The pandemic or the productive years?!
It's been a while since I last posted on this blog. Nearly a whole pandemic in fact. It's been even longer since I worked in an office! 😮 But now the time has come for me to head back in, equipped with my newly gained knowledge of Building Information Modelling. BIM for short.
I thought I'd give you a quick round-up of what's a happened (a lot) over the last few years before I join my new colleagues on a 10 week internship at White Arkitekter, Uppsala >
I'd like to thank both Jörgen and Anders from White Uppsala for organising this. See you in the office!
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Starting itschriswebb
I created my visualisation studio in 2019 after being made redundant by one of Sweden's largest civil engineering companies. You know who you are...
It has, and continues to be, a real journey. Developing myself as a creative at the same time as being a business person has been a challenge. Is it my future? We'll get to that.
Apparently I ticked off one of my three 'what I want to be when I'm older' visions from the 90's at school; Run my own design business ☑ Own a campsite? Still time for that. Manage a Formula 1 team? 🤔
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The pandemic
As I was already working from home before the pandemic I didn't have to change much. I was remote-ready.
But running a business means selling, meeting people, going to conferences. This was impossible with cancellations and the panic. Offices began offloading workers including fellow visualisers. Competing studios dropped their prices and began employing cheaper artists from abroad.
Towards the end of 2021 demand began to pick-up but I didn't have the time to take on these projects. Something else happened (or came along) during the pandemic...
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I became Pappa! 🥰
This crazy kid hit the scene and filled up what was then our 'socially-distanced' lives! It's been the most fun (but demanding) thing to have happened. I wouldn't change it for the world and I'm a super proud Dad. A good night's sleep would be a welcome thing of course! 😴
Devoting more time to her put pressure on other things in life though. A slow business was actually a good thing. Late nights and rendering through her sleep were not at all optimal anymore. Securing our future with a regular income was also becoming more important.
If raising a baby and keeping my studio ticking along wasn't enough work, I began studying again... twice!
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Back to school
I enrolled on a Swedish course (Behörighetsgivande utbildning i svenska för studerande med utländsk förutbildning) at Uppsala University. This was HARD! Everything was online and there was a lot of academic language but I got through it.
And to the now... BIM (Projekteringsingenjör – BIM Anläggning >) at Påhlmans Handelsinstitut. I really believe that BIM methodology and visualisation are a strong combination together.
Some of this course also has been no walk in the park. The Swedish language will always be an obstacle for me but I glad to have passed everything with mainly VG's. I've good experience that helped me with the practical parts, 3D Modelling and Design for instance, but I've have had to study hard to learn Maths for Engineers and Building Law and Contracting.
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Internship at White
A big draw for me to the BIM course was being able to get myself back into the building industry via internships. I am extremely grateful and excited to be starting at White Arkitekter > for a 10 week programme.
White have amazing projects, they work a lot with sustainability and I know many people in the offices. I know the BIM team and the amazing work they have done on projects such as Sweden's most digitalised built project, Celsius >
I know my way around an architect's office. I have been there and done that as a supporting visualisation artist, but I don't really know what to expect as a BIM student. And that is actually the exciting part!
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So I've been productive! I have a long way to go but I really hope that the combination of BIM and visualisation will be an attractive factor for employers when it comes to recruitment. Please let me know your thoughts through the usual channels...
Contacting me ☎, meeting for a ☕ or grabbing a 🍺! > Thanks for reading! /Chris
