I began my career in Davis Langdon as a Web programmer. Not the most conventional of starts and not one that most of you would expect of someone in the Davis Langdon world, but nonetheless this is how I began 10 years ago. Quite how I went from web programmer to leading our Design Management and Specification Consultancy business in the Middle East I don’t know.
I have always loved computers, right from the early days of trying to re-program the family computer to make it run faster so that I could play the latest version of Championship Manager.
Through my university years my interest in technology and computers remained and I taught myself how to build basic websites using HTML, and the onto more complex languages such as PHP, JavaScript, C++ and mySQL databases. All of this I learnt through reading books and late nights whilst at the same time going through my final year at University gaining a first class degree in Project Management.
So I went to work at Davis Langdon, originally as a Project Manager but soon moving onto a project building a web-based specification production platform that would support our specification consultancy business, driving efficiencies and consistency through the business. I loved these years of late nights, head scratching, problem solving and building tools through technology that helped people do their jobs better.
Since those days I have been busy developing and building a career in Davis Langdon, but having just gone through the experience of building the #architectmap website from scratch, these great memories came flooding back. Yes, a lot of what I had learnt I had forgotten, but I enjoyed sitting down at a computer and getting stuck into some programming again after so many years.
The website that I built probably reflects my inability to remember much of what I taught myself, but I tried to keep things relatively simple and easy to navigate through. I hope that anyone who has viewed the site likes it and finds it equally easy to navigate, whilst still finding it useful and informative.
I purchased the domain name architectmap.net as the dot com was already taken (but not being used which is a little annoying) so the dot net was the next best thing.
In its first week the website attracted over 500 unique visitors with over 1,000 page views. This has complemented the recent passing of 100,000 views of the Archjtect Map google maps, which is a fantastic milestone to have passed.
Next step? Time to delve into the world of Apps I think and give that a go.
When Architect Map was created, I’m not sure we ever really thought that it would be anything more than a fun exercise to map our Twitter friends who are in the industry. Two months on and somehow we find ourselves building something which extends far beyond the confines of a Google map. Through things such as Augmented Reality, and now moving into the world of Podcasts, our little Architect Map project is beginning to generate a number of discussions and thought processes which has been great to witness and be a part of.
Creating a community
So where is this taking us? It is often a question I have thought to myself whilst having to endure another episode of Eastenders with my wife, but together with Su Butcher we seem to organically growing this little project with an aim of building a community for the AEC industry.
This notion of a community is an interesting one. What does it mean? What does it look like? All good questions which we are still to develop and uncover.
Expanding the Vision
However, as I hinted at in my last blog post, my vision for the Architect Map reaches far beyond putting placemarks into a Google Map. How do we now take this ‘thing’ that is gradually being built and make it something that is of use to us all? This is a challenge. However, the building blocks of the vision are now being laid and a number of enhancements to our community have been implemented which I hope everyone associated with Architect Map will use and get excited about.
Getting the basics together
It started to become clear that we needed an identity for Architect Map. Every entity needs an image, something that people can associate with. The starting point of this has been the introduction of a new logo. With the help of @Studio_EM and @JamieStinson, we now have a funky new logo which brings together everything that we are about. We thank both StudioEM and Jamie for donating their time to this, it really is appreciated and further enhances what we are all about - creating a culture of support and knowledge sharing.
Since the logo was launched, we have often been asked about the numbers that can be found in the bottom left. Jamie came up with a great story which was too good to resist. The numbers are the longitude and latitude points of Saqqara, Egypt. This is where the pyramids of King Djoser are, which were built by Imhotep. It is said that Imhotep is the first ever documented architect and engineer in history, so the longitude and latitude marry the themes of maps and architecture together.
Taking the next step in building the ‘image’ of the Architect Map, a cool introductory movie was required. After being introduced to iMovie by my 13 year old Step Son, he showed me how I could go about building a movie. So, Saturday afternoon, much to my wife’s displeasure I set about building something. I’m actually quite proud of the end result as my first attempt, and until something better is created by someone more capable, this one will have to do. What do you think? I hope it captures what Architect Map is all about but any feedback welcome as always.
Podcasts
You will have seen in the video above, that this idea of sharing knowledge within our community is something that I am passionate about, and what better way of doing this than have industry show and speak to us visually through simple video media and a well recognised platform…. and so was born the Architect Map podcast. You can find it by simply typing ‘Architect Map’ into the iTunes search. Alternatively, you can just use this link.
