Maissoun Ksara - B7: Course Reflection

I chose to become an engineer because of my fascination with technology. One of my biggest passions is to be part of the movement that advances technology, science, and innovative thinking in the world. When I saw the course “Intelligent Buildings”, I believed it aligned perfectly with my vision and interests for the future. The course has taught me various concepts along with project skills, and brought me up to date with current innovative applications being practiced today.

Throughout this course, I learned about various topics that I have heard of before, but never really understood. I was so interested in learning about Artificial Intelligence, BIM, how databases work, the use of robotics in the construction industry, and much more. It was beneficial to have different speakers come to our lecture as well, and they provided much value to the course curriculum. I was able to see a translation of our coursework to the industry and how extremely relevant and utilized it is through the guest speakers. The course provided a good mix between hands-on projects along with learning concepts through research work. Although the blog posts took some research and effort, they were very beneficial because I stumbled across many articles online that helped me understand the week’s prompt, whether it was about databases, or BIM. I thought it was nice to have groups where each group focused on a different topic, which made it easier to learn more quantity of information in a short amount of time. Reading a student’s explanation is sometimes more to easier to understand than a technical scholarly source. The projects were a nice break for the online researching – hands-on skills are always a plus.

The projects I liked and learned from the most were the database project using MS Access as well as the Revit project, since my Revit expertise is very limited. I enjoyed revisiting Revit (since I had use it shortly for another course) and learning added skills such as creating families. For the database, I saw how this could be applied in my future career by being more organized, strategic, and smart about where my data is stored. It is really helpful in how data is used as well.

The final project that I completed with my teammate was also a benefit to me personally, as it helped me understand the similarities and differences between Intelligent and Green Buildings. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, which is not a true reflection of what each building stands for. The final shed some light on this topic and I can now say that I can confidently distinguish between the two, despite their overlaps.

All in all, this course was one of my favorite because it helped feed my creative energy and technical minded self. It was a combination of both of those qualities, which is why I enjoyed it as much. I am glad to have learned a wide variety of skills as I see their benefit in my future career.

Comments to peers:

Drew Hovey: I’m glad you also enjoyed working on the final project. I think it was beneficial to us both since the topic is confusing to the wrong crowd. I’m glad you brought up the quote by Bill Gates because I think it’s funny but very true. I do agree that robots should pay taxes too if they are taking over thousands of jobs haha. I also agree that the NavisWorks speaker was great and I learned a lot about the program!

Maria Raggousis: It’s really interesting you say you feel like the course has satisfied both your creative and technical self because I definitely feel the same way! I also wrote a research paper and it was nice to be able to contribute to it creatively through research rather than through a hands-on project. Either one would be good, but it was a good break from the other hands-on projects we had. I also agree that the overall themes we discussed in this course are very relevant to my professional career and future.

Brandon Mengel: It seems like we have opposing thoughts about the database project, but we both agree that learning about them was worthwhile. I can see why it didn’t spark an interest in you and I felt the same at first. However, I thought about how this is beneficial for organization and using data. It is an added bonus where if manipulated correctly can be extremely efficient. I also agree that BIM will take over the industry - it already is!