1. Sociology : Engineering
Thoughts on their relationship
in an ever-changing world

2. Charles T. Hodges - Background
Computer & Electric Center
Corporate
Headquarters

3. New Forum
Natural Resources
Place Making
Local Activities
Community
People

4. Ayrsley Town Center

5. Ayrsley Town Center

6. Definitions
The systematic study of the
development, structure, interaction, and
collective behavior of organized groups of
humans.
The application of science and math
by which the properties of matter and
the sources of energy in nature are
made useful to people.

7. The interaction between the evolution of technology
and the development of economy and society has
always been an important dimension of human
history. The transition from the agricultural society
towards the industrial society provides the most
pertinent illustration of the profound implications
which the full diffusion of new technologies can have
on family structures, work relations, settlement
patterns, economic and political power
configurations, and also on behavior patterns and
value systems.

8. In a rare reflective moment after the launch of the iPad, Steve
Jobs mentioned Apple’s DNA:
‘Technology alone is not enough.
It’s technology married with the liberal
arts, married with the humanities, that
yields the results that makes our
hearts sing.’

9. What drives an entrepreneur?
1. Look for a problem to solve – a ‘Big Idea.’
2. Create a product/solution that solves the problem.
Where do they get the spark?
Sociological
change

10. What causes sociological change?
-Technology advancement
-Economic conditions
-Geo/political conditions
-Cultural changes
-Resource constraints

11. See Saw Relationship
Entrepreneur Engineer
BIG
Ideas
Make It
Work

12. See Saw Relationship
Entrepreneur Engineer
BIG Make It
Ideas Work

13. See Saw Relationship
Entrepreneur Engineer
Make It
Work
BIG
Ideas

14. See Saw Relationship
Entrepreneur Engineer
BIG Make It
Ideas Work
Need
Balance!

15. Plucking The Heart Strings of Engineers
1) Cooper River Bridge
Charleston, SC, completed 1946
2) Luling Bridge,
St. Charles Parish, LA, completed 1983
3) Ravenel Bridge,
Charleston, SC, completed 2005

16. One Of My Big Life Lessons Learned
The object of organizations is the
optimization of the ‘total system’
and NOT the optimization of the
subsystems.
Sub-optimization occurs when the
best possible outcome is not realized
because of a lack of coordination or
communication between different
elements, parts, or participants.

17. Sub-Optimization In Action

18. Case Study 1
Thomas Fisher, dean of the University of Minnesota’s College of
Design, told a gathering of the Commercial Real Estate Development
Association (NAIOP) that millennials actually see privacy as negative. In
fact, he predicted that by 2025, the ‘office’ as we know it will be gone.
‘The idea of the separate office as a private
piece of real estate that you must have is
going to disappear very quickly with this
generation. How they use space flips what
we have today: Most of an office will be
open, flexible and fluid in its use, with only
occasional need for private spaces.’

19. Case Study 2

21. The Polyphony in Commercial Real Estate

33. Benching = 148 workstations

34. Pod = 144 workstations

37. What does the future hold?
4 Certainties from Future Agenda:
- Universal Data Access - Unbalanced Population
Growth
- Resource Constraints - Wealth Shift
Sociological Impact:
Efficient
Information Age Age of Efficiency*
Information Age
*A great time to be an engineer