Oh, the meditative benefits that building a site can bring...

...to a stressed out, forever scheming, calculating, strategising, high-flying (or pretending to be) BIM professional...

I create a new file and am instantly lost in the familiarity of the vast expanse of the light-grey-grid, uncontaminated by the flaws of the yet-to-be modelled project, the blunders and imperfections soon to be introduced and cultivated through the life of the file extending these to the real site...

I plonk numerous PDF’s, survey CADs onto the project-window, I create storeys, views, north-point and grids...

I go about shaping the site. I trace the boundaries, check the dimensions, follow the contour lines, one by one...

A slow, tedious process punctuated by agitated zooming in and out to force the replica contours to keep to the base.

I could almost switch off, enjoy the cool serenity of a repetitive task, instead I force concentration so the contours are not too detailed to overwhelm the model yet stay sufficiently accurate for future cut-and-fill calculations.

I build roads, existing site features, services.

I flick between the windows, capture the model in my head – a mirror image I see, when I close my eyes.

I am truly immersed in this ‘get to know you better’ phase and the tranquillity I feel sets the project on a good path for success.

And yet this treat is so often skipped, off-loaded/delegated down the hierarchical chain...