Greetings Re/Cappers!
If this Tuesday has yet to establish itself as feel-good for you, fret not. We’ve got a story on a nonprofit using GIS for disadvantaged youth that’ll uplift ya so much, you'll feel in orbit.
Before we get to that lead Re/Cap, we thought instead of our usual historic/did-you-know intros, we’d step aside. We wanted to showcase some very current, very impactful nonprofits that also utilize GIS and other tech you’d recognize ‘round these parts.
CyArk’s rendition of Mount Rushmore. Ever notice how they put ol’ bespectacled Roosevelt furthest back?
Tactical, these gents. Image credit CyArk/Architect Magazine
Honorable (non-nonprofit) mention: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) may as well be a nonprofit given its penchant for supporting them, like they did OpenStreetMap!
To these missions, and all of you parlaying technology into a better life and a better land for it to occur on, we thank you.
What’s Cappenin’ This Week: A nonprofit for inner city youth wields GIS to yield success, the U.S. Forest Service UAS chief gets interviewed, three firms close the gap between design and fabrication software, PropTech + ConTech = GoodJobs, and an AEC Error of the Week that doesn’t go on tilt, but does go on stilts.
Mini ‘Cappenins: General Motors eyes drones for special navigation, Tesla gives a bot update, unthinkably neat 3D printing, Flytbase &Pix4D collab, RCN podcast on BIM & billion-dollar projects, and Great Britain’s national mapping service outlines AI principles.
Last week on Team USA swimmers twin swimming for Paris prep, a robot saving hours on the jobsite with bonkers bricklaying skill, ConTech champs getting crowned, U.K. rail systems age-reversing thanks to scanning & surveys, and an AEC Error of the Week named after an American founding father, but was actually a resounding bother.
Camden, New Jersey and the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia maintain levels of poverty that are incomprehensible for most of us. But Hopeworks, a Camden-based nonprofit, continues to empower local youth through technology.
And GIS is the linchpin.
Rising crime rates and plummeting graduation rates inspired Hopeworks to launch in 1999. The results have been stellar. Image credit Courier Post
With over forty members between full-time staff and interns, the GIS team boasts about as many successful projects to their name, as they do employed, successful graduates. Esri shines a bright light on the joyous story in the link below, exploring the who’s-who of partner companies, project details, other technological focuses, the RISE map, student success stories, and much more.
National UAS Program Manager for the US Forest Service Dirk Giles personally piloted one of the operation’s first projects eight years ago. Today, were you to ask him what elicits more excitement between the increase in UAS acceptance or the majesty of new technology, he’d likely struggle to choose.
Forest Service UAS pilots supporting ground crews, and hopefully ordering some much-deserved electrolyte beverages via Uber Eats. Image credit Unmanned Systems Technology
Nonetheless, the daunting task of wildfire management needs all the reinforcements it can get. It was one of many subjects of Unmanned Systems Technology’s exclusive Q&A with Giles, which spanned various payloads, risk management, training, drone fleet specifics, predictions, and software called on to battle our formidable summertime foe.
Know that scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the Cretaceous-era ape finds that bone then realizes it doesn’t just exist, but oh goodness that it can be used?
Today, the construction and real estate industries are that ape. Technology is that bone. And a subsequent transformation is set to occur worldwide.
3D Printing Specialist, one of many positions likely to double as Job Interviewee Specialist thanks to Proptech and ConTech. Image credit Fortune/Oli Scarff
But the seismic shift won’t just be industrial or technological. It will be prominently human, as current jobs will be recalibrated, and new ones will be imperative. Forbes detailed this imminent shift, harnessing copious data, informed predictions, construction & real estate trends, government initiatives, and demographic study. It’s an enthralling, wholly exciting piece.
Architectural and fabrication design software are like the server in a back-alley, authentique French restaurant, taking the order of a tourist who didn’t bother to learn anything beyond “Bonjour!”
They both operate in the same universe, but will be damned if they can communicate well.
Bouygues Construction’s Antoine Morizot delivers the company’s blueprint for the future. Image credit AEC Magazine
This creates a conveyor belt of headaches for firms wanting to transcend traditional documentation. But three companies may have found the Advil.
AEC Magazine just featured them, deciding to do so after their gripping presentations at the publication’s NXT BLD and NXT DEV last month. Enjoy the novel tactics taking place in Paris, London, and New York, along with company profiles, a ‘kit of parts’ analysis, laser scanning uses, obstacle overlap, how to impress boards, and more.
No, you’re not hallucinating. That is a skyscraper on a stilt. Namely, the Citicorp Center circa 1978. Image credit Slate via Andrew Fisher
It's 1978 in the Big Apple, and the Citicorp Center is standing tall and proud. Little did New Yorkers know, this 59-story skyscraper was one forceful breeze away from face planting right into Midtown Manhattan.
Architect Hugh Stubbins and Chief Structural Engineer William LeMessurier had cooked up a design so bold, the building stood on stilts - yes, stilts - with its columns at the center of each side rather than the corners. Why? To make room for St. Peter's Lutheran Church at the base, of course. Because nothing says "stable foundation" like balancing a skyscraper on top of a house of worship.
So they top it off with a 45-degree angled roof and implement counterweight measures, perfect for catching those New York City winds…right?
Things Get Nuts and Bolts
…Wrong. Turns out, during construction in 1976, someone unbeknownst to LeMessurier swapped out the welded joints for cheaper, weaker bolted ones in the building's chevron-shaped braces. You know, to save a few bucks and some time. It's just a 59-story building in a windy city - what could go wrong?
Fast forward to 1978, and enter our unlikely hero: Diane Hartley, an engineering student writing her undergraduate architectural thesis on, WHADDYA KNOW - the Citicorp Center. Upon making a shocking discovery, she dared to ring LeMessurier, and ask "Yo, is this thing gonna fall over?"
He probably spat out his coffee when he ran some calculations, and confirmed Diane’s discovery; the building could potentially collapse in a strong quartering wind (wind hitting the building at a 45-degree angle).
The Hush-Hush Fix-Up
What followed was a secret operation that James Bond could use as study material. LeMessurier and Citicorp initiated a covert structural rehab program. Under the cover of night, workers snuck in to weld two-inch-thick steel plates over the bolted joints. All while praying that Hurricane Ella, which was threatening the city, wouldn't crash the party.
The kicker? They managed to keep this whole operation under wraps. The press was distracted by a newspaper strike, and the public remained blissfully unaware that their shiny new skyscraper received an emergency WHOOPSendectomy.
This nail-biter may have occurred in the 1970s, but its causes remain relevant today. Here’s the role reality capture technologies could play.
3D Modeling and simulation can spot weaknesses faster than you can say "wobbly skyscraper." A digital twin can monitor structural stresses 24/7. It's like having a building whisperer, alerting engineers to any suspicious creaks or groans before they become major issues.
Laser scanning and photogrammetry create super-accurate as-built models, catching any discrepancies between blueprints and reality. No more "Oops, did we say welded? We meant bolted" moments. Drones equipped with high-resolution cameras can perform regular exterior inspections, identifying potential issues before escalation.
In summation, reality capture is your cheat code to blunder avoidance. If Diane Hartley could spot a potential disaster with just her textbook knowledge way back in the time of Jimmy Carter’s presidency - imagine what today's technologies can do.
Ted-Ed: How one design flaw almost toppled a skyscraper
Slate: The Design Flaw That Almost Wiped Out an NYC Skyscraper
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