Mark J. Clayton

Rapid conceptual design evaluation using a virtual product model

Abstract This paper presents an architecture and test results for a computer-based system for assisting the conceptual phase of building design. The system uses 3D CAD to represent a graphic model of the design, and it uses AI symbolic models of the geometric forms, intended functions and computed and assigned behaviors of the design. The system uses A1 symbolic reasoning methods to analyze design behavior and compare predicted behavior with intended function. The Semantic Modeling Extension (SME) system incorporates a virtual product model: a small but extendible set of classes that define generic forms, functions and behaviors of facilities. After drawing a design using 3D CAD, a designer interactively creates interpretation objects as instances of the virtual product model. The interpretation objects express the meaning of the graphic representation with respect to a particular engineering issue, such as energy use or cost. The interpretation represents geometric and topological attributes of the features for use by automated design analysis tools. Interpretation objects unite support for graphically-oriented design thinking with support for automated symbolic reasoning. The paper includes an example building design scenario using the software prototype, illustrating how interpretation of the geometric model produces a symbolic model and supports multiple and changing analyses and evaluations during design. Students and practising engineers have tested the system in classes and workshops.

Anticipating reuse : Documenting buildings for operations using web technology

Abstract This research explores the feasibility of web technology as a means for delivering building information to better support facility operations. Our research proposes just-in-time (JIT) facility documentation as a pragmatic solution to the limitations of current as-built documents, allowing more effective reuse of building information. Our investigation addresses four issues: (1) what building information is needed for facility operations; (2) how the design and construction team can improve the format for delivering the building information to facility operators; (3) how current web technology can store and deliver facility information in support of operations; and (4) what is the mechanism of documenting building information using the web technology. We surveyed literature, interviewed members of design and operations teams and reviewed current initiatives of industry and software vendors to identify problems with current practices. We also surveyed promising web technologies and conducted experiments to determine how these technologies could help to solve the problems. We constructed a conceptual framework of JIT facility documentation as a solution to current information fragmentation problems. We developed a prototype of the JIT document system to demonstrate a “proof of concept” by using current web technologies such as Autodesks DWF, Microsofts Active Server Pages, VB and Java script, and Access database to develop the prototype system. By dynamically composing HTML pages in response to task-specific requests, our prototype enables easy access and integration of a variety of building information to support facility operations.

A framework to integrate object-oriented physical modelling with building information modelling for building thermal simulation

This paper presents a framework for integrating building information modelling (BIM) and object-oriented physical modelling-based building energy modelling (BEM) focusing on thermal simulation to support decision-making in the design process. The framework is made of a system interface between BIM and Modelica-based BEM and the visualization of simulation results for building designers. The interface consists of the following two major features: (1) pre-processing BIM models to add required thermal parameters into BIM and generate the building topology and (2) translating BIM to Modelica-based building energy modelling automatically and running the thermal simulation. The visualization component presents the simulation results in BIM for designers to understand the relationship between design decisions and the building performance. For the framework implementation, we have created a ModelicaBIM library and utilized the Modelica Buildings library developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. We conducted a case study to demonstrate and validate the framework simulation results.

Translating Building Information Modeling to Building Energy Modeling Using Model View Definition

This paper presents a new approach to translate between Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Energy Modeling (BEM) that uses Modelica, an object-oriented declarative, equation-based simulation environment. The approach (BIM2BEM) has been developed using a data modeling method to enable seamless model translations of building geometry, materials, and topology. Using data modeling, we created a Model View Definition (MVD) consisting of a process model and a class diagram. The process model demonstrates object-mapping between BIM and Modelica-based BEM (ModelicaBEM) and facilitates the definition of required information during model translations. The class diagram represents the information and object relationships to produce a class package intermediate between the BIM and BEM. The implementation of the intermediate class package enables system interface (Revit2Modelica) development for automatic BIM data translation into ModelicaBEM. In order to demonstrate and validate our approach, simulation result comparisons have been conducted via three test cases using (1) the BIM-based Modelica models generated from Revit2Modelica and (2) BEM models manually created using LBNL Modelica Buildings library. Our implementation shows that BIM2BEM (1) enables BIM models to be translated into ModelicaBEM models, (2) enables system interface development based on the MVD for thermal simulation, and (3) facilitates the reuse of original BIM data into building energy simulation without an import/export process.

