Smart Connected Buildings Design Automation: Foundations and Trends

PurposeThe paper aims to leverage the importance of the integrated automatic structural design for tall buildings at the early stage. It proposes to use an automatic prototype to perform the structural design, analysis and optimisation in a building information modelling (BIM)-based platform. This process starts with extracting the required information from the architectural model in Revit Autodesk, such as boundary conditions and designs different options of the structural models in Robot Autodesk. In this process, Dynamo for Revit is used to define the mathematical functions to use different variables and generate various structural models. The paper aims to expand the domain of automation in the BIM platform to reduce the iterative process in different areas such as conceptual structural design and collaboration between architects and structural engineers to reduce the time and cost at the early stages.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with an exploratory research by adopting a qualitative methodology and using open-ended questions to achieve more information about the phenomenon of automation and interoperability between structural engineers and architects and gain new insight into this area. Furthermore, correlation research is used by adopting quantitative and short questions to compare the proposed prototype with the traditional process of the structural design and optimisation and the interoperability between architects and engineers and consequently, validate the research.FindingsAs an outcome of the research, a structural design optimisation (SDO) prototype was developed to semi-automate the structural design process of tall buildings at the early stages. Moreover, the proposed prototype can be used during the early stage of structural design in different areas such as residential buildings, bridges, truss, reinforced concrete detailing, etc. Moreover, comprehensive literature regarding using automation in structural design, optimisation process and interoperability between architects and engineers is conducted that provides a new insight to contribute to future research and development.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the time limit, the paper results may lack in a comprehensive automatic structural design process. Therefore, the researchers are encouraged to expand the workability of the prototype for a comprehensive automatic design check such as automatic design for the minimum deflection, displacement of different types of buildings.Practical implicationsThe prototype includes implications for the development of different automatic designs.Originality/valueThe focus of this paper is the optimisation of the structural design in the BIM platform by using automation. This combination is one of the novelties of this paper, and the existing literature has a very limited amount of information and similar work in this area, especially interoperability between architects and engineers.

The modular structure is ideal for buildings with repeatable units as its advantages of the reduced on-site construction schedule, improved quality, and reduced environmental impacts. The design of modular structure doesn’t need to be the same as the traditional structural design which adopts the process of trial and error methodology to try to search a “feasible solution” that satisfies the structural design criteria. In this paper, an automatic optimal design method is developed for steel modular buildings. The proposed design method integrates computer technology and advanced optimal method into engineering practice to make the structural design of steel modular buildings automatically, quickly, and accurately under different wind load levels. The critical components are firstly indicated by redundancy and sensitivity analysis results, and the optimal design results are then obtained by the iteration procedure. This study realized the proposed design method by coding a program. The design results of a steel frame structure obtained by traditional design method and the automatic optimal design method developed in this paper are compared to show the accuracy and efficiency of the automatic optimal design method.KeywordsModular structureSensitivity analysisAutomatic optimal design

An investigation of the option space in conceptual building design for advanced building simulation

Trajectory of building and structural design automation from generative design towards the integration of deep generative models and optimization: A review

BIM-based graph data model for automatic generative design of modular buildings

PurposeThis study aimed to propose a performance-oriented approach of automatically generative design and optimization of hospital building layouts in consideration of public health emergency, which intended to conduct reasonable layout design of hospital building to meet different performance requirements for both high efficiency during normal periods and low risk in the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe research design follows a sequential mixed methodology. First, key points and parameters of hospital building layout design (HBLD) are analyzed. Then, to meet the requirements of high efficiency and low risk, adjacent preference score and infection risk coefficient are constructed as constraints. On this basis, automatic generative design is conducted to generate building layout schemes. Finally, multi-objective deviation analysis is carried out to obtain the optimal scheme of hospital building layouts.FindingsAutomatic generative design of building layouts that integrates adjacent preferences and infection risks enables hospitals to achieve rapid transitions between normal (high efficiency) and pandemic (low risk) periods, which can effectively respond to public health emergencies. The proposed approach has been verified in an actual project, which can help systematically explore the solution for better decision-making.Research limitations/implicationsThe form of building layouts is limited to rectangles, and future work can explore conducting irregular layouts into optimization for the framework of generative design.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is the developed approach that can quickly and effectively generate more hospital layout alternatives satisfying high operational efficiency and low infection risk by formulating space design rules, which is of great significance in response to public health emergency.

Principles of design for automation applied to construction tasks

The design of most engineering artefacts is based on that of previous artefacts of the same type. Indeed, in much of engineering, effort is concentrated on the development of broadly standard design patterns — consider for example the design of buildings, bridges, electrical equipment, production machines, engines and vehicles of all descriptions. Engineering knowledge develops through innovation and experiment in design, and through research, development and test programmes. Given that much product development occurs in such patterns, engineering organisations need guidelines concerning the size, frequency and direction of the changes that develop the design. Such guidelines will allow organisations to judge where to devote research and development effort, and when to adopt more or less radical product design strategies. Knowledge of the likely areas in which product development will be most dynamic mill also allow an organisation to choose the level of design support and automation that may be possible though computer-aided design tools. This paper mill address each of these issues by presenting a consideration of the ways that new designs are created and then how design information and knowledge can be considered and handled to support these stages. This paper is based on an analysis of work from across the globe to enable a view of the relationship between these issues.Copyright © 2006 by ASME

