Why This Blog Exists: An Engineer Who Codes
The Short Version
I'm Yusuf — a mechanical engineer based in Berlin, specializing in HVAC system design and BIM coordination. By day, I plan heating, ventilation, and sanitary systems for buildings. By night (and weekends), I build software: iOS apps, web platforms, and tools that bridge the gap between engineering and code.
This blog is the place where those two worlds collide.
Why a Mechanical Engineer Writes Code
In 2022, I started my first BIM engineering role in Berlin. Within weeks, I noticed a pattern: the most time-consuming parts of my job weren't the engineering decisions — they were the repetitive calculations, the manual data entry, the copy-paste workflows between tools that didn't talk to each other.
I'd spend hours looking up U-values in DIN standard tables, plugging numbers into Excel templates, and formatting reports. The actual engineering judgment — choosing the right system, sizing equipment, coordinating with architects — took a fraction of the time.
So I started automating. First with Excel macros. Then Python scripts. Then I thought: what if the entire calculation workflow lived in a web browser?
That question eventually became Mepbau — a cloud-based HVAC calculation platform I'm building to replace the spreadsheet-and-desktop-tool workflow that dominates the German MEP industry.
What You'll Find Here
This blog covers the intersection of MEP engineering and software development:
- HVAC + SaaS — Building cloud-native tools for an industry that still runs on desktop software and Excel. Architecture decisions, DIN standard encoding, validation strategies.
- BIM Development — Revit add-ins, IFC parsing, open BIM data pipelines. How to programmatically work with building models.
- IFC & Open Standards — The promise and pain of Industry Foundation Classes. Parsing, extracting, and serving BIM data through web APIs.
- iOS & Web Development — Lessons from shipping 7 iOS apps and building full-stack web platforms with Next.js, FastAPI, and Swift.
Every post is grounded in real experience — real projects, real code, real problems I've encountered on the job site or in the codebase.
The Stack
For the curious, here's what I typically work with:
| Domain | Tools |
|---|---|
| HVAC/MEP | Revit, AutoCAD, DIN/VDI standards, IFC |
| Backend | Python, FastAPI, Supabase, PostgreSQL |
| Frontend | Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS |
| iOS | Swift, SwiftUI, SwiftData |
| BIM Dev | IfcOpenShell, Revit API (C#), Forge/APS |
Let's Connect
If you're an engineer learning to code, a developer curious about AEC/MEP, or someone building tools for the construction industry — I'd love to hear from you. Reach out at hello@laborsam.com or find me on LinkedIn and GitHub.
More posts coming soon. First up: the story of building a HVAC SaaS platform as a solo mechanical engineer.