This past week, Christy Cavataio and I had the opportunity to present at the European BIM Summit in Barcelona, Spain. This third installment of the European BIM Summit had France serve as the guest country and drew more than 500 attendees from across the European Union, with an additional 1,200+attending online. The attendees ranged greatly with teams from not only Spain and France but also Lithuania, the UAE, India, UK, US, and Canada, to name a few. The conference highlighted the “latest advances in the management of the information generated during the life cycle of a construction, which has become indispensable to obtain a constructive process aimed at improving the...

I recently had the opportunity to moderate the Spring BIMForum conference (Conference Theme: BIM: What do Owners Want?). The conference hosted almost 500 industry leading architecture, engineering, construction and building owner professionals from across the country including two of our clients from The Ohio State University and University of California at San Diego who each had the opportunity to present. The conference provided a continued evolution from past BIMForum events including the Fall 2012 BIMForum which focused on BIM for Facilities Management. While only a very few owners were approaching the BIM for FM discussion at that time, the conversation has dramatically changed in 2017. As my co-moderator stated in...

Native redbud trees beautify Pittsburgh When Frank Dawson, ASLA, was traveling back and forth from his hometown of Pittsburgh to New York City, he noticed the beautiful early blooms of the native redbud trees that are clustered at the ridgetops along the highway. He always admired redbuds trees, having a few in his own yard. “I wondered if my excitement and passion for these trees could translate to the landscape in Pittsburgh, to create a buzz for the coming of spring in the city,” said Frank. So, he set out to make his idea a reality. From planning to planting Frank sits on an advisory panel called Paris to Pittsburgh, a...