Professional demonstrates CAD applications for architecture design to college students
Increasingly, computer-aided design (CAD) skills are playing a role in a variety of industries. Recently, Wanted Analytics, a hiring practices tracking firm, found that there were nearly 7,000 online job listings in March that listed CAD proficiency as a requirement for the position. This represents a 28 percent increase from March 2011.
These figures suggest that the value of learning about CAD at a young age is rising.
A number of institutions and individuals are responding to this demand, including jdh Architects.
Exposing teens to CAD
Tim Ball, an architect with jhd, recently visited the Maidstone campus of MidKent College to give a presentation regarding his use of CAD technology in his job as part of the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) Love Architecture Festival.
The class receiving the lecture was comprised of students ranging from 16 to 19 years old, with varying degrees of experience with CAD and architecture.
Ball's presentation featured a range of applications for the technology. He used RIBA slides to demonstrate how CAD was used to develop initial concepts for the London 2012 Olympic Aquatic Center, as well as for smaller scale, private pools and buildings.
"The talk gave me a real insight into the world of engineering using CAD and BIM from both the contractor's and architect’s perspective, making it useful for my future career," said Charlotte Wood, one of the students in attendance.
CAD and class
In addition to inviting CAD experts into the classroom, a number of schools have incorporated CAD programs into their curricula. The University of Manchester, for example, uses Altium design software to prepare its undergraduates for careers as engineers, according to New Electronics.