The AEC Disruptors

Building Digital Resiliency: A Special Crosspod Recapping Digital Agility Summit

Join this special episode as Bridging the Gap joins forces with our sister podcast The AEC Disruptors hosted by Christopher Riddell to recap the biggest takeaways for the Digital Agility Summit. Todd and Christopher are joined by solutions engineer and cloud infrastructure strategist Jason Schmidt of Applied Software to unpack whether the intensity of work has changed over the past year, the potential future technology trends of the AEC industry, the ways in which we’ll need to adapt to technology, and what we can look forward to when it comes to digital transformation. 

Christopher Riddell is the Director of Innovation at Applied Software and host of the AEC Disruptors podcast. Over the last several years, he has placed an emphasis on utilizing technologies such as Dynamo to extend the power of Revit and other BIM technologies. He is passionate about the transfer of knowledge from one group to the next, which he believes is the key to overall success in the AEC industry. 

Jason Schmidt is an AEC industry specialist and Technology leader, with over 29 years of progressive IT & Design Technology experience, helping enhance AEC processes and workflows. He has the experience to interact and communicate effectively with a diverse range of individuals and groups, including all levels of management.

Challenge, Change, and Commitment in the Architectural World

Join host Christopher and Simon Whelan of FenestraPro as they discuss the “2030 Challenge,” changing the ways we perceive and utilize sustainable solutions, applying effective methodologies to an entire firm, and what our goals should be when it comes to helping the environment. 

Simon is a Founder and Chief Operating Officer of FenestraPro, based in Dublin, Ireland. As one of the founders, Simon has evolved FenestraPro from concept, through start-up phase, and is now in scaling, with FenestraPro being used by some of the largest architectural practices in the world. Simon holds a Master’s in Architecture (Advanced Environmental and Energy Systems), is a certified LEED Green Associate, and is an expert in Building Performance Analysis.

Disrupt or Be Disrupted

What disruptions have you accepted for the betterment of your company? What disruptions have been forced on your company? And what’s the difference between the two? Join host Christopher and guest Sam Coats of CallisonRTKL as they discuss wanting to make the industry better, creating positive systematic change, and encouraging creativity and diversity in teams. 

 

Sam Coats is a Senior Research Strategist at CallisonRTKL. He is an experienced innovation strategy leader within the AEC industry. With 10 years of industry experience, he leverages his unique architecture and business background to grow ideas and hunches to breakthrough insights and services.  Throughout his career, he has led innovation and strategy efforts at global firms such as Gensler. He is currently the Senior Research Strategist at CallisonRTKL where he is working to launch a newly formed global research division.

Driving Efficiency from Day One

What tech have you recently noticed in the field that wasn’t around ten—or even five—years ago? Join host Christopher and guest David Smigel of Circle Computer Resources as they discuss the growing complexities of technology, “geeking out” about construction tech, and what it means to collaborate clearly and concisely on projects. If you’re going to get something done, it’s important to do it right. 

 

David has been a member of the Circle Computer Resources (CCR) core leadership team since 2011. Before that, he pursued (and found success in) various entrepreneurial endeavors, which exposed him to every aspect of the work lifecycle and the importance of strategic technology adoption. His roles have spanned IT consulting to sales to operations and large-scale project management. In his time at CCR, David has contributed to and influenced the launch of several technology services products and business units within the organization. 

As of Q4 of 2018, David has assumed a lead role in CCR’s newest division – ConstructEDGE Technology Services (CTS). CTS has experienced early success in its target market (top 400 GC’s in North America), offering technology solutions that focus on connectivity to the jobsite. This success is in large part to David’s strong leadership and visionary mindset around the future of the construction industry. He has made it his mission to understand the true needs of construction companies and projects to design a suite of technology services that enable safety, productivity via real time data and communication.

Fostering Culture in Innovation

Join host Christopher and guest Todd Weyandt of Applied Software, and host of the award-winning Bridging the Gap podcast, as they discuss creating a corporate culture that fosters innovation, how to champion innovation with your team, and how to utilize culture change for the betterment of your company. Learn more about why we shouldn’t necessarily punish failure, take time to analyze, and how to get your ideas to their highest potential through consistency. 

Todd Weyandt is the Director of Creative Marketing at Applied Software and host of the Bridging the Gap Podcast, winner of the 2020 Best Construction Podcast. He is a champion of industry dialogue to support companies as they try new things, advance and thrive. Todd has a deep knowledge of how to increase awareness of a brand, communication strategy and plays a major role in elevating corporate culture. 

