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The Marcus Performing Arts Center redevelopment is set to redefine eco-friendly architecture with the tallest mass timber building in the world

It’s safe to say that mass timber is having a moment.

As building teams strive to create more sustainable and faster-to-build projects, with reduced costs and less environmental harm, this earth-friendly and aesthetically pleasing favorite is gaining ground on traditional construction methods.

Now, mass timber is reaching new heights in a project by Michael Green Architecture in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Once completed, the structure will be in the running for designation as the tallest mass timber building in the world—an ambitious feat of earth-first design and engineering.

MGA Principal Michael Green walked Built through the redevelopment of the Marcus Performing Arts Center, sharing his enthusiasm for mass timber and providing the details about what this ambitious redevelopment project will entail.

Why laminated timber matters

Laminated timber has been an environmental darling since the introduction of its predecessor, cross-laminated timber, in Australia in 1995. Not only does mass timber require less energy to create than other building materials, but it could also absorb carbon from the atmosphere—a huge advantage over traditional materials like cement, steel and concrete with a huge carbon footprint. “Wood is the best principal material available for building structures when considering total energy use, carbon emissions and water usage,” Green said.

Mass timber construction can also be considerably more affordable than its conventional counterpart, with some claiming it’s as much as 5% cheaper than steel and concrete construction. Additional cost savings can also be realized through a shorter construction time, thanks to the use of prefabricated panels, less labor needed for the installation process and savings on foundation costs thanks to mass timber’s reduced structural weight.

So what actually does this material consist of?

“Mass timber construction utilizes large solid panels of wood engineered for strength through laminations of layers,” Green explained. “These cross-laminated timber—or CLT—panels are layers of solid wood set at 90-degree orientations.”

A rendering of the plaza at the base of the Marcus Performing Arts Center (right).

As the name implies, these panels are considerable in size. “They can range upwards of 64’0” x 8’0” and be of any thickness from a few inches to 16 inches or more,” Green said. “These very large, very dense solid panels of wood are ideal for construction, meet or exceed all safety regulations and provide a warm and healthy environment for living and working.”

An ambitious undertaking

According to Green, the Marcus Performing Arts Center redevelopment project might feature the world’s tallest mass timber structure once completed, in addition to being the tallest building in the state of Wisconsin at up to 55 stories and 1.2 million square feet across the development.

Green said the project “aims to set a new global benchmark for mass timber construction,” representing an investment of more than $700 million.


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The project will include multiple mixed-use buildings, which will be completed in several phases of construction. Once completed, it could include up to 750 residential units; 190,000 square feet of office space; 40,000 square feet of retail space; 300 hotel rooms; parking spaces; and a variety of public plazas and walkways, each designed to bring energy and a sense of public ownership to the reimagined center.

Green said that this project represents the way that smaller cities like Milwaukee are leading the way when it comes to innovation and sustainability in construction. Some industry observers have recommended America’s smaller- and mid-sized cities use environmentally inspired projects like this one to bring together climate resilience, environmental justice and equity, as well as green economic development in a process called green regeneration.

Another rendering of the building (left) that includes an outdoor cafe.

“This ambitious development underscores Milwaukee’s capability, alongside other smaller US cities, to lead in innovation and sustainability,” Green said. “Smaller cities have unique opportunities to embrace cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices, setting examples for larger urban centers.”

Green’s hope is that the completed project will inspire other cities to tackle greener redevelopment projects of their own. “By pioneering projects like this, [cities] can become hubs of economic growth, cultural vibrancy and environmental stewardship, demonstrating that transformative urban development is possible regardless of city size,” he said. “Milwaukee’s commitment to sustainability and innovative construction techniques highlights its potential to inspire similar initiatives nationwide.”

Partnering with purpose

To complete the project, MGA will partner with The Neutral Project, a regenerative development company that, Green said, “crafts financially responsible, sustainable living spaces that foster healthy lifestyles and friendly neighborhoods.”

