Avalon Hernandez

I am a BIM intern at Charcoalblue and my main objective while I’m here is to carry out research tasks to help improve workflows. I am new to architecture but “old” to theatre and I approach my work with the same zeal and energy I used to bring to productions when I was a stage and production manager: with lists, spreadsheets, and a love of teamwork. What matters most to me is colleague and customer satisfaction, and turning out high-quality work. I am new to the construction industry and as I navigate the possibilities and where I fit in, I find new and exciting branches of the Built Environment every day, like the work we do here at Charcoalblue!

What Brought You to Charcoalblue

I am a third year architectural technology student at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland and was introduced to Charcoalblue’s BIM Manager Jake Loveday by my curriculum head as we were both theatre technicians who left the industry and retrained in Architecture. After chatting and learning about what Jake does at Charcoalblue, I couldn’t believe there was an opportunity to use my many years of theatre experience combined with my recent architectural technician training and I began my (successful) campaign to work with the company as a student placement.

What Clients/Colleagues Value About You

While I am new to the built environment I have many years experience leading theatre production teams and working with production designers. I carved a niche in the Scottish theatre community as a valuable team member who is always positive, organised, a strong communicator, and a creative thinker. My work often involved collaborating with the design team on creative solutions to complicated technical sequences. This strong collaborative approach allowed me to be a part of many new productions with their own sets of complicated technical requirements.

What We Won’t Learn from Your CV

I am a fitness fanatic and my niche is weight lifting. I love anaerobic exercise and as a result I’m always hungry and looking for a sauna to rest my sore muscles.

Coffee, Travel, or Creative Ritual

I’ve held a medley of barista jobs throughout the years and therefore am cursed with coffee snobbery. I love a good coffee, I won’t finish a bad one, and if I don’t have access to my Moccamaster at home I’m probably traveling with an Aeropress and a delightful bag of beans from Gordon Street Coffee or an equally delicious roaster.

What Are You Learning About Right Now

I am currently learning how to create workflows in Dynamo for Revit. It’s a pretty great way to automate processes that one does over and over again.

A Book, Podcast, Building, or Creative Work That Inspires You

I don’t read a lot of non fiction, but three books I read that have stayed with me and I recommend all the time are: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (stories of people who have escaped North Korea, incredibly riveting), The Lost City of Z (hundreds of people have disappeared in the hunt for the city of gold in South America and this book details some of the more well known explorers and what happened to them), and the Wager (the true story of a shipwreck, a mutiny, and the dueling survivors’ tales…in court!! Truly a story with twists and turns that were fascinating, disgusting, and astounding). All of these books have inspired me in different ways: North Korea: that anything is possible no matter how oppressed you feel; The Lost City of Z that what you were looking for might be right in front of you, but not as you expected; and The Wager: I don’t actually know how this book inspires me it’s just mental and I can’t believe it really happened. The last two books are by the same author; I suppose he’s inspired me with his excellent research and writing!

Cultural Value You Most Identify With

While many of the values are important, I most identify with collaboration and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Collaboration because through teamwork you are stronger than your individual parts. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion because a diverse group of people bring different understanding, background, and perspective to any situation/project. Without that diversity, creative processes/work/society…can stagnate.