Course Reflection: Final Post

In order to write this final blog post and effectively reflect on my journey in the class, I read all my previous entries. Honestly. I’m amazed by the progress I have made from my first posts. At the beginning of the term I did not know anything about “Intelligent Buildings” or databases. Even the knowledge I thought I had on BIM was very limited. As I’m writing this last post I have a better understanding of BIM processes, as well as their strengths and limitations. I also made a very basic database that helped me have a better understanding of the roles they play in our field. I made a lot of progress as an architectural engineer, and Professor Mitchel helped me look toward the future of the field.

I really enjoyed the format of the class. The fact that we had to research independently the discussion topics before class, made the lectures easier to understand. I liked the fact that we had to read our classmates posts, this promoted interaction between us and facilitated discussions. It also gave me new perspectives on the discussion topics. Everyone attacked the problem at different angles, and it is always nice to read a point of view you had not considered previously. Another aspect of the class that made it great was the guest lecturer. Like I said before, it is always nice to hear different point of view on the same topic. Professor Mitchell made sure we were exposed to the way things worked in the industry by having speakers from the construction side, the design side, and even the software development side. This kind of experience is invaluable for students about to enter the workforce. It helped me better prepare for interviews or networking events since I knew what employers were looking for.

I really enjoyed my time in class, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend. 


Comments on others posts:

Esther:  Although I did not discuss it in my post, the possibilities that BIM technologies might completely change the way we do things now is quite exciting. I don't know if all the changes will be positive, but I know that I'm definitely anxious to see what will become of our field in the years to come. Actually, I excited to have the opportunity to be part of this change.

Ivan: I also really enjoyed hearing more about the technologies available to us. I had stuck to Revit this whole time, and these presentation showed me a whole new world. I'm hoping to soon be able to use these new software we learned about to make my senior design work a little easier. 

Group C: Humidity Sensor

Humidity can be defined as the quantity of moisture (water) in the air. The warmer the air is, the more moisture it can hold. Relative humidity is a percentage that helps quantify the amount of moisture in the air. It is the ratio of the moisture present in the air to the maximum amount of moisture the air can hold at that temperature. A humidity sensor would measure and report this quantity. Most humidity sensors work by using a “capacitive measurement” system [1]. These sensors use two metal plates and a non-conductive film that will collect the moisture in the air. The moisture will cause voltage changes between the two plates, which in turn will be converted into digital readings of the air relative humidity. 
   

These sensors are used in residential, office, and even industrial settings. Humidity sensors can be integrated into the HVAC system in order to constantly monitor and control indoor air moisture levels. Humidity sensors are important because humidity affects human comfort, and can even cause health concerns. Indeed low humidity can cause breathing problem or joint pain, and high humidity can cause mold and fungus growth [2]. In an industrial setting, certain processes are very sensitive to humidity, and the moisture in the air must be maintained around a certain level. Paper production or pharmaceutical processes for instance.  

Sensors definitely play a very important role in the development of intelligent buildings. Sensors help with the automation of certain processes in the building. A robots functioning with a humidity sensor could automatically regulate the amount of air blown into a room to maintain an appropriate relative humidity.

I had a basic understanding of the use of humidity sensors, although I did not know exactly how they functioned. Doing research actually made me aware of the crucial role humidity sensor play in day to day operation of a building. When think about indoor air comfort, we often focus on temperature, but relative humidity is very important. As I stated bellow, certain levels of moisture are responsible for health problems in residential homes. In a city like Philadelphia where temperature range from 10°F to 95°F annually, constantly monitoring the humidity in the air becomes even more important.

Comments on others posts:

Matt’s post: I found your post very interesting. As I stated in my own, I have taken for granted a lot of the things sensors do in a building. I would have thought pressure sensors would only be useful in medical settings when keeping a patient in isolation. I had never considered how it is used in the HVAC and plumbing system. Your pictures were also a very good idea. I helped understand the concepts and the functioning of the sensors better. Your post mentioned the use of pressure sensor to keep workers and occupant safe in high rise building. Is the technology already being used, or is it a prediction?