I would welcome everyone to have a think about what it is you could share with the rest of the industry. Do you have an experience that you think the rest of the industry would be interested in? What about from a Student angle of how difficult breaking into the industry is? What about your experiences of trying Augmented Reality? What about key principals to be applied when writing a Specification? It really is an open book, and I do hope you engage with this initiative and lets see what we can build together.
Augmented Reality
I recently write a blog post about seeing if we can get members of the Architect map community to use AR. I said I was looking for volunteers to come forward to see what we could do. As I mentioned previously, Dave Cornett of @snowarchitects was the first to come forward, but since then we have had others take a shot at it, and I wanted to take this opportunity to showcase those who have taken up the challenge so far.
We have had FPA Architects (@FPAArchitects) give it a shot. Here is the Trigger image for you to give it a try.
We have also had our first Student give it a go. I really like the possibilities that this techniology gives to young and aspiring members within our community. Check out what Josh Harry Berkovitch, Architect of Design (@AnArchitecture0) has done.
We have of course also built Augmented Reality into the Architect Map logo itself! Take a look at what happens when you view our logo in AR.
The Facebook Page
Lastly, the Architect Map Facebook page was set up. Whilst Twitter has been great for connecting with people quickly, having somewhere to store the information and conversations that are being generated was missing. Facebook has been the answer so far, and with over 130 likes in a short space of time and some good interactions taking place, our Facebook page looks set to grow.
That’s it from me for this episode. Look forward to tweeting with you all soon.
Anyone who has been following my tweets will know that I have been fascinated by the potential of Augmented Reality. Since I made my first attempt a couple of weeks ago, I have been looking at how to use it and intrigued as to how it can be implemented in the AEC industry. I have decided to try to bring together Architect Map (something which Su Butcher and I created a couple of months ago) and Augmented Reality to see what can be achieved.
The start of a vision….
I would like to think that we are onto something with Architect Map. It still continues to grow (approaching 75,000 views of all the various maps) and is being used around the world by members of our industry to search and connect with peers & colleagues, to begin to develop business opportunities, and even now allows Graduates to connect with professionals in our industry and vice versa through the AEC Graduate Map.
Like many, I am still learning where AR can take us. From my experience, the use of AR for marketing seems to be a bit of a no-brainer, and combining it with Architect Map, which at the moment is all about letting people know where you are and what you do, seems to be a logical progression.
But what use is AR within the Architect Map Portal? Well, take yourself back to your student days. You try to differentiate yourself from the crowd and create a good impression of your capabilities. Typically we do this through CV’s, portfolio’s etc. But has any graduate yet tried to interact with a potential employer personally, through a piece of AR?
How good would it be that simply by searching through the Architect Map, and with your mobile devide to hand, you could have access to another layer of information, just waiting to be connected with.
What about the use of it with potential clients? Aren’t they looking for people in the industry who are a little different, who are up to date with current technologies and innovative?
What about projects, both those being designed and those actually built? Why shouldn’t we be thinking about integrating AR into the design of buildings or linking AR to a building itself? Why shouldn’t we be able to stand on our empty sites, and through geo-tagging in AR be able to walk through the design of your building before a brick has been laid? Here is a great video on the possibilities of this.
All of these things are possible now, but rather than have us all do our own pieces or AR, through our own channels, why shouldn’t we be able to connect and share our great businesses and designs with each other through a single portal?
This is my vision, and so I would like to invite you to take up my challenge.
Taking up the challenge…
If you read my blog post ‘Attempting Augmented Reality’ you may have given AR a try already. Taking this one step further, I put a post on my Twitter and Facebook page, asking for people to step forward and take up the challenge for implementing a piece of AR.
Dave Cornett of Snow Architects has already taken up the challenge and has shown us all what can be done with a good animation and a video camera. He has written a blog piece on his experience here but in essence, Dave has set up a piece of AR which will play when a user holds up a device to his Twitter Avatar. Here is a snapshot of me trying it on Architect Map.
I am looking for more people to come forward to give this a try. It doesn’t have to be flashy or clever, and it is open to everyone, whether you are an individual wanting to tell the world what you do, or whether you are a big practice explaining your services. The key is not the technology itself, the important piece is that we are all sharing and combining this through a single portal or channel, openly accessible to the world.
Want to take part?