Green was drawn to partnership with Neutral due to their shared belief that “the traditional model of endless growth at the expense of the environment is unacceptable. It’s time for a differentiated and thoughtful approach.”

Instead of endless, mindless expansion, MGA and the Neutral team strive to create what Green calls “thriving ecosystems”—living spaces that actively improve the environment. Whereas traditional construction can create structures that have a net negative impact on their environments, Green said he hopes to create buildings that regenerate and renew their surroundings.

These regenerative developments are designed to go “beyond sustainability,” balancing the needs of their human tenants and users with design decisions that benefit the natural world, enabling the art of living well with minimal environmental impact. With increasing numbers of consumers making more environmentally focused decisions about where they live, work and spend their time, these types of structures will doubtless become more common in years to come.

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Anton Zangl explains why mastering Bluebeam is a must for engineering students

As a fourth-year civil engineering student at Monash University in Australia, Anton Zangl knows a thing or two about preparing for the workplace.

Joining clubs, studying for classes and completing academic projects are all part of the ordinary life of any engineering student, but Zangl added another task to his list: mastering Bluebeam.

Zangl let Built in on his Bluebeam journey, explaining how mastering this foundational software has served him and sharing steps fellow students can take to do the same.

Learning the ropes with Bluebeam

Zangl learned about Bluebeam when he was looking for an alternative to the non-professional software he was relying on to complete class assignments.

He found he kept running into problems, saying, “You can’t upload big files or they just take a very long time, so it was pretty finicky. I was looking around, and I heard that Bluebeam was a software that’s used pretty broadly in the industry, and I thought I’ll see if they’ve got a student program.”

Zangl received further encouragement at a Civil Engineering Club event in his second year. “They were reviewing the sort of software that’s necessary that you should be putting on your resume, and probably came across Bluebeam that way,” he said.

When asked what Bluebeam functions have been the most useful to him, Zangl had a lot to say.

“The whole measurement and tools that exist are pretty handy,” he said. “Recently I’ve been doing an assignment where we’ve got some architectural drawings and they have very limited dimensioning on them, so it’s been very handy to use the scale or the calibrate tool to get some extraction dimensions out of that and get the design process rolling a lot faster.”

An academic leg up

Zangl said he saw fellow students who don’t use Bluebeam struggling to complete the same assignments he mastered using the software.

“I saw on one unit forum that other students needed some guidance on how big things were because they couldn’t actually tell that from the drawings, whereas I found that it was very easy just to use the measurement tool to just draw it and quickly get the area or volume calculations,” he said. “It’s a snap to do any markups on existing drawings.”

He also uses the tool on online exams. “Recently I had a lot of online exams where we take a photo of our work and then we have to upload it within 10 minutes or 15 minutes, so just being able to drag pages around has been good,” Zangl said.

Overall, Zangl said Bluebeam has had a big impact on “the way I go about doing assignments and grid projects.”

Starting his career off strong

Zangl has begun doing internships, one with a contractor and another with a design consultancy firm, and he has been happy to discover how useful his Bluebeam skills are already proving to be.

“We used Bluebeam quite extensively in both those jobs,” he said. “On the contractor side I was extracting volumes and doing design drawing management, a lot of markups creating permits.”

Overall, Zangl said coming into these roles with an understanding of Bluebeam has given him a leg up. “I’d say that having knowledge of the software before meant that when I started from day one, we were speaking the same language already, or at least there’s one less software that I have to learn,” he said.

Zangl said this kind of knowledge is important, but often not taught explicitly in universities. “That’s why our club often tries to bring some of that software into the university campus and host events,” he explained. “It probably would be advantageous to know about it before applying for certain roles, internships, etc.”

He emphasized how useful Bluebeam in particular has been so far, and said he imagines it will continue to serve him well in the future. “It seems like it’s used pretty extensively throughout the industry, so I would imagine that other companies that I’ll be applying to in the future would also use this software,” Zangl said. Because of that, “Bluebeam goes on the resume.”

