Bauke de Vries

Ifcowl: A case of transforming express schemas into ontologies

Abstract Ontologies have been successfully applied as a semantic enabler of communication between both users and applications in fragmented, heterogeneous multinational business environments. In this paper we discuss the underlying principles, their current implementation status, and most importantly, their applicability to problems in the building information modeling domain. We introduce the development of an ontology for the building and construction sector based on the industry foundation classes. We discuss several approaches of lifting modeling information that is based on the express family of languages for data modeling onto a logically rigid and semantically enhanced ontological level encoded in the W3C Ontology Web Language. We exemplify the added value of such formal notation of building models by providing several examples where generic query and reasoning algorithms can be applied to problems that otherwise have to be manually hard-wired into applications for processing building information. Furthermore, we show how the underlying resource description framework and the set of technologies evolving around it can be tailored to the need of distributed collaborative work in the building and construction industry.

From demand driven contractor selection towards value driven contractor selection

The procurement of a construction contractor should consider more aspects than only cost or price. Taking value and price into account to select the ‘best value for money’ bid results in adopting a structured multi‐criteria approach. An alternative contractor selection method is presented, which identifies the contractor with the best potential to deliver the highest value for money. An investigation of the client needs and product performances for contractor selection has been conducted for a building type, and the relative weight of each product performance is analysed through a questionnaire. The relative weights of the product performances are identified by allocating a fictional budget to the client needs and translating these values into the relative weight of the product performances by using the quality function deployment method. In the contractor selection method, the relative importance of the product performances are combined with the scores of the bids, resulting in the best bid and contractor in a specific building project.

Using a Stereo Panoramic Interactive Navigation System to Measure Pedestrian Activity Scheduling Behaviour: A Test of Validity

Stereo panoramic virtual reality (VR) may represent another new technology with which to collect travel diaries. The potential value of VR-based systems is that respondents may reexperience and reenact their behaviour. The actual experience and visual trigger may lead to more valid data. To test this hypothesis the validity of a paper-and-pencil diary was compared with a stereo panoramic navigation application against actual observations of activity-travel sequences of pedestrians who were traced by observers. The results of this validation study support the hypothesis for most facets of activity-travel diaries, except for the aspect of duration, which generated more mixed results.

Simulation and Validation of Human Movement in Building Spaces

Data on human movement are valuable input data for building-simulation tools such as indoor-climate simulation and working-condition assessment. However, reliable data on human movement in buildings are scarcely available. Existing human-movement models are, typically, developed for (semi)public spaces and lack applicability to indoor spaces. The research presented here focuses on indoor office-building spaces and normal working conditions. The simulation model was developed in conjunction with a validation method. Web-based diaries and radio frequency identification technology were used to collect data on human behaviour in a real-life situation. The performance of the model was tested against a set of newly developed criterion variables (for example, the usage of facilities or the movement behaviour of employees) related to human movement in building spaces. Observed and predicted movement patterns were compared for these criteria. Results indicate close correspondence between simulated and observed behaviour, providing evidence of the validity of the model. The model can be used to accurately predict the space utilisation of an organisation.

Motivate: context aware mobile application for activity recommendation

This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a context-aware recommendation system that promotes the adoption of a healthy and active lifestyle. A Smartphone application that provides personalized and contextualized advice based on geo information, weather, user location and agenda was developed and evaluated by a user study. The results show the potential of this mobile application in triggering behavior change by suggesting simple daily activities.

The role of smart home in smart real estate

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review an emerging type of dwelling, indicated as Smart Home, with a focus on future user lifestyles and needs. Trends toward sustainability and technological changes dramatically alter the concepts of Smart Home. Consequently, real estate decisions are going to be affected by the Smart Home development. Inspired by research in the field of user centered design and future lifestyles, the authors redefine the housing design to increase the acceptance of Smart Homes in the society.Design/methodology/approach – Upcoming trends and developments in housing technologies and concepts are reviewed and analyzed. A multidimensional definition of a Smart Home is suggested which allows a better understanding of the new elements and spaces of this future home. A new concept of a home environment is presented in which virtual space and ambient intelligent space is integrated within the physical space. Furthermore, possible changes in lifestyles enabled by new technological deve...

Architectural cue model in evacuation simulation for underground space design

In this paper, a CAVE-based experiment for measuring the evacuees’ preference on architectural cues is introduced. The research method has proven that a paired cue evacuation decision model can be constructed through the Conjoint Analysis method. According to the preference function the nearest exit assumption in other evacuation models is questionable in some circumstances. Moreover, a set of architectural cue attributes and their quantitative utilities on the preference are discovered.

A FRAMEWORK FOR PROCESSING AGENT-BASED PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY SIMULATIONS IN SHOPPING ENVIRONMENTS

Agent-based modeling is a computational methodology that allows the analyst to create, analyze, and experiment with artificial worlds populated by agents. A specific research area is microscale agent-based modeling, which can be used for the simulation of pedestrian movement for low- and high-density scenarios and for the effect of changes in an environment. Such models can also be used for pedestrian dynamics in city centers to show the design effects in the shopping environment. The main contribution of this article is an agent-based model that provides an activity agenda for pedestrian agents that guides their shopping behavior in terms of destination and time spent in shopping areas. This model involves choice mechanisms including where to stop, in what order, and which route to take. The article describes a framework for processing agent-based pedestrian activity simulations within a shopping environment. The main achievement of this research is a validation of the approach leading to a working system. Preliminary findings are reported here.

Differences between business center concepts in The Netherlands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the objectives, tenants, spaces and services of different business center concepts and test whether the existing classifications in literature and in the real estate market draw on significantly different concepts. Design/methodology/approach – After a literature review, data on business centers were collected with a questionnaire among owners/mangers of 139 business centers in the Netherlands. The existing business center concepts are examined whether these concepts are significantly different, using bivariate analyses. Findings – The findings of this study give insight into the business center market, the existing business center concepts and (dis)similarities between the concepts. Although many dissimilarities were found between the business center concepts, like offered services, social spaces and contractual agreements, findings show that the four business center concepts can be offered in similar objects. Originality/value – New ideas about working a...

An improved neutral landscape model for recreating real landscapes and generating landscape series for spatial ecological simulations.

Abstract Many studies have assessed the effect of landscape patterns on spatial ecological processes by simulating these processes in computer‐generated landscapes with varying composition and configuration. To generate such landscapes, various neutral landscape models have been developed. However, the limited set of landscape‐level pattern variables included in these models is often inadequate to generate landscapes that reflect real landscapes. In order to achieve more flexibility and variability in the generated landscapes patterns, a more complete set of class‐ and patch‐level pattern variables should be implemented in these models. These enhancements have been implemented in Landscape Generator (LG), which is a software that uses optimization algorithms to generate landscapes that match user‐defined target values. Developed for participatory spatial planning at small scale, we enhanced the usability of LG and demonstrated how it can be used for larger scale ecological studies. First, we used LG to recreate landscape patterns from a real landscape (i.e., a mountainous region in Switzerland). Second, we generated landscape series with incrementally changing pattern variables, which could be used in ecological simulation studies. We found that LG was able to recreate landscape patterns that approximate those of real landscapes. Furthermore, we successfully generated landscape series that would not have been possible with traditional neutral landscape models. LG is a promising novel approach for generating neutral landscapes and enables testing of new hypotheses regarding the influence of landscape patterns on ecological processes. LG is freely available online.