In the fifth of a short series of Q&As to mark the turning of the year, Autodesk head of industry associations strategy Marek Suchocki looks back at last year and highlights his hopes for 2025. Is he enjoying The Rings of Power?
BIMplus: What was the best thing that happened in information management and digital construction in 2024?
Marek Suchocki: There seems to be a growing acknowledgement of the importance of better outcomes from our construction investments. This is highlighted with many advances in technology focusing on analysis and optioneering to better forecast the performance of planned schemes.
Within Autodesk, we have even coined the term ‘outcome-based BIM’ to describe how Forma, our AI and machine learning enhanced design platform, supports designers through improved early-stage analysis and prediction of how well options perform against a range of criteria such as embodied carbon, solar gain, microclimate or noise.
The Forma platform leverages enhanced connectivity to third-party systems through APIs, consistent data models, and other approaches for interoperability. Implementing an approach for integrating information from multiple sources adds complexity, so the new Information Management Initiative being coordinated by nima is welcome, to refine guidance on how each participant in a construction sector project should create, approve, use and share information.
“Raising the industry’s profile, repairing its poor image, celebrating the positive impact it can have on society: all these require more investment.”
What are you looking forward to professionally this year?
In my day job as Autodesk strategy lead for industry associations I focus on enhancing relationships with professional institutions such as the Chartered Institute of Building, the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Royal Institute of British Architects, as well as many international organisations that include the American Institute of Architects, the American Council of Engineering Companies, American Society of Civil Engineers, buildingSMART and European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations. This privileged position gives me and engaged colleagues the opportunity to collaborate with these industry bodies on addressing the issues the construction sector and our different professional disciplines are facing.
The next few years are likely to be very busy professionally as I had the incredible honour of being elected to the presidential chain at the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors in September. Having been a member for 25 years, been part of the Geospatial Engineering Practices Committee and representing the Institution at the British Standards B555 committee for 15 years, I must have done something right!
So much of my professional focus will be representing the Institution and promoting the importance of professional development over the next few years, and especially from September 2026 when I become president.
What does the industry need to do more (or less of) this year?
Our industry offers a plethora of varied career opportunities and yet is far from a career of first choice for young people. Raising the industry’s profile, repairing its poor image, celebrating the positive impact it can have on society, and highlighting that it has a prime role in tackling climate challenges: all these require more investment.
If the new government can implement the promised planning reform and enable the needed grid upgrades in support of energy transition, then some additional career opportunities will become available to attract much-needed new entrants.
Boosting digital skills provides an open goal to shoot at to improve the sector’s performance, image, appeal to younger people and also to deliver greater confidence that we can play a positive role in addressing sustainability challenges.
Do you have any sort of festive ritual?
The Christmas season has always been a favourite time of the year, particularly as I have a Polish Roman-Catholic background with many traditions. The most important meal is actually Christmas Eve, which the Poles call Wigilia that loosely translates as vigil.
The dinner should start when the first star appears in the sky and comprises 12 separate dishes with soup, fish (no meat allowed) and poppy-seed cake typically served. This can make facing the turkey and trimmings on Christmas Day quite a challenge, but somehow everyone manages to get through two big days of celebration.
Recommend a book, podcast, TV series, film or album that you enjoyed in 2024
From my teenage years, I have been a Tolkien addict so have to say how impressive the second season of The Rings of Power was. That many of the special effects leveraged Autodesk software gives me some added professional pride.
Although it’s a bit cheesy, I enjoyed reading the Dan Brown novel Origin while on holiday and got an added bonus a couple of weeks ago when I visited Sagrada Familia in Barcelona where the finale is set, which also represents one of the most delayed construction projects ever!
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