Advice for fellow students

When asked what advice he would give his fellow students, Zangl said he thought it was a good idea to get acquainted with Bluebeam. “Because it is used pretty extensively in the industry, it is a good idea to become quite accustomed to it,” he said. “Especially just with the whole layout of the software itself —what all the icons mean, what features are out there.”

Zangl advised fellow Bluebeam novices to start slow when they first begin learning the software.

“Obviously it’s software that can be used for basic functions, but also for more industrial complex functions,” he explained, “so it’s probably a good idea to start with the basic stuff. You just use it as a PDF editor so that you can write text on PDFs. You can rearrange files, extract files, the basic sort of file management is probably a good, good way to start.”

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From document management to design reviews, Ridge & Partners explains how Bluebeam has streamlined its processes and improved communication

Ridge & Partners started using Bluebeam around five years ago to support its QS team with accurate measurement when estimating potential jobs. From this introduction, the use case has been expanded within the business to include document management, design reviews, take-offs, estimations and the final professional handover of documentation to clients.

Nick Barringer is a partner at the firm. He said Bluebeam has transformed the way the business worked. “Our team was introduced to Bluebeam as a tool to make commenting and marking up of drawings more efficient,” he said. “At the time we didn’t see the way that we were doing things as a problem, but immediately saw the benefits once we had been introduced to the software.”

“It was initially used as an internal communication tool for marking up and commenting on drawings and reports,” he continued. “As our understanding of the software’s capability has increased, we are now able to use Bluebeam to produce high-quality sketches to communicate early design stage concepts, alongside detailed markups to assist the on-site construction teams.”

Collating project information

One of the areas where Bluebeam has made a difference is information management.Barringer said: “One of the biggest benefits is that we can easily collate and edit multiple PDF documents in one place. Our old way of working would involve printing, annotating and scanning a large quantity of paper hand markups.”

“Doing this digitally has saved us thousands in paper and printing costs and has made the whole workflow much more efficient in terms of time. It has also facilitated our transition to a truly paper-free office, reducing our environmental impact as a business.”’

Rhys ​​​​Griffiths is an associate at Ridge & Partners and works on the cost management team. He explained that Bluebeam has particularly helped with tender documentation.

“It’s the go-to tool for us,” he said. “We use it every day, and it helps us to work efficiently and securely. We produce a lot of tender documents and contract documents that all need to be collated and marked up. This can number anywhere from 10 to 100 documents, so we need to be able to work accurately in these files. Bluebeam helps us to send them out in a consistent format that looks professional.”

Design reviews are completed 50% faster and users can create high-quality professional drawings and sketches without using CADsoftware.

According to Griffiths, one of the primary reasons for investing in the software was to improve the accuracy of measurements. “With Bluebeam it’s very quick if you want to mark up a drawing or measure up an area,” he said. “A range of in-built functions help with this, including the scaling tools, markups and editing settings, and digital measurement tools including linear, area, polygon and dynamic fill. This saves time and gives us accurate results.”

Replacing the old way of doing things

When companies introduce new software, it can sometimes take time for it to become embedded within the business. Chris Mills is a senior associate at Ridge & Partners and specializes in civil and infrastructure projects. He argues that the efficiency gains with Bluebeam meant this was not the case.

“When you shift to a new tool, it’s always an interesting process as you adapt,” he said. “A lot of what Bluebeam does aligns with tasks that we already did manually. But the crucial thing is that it’s now about four or five times faster.”

“I used to enjoy working by hand, and I took pride in doing good quality sketches,” Mills said. “When I think about how long I used to spend doing that, as well as scanning documents and redoing things when needed, it’s not comparable. Now I can work in real time and it’s so fast. I wouldn’t go back.”

Mills added that Bluebeam is also useful when working with others to explain concepts and ideas.

“The speed at which we can now produce sketches and drawings means that we can even use it on the fly, which helps if you need to quickly explain a concept to someone,” Mills said. “When doing this on paper, if you make a mistake, you’re either restarting or having to use Tipp-Ex. That feels so last century now.”

