Editorial by Bethany Pritchard, Design Technology Director @ VMDO Architects
Bethany Pritchard presents Small Firm Tech Strategies at TAP Forum during AIA24.
AIA '24 from a Design Technologist's Perspective
AIA '24 National Conference in Washington D.C. was filled with opportunities to learn about technology-focused topics. As Director of Design Technology at VMDO Architects, I made sure to optimize my schedule at AIA '24 to attend as many technology-focused sessions as possible. I'm also passionate about knowledge sharing and building a firm culture that not only provides learning opportunities but also encourages open collaboration and the sharing of knowledge with others. Therefore, I attended sessions on firm culture and knowledge sharing as well.
Highlights from the Conference:
TAP Symposium
By far, the TAP Symposium with Dr. Mehdi Nourbakhsh and Phil Bernstein, FAIA was the highlight of the conference. Both speakers were engaging and inspiring, providing valuable strategies for implementing AI into our workflows.
By now you've probably heard the phrase I've heard several times now: "AI will not replace you, but someone who knows how to use AI will". Another message I came away from AIA '24 with is that those of us who can figure out innovative ways to use AI will set us apart from the rest. We are moving into a new era. Looking at the past, our profession has experienced the Analog Era (Pen & Paper) & the Data Modeling Era (CAD). We're currently in the Information Modeling Era (BIM). What's next is the Knowledge Modeling Era (AI-assisted Design). As we move into this new era, new jobs that don't exist now will emerge. So how do we prepare ourselves and our industry for this future we speak of? We can start by identifying repetitive tasks or inefficient workflows that could be improved with AI. We can also look at our firm culture and make sure our people are supported and ready. As with all technology, successful adoption and implementation of AI will require equal parts, technology, people and process. To me, this directly relates to firm culture, and ties in nicely with another session I attended 'Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast'. That session was all about change management and strategies for developing a firm culture of openness to change (which in my mind means learning and growth), enhanced by collaboration and open knowledge sharing. A firm with this type of culture will not only ensure successful adoption of new technologies, but it will also attract new talent.
It's always nice to balance out the enthusiasm with a bit of realism. There were several conversations about areas of AI where we should use caution and be deliberate about how, where, when, and why we choose to use AI. It's tempting to jump on the AI bandwagon influenced by the AI hype, but instead we should focus on its practical applications rather than just using technology for technology's sake. With over 1,100 new AI products on the market for AEC, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. According to the Gartner Hype Cycle, which is a method of evaluating new technology, AI is currently at the 'Peak of Inflated Expectations'. The next phase is the 'Trough of Disillusionment', so you can imagine we've got a bumpy road ahead until we finally get to 'Plateau of Productivity', but AI will eventually get there!
TAP Forum
Joel Martineau of dRofus, and 2023 Chair of the National TAP Knowledge Community, led a panel discussion followed by quick presentations by local TAP components. I presented a short segment focusing on tips for planning successful TAP Community events and small firm technology strategies. It was great to connect with other TAP Knowledge Community enthusiasts!
EXPO
The EXPO was an impressive showcase of the latest tools and technologies in the industry, providing hands-on experiences and networking opportunities with leading tech innovators. I wish I had had more time to stop at more booths, but I was able to see Autodesk (of course), Trimble/SketchUp, Chaos/Enscape, Allegion (Overtur Revit Add-in), Snaptrude, Conspectus, and many others. The highlight for me: Snaptrude - this is an emerging company we should all be keeping an eye on!
Takeaways from other Sessions
Several other sessions lead by architects further explored AI's role in our industry, reinforcing the idea that AI will not replace us but will serve as a valuable tool to enhance our efficiency and the quality of our work. I gained a better understanding of how to use AI, what it is good at and what it's limitations are. Since attending AIA '24 my mindset about AI has shifted. One speaker suggested to think of AI as a coworker or an assistant – a collaboration that allows you to achieve more. Several sessions gave examples of ways to use AI, and examples of successful prompts along with the back and forth conversation with AI to refine the results. Now that I've started to view AI as an assistant to help me with part of a task, but not expect it to do the entire task for me, I have had more success. Also, understanding that AI's strength is language, which includes math and programming, I have tried to use it more for those types of tasks. In fact, I used AI to help me write this article... Can you tell?
One of the many things I love about VMDO Architects is that we have built a firm culture that supports continual learning and growth, similar to the type of firm culture I described earlier in this article. There is no doubt in my mind that we will come up with innovative ways we can use AI to enhance our work. In fact, we are hiring right now, so if you are passionate about education (designing buildings for academic environments and being immersed in a firm culture that supports lifelong learning), you should apply!