In the mid 1960’s many changes were afoot.

In 1965, as a recent graduate from a traditional Mechanical Engineering course – dominated by technical drawing, heat engines, steam tables and use of the slide rule - the idea of change was remote. The emphasis was on analysis – little on synthesis.

Then, in an extraordinary synergy, three dramatic and thrilling changes took place:

articulation of tentative philosophies and theories relating to the creative human activity of design
emergence of primitive yet significant computing technologies, accessible – just – to academics in the physical sciences and engineers
recognition of the fact that the post-war speculative, un-tested and whimsical building development was proving disastrous
This presentation offers a retrospective of how these changes impacted - profoundly –on the way the building industry, the private and public agencies that commission buildings and those who populate and use them, can contribute, collaboratively, to a more sustainable, and more delightful, built environment. It tries to chart the struggle that pioneers made to deploy the primitive technology, persuade the professions to come on-board, win the resources for research and development – while keeping alive the vision of virtual prototyping.

As someone whose career has, fortuitously, been synchronous with these dramatic and thrilling changes, this perspective will be quite personal and will focus on the significant contributions from local initiatives - ABACUS, ESRU, EDAS, SUST and CBE – and their relevance to the international community.

The presentation will suggest how these early faltering steps were just that! And that much more confident strides will follow, provided we recognise the paradigm shifts, in education - when students and staff share the pursuit of knowledge, in collaboration between academia and praxis, and in the integration of real and virtual environments and worlds.