Checking for accuracy

Mills also explained how Bluebeam can help maintain accuracy and consistency throughout the project. “We’ll take a snip of the architect section and then draw on top of it and annotate it before sending the information out to the relevant people,” he said.

The Ridge & Partners team have experienced improved productivity and efficiency gains since switching to Bluebeam, first with estimations and then other critical workflows.

“If we’re reviewing two drawings and we need to see what’s changed, you can use the Overlay and Compare tool, which places the drawings on top of each other and you can clearly see where the colours clash. On one recent project it was invaluable. We had to check hundreds of drawings and see where any changes had occurred, and that function was a game changer.”

“Ordinarily, it would take days to go through that many drawings,” Mills added. “It saved us a huge amount of time.”

Starting with Bluebeam

Alex Hall works in the building services team. He said Bluebeam is used from the moment he gets involved in a project. “If I’m given an architectural floor plan and I’ve got to do a survey, I’ll use Bluebeam to mark it up,” he said. “That’ll include color coding rooms and overlaying where the electrical and heating services are. That gives us a reference point to check against as part of our QA processes, comparing what we’ve captured against the final drawings.”

Hall added that he can use it to create quick professional designs himself, rather than relying on the technical team to draw something in AutoCAD or Revit, which saves around two or three days each time.

Document management is more streamlined. Teams communicate more effectively with clients and on-the-ground construction teams.

The ability to edit is a further benefit. “It’s simple to remove things from drawings that aren’t relevant, adding clarity to plans and making it easier for us to work with,” Hall said. “Even something as simple as the color processing tool is so helpful. If an architect has sent us a color drawing, I can convert to grayscale and then use color to overlay the areas that I’m focused on.”

Demonstrating professionalism

One of the final benefits the team mentioned was the ability to make documents consistent and presentable for clients. Barringer concluded: “Bluebeam helps us to make professional customer documents that are locked down and secure. Using Bluebeam as a presentation tool means the team can quickly sketch up and demonstrate things in meetings for internal meetings and with clients.”

“A lot of people would never have thought that it was done in Bluebeam—they’d assume that it had been done in AutoCAD or Revit,” Barringer added. “It allows us to get information out the door much quicker without having to be proficient in CAD software.”

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Bo Shepherd and Kyle Dubay are crafting a more sustainable future for Detroit by turning abandoned building materials into bespoke furniture and interiors

Detroit has always been famous for its stunning and architecturally significant buildings.

Between the 1910s and 1940s, the city’s millionaires created an architectural legacy that was rich in art deco splendor. But as local manufacturing began to decline on the heels of offshoring, those beautiful buildings declined, too.

By the time Bo Shepherd and Kyle Dubay moved to the city in 2014, seeing discarded scraps of once-majestic structures on bike rides through the city was a common sight. Determined to reclaim the architectural heritage of the city, the duo began creating furniture out of these materials—and Woodward Throwbacks was born.

Starting from scratch

“Neither Bo nor I have a proper background in furniture design or building,” Shepherd said. “I was fortunate to have a woodshop class in high school, where I learned a decent amount about basic woodworking. And Bo grew up working with her dad on construction sites. So we both had early knowledge of working with tools, and both have a creative sense.”

What they lacked in professional knowledge, however, they more than made up for with enthusiasm. Inspired by backgrounds in woodworking, Dubay and Shepherd first turned to creating their own furniture out of necessity.

“We started WT as a way to furnish our own homes,” Shepherd said. “We were just out of college and didn’t have much money, so we figured we could make something with the materials we were finding on the streets.”

Fortunately, there was no lack of materials waiting to be reclaimed. “At that moment in time, illegal dumping was a big issue in the city, and we would find it all over the city as we were biking around,” Shepherd said. “So we used those dumping sites as our hardware store, and would create small pieces of furniture and decor for our houses. That was 10 years ago.”

The Woodward Throwbacks business has evolved considerably since. “Now we still use reclaimed materials but the operation is a bit more sophisticated,” Shepherd said. “We operated in an old 24,000 square-foot-car dealership that is our showroom, warehouse and workshop all in one. And we are designing full house interiors as well as building custom millwork and furniture.”

