188: ‘Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable’, with Gavin Crump
A conversation with Gavin Crump about exploring personal evolution in AEC, embracing programming as creativity, and building a public brand through generosity, while highlighting the importance of retaining talent within the industry.
Gavin Crump joins the podcast to talk about his personal and professional evolution from an introverted graduate architect who stumbled through his first Revit test to becoming one of the most visible and trusted voices in AEC technology. We talk about programming as a creative outlet, the surprisingly emotional experience of automating his first workflow, and what it takes to build a public brand rooted in generosity and curiosity. Gavin also shares candid thoughts about building for delivery instead of design, the often-overlooked value of middle-tier roles in architecture firms, and why he believes architects still deserve the best tooling to do their best work.
Episode links:
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Connect with the Guest
Books and Philosophies
- Cal Newport’s Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
- Amazon Affiliate Link
- Explores the benefits of focused, distraction-free work, which aligns with Gavin’s approach to mastering programming and BIM tools.
- David Epstein’s Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
- Amazon Affiliate Link
- Encourages embracing breadth in skill development—resonates with Gavin’s diverse journey from architecture to BIM consulting and content creation.
- Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work
- Official Website
- Amazon Affiliate Link
- A guide to sharing your creative process and building a personal brand, relevant to Gavin’s journey with the Aussie BIM Guru YouTube channel.
Tools and Emerging Technologies
- ChatGPT for Coding Support
- Official Website
- Gavin discusses using GPT models to learn C#, demonstrating the evolving role of AI in helping technologists break into new languages and workflows.
- Anthropic Claude
- Official website
- A highly regarded option for AI assisted code generation.
- pyRevit
- Official Website
- A powerful IronPython scripting library for Autodesk Revit, frequently used by Gavin to create custom tools for project teams.
Visualization & Design Tools
- Dynamo for Revit
- Dynamo BIM
- Visual programming for Revit—Gavin’s early gateway into programming and automation in architecture.
- Grasshopper
- Grasshopper Official Site
- Visual programming environment integrated with Rhino; helped Gavin reconnect with architectural design logic.
- Rhino 3D
- Rhino Website
- Used to expand digital practice into mesh-based workflows and broader file compatibility.
Psychology and Personal Development
- Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts
- Official Site
- Amazon Affiliate Link
- Offers insight into introverted leadership—Gavin’s story exemplifies the impact of introverts in technical and public-facing roles.
- Angela Duckworth’s Grit
- Amazon Affiliate Link
- Examines how passion and perseverance drive success—relevant to Gavin’s self-taught journey through Revit, Dynamo, Python, and C#.
About Gavin Crump:
During his career, Gavin has worked at a variety of firms in various levels of BIM coordination/management and as a BIM Consultant at his own company, BIM Guru. He became well known for his work over at his YouTube channel, ‘Aussie BIM Guru’ – where Gavin shares practical tutorials and discussions focused on BIM and computation.
Currently Gavin works at Architectus as a BIM/Computation lead amongst a team of like minded professionals, and his interest remains with the forefront of technology and workflows related to data management.
