Jonathan Ingram

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Jonathan Ingram
Jonathan Ingram 2021.jpg
Ingram in 2021
Born (1961-06-23) 23 June 1961 (age 61) [1] [ unreliable source? ]
Banaba Island, Kiribati
Nationality Australia
Known forDevelopments in BIM

Jonathan Ingram (born 23 June 1961 in Kiribati) is an Australian inventor, businessman and author. He is particularly associated with development of early building information modelling (BIM) applications, including Sonata, Reflex and ProReflex - described as "the precursor to modern BIM applications". He was awarded the British Computer Society Medal for Outstanding Innovation in 1990, and the Royal Academy of Engineering's Prince Philip Medal in 2016 for his "exceptional contribution to Engineering".

Contents

Career

A civil engineer, Ingram has a PhD in computer science. [2]

Building information modelling

Sometimes called the 'Father of BIM', [3] Ingram worked on developing a precursor of BIM called RUCAPS while working at GMW Computers in the early 1980s. [4] Envisaging a better software, he quit working at GMW, got a bank loan so that he could purchase a workstation, and began two years of development. [4]

Ingram released Sonata in 1985, [5] the first system that brought the characteristics of modern BIM together in a single application, allowing users to create a single model of a building in a single file. [4] [6] Ingram says he came close to an acquisition agreement with Autodesk in 1987 but the deal collapsed following the Black Monday financial crash. [4] He subsequently sold Sonata to GMW which had rebranded to T2 Solutions in 1987. [7]

The second generation software, Reflex was released in 1992. After he sold Reflex for $30m to PTC in 1996, [4] Ingram became Chief Technology Officer at PTC, and taught Harvard University's first courses in object modelling. [8] In 1998, ProReflex was licensed to Charles River Software, later (2000) renamed Revit Systems; [6] two PTC employees had left to develop a BIM application called Revit, working with access to a non-exclusive licence of Reflex, In 2004, Revit cofounder Leonid Raiz confirmed "we indeed had a non-exclusive development license of Pro/Reflex" [9] which Ingram asserts was the origin of some of Revit's features.

AECBytes described Ingram as "someone who actually developed the precursor to modern BIM applications," continuing:

This was an application called SONATA and it was developed by Jonathan Ingram — in true Silicon Valley start-up style — in his attic (rather than a garage as it would be in Silicon Valley!) in England. SONATA became REfLEX, which then became ProReflex, which was acquired by PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation), from which Revit emerged as a start-up, which was then acquired by Autodesk — and then of course, as they say, the rest is history. [10]

Ingram also created one of the earliest examples of a digital twin in 1996 during construction of the Heathrow Express facilities at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 1. With consultant Mott MacDonald, Ingram connected movement sensors in the cofferdam and boreholes to the digital object-model to display movements in the model. [11]

Ingram wrote a book, [12] Understanding BIM: The past, present and future, published by Routledge in 2020. [13] In this book he describes the origins of BIM and its development leading to modern systems such as Revit and Archicad. It shows his work and innovations in BIM in areas including architecture, [14] civil and structural engineering, [15] electrical and mechanical services, [16] construction management [17] and retail. [18] He shows that BIM has been in existence since 1985. [19] Much of the material for his early innovations is archived in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London [20] including the first architectural animation of a real street scene from 1976. [21] AECBytes magazine said of the author

It is fascinating to be able to look back at the origins of BIM from someone who not only had a front-row seat to the game, but who actually played it — and not just played it, but actually drafted many of its rules. [10]

Awards

Patents

Ingram has received patents in disciplines including electronics, sensors, pharmaceutical and clean energy. [22] They include:

Personal life

Ingram was born in Banaba Island (also called Ocean Island) to Maurice Ingram, a doctor. [24]

Related Research Articles

Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has offices worldwide. Its U.S. offices are located in the states of California, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Its Canada offices are located in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PTC (software company)</span>

PTC is a computer software and services company founded in the 1985 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was a pioneer in parametric, associative feature-based, solid computer-aided design (CAD) modeling software in 1988, including an Internet-based product for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) in 1998. PTC markets products and services and an Internet of things (IoT) and augmented reality (AR) platform for an partners and developers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathcad</span>

