VERTICES
Winter 2021-22 20222022
David Koch Building Information Management Expert EwingCole
Interior Framing, Beams and Studs for Ophthalmology Office, New York, NY
DAVID KOCH, RA (B.Arch. ‘82) After graduating from Penn State, I began as a draftsperson for a small architectural firm. When their work dried up after a year, I found a similar position with what is now EwingCole, a multi-discipline A/E design firm. There ever since, I became registered in 1986 and progressed to senior project architect. Most projects were small-to-medium-sized health-care-related projects where I was project architect; on larger projects, I was responsible for a defined part under a more-senior project architect. Nine years ago, I moved to the IT department, first as design technology manager and now as a BIM technical expert.
While the practice of architecture has not changed radically during my career, the tools with which we do our work, and the way it is transmitted to the contractors has changed. Initially, all work was done manually, mostly ink-on-mylar overlay drafting. Then computer-aided drafting arrived, and eventually became BIM. Rolls of prints shipped overnight gave way to PDFs sent via email. Now some projects have cloud-hosted electronic project models accessed by the contractors. AutoCAD gave way to AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD MEP, which gave way to Revit. Rolls of blueline prints that had to be shipped overnight to contractors gave way PDFs sent via email or other electronic means. And now we have some projects where the electronic project models are hosted in the cloud, and contractors have access to those models. The computerization of the design process resonated with an interest in computers that I had had since college, and mastering that became a focus of mine, eventually resulting in that career shift nine years ago.
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Waiting Room, Ophthalmology Office, New York, NY
Architecture is not just beautiful renderings or gorgeous shots of expertly manipulated light and space, but is also about slabs, beams, studs and coordinating room for ducts, pipes and conduits so that those wonderful spaces can function.
The featured project is my last project as a project architect; I chose it because of the intense involvement I had on it. A New York City hospital was “poaching” an ophthalmology practice. I joined the project in early May, as it was transitioning from schematics directly to contract documents; with an occupancy goal of Labor Day. A construction manager was already on board and demolition began while documents were developed. After six intense weeks of project documentation and weekly team meetings, construction began. On most projects I would be on site once a week; I was on-site and/or in our New York office four days a week from mid-June through project completion, working closely with the entire project team. We got close to substantial completion by Labor Day; the ophthalmology practice wisely allowed the contractors to complete the work before occupying in midSeptember. The first image is a reminder that architecture is not just beautiful renderings of expertly manipulated light and space, but is also about slabs, beams, studs and coordinating room for ducts, pipes and conduits so that those wonderful spaces can function as well as please the senses. The second shot is of the primary waiting area, as the furniture was being placed. Credit for the interior design goes to Lyudmyla Matyushko.
PennState Architecture Alumni
I am not certain I had a clear vision of what I expected my career to be when I was a student, other than becoming a registered architect, but even then I knew I had no intentions of ever starting my own practice. I managed to achieve both of those goals. I feel fortunate to have had Professor Inserra for thesis studio. He certainly got me to stretch my design abilities that year. He met with each of us at the end of the year, and he gave me some good advice that I would like to pass on to you. Knowing that the early years in an architectural career were likely to be quite different from the design focus in school, he urged me to stay in contact with the more designoriented of my fellow students, so as not to lose sight of that part of architecture. I was probably not as successful at following that advice as Professor Inserra would have liked, but perhaps that advice will be helpful to the current students at Penn State.
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