1. Coffee or tea?

Coffee! Iced latte at 9 AM every morning – rain or shine.

2. Novels or movies?

I go between the two mediums. A good book or series can hook me, but, at the same time, my partner and I love a good movie night. Book before the movie if it’s based on it, though.

3. Mountain or beach?

I wouldn’t be true blue if I didn’t say beach.

4. Favorite building?

A bit of a left-field answer. The Novy Dvur Monastery by John Pawson. I enjoy the modern minimalizations of gothic form and how he captures light in different spaces. But most interesting is that it’s completely private – all we have are photos to experience it. Very mysterious!

5. Favorite city?

A tie between Kyoto and New York City. NYC had so much character and energy, whilst Kyoto felt like a trip back in time. Very different places, in very different ways.

6. Which project are you most proud of (that you’re allowed to talk about)?

Cliché, but it must be my first professional foray holds a special place for me – the New Royal Adelaide Hospital. It was the largest project undertaken using BIM, and Revit specifically, at that time and helped kick-start my passion in these areas. It created so many of the BIM managers out there in Australia that I know at the present day. It really was lightning in a bottle for its time.

7. What is your most treasured possession?

My LEGO collection – typical architectural answer, I know. For any other fans out there, my favorite set I own is the Lion Knights’ castle.

8. What’s your secret skill?

I remember the most insignificant details from my childhood – constantly surprising my family with what I recall, and it leads to some well-preserved family ‘in-jokes’. Don’t ask me what happened 5 minutes ago though, no idea!

9. How would your colleagues describe you?

Most definitely “a nerd”, and I wear the badge shamelessly! Depending on which day, “grumbly” as well, potentially. “Reliable” on the good days though, hopefully.

10. Which word or phrase do you most overuse?

“She’ll be ‘right”. For anyone not familiar with our slang, it basically means everything should work out fine.

11. Where are you happiest?

Each year I head down the south-central coast in New South Wales to a small town called Tuross Heads with my partner’s family. My partner has two young nephews which basically gives me permission to take a break from being an adult whilst I’m around them – loads of fun, I’m a big kid at heart.

12. What helps you focus?

Heavy metal, strangely enough. Rock on Jens!

13. Which habit would you most like to develop?

Keeping myself level-headed. I can get easily excited and/or agitated when the goalposts move, which happens quite a lot in AEC.

14. Greatest achievement?

Putting myself out there on YouTube has been one of my favorites and seems to have reached a lot of different people around the world. I try to stay humble about it all given how niche it is, but I’m proud of how far it’s come since I kicked it off.

15. What's missing from your LinkedIn profile?

Premium, thankfully.

16. If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?

Assuming we are in a world with other super-powered people, basically Rogue’s powers (from the X-Men canon). Drain the powers, life force and memories from others. It’s sort of the cheat code of superpowers though… So if that’s too much, then telekinesis, but enough of it that I can lift myself too and fly – bonus power! Like Magneto but for any material. Or maybe Ironman’s business empire, then I just pay someone to fly me around… Yep, mega nerd answer.

17. If you could work remotely from anywhere in the world for a month, where would you choose?

If my partner can’t come with me, then at home with her. If she can come along, a remote island with a private beach and all the resources we need to relax.

18. What is a mantra you try to live by?

Clothes don’t make the man(/person). Basically, be true to yourself and those around you. Integrity is the trait I most admire in people.

19. Best piece of advice you’ve received?

Don’t boil the ocean.

20. What's the best thing that could happen to you today?

Just bought a house, so the interest rates going down a few points would be pretty nice. They won’t, but a man can dream.

21. What’s your favorite app on your phone?

Alarm clock. I’m not a big phone user.

22. What machine do you use for work?

HP Z-Book at my day job. Surprisingly resilient for how compact it is. MSI WT758SM by night. It’s heavy, but it’s a beast (and a tax write-off!).

23. If you could change one thing about Revit, what would it be?

How dependent our industry has become on it. There are so many similarly amazing products out there (including others by Autodesk) that barely get a look in. We’ve become a bit too set on it as the solution to all our problems and we could be missing out on the next big thing if we aren’t actively trying other products.

24. Who are your favorite follows in the industry?

Nicolas Catellier, Jeffrey Pinheiro, and John Pierson. I relate closely to their industry journeys, and bump into them a lot in the socials. They’re all super nice people and John dishes out the best Dynamo memes. They’ve all helped me stay sane and grounded and haven’t been afraid to challenge me at times when I’ve needed open/honest feedback. I greatly respect and admire them all, and I first began learning Revit from Jeffrey on YouTube – a true Re-veteran in AEC!

25. Describe the AEC industry in one word.

Dynamic.

26. Describe the future of construction in one word.

Inevitable.

27. What’s your favorite thing about working in BIM?

It challenges me in all aspects of the word – no day is ever quite the same as the last. There is an understood and appreciated goal of continual self-improvement, and the future is always that little bit immaterial but always at the front of our minds in the space.

28. What’s your least favorite buzzword in the AEC industry?

Artificial Intelligence. I totally see the potential, but the hype is very noisy and at times misguided. I feel we’re looking at the slow death of creativity/originality if we don’t actively challenge what it is best put towards socially and morally.

29. What's your idea of a perfect workday?

My code works the first time I run it, I only get interrupted at well-spaced intervals, and everyone in the office gets out on time with a smile on their face. Oh, and no Revit crashes or ACC outages!

30. Which historical figure would you bring back to life to have on your team at work? Why?

Gaudi. I’d love to see what he makes of computational design, and what he could achieve with our software at his disposal (or even if he’d reject it).

31. If you had to choose another profession, what would it be?

Table-top/collectible card game design. It’s one of my core hobbies already.

32. Which technology will have the biggest impact on construction in the years ahead?

Whilst obviously AI is going to be impactful, I don’t think we have our production chain in order yet for it to truly tap into it well. I suspect/hope modular construction will get more time in the spotlight so we can get much-needed systems in place.

33. What’s the most important skill for working in BIM?

For me, empathy and, by extension of this, relatability. Tools for the people, not people for the tools.

34. If you could impose any rule or regulation for the construction industry, what would it be?

Digital markups only, pens down forever!

35. What's your favorite thing about Kinship?

It does away with traditional filing and emphasizes the value of good metadata and tagging in a way architects can understand. I also love that you can really feel the program was designed through firsthand experience from the developers – it is very much evident in the UI/UX.