If you look through history, the tools that architects, specifiers, and designers use have changed a lot, but at the same time some things have not changed at all. Think about this quote from Frank Lloyd Wright:
Mr. Wright was known to be on site and start knocking out walls to get his “open concept” achieved. I have to believe that if an architect was on a project today and started taking a wrecking bar to the walls the structural engineers would throw that architect through a window.
Of course, one of the most important tools in architecture today is still the same tool used for the pyramids… the mind and vision of the person that develops the concept, drawings, modeling, and completed project. Using the talents of the architects, designers, and engineers, they are able to use today’s tools to make some of the most advanced models and plans ever developed. There are still those who live by the draft board, but we know that is somewhat of a dying art. People today want to know EXACTLY what they are approving. They want to walk through a virtual project and feel what the end results will look like, know what it will be like to gaze out the windows of the building; all this way before the ground is even broke. A project requires every aspect to be specified – testing information has to be approved – engineering has to ok the integrity of the design – and on and on.
Buechel Stone understands this. Technology is changing every aspect of our life. What once was a colored pencil sketch has now been given life on-screen. It’s like something out of a Hollywood movie, as the architectural community is using more advanced modeling than ever before. Right now BIM (Building Information Modeling) is used for most of the large commercial projects, allowing you the ability to plan and anticipate how materials, decisions, and planning will affect everything from installation to final costs. Watch at least part of this video from AutoDesk and you’ll be amazed at what is capable with today’s technology. Although this is still not as common for smaller projects to have this level of detail, I believe it is just a matter of time before it starts to roll down into residential buildings as well.
At Buechel Stone, we recognize the importance of making decisions easy. Whether it’s through our literature, StoneCalc, web site, samples, or social sites, we know anything we can do on our end to help others in the decision process is essential. With this thought, we created Buechel Stone’s
Architectural Center. This is an area where architects, specifiers, designers, and others in the architectural community can get the information they need on natural stone and download files relevant to their project. We developed the Architectural Center using ShareFile, so the needed files are always available and set in a convenient format and always in the same locations. Information includes our three-part specs, a complete pdf of our architectural binder, test data, product swatches for use in project renderings, and much more.
If you would like log-in information, email Holly and she will set up your account. Include your e-mail address, first name, last name, and company. If there is information you need and can’t find in our Architectural Center, make sure to contact us and we will do what we can to assist your needs.
Mike Buechel
[email protected]
V.P. of Operations and Marketing