“BIM has created an outlet to keep young talent in the AECO industry”

21 / 6 / 2018

Historically, owners have been very demanding about improving processes. Although we’re facing a connected and digitalized era, there’s still tough to know what they want digitally and how to ask for it. According to K.P. Reddy, Board Member of BuiltTech Labs, it is the owner’s duty to drive vision around the most innovative technology, including BIM. This also includes being aware of the latest trends, but also to be supportive of the risks associated with its use. Although we can’t expect owners to demand BIM, they can create an attitude around it and encourage the urgency to try something different.

BIM has come to save the industry, Reddy states. If you offer an old-fashion drafting table to a newbie architect he would probably not be interested. BIM has created the need for this new digital talents to remain in the industry. It has made the processes more attractive because they can do amazing things like drawing and modelling in 3D. However, we can’t forget the technical aspects of it even if we’re going digital.

Reddy has confirmed that initiatives like European BIM Summit are very important because they gather people together. There’s a faster kind of cultural adoption, but even in the U.S. although there is a fast-growing economy you still have to explain: why BIM? According to Reddy, the cultural enthusiasm is far ahead what is going on in the US and now it’s just more about getting the experience around doing more projects.

The role of BuiltTech Labs in the digitalization of the industry

The idea of BuiltTech Labs has been that the industry is aware of all the problems it runs into. It is about bringing industry into work with startups and work with investors to build startups that can actually be successful and give the support they need because I think that’s where all the innovation growth will happen. Reddy predicts that BIM growth will happen through startups. Big companies don’t have the pressure to release something new every month and try hard. For a startup, it is very hard to do that so it is important to support these initiatives to be successful and engage with the industry and investors.