EMERGING PROFESSIONALS
Internship and BIM, an intern’s view

by Jason Henson, Assoc. AIA
HKS, Dallas

Summary: I knew that my first professional job with a large firm would be quite different from my small-firm summer internships. Although I was right, the picture I had imagined was painted quite differently by something I had not yet come across in my training—Revit. Of course, I had heard of building information modeling (BIM) technology while in college, but it would affect me in a bigger way, and sooner, than I realized. HKS was beginning to test the BIM program Revit for implementation about the time I came to work at the firm. Within a year, I found myself at the cutting edge of this new drafting/visual technology, with a small team of others like me now implementing the software into the firm’s terminology.

A professor once told me, “The advancement of one’s self is directly proportional to the initiative that person puts into what they are trying accomplish.” As I started work at HKS, I wanted to mean more to my team, contributing more than the norm. But how is that possible in a place built with talent in nearly every seat? I got an opportunity working on HKS’s first health-care Revit projects.

Revit, which requires an entirely different way of thinking than conventional drafting and modeling programs, took a bit of work to adjust to. Once I understood how the software worked, it afforded me a great opportunity for my own personal and professional growth. Revit enabled me to assert myself more in the design process, while giving me a medium to express my talent to learn and take initiative. I wrestled my fears of change from the traditional programs with which I was proficient in school. Within a year, I found myself at the cutting edge of this new drafting/visual technology, with a small team of others like me now implementing the software into the firm’s terminology.

BIM gives the edge to design
BIM not only gives you an edge, it often helps you understand how a building comes together better than drawing in two-dimensional drafting. As you can imagine, having to produce the third dimension of a building makes the drafter think about how it all really works. That detail you see in 3D also produces itself in 2D in the model, hence the concept of BIM. To use BIM to its full potential, rendering the building becomes part of the process of production. Thus, materials must be named, and they must appear accurately as displayed in a photo, considering Revit renders at photo-realistic quality. This requires the user to research the product. In this case, the drafter will no longer be just that, but now will have the power to advance themselves deeper into the industry quickly.

Through BIM, the industry will evolve. Firms using BIM have already begun to see the effects of this technology shift. As more people become experienced, the output becomes faster, and quality is more easily controlled. Furthermore, coordinating design or architectural changes becomes vastly more efficient. When you move a door/window in the model, it moves in plan/elevation/section with no going back to other drawings to make sure they are in coordination. As consultants get on board with the new structural/MEP packages available in Revit (and competing BIM programs are sure to follow suit), this will further improve communication and coordination.

There still are challenges
Revit and BIM are not without their challenges, specifically:

• Firm standards and protocols must be revised, rather than matching existing CAD standards
• An entire new set of standards will be needed to allow for control over material naming/management of the rendered model
• Hardware needs to keep up with software
• Larger jobs require a lot of memory.

Attitude is everything
The biggest BIM question is whether firms are willing to change. Many have tried the program and fallen back to CAD, mainly because of the lack of standards, control, and knowledge of the BIM program.

The “heroes” within firms will be those who work to see the change happen at greater levels, for the betterment of the firm, the profession, and the industry. These individuals have the opportunity to become leaders. BIM alone won’t change the profession, people will.

So, if you’re an intern within a firm that is thinking about BIM, I encourage you to embrace it, master it. It will have a profound impact on your growth and will increase your value to the firm.