Category: Smart Construction
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Collaborating or Competing with Construction Tech Startups
I recently interviewed 20 experts and thought leaders about real estate and construction technology and innovation. Many of the interviewees talked about collaboration with startups and how to make the most of it. There’s a growing interest in construction technology. Construction tech firms have garnered $10 billion in investment funding from 2011 through early 2017, according…
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Research Institute: A Shared Information Platform Reduces Construction Costs Considerably
A new Danish study shows how the use of a shared digital management and communication platform on large-scale construction projects leads to considerable cost reductions. The Danish Building Research Institute conducted a six-month research project that studied the effects of using a specific IT concept during construction. The three case studies were: The Maersk Tower,…
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User Interface With a Building – Interview with Esa Halmetoja of Senate Properties
Architect Mies van der Rohe once said that, “An office is a machine for working in.” From a maintenance person’s point of view that might be true. For a user, an office should offer a productive working environment. A pilot project, led by Esa Halmetoja of Senate Properties, is trying to find out how a…
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Developing New BIM Norms for Building Construction – Videos
BuildingSMART Finland has supplemented open building information modeling (BIM) guidelines in a project that is a part of the national KIRA-digi program. The project has published its first version of the new norms. Here are short video versions of my interviews with Tomi Henttinen and Tero Järvinen. They explain why the open IFC classification required an update and…
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How Helsinki Airport Uses BIM to Create the Best Customer Experience
Helsinki Airport is arguably one of the best in the world. Thanks to its perfect location between Asia and Europe, it’s becoming an ever-more-popular hub. I interviewed Finavia’s Design Manager, Kari Ristolainen, about the airport’s development program and how building information modeling (BIM) is essential to its success. On my way to Finavia’s project office,…
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Digitalizing the Construction Site – Interview with Tenderfield’s Jason Kamha
Here’s my interview with Jason Kamha, Director at Tenderfield, an Australian construction software company. Can you say a few words about yourself and your company? Tenderfield is based in Sydney, Australia and was established in 2014. We provide a software-as-a-service (SAAS) platform that enables construction firms to collaborate on large construction projects throughout the tendering…
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More Business Value from Drones with Propeller and Trimble – Interview with Rory San Miguel
Here’s my interview with Rory San Miguel, CEO of Propeller Aerobotics, a UAV tech company. We’re discussing the use of drones in construction and the company’s recently announced collaboration with Trimble to deliver efficient UAV workflows. You’re a co-founder of Propeller. How did your company come about? I met Francis (Propeller co-founder) in 2013 at a drone delivery startup called Flirtey. There…
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How Drones are Speeding Up Construction
Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are being used in many industries, e.g. agriculture, construction, mining, oil & gas, mapping, and surveying. In construction, drones have proven to be quite disruptive, offering huge productivity increases. Gartner’s famous Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2016, positioned drones as just entering the Peak of Inflated Expectations. Gartner claims…
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Augmenting BIM Classifications – Interview with Eveliina Vesalainen of Granlund
BuildingSMART Finland is supplementing building information modeling (BIM) guidelines in a national standardization project, as a part of the KIRA-digi program. In her Master’s thesis, Eveliina Vesalainen, of Granlund, has compared European BIM classifications for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design. Her study is the groundwork for the upcoming Finnish norms. “I’m a 26-year-old, soon…
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Architectural Democracy – Interview with Pedro Aibéo
In this podcast interview with Pedro Aibéo, we discuss Architectural Democracy, a research project, and its practical implementations. Pedro Aibéo, photo: Helen Kurri Architectural Democracy started as a doctoral research by Pedro Aibéo, architect and civil engineer. Pedro has been doing his research at Aalto Bim Lab, Aalto University School of Engineering. The project has…