Driven to make a meaningful impact in the construction industry and help streamline project delivery, I am a design technology passionate and an advocate for offsite manufacturing.
As a structural engineer and registered architect with over 15 years of experience, I have had the great opportunity to work for a wide range of organisations, from structural engineering consultancies and architectural practices, to house manufacturers and technology solutions companies. These experiences have allowed me to develop a diverse skill set and reinforced my belief that curiosity is key for professional growth.
I am now a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) Designer at WSP where, with my digital innovation colleagues, we aim to transform traditional construction applying WSP's kit-of-parts approach on projects.
Career
Starting as a hybrid Architectural Engineer/BIM Specialist, my role has evolved across countries (from Italy to the UK), from company to company, from project to project: BIM Technician, BIM Manager, Information Manager, Designer and now DfMA Designer.
The construction areas I have worked within shifted as well, from pure structural engineering (Elliott Wood) to multidisciplinary (Bryden Wood), from being a developer/house fabricator (Trivselhus UK) to architecture (Grimshaw, BSBG, Populous, to mention a few – all via Symetri Europe), and back again to a multidisciplinary environment (WSP – Digital Innovation).
Towards the end of my study in architectural engineering, I was certain to pursue a career focusing on restoration and structural rehabilitation; however, this belief proved completely wrong. To date, my professional path has been defined by the acronym ”BIM”, and I am grateful for this unexpected direction.
The journey has been organic, driven by the desire to learn more, understand different perspectives, processes, observe how technology is applied differently, even within the same “industry-bucket”, using curiosity as a tool to become a better construction and BIM professional.
What I discovered were different backgrounds, personalities, thought processes and strengths, yet all unified by the strategic use of digital technology (with BIM at its core) to deliver the best possible service.
BIM, here we go again. “BIM as an ever-evolving collaborative approach to producing and managing information, enabled by the use of the appropriate technology”, as I like to describe it.
Producing and managing information is one of the critical parts of the above statement and a key aspect of our (my) profession. But to “produce and manage” other crucial keywords come sequentially into play:
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UNDERSTAND - understand the project brief, the requirements, the constraints, the tasks to be undertaken, what the “appropriate technology“ is and how it can be used as its best, what the right amount of information required is, how we can review, control and validate the quality of information produced, what the best way to transfer information is, just to start
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Understand that our digital role is key in modern construction
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Understand that the information strategies we define, that what (and how) we produce and manage influence project delivery
But “to understand” we must first:
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KNOW - Know the project details, what we are asked to do, which technologies are available and what are they capable of, which information can we produce, what quality of information can we achieve, which information can we transfer and how, … etc …
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Know the impact we are making in the construction industry
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Know the consequences (both positive and negative) of our decisions, of our work
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Know when it is time to learn more
And before knowledge comes something even more crucial:
- let’s BE CURIOUS: be curious about what you are working on and what you are asked to do, about existing and emerging technologies, about what can we achieve, about the power of cross-discipline and software integration, …etc …
- Be curious about our industry
- Be curious about what can leverage our work
- Be curious about what comes next.
Curiosity, the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to understand have been constants throughout my evolving career.
What began as a personal mindset has proven to be an invaluable toolset within the BIM and digital engineering space and the wider construction sector in which we operate. It has encouraged me to question established workflows, explore alternative approaches, and look beyond disciplinary boundaries to understand how people, processes and technology interconnect.
As a final note, to the future BIM/Digital professionals I would say: be curious, learn, explore and don’t be afraid of our ever-evolving industry…you have chosen the right path!