Environmental Effect on Egress Simulation

Evacuation and egress simulations can be a useful tool for studying the effect of design decisions on the flow of agent movement. This type of simulation can be used to determine before hand the effect of design decisions and enable exploration of potential improvements. In this work, we study at how agent egress is affected by the environment in real world and large scale virtual environments and investigate metrics to analyze the flow. Our work differs from many evacuation systems in that we support grouping restrictions between agents (e.g., families or other social groups traveling together), and model scenarios with multiple modes of transportation with physically realistic dynamics (e.g., individuals walk from a building to their own cars and leave only when all people in the group arrive).

Downstream of Design: Web-based facility operations documents

Internet technologies provide opportunities for improving the delivery of facility information to building owners and operators. Discussions with facility operators have led to identification of problems in current practices of delivering facility information using as-built drawings. A Web-based software prototype illustrates how facility information can be automatically structured into documents that support specific facility operations tasks.

Case Studies of Web-Based Collaborative Design

Data collected from real-world projects using Web-based communications and project management systems provide quantitative evidence for characterizing the design process. Tens of thousands of records have been analyzed from six cases. The cases are all high-end office and retail building projects, with about 50 members of the design team. The data supports the distinction of multiple stages in the design process as the patterns of usage of the software changes through time. Coordination activities are more frequent in early stages, while collaboration activities are more common in late stages. In planning and design stages, use of the software is focused upon accessing static information, while in construction documentation a relatively greater number of activities include generate and process operations.

Media Usage: Observations from an Experimental Study of Computer-Mediated Collaborative Design

Empirical studies can help characterize media usage in Internet-based collaborative environments and how they support architectural design. The information gained can lead to development of better tools, improved business practices, innovative educational approaches, and more effective design instruction. A rigorous controlled experiment has revealed hard evidence of how people use a collaborative environment to support architectural design. Teams of students undertook a short architectural design problem using a commercially available collaboration support software package. We observed that users employed shared drawing channels and audio channels more than text-based channels or video channels. Participants worked concurrently to a greater extent than was expected. A shared whiteboard tool was particularly useful in design analysis and coordination, while shared CAD environments supported synthesis and evaluation.

Mission unaccomplished: form and behavior but no function

Tools for modeling function may be an important step in achieving computer-aided design software that can genuinely improve the quality of design. Although researchers have included function in product models for many years, current commercial Building Information Models are focused upon representations of form that can drive models of behavior but lack models of function. If a model of function is added to a BIM, then the building model will be much more capable of representing the cognitive process of design and of supporting design reasoning. The paradigm of a form model, a function model, and a behavior model may suggest ways to reorganize architectural and engineering practice. Design teams could also be organized into roles of form modelers, function modelers, and behavior modelers. Although this would be a radical and novel definition of roles in a team, it parallels principles that have arisen naturally in contemporary practice.

Diagramming Aesthetics: Modernism and Architecture in the 21st Century

In architectural design, diagramming has an equally important role in functional studies and in aesthetic studies. Diagrams are used to create and explore alternative schemes at the very early stages. They are also used to explain concepts once a project is completed. Learning to diagram is an important part of architectural education. A particular diagramming vocabulary can help to guide students into an appreciation and consciousness of aesthetics. As an introduction to theories of modernism, students have been instructed in the use of a set of diagrams that express abstract qualities of architectural aesthetics. The exercises are designed to wean students from a naive aesthetic that merely mimics popular taste and introduce them to the field of aesthetics as an intellectual discipline. The diagramming vocabulary has been developed from the “seven invariables,” described by Bruno Zevi in The Modern Language of Architecture. Students apply the diagrams to analyze examples of famous buildings. They then design a house, applying the aesthetic principles expressed by the diagrams. The resulting designs are compared to previous designs produced by the students to reveal the change that is due in part to learning the diagramming vocabulary.