Bowdy’s study abroad trip

Monday:

Rough start to the week. I was running on around 3 hours of sleep from traveling back from Morocco on Sunday, so getting up Monday morning was not fun. Spent basically the entire day on thesis work- started around 8 a.m. and went until midnight. Long, exhausting day, but I made some good progress.

Tuesday:

Worked on thesis all morning, then we took a bus to visit ISA. ISA is an Italian company based right outside of Pesaro, not far from Urbino, that designs and builds curtain walls and aluminum window systems. They handle everything from design to production and installation, and they work on a lot of big commercial and architectural projects. It was really cool seeing their setup- the offices, warehouse, and all the machinery used to make the façade systems. It gave me a better idea of how the stuff we talk about in class and work on in our theses actually comes to life in the real world. We also met with some of their project managers and they showed us some of the stuff they were working on. They use the same software that we did to 3d model our thesis project buildings. We got back to Urbino around dinner, ate, then kept working on the thesis until about 11.

Wednesday:

Again, thesis all day. Started around 8 and went late into the night again. Pretty much lived in front of my computer, but I’m finally seeing things come together, so it feels worth it.

What I completed in thesis this week:

I finished up my financial analysis this week. Basically, I defined and analyzed my company’s financial position, used last year’s income statement and balance sheet, and then projected numbers for the upcoming year. It included figuring out salaries, labor burdens, and how those relate to overall revenue and profit margins. I also calculated key ratios like gross margin, net margin, ROI, and current ratio, then wrote about what those numbers actually mean for the company’s performance and growth. Basically, it was a deep dive into the business side of construction- seeing how the numbers tell the story of how strong or efficient my company really is.

I also finished up my structural analysis section this week. Basically, I broke down how my building carries both vertical (gravity) and lateral (wind) loads down to the foundation. I used section cuts and 3D visuals to show how everything transfers through the structure. I also had to include a temporary structure design and explain how it fits into the construction sequence. It was a lot of technical detail, but it really helped me understand how the building actually stands up and stays stable during and after construction. Next up, the overall project schedule!