Capturing a city

For both Shepherd and Dubay, honoring the grandeur of Detroit’s architectural history became a subject of fascination.

“Bo and I didn’t grow up here so we weren’t as aware of the architecture until we moved here,” Shepherd said, “but both of us were immediately drawn to the city because of the architecture. It’s such a beautiful city, and the buildings here are amazing in their detail and craftsmanship.”

By transforming forgotten architectural materials into new pieces, Shepherd hopes to honor those roots. “It’s a great feeling giving new life to the materials we find in these buildings around the city,” Shepherd said. “Lots of times, if it wasn’t for us the materials would be getting thrown away. But it’s also a great creative experience. We are generally using materials in ways they weren’t intended to be used. So it’s almost as if our brains have been trained to think about what else could this material be transformed into. It’s always a challenge, but it’s also super rewarding.”

As they’ve grown, the WT team often organizes its furniture releases into collections that honor the buildings that their materials were sourced from.

“We just launched a collection made with materials salvaged from the Michigan Central Station,” Shepherd said. “For the last 40 years, the building had sat in disrepair, and was a cultural landmark.”

The duo opted to honor that history in the design decisions they made. “We tried to keep the materials a little rawer and more unpolished, keeping materials with that distressed and honest wear,” Shepherd said. “This building, and the city as a whole, has been through some tough times. We wanted those imperfections and scars to shine as opposed to polishing them. We think it made for a really cool finish as well.”

Beyond the aesthetics, Shepherd said that creating a greener way to build new pieces is central to what inspires them. “Sustainability is at the core of what we do,” he said. “It’s not something we advertise, but the whole business is about saving materials and finding new use for them. It’s become almost our life’s mission to find and save these materials. It’s important to us because being on the inside we see how much gets thrown away—it’s really mind-blowing the amount of waste in the construction industry.”

Just as important is honoring the rarity and beauty of the materials they find. “Saving some of these materials that would be hard to replicate today is almost as important, whether that’s hand-carved railings from the 1800s or Mankato gold limestone. It’s so important for us to save these treasures from being thrown away.”

From reclaiming materials to building spaces

Shepherd explained that the team’s interest in furniture has led to a passion for interior design, understanding the way that well-selected pieces can bring an architect’s vision to life.

“We feel that furniture can really amplify a space,” he said. “The furniture has to complement the architecture, too. It can really make or break the overall design of a space if they don’t speak together.”

Perhaps this is why, as Shepherd said, “The future of WT seems to be more in the interior design space. Bo and I have developed about 5-6 properties over the last 10 years. And over the last year or so we started designing spaces for clients. At the moment we have eight interior design jobs throughout the state of Michigan. As well as doing the interior design work, we are also building most of the millwork for these spaces.”

For Shepherd and Dubay, this evolution feels like a logical next step. “It’s really a natural progression for the business and us as designers and artists,” Shepherd said. “We love working on a whole room or house scope, as opposed to just one piece of furniture. And it also allows us to save so much more material and to reuse that material in some really interesting and beautiful ways.”

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By combining Bluebeam’s digital tools with a commitment to Indigenous partnerships, Modern Fire Protection is setting new industry standards

Australia-based Modern Fire Protection is a family owned and operated fire protection company that has been providing high quality services since 2015. Delivering comprehensive, cost-effective fire protection solutions, Modern Fire Protection works alongside its partners from concept design and supply to installation and ongoing service and maintenance for any size project.

Recognized as a Certified Supplier for Supply Nation, Modern Fire Protection has developed a range of partnerships with other Indigenous-controlled organizations and is focused on developing a culturally safe and capable environment. 

“We are continually striving to increase our Indigenous workforce and the employment of women undertaking apprenticeships,” said Bill Hockley, the company’s managing director.

