B7 - Course Reflection, Odorizzi

AE 510 fostered discussion about the future and new technologies that I had not taken time to consider carefully before. It was refreshing to gain awareness of how new technologies are integrating into the construction industry and project how these developments will impact our future professions. I think it was useful to break down some of these developments at a fundamental level to help build our understanding of the topic, namely with BIM and databases. Having worked with Revit in the past, I was able to expand upon my previous knowledge of Revit through our family assignment, as well as by diving into depth with an interdisciplinary model for the term project. Databases were a topic I had never pursued in the past. I found the discussion of databases very interesting, and it was a useful tool to gain exposure to for future uses.

Another aspect of the course that I enjoyed were the blog posts. As annoying as they often are to complete, I enjoyed reading through other classmates’ posts and seeing their thoughts. Fo topics such as the introduction to databases, I found it a great way to compile information about the topic without reading in depth about each topic ourselves. The in-class blog posts that we did early in the term felt forced and I did not like those - but the weekly blog posts were enjoyable.

With regard to the course’s impact on my profession and future, it has definitely motivated me to investigate the technologies and software at the forefront of the industry. For example, Dynamo is in-built feature of Revit 2017 and I would be interested in spending some time exploring its capabilities. Other facets, such as impact detection software, would also be super interesting to learn. Gaining a knowledge of these niches may be advantageous in industry to set myself apart from other engineers, and would likely be a source of increased efficiency if I am able to gain proficiency in the software. AE 510 gave a very interesting overview of the concept of intelligent buildings and the technologies arising today to make these types of buildings possible.

Comment to Lauren Kujawa

I echo your comment that many of the topics and discussions we had in class were new to me - and I also enjoyed thinking about technology and aspects of intelligent buildings that I had never considered before. I would challenge your statements that both databases and sensors are not applicable to your career. Without knowing your concentration, I feel like databases and sensors have become integrated into our regular usage that we don’t recognize all of them. Perhaps you will not need to know the inner workings of the sensors like Professor Mitchell pushed us to explore, or need to craft a database from scratch, but I would be very surprised if your professional career was entirely void of databases and sensors.

Comment to Malik Anibaba

After reading your post, you made me think about “what did I expect of this course when I started,” and I think you articulate well that AE 510 encompassed a much broader scope with big-picture ideas that I was anticipating. I also discussed in my post the benefit of the blog posts to help the class collectively cover more content. I thought many of the topics we discussed were very interesting, and I agree that these discussions will help prepare us for the professional world.

Comment to Alyssia Deutsch

The classroom in the cadlab is ALWAYS cold - it’s absurd. I like how you discuss the blend between your technical knowledge and the real-life application of that knowledge that we discussed in AE 510. I think that is a key benefit to the course - it builds awareness of the technology being integrated into our profession. Now you know that you may need to read up on some AI applications for CMU design. I similarly felt that the course offers motivation to learn about these new software, like Dynamo, and continue to read and remain aware of the technologies associated with an Intelligent Building.