SUMMARYThis paper presents an integrated procedure for wind‐induced response analysis and design optimization for rectangular steel tall buildings based on the random vibration theory and automatic least cost design optimization technique using Micro‐Genetic Algorithm (GA). The developed approach can predict wind‐induced drift and acceleration responses for serviceability design of a tall building; the technique can also provide an optimal resizing design of the building under wind loads to achieve cost‐efficient design. The empirical formulas of wind force spectra obtained from simultaneous measurements of surface pressures on various rectangular tall building models in wind tunnel tests are verified testified using a published example. Upon the known wind force spectra, the equivalent static wind loads for every storey, such as along‐wind, across‐wind and torsional loads, are then determined and applied for structural analysis including estimation of wind‐induced responses. An improved form of GAs, a Micro‐GA, is adopted to minimize the structural cost/weight of steel buildings subject to top acceleration and lateral drifts constraints with respect to the discrete design variables of steel section sizes. The application and effectiveness of the developed integrated wind‐induced response analysis and design optimization procedure is illustrated through a 30‐storey rectangular steel building example. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The challenges for the next generation of integrated circuit design of analogue and mixed-signal building blocks in standard CMOS technologies for signal conversion demand research progress in the emerging scientific fields of device physics and modelling, converter architectures, design automation, quality assurance and cost factor analysis. Estimation of mismatch for analogue building blocks at the conceptual level and the impact on active area is not a straightforward calculation. The proposed design concepts reduce the over-sizing of transistors, compared with the existing methods, with 15 to 20% for the same quality specification. Besides the reduction of the silicon cost also the design time cost for new topologies is reduced considerably. Comparison has been done for current mode converters (ADC and DAC) and focussing on downscaling technologies. The developed method offers an integrated approach on the estimation of architecture performances, yield and IP-reuse. Matching energy remains constant over process generations and will be the limiting factor for current signal processing. The comprehensive understanding of all sources of mismatches and the use of physical based mismatch modelling in the prediction of mismatch errors, more adequate and realistic sizing of all transistors will result in an overall area reduction of analogue IP blocks. For each technology the following design curves are automatically developed: noise curves for a specified signal bandwidth, choice of overdrive voltage versus lambda and output resistance, physical mismatch error modelling on target current levels. The procedural approach shares knowledge of several design curves and speeds up the design time.

The aging population is growing drastically all over the world. With the advent of the global era, universal design is garnering considerable interest, as the number of multicultural families is increasing, and various user classes are being created. In addition, with the advances in construction technology, architectural design is becoming more diverse, and convenience facilities are also getting distributed in various ways. As a result, more buildings need to apply universal design, indicating that various architectural information and universal design for the user class are required. Various data are needed for universal design evaluation, but there is a limit to evaluating with two-dimensional (2D) drawings. However, the limitations of 2D drawings can be overcome via building information modeling (BIM) combined with architectural data, which remarkably simplifies the universal design evaluation. This study was conducted with the aim to analyze architectural information by extracting architectural elements necessary for universal design evaluation from BIM data. It was confirmed that the calculations for universal design evaluation can be performed by 3D shape or attribute analysis using BIM data and computer programming. In order to create an automated evaluation algorithm for universal design, the evaluation methods were classified according to the universal design evaluation guide, based on building users and user diversity. In addition, even if the evaluation methods were the same by location, different points were classified by location, and evaluation items and information necessary for the evaluation were organized by category for each facility. Through this classification, we created an algorithm with seven types of methods for extracting the BIM data and comparing them by evaluation method for an automated analysis. In addition, an analysis was performed directly on the BIM design sample model using an automated evaluation algorithm. Although there were various architectural objects in the design data, evaluation was possible using algorithms. By applying the universal design evaluation and BIM data evaluation methods, we could confirm that the BIM-based universal design automation evaluation method prevents human error and is thus superior to the existing evaluation methods. Further, the automation evaluation method can contribute to BIM activation as the BIM data can be used in various studies such as design certification evaluation and automation analysis.

This paper provides a new design and automation concept for tertiary buildings in mixed mode ventilation system with combined functions of mechanical air conditioning and natural ventilation. It aims to make use of simple automation design and set-up to significantly reduce the energy consumption while keeping optimum occupants’ comfort. A prototype architectural design of the building aimed at maximizing the passive cooling potential is presented in this paper. The automation system follows a simple control outline where input parameters are fed into a programming control and the system yields the necessary output condition. The system runs in two control operations—schedule-based and event-based—with independent input parameters and with output conditions identified as natural ventilation, full mechanical ventilation, and partial mechanical ventilation. The specific controller, sensors, and actuators for implementing the building automation system were identified. The whole automation concept and design was programmed in an automation software and was simulated to look at the possible system scenarios and results. Results show that a cost saving of as much as Php 246,874.00 per year could be achieved.

Computerized automatic design of concrete buildings

Synthetic 3D Building Energy Model (BEM) Dataset Generation for Human + AI Synergies in Early-Phase High Performance Building Design

Design and Research of Intelligent Building and Electrical Automation