With extensive experience across diverse requirements such as high-rise residential buildings, shopping centers, major commercial buildings, mine sites and complex special hazard installations, Modern Fire has a broad footprint across southeast Queensland. Robina Shopping Centre, Sunshine Coast Plaza, Brisbane Airport, Logan Hospital and Brisbane Racing Club are among the sites its expert service has helped protect.

A trusted solution

Trust is central in a business where its stock and trade is building safety.

Modern Fire ensures its trusted reputation is backed by accreditations and industry certifications, and that its workers are all suitably qualified in their roles.

Alongside its strong team presence, the organization is firmly focused on implementing tools that enhance its reputation through increased transparency, accuracy and productivity, including Bluebeam.

Crossing the digital divide

Modern Fire first deployed Bluebeam tools in early 2023. “Before Bluebeam we printed everything out and used highlighters,” Hockley said. “It meant that after the bid was developed, the project manager didn’t have easy access to all the information he needed.”

Deploying Bluebeam not only built time and accuracy improvements into the bidding process, but it also meant digital information was accessible when projects came to life.

“Bluebeam has revolutionised how we operate; it is one of our foundational tools,” Hockley said. “Through using its tools we minimise redundancy, boost accuracy and expedite critical tasks—all of which cultivate trust with our customers.”

Designing success through Bluebeam

Construction Manager Dan Sawyer implements Bluebeam from the inception of the design process.

“I use if for everything I touch—I live in it,” he said. “When competing for tenders I am able to save the detailed drawings and all detail that underpins our bid development. We then use this detail to inform and develop an accurate project plan when we win the contract.”

Bluebeam offers a plug-in for Revit that enhances the design process by integrating 3D components with 2D drafting annotations. This tool facilitates coordination with design teams and streamlines the development of design solutions.

Managing multiple and diverse priorities with ease

Project Manager Josh Hall considers real-time collaboration as key to his successful delivery of multiple and concurrent priorities. “The simple fact is that Bluebeam does exactly what I need it to do—it makes my job easier to do and do well,” he said. “It should be a non-negotiable tool across all organizations in the construction industry.

The key tasks Hall deploys Bluebeam for include:

– To communicate clearly using AEC-specific tools to mark up contracts, drawings, photos and documents.

– To complete drawing overlays and dimension planning up to scale.

– To review detailed planning and information and confirm project delivery requirements.

A long-term Bluebeam user, Hall joined Modern Fire on the condition that the product was a key tool he could access. “I’ve been using it for five years across various roles and it underpins my success in delivering optimized outcomes in project delivery,” he said.

Modern Fire Project Administrator Hanna Greaves first began harnessing the capability of Bluebeam and its tools six months ago.

“I do all of the quantity takeoffs for tender submissions—it’s a critical tool to ensure accuracy,” she said. “It is relatively straightforward to use and quite intuitive—it was easy to self-teach and to build my skills in unlocking the Bluebeam tools as I go. Before this everything was printed out and counted out using a highlighter. Time saving and accuracy has been a great outcome for me—in particular thanks to the search tool capability and categorization tools.”

Looking toward the future

“Tools such as Bluebeam mean we are better able to position Modern Fire Protection as a trusted and permanent force in the industry,” Sawyer said. “It provides the opportunity to embed better systems and processes and reinforce the foundation of our business as we head into the longer term.”

Bluebeam is a tool that is deployed prolifically among Modern Fire’s project partners.

“When working across projects such as staged medical or shopping center precincts with multiple partners, we are all able to talk to a common language, so to speak,” Sawyer said. “These tools enable real-time agility and responsiveness—enhancing our professionalism and elevating our position in the industry. It underpins our value and supports our future growth.”

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With more than 56,000 TikTok followers, Furlong shares Bluebeam tips, career advice and personal insights from his journey through civil engineering

Musician, author and civil engineer Griffin Furlong knows what it’s like to prioritize education. In 2014, Furlong became his high school class valedictorian after overcoming a history of homelessness throughout his childhood.

