Knowledge-Based Communication Processes in Building Design

Abstract

The development of standardised product and process models for the building and construction industry has now reached a stage where collaborative design is feasible. The challenge comes from the appropriate adoption of emerging technologies to support advanced data interoperability at different levels of granularity. Interoperability is the enabling mechanism that allows information to be exchanged between collaborative systems. We focus on advanced coordination between the design system (e.g. CAD system) and the building code checking system based on the Building Code Australia (BCA). It will enable design tasks (e.g. drawings) produced within a CAD system to be automatically processed by an external system, e.g. building code checking system. One technical difficulty concerned is CAD and BCA objects recognition. The process covers the information flow from a CAD system to the code checking system. It contains the events and activities taking place within each separate CAD and compliance checking system, and through the communication channels between the two systems. The code checking system needs the recognition of CAD objects such as doors, walls and passageways and their relationships. This information is already available in the new generation of CAD systems in an implicit form. BCA objects may further be substantiated (e.g. through mapping) within the compliance checking system based on the incoming CAD objects according to building code requirements. Recognition of these objects requires inference techniques.