Webster Discusses the Future of Strategic Technology in A/E Industry

Technology Continues to Transform the Engineering Field and Inspire Creativity in Architectural Designs 

Justin Webster, HDR’s chief technology officer, was featured in a June article in the Midlands Business Journal. 

In the article “Evolving Built Environment: Firms Deploy Strategic Tech,” Webster highlights what he says is an “exciting time for our industry.” 

“Engineering firms, vendors and asset owners are coming together to collaborate in creative ways to study use-case opportunities and provide value for the betterment of the industry and the communities we live in,” noted Webster. 

He touches on how technology is evolving in the built environment, recognizing data as a key organizational asset and the danger of information silos. 

Webster notes that while there is transformative potential and excitement around using artificial intelligence for planning, content, semantic search, and design, challenges remain. 

“Having good quality data accessible for AI capabilities seems to be a significant barrier and is forcing organizations to abandon their traditional siloed information protocols and commit to large data lakes,” Webster said. “This is a significant technological and cultural shift in organizations. Having the right skills and technology capabilities to deliver those capabilities is also challenging.”