Hello, Resource Management!

When you think of a project going well, what’s the first detail you think of? Accessibility? Collaboration? Data delivery? Join host Christopher and guest Jason Schmidt as they discuss the downsides of trying to force productivity, what it means to look at workflows differently, and the difference between the wrong way and the different way to get the job done. 

Jason Schmidt is an AEC industry specialist and Technology leader with over 29 years of progressive IT & Design Technology experience, helping enhance AEC processes and workflows. He has the experience to interact and communicate effectively with a diverse range of individuals and groups, including all levels of management. He is a proponent of Cloud First technology and the design & implementation of Cloud technology to further an organization’s strategic goals. He has extensive Design, CAD, Surveying, and Engineering experience and a comprehensive understanding of AEC users, their challenges, and the complexity of technologies within both large and small organizations. 

Looking Back in Time with Tech

Join host Christopher, co-host Jackson Sensat, and guest Paul Aubin as they discuss using modern technologies to preserve history, possibilities for growth in the aftermath of the burning of Notre Dame’s cathedral, and finding unexpected ways to uncover the stories behind historical places and structures. 

Paul F. Aubin is the author of many Revit book titles, including his "deep dive" into the Revit family editor: Renaissance Revit. He has also authored dozens of Revit video training titles on LinkedIn Learning covering all levels of Revit, Dynamo and ReCap software. Paul is an independent architectural consultant providing content creation, implementation, and training services to Architects and building design professionals. 

His career of over 30 years includes experience in design, production, BIM management, coaching, reality capture and training. Paul is an active member of the Autodesk user community and has been a top-rated speaker at AU and other industry conferences for many years. Paul is an associate member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), an Autodesk Expert Elite and the founder of ChiNamo; the Chicago Dynamo Community.

The Mysterious Innovation of Digital Twins

Join host Christopher Riddell and guests Daniel Buckner and Brett Settles of Revitzo for the AEC Disruptors podcast as they discuss operating in a data-driven world, the mystery around the definition of a digital twin, and the benefits of Revitzo,

Daniel Buckner has been in the AEC technology industry since 2008, helping customers adopt and transition to BIM workflows. Growing up in a family supported by Caterpillar Heavy Equipment, he spent his high school summers around bulldozers and excavators, learning about construction technology from the ground up. Managing the Southeast Territory for Revizto allows him to share his experiences with reality capture, model data transfer, and project delivery with Architects, Engineers, General Contractors, and Owners.

Brett Settles is the Global Director of Customer Success at Revitzo. He has nearly 20 years of experience implementing, managing, teaching, and using new technology in Geospatial, Mining, and AEC. He is a dedicated design and construction technologist looking to use data, emerging technology and innovative workflows to better the experiences of those in design, fabrication and construction.

Being "The Technical Guy"

Join host Christopher and guest Jake Hauptmann of Borton-Lawson Engineering as they discuss the importance of forward-looking vision, what it means to have the right people on your team, how to open your mind to innovation, and the hurdles of bigger tech. Learn more about using technology as a differentiator and what the process of restructuring may really look like for you. 

Jake Hauptmann is the Innovation Leader at Precise Visual Technologies & Borton-Lawson Engineering. He has over a decade of experience in the engineering world and currently resides in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He has an Associate’s Degree in Architectural Drafting and Architectural CAD/CADD from Berks Technical Institute.

The Importance of Half-Baked Ideas

What do you think is the most vital aspect of innovation? What really drives us to achieve what we achieve? Join host Christopher and guest Keith Besserud of Gresham Smith as they kick off the season 2 of the AEC Disruptors by discussing the importance of feedback, supercharging the innovation culture, and creating a safe space for that brilliance and innovation to happen. 

Keith Besserud, AIA, is the Director of Innovation at Gresham Smith where he leads the strategic and tactical efforts to help position the firm to take advantage of the volatile forces that are rocking the AE industry. These efforts are currently manifested in the realization of two different foundational platforms within the firm: Studio-X (a product development incubator) and Future Lab (a practice evolution compass). Prior to joining Gresham Smith, Keith co-founded a startup that leveraged computer vision technologies to help clients develop clear insights into the utilization patterns and human experiences of their real estate assets. Earlier in his career he founded and directed an advanced computational design team at SOM called BlackBox, and then moved on to Gensler where he helped initiate the firm’s development of a firmwide Data Strategy.