This past year, I have been giving a lecture titled “How do you eat an elephant?” Within the narrative I frame the measure of success of digital transformation as hinging on the ability to address larger, persistent challenges facing the world of building design and construction. Chief among these problems is flat productivity, increasing construction waste, and a growing skills gap.
A drafting studio at Bell Labs, 1942. Source “The future is already here - it’s just not evenly distributed.” - William Gibson As we approach the finish line for 2017, I continue to reflect on the state of the architecture and construction industry as I have in years past. As we contend with global issues … Continue reading Reflecting on the Future of Work
Data literacy comes about from a much deeper investment directed towards growing knowledge and expertise. Skill sets in statistical analysis or the ability to prepare meaningful visual representations of data are practical examples of being literate in data. Cultivating data literacy can also be a much higher barrier to overcome due to entrenched corporate politics, competing business interests and resistance from decision-makers to implement analytical recommendations that challenge the status quo. In short: changing people is harder than purchasing new tools.
The term computational designer has garnered considerable attention from both recruiters and job applicants in recent years. We can read this as an interesting indicator that design organizations are actively looking at new skillsets to evolve their process. However, for all the hype around this new role, there appears to be very little industry consensus … Continue reading Positioning Computational Designers in your Business – 4 Things to Consider