If you would like to have some Augmented Reality implemented for yourself or your business, then please follow the steps below:
Decide on a ‘Trigger’ image. A ‘Trigger’ is the image that the end user will be required to hold a device up to in order to view the AR expereince.
Decide on a ‘Overlay’. The ‘Overlay’ is the animation or image that the user will see when they hold a device over the ‘Trigger’image.
If you would like your ‘Overlay’ image to link to something (could be a website, your twitter profile, your blog etc) then please let me know what this is. Only one link is possible per ‘Overlay’ image.
Email me at markschuey@me.com with the items required in steps 1, 2 & 3 and I will build your piece of AR and put it into the Augmented Reality Architect Map channel and plaster it all over Twitter and Facebook.
If you would simply like to view AR created by the Architect Map community, then subscribe to the Architect Map channel by following these steps:
Search for the “ArchitectMap” Channel and Subscribe to it, or subscribe to the Architect Map channel using this link.
As soon as the sharing is complete, hold your device up to one of the experiences listed on the Facebook page.
You should then see the AR come to life.
I have set up an Augmented Reality tab on the Architect Map Facebook page which is going to be used to list all those members of the community that are taking part in this experiment (you will need to ‘like’ the Facebook page before you can see this). I have also set up a dedicated Architect Map channel in the Aurasma app, and by subscribing to this channel the user will have access to the entire communities AR experiences and content.
As always, any feedback you have is appreciated and always listened to.
The purpose of this blog piece is to let you know about the recent addition to the map known as the AEC Graduate Map, which we believe takes Architect Map into an exciting new direction.
The past influencing the present…
10 years ago I left University with my 1st Class Hounours degree in Project Management and embarked upon a career in the AEC Industry. I was fortunate in that I had excellent guidance and knew the practice that I wanted to work for. However, during my time at University I shared a house with six other friends, most of whom were studying Architecture. When it came to networking and trying to find work experience or jobs at the end of the course, it was a real issue for my friends, not just in finding a job, but first even knowing who existed in the marketplace and where they were located.
The benfit of Twitter is the ability to directly connect and engage with others quickly, easily and informally. A key step in making most decisions is knowing who is out in the big wide world to talk to, and then filtering these results down to those that are most suitable, something which was a struggle for my friends at University.
Back to the Present…
Fast forward 10 years and here we are, having created a fairly popular, yet still in its infancy, Architect Map that is growing by the day. Whilst it is currently mapping the AEC industry, from Architects to Manufacturers to Contractors, it struck us that whilst this is great in the professional world, wouldn’t it be fantastic to find out who the up and coming stars of the future are by tapping into the AEC world that exists in Universities and Schools.
Hence, the birth of the AEC Graduate Map, a Google map which allows any student in the AEC field, who uses Twitter, to plot themselves on our map. The Architect Map portal allows students in the AEC field to search around our maps and connect not only with fellow students with similar interests, but also provide them with a knowledgable starting point from which they can make key decisions and engage with professionals in the industry.
The Map is live and in use!
It’s great to see AEC Graduate Map already being populated, and in just a few hours it had racked up nearly 500 views. Our first student was Kirsty Cassels (@koistycassels), who is also mapped on the Architect Map, is studying at the Glasgow School of Art (@gsofa) and working part time at LMA Architects (@lmaarchitects).
Then we have Matthew Westley (@theArchtist) and Joe Morizzo (@joemorizzo) also early adopters of the platform. With comments and enthusiasm from people such as Matthew, who knows where together we may be able to take this.
Using your Bio to say who you are…
Taking this one step further, with the use of the Google Map Placeholder, a Student is able to update their Bio to include a whole range of information, from how to connect with them on Social Media platforms to providing their CV and Portfolio for potential employers to see. The boundaries really are only limited by creativity and innovative thinking. Take a look at Joe’s bio created last night. You can begin to see how your Bio can become a central point holding key information about yourself for others to see.
I think back to my friends at University who spent countless hours searching the internet for information on who they could approach, who was nearby, and who to contact and think that wouldn’t this have been a great tool for them to use as a starting point. With the Architect Map, we are starting to build a knowledge base from which a lot of this can be achieved.
I think this is all powerful and exciting stuff, and I look forward to seeing how this new extension to Architect Map aids the next generation of the AEC industry.
For anyone wishing to join in the conversations on Twitter, then please use the #ArchitectMap or #AECGraduateMap hashtags. We would welcome your input!
