Uses of Databases in Design Offices

“A database is an organized collection of data. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality in a way that supports processes requiring this information.”

This is Wikipedia’s description of a database. So, a database is a set of data that has a systematic structure, and that is organized in such way that a computer can easily find the desired information. The data is a collection of pieces of information, mainly information that has been organized in some specific way for use in analysis or making decisions.

With BIM becoming the primary method of design process, the building industry is changing. BIM is database building. All the materials have so much information linked into them. One example could be how databases estimates material and labor costs for the whole building.

The use of database-based building design reduces the labor time. Earlier on one actually had to draw each line to create a window, but now, with programs like Revit, you open the component database and simply load a window. The window will then become a family, which can be changed throughout the design process, and all the windows will change with it. Earlier on, all the windows would have to be re-drawn. The family will also contain information such as dimensions, material properties, offsets etc. that can be put directly into sheets and you’d have a whole list of for example all the windows in the building and their size.

I have used databases a lot in my internship at a design office. When we should meet the Danish building regulation's requirements for window area/floor area, it was very easy to use the sheets in Revit and get all the rooms listed with room numbers, area, and window area, and then export all the information into an Excel sheet and calculate the window area/floor area percentage. It was a very fast process, and that way the architects could sooner know whether they should increase or decrease the window size in the different rooms.

I used the database’s information, when we should meet the LEED requirements for a huge banking office of approximately 46000 m² (495140 ft. ² (I put both so it wouldn’t just look like a huge calculation error)). All the windows were angled differently according to their position of the sun. It would have taken me weeks to measure the different glass percentage area, but with the Revit schedules, all it took was just a few clicks.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database

Comments:
Steve: Great database history! I can't even image a world where databases are "flat". Guess a lot of new technology came from Codd's relational database theory!

Andrew: Very interesting post. I had never heard of SQL before I read your post, so thanks for enlighten me.