B7 Course Reflection Bradanini

When I applied for coming to study at Drexel for the exchange semester, and I had to choose the courses, I was curious about the Intelligent Building course. It was the first time for me that within three different universities there was a course completely focused on the future of the sector. I was not sure what to expect from this course, I had some previous basic knowledge of BIM and sensors and actuators, and I thought the course was mainly on these two topics.

Now I discovered there are other things that can revolutionize the construction sector in the future. BIM and actuators are something that is already in current projects or buildings, and for sure the number of companies using this will grow in the next years. However, what I liked more in this course was the discussions during the first weeks of classes, about the robots and about how the sector will change in the next 50 years.

Another thing that I found important for a course like this is how lectures are structured. Professor Mitchell was able to induce a critical and creative discussion between the students. Since the students in this class have different backgrounds, these discussions allow the students to learn also from each other and not only from the professor. It is great how Professor Mitchell understood immediately what someone was trying to say and was able to explain it with easier words to the rest of the class.

The guest’s presentations were useful and interesting. Maybe the two about BIM was somehow repetitive and the last one about sensor and actuators was a bit demotivating, but it was good to have a different point of view from someone who is not from a big and successful company but tries anyway to change the world of construction only with hard work. Often it is easier to learn from a failure than from a success.

I was a bit disappointed about the group work. For me the assignment was not very clear and since I was not part of the senior design team it was tough to understand everything about their project. Fortunately my group mates were kind and they helped me with the analysis for the project.

Generally, I think Intelligent Building is a good course, I learned a lot and I got new ideas, mainly from the other students that can be great for my thesis back in Denmark and maybe for a start up after graduation.

I look forward for the last presentations today. I’m very curious what the other groups have done.