Las Vegas is a pretty good location for AU. However, I have fond memories of other venues, too. Here are my top picks in order of preference, along with a brief reason why:

1. Chicago ’96. It is a beautiful city. Navy pier and its convention center had comfortable facilities, despite the Union work issues. The pizza is great and there are several architectural places of interest to visit. The weather was perfect, I think it took place in early October.

2. San Francisco ’94 and other years. Frisco is another great city with pretty good weather. Because it is so close to the Autodesk Headquarters, this is a great place for those of us who enjoy meeting the actual developers of the programs. San Francisco is also a very commuter and visitor friendly city, possibly because of all the routine tourism it attracts. The BART and taxis work great.

3. Philly ’98: This was another great venue with lots of historical sites nearby. It was funny how Bentley parked a bus right in front of the museum where one of the evening events was being hosted. The hotel and conference center were linked by a tunnel across the street and the commute distance from your hotel room to the conference floor was a record-setting short walk. There was also great food in the market downstairs, including very fresh vegetable and produce.

4. Los Angeles ’97: The highlight of this AU was arguably the exclusive rental of Universal Studios for one of the evening events. But don’t plan on using public transportation, though. The Gogo’s song, “Nobody Walks in LA,” still applies despite the millions wasted by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Remember SIGRAPH takes place in LA every couple of years, though some might argue the main reason is the close proximity to several of the best 3D Animation studios in the world.

5. Other cities at Mini AU’s or Regional AU’s did not provide quite the same complete satisfaction feel of full fledged AU’s. They felt like bigger than usual Local User Group Meetings.

6. I did not attend Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Orlando, Tokyo, Shanghai but would love to read feedback from those fortunate enough to have experienced it live.

You can vote using the attached link or by reading my blog found at http://caddguru.wordpress.com

Warm regards from Bellflower, California

Emmanuel

Chicago Navy Pier Site of AU '96

Las Vegas is a pretty good location for AU. However, I have fond memories of other venues, too. Here are my top picks in order of preference, along with a brief reason why:

1. Chicago ’96. It is a beautiful city. Navy pier and its convention center had comfortable facilities, despite the Union work issues. The pizza is great and there are several architectural places of interest to visit. The weather was perfect, I think it took place in early October.

2. San Francisco ’94 and other years. Frisco is another great city with pretty good weather. Because it is so close to the Autodesk Headquarters, this is a great place for those of us who enjoy meeting the actual developers of the programs. San Francisco is also a very commuter and visitor friendly city, possibly because of all the routine tourism it attracts. The BART and taxis work great.

3. Philly ’98: This was another great venue with lots of historical sites nearby. It was funny how Bentley parked a bus right in front of the museum where one of the evening events was being hosted. The hotel and conference center were linked by a tunnel across the street and the commute distance from your hotel room to the conference floor was a record-setting short walk. There was also great food in the market downstairs, including very fresh vegetable and produce.

4. Los Angeles ’97: The highlight of this AU was arguably the exclusive rental of Universal Studios for one of the evening events. But don’t plan on using public transportation, though. The Gogo’s song, “Nobody Walks in LA,” still applies despite the millions wasted by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Remember SIGRAPH takes place in LA every couple of years, though some might argue the main reason is the close proximity to several of the best 3D Animation studios in the world.

5. Other cities at Mini AU’s or Regional AU’s did not provide quite the same complete satisfaction feel of full fledged AU’s. They felt like bigger than usual Local User Group Meetings.

6. I did not attend Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Orlando, Tokyo, Shanghai but would love to read feedback from those fortunate enough to have experienced it live.

You can vote using the attached link or by reading my blog found at http://caddguru.wordpress.com

Warm regards from Bellflower, California

Emmanuel

This Day In Awesome History! February 10th, 1996 – Deep Blue Beats Kasparov!

Real #BIM is about considering all things, being Holistic & complete. It’s NOT just about 3D, collision detection, schedule, cost, or etc.

OK. So it’s about time to turn the discussion about BIM into something positive. The fact remains that BIM means different things to different people. In a recent previous post I focused on What BIM is NOT, thinking that was an easier issue to tackle. However, that approach is a weak method for defining a concept. I have planned to also write about what BIM should not be, what it should be and What it is according to dictionary and other official sources. After all, words are tools for communication and to ignore history and officially recorded conventions is sort of plain foolish.

I say “sort of” because sometimes words become limiting in negative and unintended ways.

So before I soil my brain with potentially backwards concepts about what BIM is supposed to mean according to dictionaries and textbooks, let me tell you what I found inspiring and exciting about the concept when I first heard it, I think some time towards the end the previous century.

I thought and expected BIM to become the key to real intelligent design, not just mere drafting or design documentation but creative problem solving done not just by human brain gray matter but digital machines. I’m pretty sure I first heard the concept definitely AFTER reading Bill Mitchell’s book titled, “The Logic of Architecture.” I thought that book, at least for me, was seminal work to replicate in Architectural Design what IBM”s Deep Blue software had done in the sport of Chess. I call it a sport shamelessly because any person that has followed the world chess scene, and played some chess intensely, will attest for both the physical and mental components of the game.

I’m also aware that some of my best friends and clients who are architects might be offended by the “oversimplification of the much more complex design challenges than a mere game of chess.” However, two ideas come to mind to the rescue. The first is the idea of divide and conquer. A complex game or design challenge can be broken down into manageable pieces and then each can be tackled one at a time. It’s like answering the question, “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer: One bit at a time.

The second inspiring idea is to remember the foolish projections that certain geniuses have made that were proven to be the result of thinking small. I’m talking about quotes such as, “I think one computer is about all the world will need some day,” or even more, “64 Kilobytes is more memory than people will ever need.” I realize I am grossly paraphrasing John Watson and Bill Gates here, but you should get the idea.

One of the main difficulties of design challenges is to mediate conflicting interests or constraints, such as cost, function, schedule, etc. And that’s where computers shine. They have excellent memory and they follow rules diligently. If you read The Logic of Architecture, you may agree with the author and me that there is a way to quantify emotion, beauty and other “subjective” concepts. The challenge is coming up with a measuring stick that works. Fortunately, within an acceptable range of error, you will find it’s possible to do it.

The key to making it all work is to learn how design, process, query and report using database programs. If you start thinking of your favorite CADD program as a relational graphical and textual database engine, then a whole new world of opportunities and productivity will open up for you.