I needed to review it from six different perspectives and see if it worked for all the disciplines,” said Yucheng.

“It is definitely recognition of our hard work. I believe it is not only how much we did for the project, but also how much we did for each other that really helped us win this honor. When the winning team was announced I felt six times happier than what I would have felt if the award was just for me,” shared Yucheng.

The closing panel discussion highlighted innovative practices from the visiting academics, architecture, engineering and construction industry firms and technology specialists whose applied applications of IPD and BIM are scaled to their particular classroom, workplace, and research needs and limits. The discussions focused on bridging the continuum of IPD/BIM experiences from the academy to the profession and considered the educational ramifications for how we teach.

The panelists included Phil Bernstein, vice president for industry strategy and relations and architecture, engineering and construction lecturer in professional practice, Yale University; Tim Carr, vice president of southern region project management, Heery International; Greg Howell, professor of civil engineering, co-founder and managing director of The Lean Construction Institute; Aage Langedrag, BIM manager, Multiconsult, Oslo, Norway; Johann Mordhorst, associate, Kieran Timberlake Architects; Pierce Reynoldson, virtual design and construction manager, Tocci Building Corp., lecturer in architecture, Yale University; and Gil Snyder, associate dean and associate professor, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The studio course instructors and panel organizers included Robert Holland, associate professor of architecture and architectural engineering; Scott Wing, associate professor of architecture; David Goldberg, practitioner instructor of landscape architecture; and A. Michael G. Palmer, teaching assistant.

Last Updated May 9, 2013

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