After an extraordinary day at the House of Lords, where DEC students demonstrated their Built Environment knowledge to leaders of education and industry, BIM Show Live organiser Rob Charlton of Space Group Architects dropped a bombshell….
He invited 13 students to provide a Keynote presentation to 600+ architecture, engineering and construction professionals.
At 8 am on the morning of 30th April, the nerves were beginning to show when the students saw the large auditorium in which they were to speak. And yet, when it was crunch time and all the seats were filled, they delivered without a hitch. The presentations were inspiring, amazing, thought-provoking, humbling….these students are teenagers, most not even in their GCSE years.
Students from St Michael All Angels Academy Camberwell have also used a real building in their studies. Comber Grove Primary School is just a short walk from the Academy and students have been challenged to design a modern, zero-carbon extension in a very restricted space.
Thanks to Topcon Positioning Systems, the students learned how to use a laser scanner and processed 3D data to produce a model of the Primary school. They then created 3D models which would provide much-needed space.
The four boys opened their speeches by telling the audience why they love Engineering, and about their aspirations for the future. All four have attracted the attention of leading companies and are now considering apprenticeships which would lead to professional qualifications.
Burnley students from Unity, Shuttleworth, Sir John Thursby and Blessed Trinity RC Colleges then introduced their real project – a Victorian schoolhouse situated in the historic Weavers Triangle area of the town, once the centre of Britain’s cotton industry.
Since July 2011, around 60 students from all four schools have collaborated to produce a vision for the refurbishment and extension of the existing building to create a BIM Studio which could be used by students and professionals alike. This inspiring project has provided students with real insight into the development of a historic building, and they have worked alongside real historians, town planners, surveyors, engineers and architects to produce a final design to be proud of. This design will be taken to Planning later in the year, and hopefully, by September 2014, the students might see the fruits of their labours and be using their building to progress their careers.
Finally, the girls and boys of Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Hull took to the stage to talk about their Eco Socialise Academy – a large secondary school design which would provide a sustainable facility for the whole community. The students talked about their vision for Hull and their pride in their city was very clear. A full design was produced in Revit Architecture, and the students demonstrated their theoretical and practical knowledge to prove they not only could use a great piece of software but also understood the principles behind what they were doing. The confidence shown by the students in using industry-standard software was something to behold.
Comments on the live Twitter screen in the room showed that people certainly felt it was one of the best keynote speeches they had heard on BIM. One tweet summed it all up:
“Brilliant presentations by students this morning! Well done – great to see, wish I could’ve done that at school.”
Pictures courtesy of Flickr photostream: BIM SHOW LIVE 2013 http://www.flickr.com/photos/95188949@N04