Perhaps it was this experience that led Furlong to his passion for sharing his knowledge with others. Although he has more than enough work to keep him occupied, Furlong devotes time to educating college students on the ins and outs of Bluebeam via a surprising medium: TikTok.

An engineering background

Furlong has been a professional engineer for a year now, but he’s been working with Bluebeam much longer. “I’ve been a civil engineer in the land development industry now for about six years,” he said. “I had three internships prior in the industry, and ever since I was an intern, I’ve been using a lot of Bluebeam.”

As a civil engineer, Furlong is passionate about the complexity of his chosen career. “Land development’s very intricate,” he said. “We’re constantly working with a large team of environmental scientists, geotechnical engineers, lawyers, counties, municipalities—so we really bring a whole project to life. We’re usually the first step in a civil engineering process of designing everything under the ground. So, if you have a residential neighborhood, you need utilities, stormwater infrastructure—that part’s on us.”

Throughout his career, Furlong said Bluebeam has been instrumental in his ability to accomplish critical tasks. “AutoCAD and Bluebeam, in my opinion, are industry standard nowadays,” he said. “Bluebeam is really important, because we’re constantly marking things up. It’s just such a clean and easy way, especially in this day and age of PD, FS and electronics.”

Furlong appreciates how Bluebeam has brought his processes into the 21st century. “It used to be old school, all handwritten stuff, red lines—there’s a certain process there,” he said. “But we’ve moved into a different age and Bluebeam has allowed us to be a little bit more efficient with markups and communicating ideas on a plan set to a contractor and vice versa. Technology has played a big role, especially Bluebeam.”

Bringing Bluebeam to a new generation

Furlong knows firsthand how critical Bluebeam can be to career success, and he’s made something of an online career sharing his knowledge with others. Across a variety of platforms, Furlong shares entertaining videos on topics like how to become a civil engineer, humorous skits about working as an intern in the AEC industry and, of course, Bluebeam.

“I’m probably the biggest on TikTok, and I get so many questions about Bluebeam,” he said. “A lot of it is college students.” With more than 56,000 followers on his TikTok channel, Furlong’s latest video on Bluebeam tips has racked up nearly 20,000 views, with commenters chiming in asking for tips and support.

Inspired by his audience’s curiosity, Furlong decided to host a workshop on Bluebeam, which drew a rapt audience. Clearly, young people understand the importance of this software—and there’s a real appetite for the type of knowledge Furlong has been motivated to share.

“I was so surprised that there’s a lot of students out there that really want to learn Bluebeam,” he said.  “But it makes sense, because it goes beyond my industry of land development. Bluebeam can be used in any industry, so it wasn’t just civil engineers that were logged into the workshop.” Speaking to a diverse group of young people just starting out in the AEC world, Furlong gave a helpful walkthrough of his Bluebeam expertise.

As his platform continues to expand, Furlong hopes to increase his educational impact. “The age group ranging from my audience is typically 18 to 30,” he said. “There’s a lot of concentration between ages 18 to 25, so most of my viewers are either college students or interns.”

Within that audience, Furlong said interest in Bluebeam seems to be growing stronger. “I feel like I make a Bluebeam video every other week,” he said. “Bluebeam is a program that I would definitely recommend.”

Sharing his wisdom

When asked what advice he had to share with college students preparing to go into civil engineering or construction management, Furlong had a lot to say.

“I was once an intern that was completely lost,” he said. “I had no idea what I was doing.

“And there were nights after work where I would be really down on myself. I just feel like sometimes it really is all part of the process. It’s about how you’re able to take those difficult situations and move forward instead of just getting down in the dumps and not thinking that you’re worth anything.”

Furlong wants the students who come after him to know that self-doubt is normal. “If I have anything to say to anyone, it’s ‘you can do it,” he said. “It really is a matter of how you want to control that journey that you’re about to face. But I promise you, I’ve been there before where I’ve been lost at my desk, not knowing how to do something.” Ultimately, Furlong said, professional success comes down to the people you surround yourself with. “My message is to just stick with it and find the right people. The people who you work with are actually everything.”

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