Global ‘Innovator of the Year’ nomination for RPS Director of BIM & Technical Services at the AEC Excellence Awards 2018

Mark Costello, Director of BIM & Technical Services at RPS, has been nominated for the ‘Innovator of the Year’ award at the global Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) Excellence Awards 2018.

Mark is an industry leader in BIM and has delivered lectures and seminars in Ireland, the UK and Europe on BIM processes. He was recently invited to give the key note presentation to an audience of over 2000 delegates at One Team Extension (OTx) EMEA in Copenhagen on “Strategies for Change – Our BIM Journey” outlining the successful industry/academia collaboration taking place between RPS and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT).

In 2009/2011 RPS identified Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a key industry development. Mark led the development of a working paper, established a BIM Committee and piloted BIM within RPS. He has been instrumental in providing a new award-winning approach to BIM education and training in Ireland in advance of the UK BIM mandate in 2016.

He had collaborated with local academic institutions to seek out suitable training courses in BIM to enable upskilling. When such a course wasn’t available, he embarked on developing a BIM programme with GMIT in specifically designed and relevant modules to support evolving BIM technologies (Federated Models / AR & VR Technologies / Point Cloud Data / Common Data Environments) in a parallel BIM design process. Delivery of this course commenced on a pilot basis in September 2013 and it has culminated in the multi-award winning (industry/academia collaboration) and formally accredited Higher Diploma in Engineering in BIM (Level 8).

At an industry level Mark is currently managing BIM delivery of major roads, water, pharmaceutical, healthcare and education projects. He is Project Director for an innovative Building Information Modelling (BIM) approach on the M8 Motorway Improvements Scheme in Scotland, with project partners Ferrovial Agromam AMEY and BIM Director on several other road schemes in the UK including the A684 Bedale in Leeds and the A9 Dualling in Scotland. He received a special commendation for his work on the M8 project at the CitA Irish BIM Innovation awards 2016 and this project became a Pathfinder Project for the definition of the Scottish BIM mandate in 2017.

The First Innovator of the Year

The AEC Excellence Awards showcases global projects that have embraced Connected BIM and emerging technologies like generative design and industrialized construction. The categories of Infrastructure Design, Building Design, and Construction recognize small, medium, and large size projects. Debuting this year, the new “Innovator of the Year” award recognizes a person who is transforming the design and construction industry through the use of technology, collaboration, evangelism, and innovation.

It was a tough job for the independent, global panel of judges to evaluate all 256 submissions (196 project entries and 60 Innovator of the Year entries) and narrow down to the “best-of- the-best” finalists. Entries came from 32 countries, with China having the highest number of overall submissions, followed by the U.S. and France.

“This year’s finalists are exemplary in infrastructure design, building design, and construction projects, no matter the size,” said Nicolas Mangon, Vice President AEC Business Strategy and Marketing at Autodesk. “We are thrilled with the breadth and depth of these finalists and seeing how emerging technology for collaboration, prefabrication, and design automation is transforming the way AEC works. These finalists represent how the AEC industry is not only embracing the future of making but are making it happen now.”

A Celebration Breakfast in Las Vegas

The unveiling of the competition’s winners will take place at Autodesk University 2018 in Las Vegas on November 13 during the AEC Customer Showcase Celebration breakfast. During this event, winners will be celebrated for their achievements on innovative projects. Awards will be presented alongside special guest presentations from industry experts and thought leaders.

“These awards seek to recognise a person who is leading transformation in the industry and that is certainly what Mark and his team are doing.” said Gerry Carty, Managing Director, RPS Ireland. “Connected BIM, VAR, Digital Delivery and 3D models from point cloud surveys are key industry developments. The achievement of Level 2 BIM Business Systems Certification from BRE is further recognition of Mark’s work that we are extremely proud of. Both personally and on behalf of the RPS team, I would like to wish Mark the very best of luck at the Awards in Las Vegas.”