The photo below by Chicago-based industrial photographer James Kay (click on it to really see the details) makes me think of two competing thoughts. On the one hand, there really is nothing new under the sun. This beautiful bell tower built in Cologne, Germany required all the wits the builders could muster. It’s complicated and precise, working good and looking good.

On the other hand, our newest challenges in design and construction push us to build more, better, faster and for less…as well as modeling it digitally to increase the long term investment. As we work for our current clients, we should be striving to provide value like the bell tower builders provided, but consistent with today’s environment.

Whether we do 3 D drawings, Building Information Modeling that ties into long-term operations, or just great as-builts, we need to be looking to the long term value we provide our Owners.