Mathcad is computer software for the verification, validation, documentation and re-use of mathematical calculations in engineering and science, notably mechanical, chemical, electrical, and civil engineering. Released in 1986 on DOS, it introduced live editing (WYSIWYG) of typeset mathematical notation in an interactive notebook, combined with automatic computations. It was originally developed by Mathsoft, and since 2006 has been a product of Parametric Technology Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Building information modeling</span> Process used to design and document building and infrastructure designs

Building information modeling (BIM) is a process supported by various tools, technologies and contracts involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. Building information models (BIMs) are computer files which can be extracted, exchanged or networked to support decision-making regarding a built asset. BIM software is used by individuals, businesses and government agencies who plan, design, construct, operate and maintain buildings and diverse physical infrastructures, such as water, refuse, electricity, gas, communication utilities, roads, railways, bridges, ports and tunnels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archicad</span> Computer-aided design software for architecture

ArchiCAD is an architectural BIM CAD software for Mac and Windows developed by the Hungarian company Graphisoft. ArchiCAD offers computer aided solutions for handling all common aspects of aesthetics and engineering during the whole design process of the built environment—buildings, interiors, urban areas, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphisoft</span> Software company

Graphisoft SE is a European multinational corporation that designs software, and is headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. As a subsidiary of Nemetschek, Graphisoft develops Building Information Modeling software products for architects, interior designers and planners. Graphisoft has subsidiaries in Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Japan and a representative office in Singapore. The company's flagship product is Archicad — an architectural design software developed since 1984 for Windows and Mac platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autodesk Revit</span> Building information modelling software

Autodesk Revit is a building information modelling software for architects, landscape architects, structural engineers, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineers, designers and contractors. The original software was developed by Charles River Software, founded in 1997, renamed Revit Technology Corporation in 2000, and acquired by Autodesk in 2002. The software allows users to design a building and structure and its components in 3D, annotate the model with 2D drafting elements, and access building information from the building model's database. Revit is 4D building information modeling application capable with tools to plan and track various stages in the building's lifecycle, from concept to construction and later maintenance and/or demolition.

Open Design Alliance is a nonprofit organization creating software development kits (SDKs) for engineering applications. ODA offers interoperability tools for CAD, BIM, and Mechanical industries including .dwg, .dxf, .dgn, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Navisworks, and .ifc files and additional tools for visualization, web development, 3D PDF publishing and modeling.

RUCAPS was a computer aided design (CAD) system for architects, first developed during the 1970s and 1980s, and today credited as a forerunner of Building Information Modelling (BIM). It ran on minicomputers from Prime Computer and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ProjectWise</span>

ProjectWise is a suite of engineering project collaboration software from Bentley Systems designed for the architecture, engineering, construction, and owners/operator (AECO) industries. It helps project teams design, manage, review, share, and distribute engineering project content all within a single connected data environment (CDE). ProjectWise is a file and vendor agnostic solution capable of managing any type of CAD, BIM, geospatial and project data. All well, direct CAD integration is available for Bentley applications and other vendors and software titles including Autodesk & Microsoft Office.

Eric R. Fossum is an American physicist and engineer known for co-developing the CMOS image sensor. He is currently a professor at Thayer School of Engineering in Dartmouth College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMW Architects</span> British architectural practice

GMW Architects was an architectural practice based in the United Kingdom. In August 2015, the firm was taken over by another business, Scott Brownrigg, "as part of plans to move into the airport sector."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IntelliCAD</span>

IntelliCAD is a CAD editor and development platform with an Application Programming Interface API published by the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium ("ITC") through shared development. IntelliCAD emulates the basic interface and functions of AutoCAD, however, it is particularly able to incorporate and interchange freely between a wide variety of file types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BricsCAD</span> Computer-aided design software

BricsCAD is a software application for computer-aided design (CAD), developed by Bricsys nv. The company was founded in 2002 by Erik de Keyser, a longtime CAD entrepreneur. In 2011 Bricsys acquired the intellectual property rights from Ledas for constraints-based parametric design tools, permitting the development of applications in the areas of direct modeling and assembly design. Bricsys is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, and has additional development centers in Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk, Russia; Bucharest, Romania and Singapore. Bricsys is a founding member of the Open Design Alliance, and joined the BuildingSMART International consortium in December 2016.

Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd is a climate tech company specialising in the development of physics-based digital twin technology for decarbonising buildings and cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VisualARQ</span> Architectural BIM software

VisualARQ is commercial architectural BIM software that works as a plug-in for Rhinoceros CAD application; developed by Asuni CAD, based in Barcelona, Spain. It is aimed at Rhinoceros users and professionals working in the architecture sector such as architects, interior designers and developers. It competes with Architectural Desktop, Revit and ArchiCAD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RFEM</span>

RFEM is a 3D finite element analysis software working under Microsoft Windows computer operating systems. RFEM can be used for structural analysis and design of steel, concrete, timber, glass, membrane and tensile structures as well as for plant and mechanical engineering or dynamic analysis. The API technology Web Services allows you to create your own desktop or web-based applications by controlling all objects included in RFEM. By providing libraries and functions, you can develop your own design checks, effective modeling of parametric structures, as well as optimization and automation processes using the programming languages Python and C#.

A digital twin is a digital representation of an intended or actual real-world physical product, system, or process that serves as the effectively indistinguishable digital counterpart of it for practical purposes, such as simulation, integration, testing, monitoring, and maintenance. The digital twin has been intended from its initial introduction to be the underlying premise for Product Lifecycle Management and exists throughout the entire lifecycle of the physical entity it represents. Since information is granular, the digital twin representation is determined by the value-based use cases it is created to implement. The digital twin can and does often exist before there is a physical entity. The use of a digital twin in the create phase allows the intended entity's entire lifecycle to be modeled and simulated. A digital twin of an existing entity may be used in real time and regularly synchronized with the corresponding physical system.

Sonata was a 3D building design software application developed in the early 1980s and now regarded as the forerunner of today's building information modelling applications.

Reflex was a 3D building design software application developed in the mid 1980s and - along with its predecessor Sonata - is now regarded as a forerunner to today's building information modelling applications.

References

    1. ↑ "Jonathan Ingram".
    2. ↑ "DEVELOP3D Magazine & Events".
    3. 1 2 "The 'father of BIM' to speak at DEVELOP3D LIVE". AEC Magazine. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, Kasper (January–February 2022). "Exploring BIM's hidden past". AEC Magazine. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
    5. 1 2 Griffiths, Ella (27 January 2017). "Hampshire engineer receives accolade for revolutionising building construction". Daily Echo. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
    6. 1 2 3 "Prince Philip Medal for engineer behind revolution in Building Information Modelling". Royal Academy of Engineering. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
    7. ↑ Port, Stanley (1989). The Management of CAD for Construction. New York: Springer. ISBN   9781468466058.
    8. 1 2 "Dr. Jonathan Ingram The story of BIM, Fact, Fantasy and the Future". NXTBLD. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
    9. ↑ "Leonid Raiz post on forums.augi.com". AUGI. 17 November 2004. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    10. 1 2 Khemlani, Lachmi. "Understanding BIM (Book Review)". AECBytes magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
    11. ↑ Ingram (2020), pp.128-132: case study: Heathrow Express, Mott MacDonald and Taylor Woodrow
    12. ↑ "Celebrating the history of BIM". AEC Magazine. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
    13. ↑ Ingram, Jonathan (2020). "Understanding BIM: The Past, Present and Future". Routledge. Routledge. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
    14. ↑ Ingram (2020), pp.69-94.
    15. ↑ Ingram (2020), pp.123-143.
    16. ↑ Ingram (2020), pp.165-169
    17. ↑ Ingram (2020), pp.143-164
    18. ↑ Ingram (2020), pp.113-112
    19. ↑ Nathan, Stuart (11 September 2017). "Roundtable report – civil engineering and digital solutions". The Engineer. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
    20. ↑ Ingram (2020), pp.157, 240.
    21. ↑ "The first architectural movie of a real street scene from 1976". youtube.com. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
    22. ↑ "Patents by Inventor Jonathan Ingram". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
    23. ↑ "Video of Sea Wave Energy Patent". youtube.com. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
    24. ↑ "Archived Banaban Message Board". Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
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