John is responsible for providing support to the BIM Academy team and assisting in the delivery of projects. He completed his Masters degree in Advanced Construction Technologies & BIM at University of Strathclyde in 2019, where his research work – focused on BIM evolution and asset management within NHS Scotland – was awarded a scholarship by the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC). Outside of work, John is a multi-instrumentalist and producer, and has a keen interest in composition and music technology.
How would you summarise your current role?
As a BIM Technologist, I am responsible for providing support to the team and assisting in the delivery of projects. My typical roles include model authoring, coordination checks, data auditing and other information management functions.
What inspires you?
Whenever I reflect upon the fact that I was born at pretty much the perfect time to witness the birth of (and even engage in!) the AEC industry’s digital revolution, I never fail to feel inspired. Without a doubt, BIM and digital construction have dealt the biggest shake-up and re-focusing of the construction industry in decades and the implications not only for the industry’s future but for wider society are simply enormous. In a sense, history is being made with the work being done at places such as BIM Academy. We are re-building an entire industry from the ground-up, transforming it into one which will be smarter, more dependable and certainly far more efficient.
What do you believe are the current challenges in our industry and how can we overcome them?
Unfortunately, some of major challenges in our industry seem to remain largely unchanged. We’ve made great progress, but there is perhaps still a little too much enthusiasm for fine-tuning the jargon and over-selling the technology and not enough of a focus on the industrial challenges that BIM is intended to solve. At the end of the day, it is not about the tech, it’s about the people using the tech, therefore simply upgrading the tech changes little. We need to be much more value-orientated and people-focused, developing solutions which can stand independent of whatever the current technological base is.
What added value do you bring to your projects?
With my background as an Architectural Technologist, I am a well-rounded designer, capable of assisting in any stage of a design project regardless of project type and architectural typology. As an academic-at-heart, I have a constant appetite for new knowledge and ideas (no matter how blue-sky), with everything I learn ultimately feeding into the approach that I take towards my work.
What do you think our industry could learn from other sectors?
Perhaps it could simply learn how to be more agile and responsive to changes in socio-technical systems and, by doing so, keep up with the other sectors! For all of the knowledge, skill and technology (developed and passed down over time immemorial) that goes into putting a half-decent building together, you would think that best practice with regards to the rest of the process (Capex and Opex) would be similarly well-defined by now.
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