Yoon’s post: I liked that you found so many more example of humidity sensor. It was nice to see the different options out there. I only discussed the “Capacity” polymeric sensor. I also like that you mentioned the limitation of both system. I chose to focus on their role, as well as their possible future application. Reading the other blog posts, I felt that sensor are getting more and more precise and effective. Do you think that there are less common sensors that can perform better than the ones you mentioned? 

References:

[1] "Humidity Sensor." EngineersGarage. N.p., 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

[2] Erdemir, J.S. Metzker, and C. Wilborn. "What Is a Humidity Sensor." WiseGeek. Conjecture, 17 Jan.
      2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

Object Oriented Database

There are four basic types of databases: flat file databases, relational databases, object databases, and object relational databases. Each type is characterized by the way it stores and access data. The most popular type of databases are relational databases. Relational databases organizes data in multiple related simple tables [1]. This method is easy to use and very efficient with relatively simple data, however when using BIM technologies relational databases are inadequate. That is when object oriented databases (OODB) come into play.

When relational databases store information in the form of real numbers or simple string of texts, OODB store data in the form of objects. Objects in OODB are defined by attributes which defines the characteristic of the objects and methods which specify the behavior of that object. Therefore OODB contain not only data but also code. This type of databases are ideal when complex data need to be stored, and accessed rather quickly. OODB also provides redundancy which is quite useful when storing a large quantity of complex data.

Despite the great popularity of relational databases, their limitations when it came to BIM were quite apparent. Relational databases would require a great amount of time to break down objects into simple data that could fit in tables. Because of this, navigation and access to the data could be painstakingly long. In addition, relational databases scale information “vertically” which means that the data must be stored on one super server [2]. Such a big server can be quite expensive, especially as the amount of data increases and gets more complex. That is why most BIM software is based on OODB. OODB allows for “horizontal” scaling of the data, which means that it can be stored on multiple small servers.

Researching databases and their usage in BIM helps shade light on the way this process works, as well as the role of technological advancement in the field. I had no prior knowledge about databases, and reading about the functioning of OODB helped me visualize how Revit or other similar software might work.  

Responses to other posts:

Yoon's Post: You and I basically took the same approach on the subject. I like the way you structured your post, it makes it easy to understand WHAT OODB are and HOW they differ from other databases type. This is the part I struggled with. I had to read a lot about databases to understand the simple concept of OODB, and they way they are used in BIM. Do you think it's possible to truly understand that without an extensive knowledge on databases? I also like that you mentioned the future of OODB. I did not felt as though I understood the concept well enough to make such projections. 

Wang's Post: I enjoyed reading your post. It was much more technical than mine and I feel you might have a better understanding than me on the subject. I like that you mentioned the set-backs of OODB because it allowed me to nuance the praises I read on the subject. It also showed me that BIM is a relatively new technology since the tool for its execution is also quite new.   

References:

[1] "Object Oriented Databases." The Computer Technology Documentation Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

[2] Long, N., K. Fleming, and L. Brackney. An Object-Oriented Database for Managing Building Modeling Components and Metadata. NREL, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

Term Project Outline - Nameita T. and Esther N.

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

Our term project will be to explore the capabilities of BIM by modelling an existing building in Revit using existing floor plans and pictures. This building is the Glass/Wood House by Kengo Kuma and Associates, a Tokyo based firm. The house is in New Canaan, Connecticut. It was originally designed and owned by one of the Harvard Five (a group of architects) in 1956. The house now has different owners and has been renovated numerous times due to changes such as growing family size and a storm in January 2006. The model that we will provide will be of the latest version of the house.

WHY CHOSEN

Our team has some knowledge of Revit but we wouldn’t call ourselves experts. We are hoping this project will give us a chance to explore parts of Revit that we have not had a chance to use and learn a lot through that. This house has been featured in numerous architectural magazines, which is how we were exposed to it.

CHALLENGES

One of the challenges we will encounter, just by looking at pictures of the house, is the intricacies of the design. The shape of the house is very simple however; the architect’s use of different materials (glass, wood and steel) in a non-conventional way will lead us to create families of different materials. We will need to predetermine how detailed and specific we will be with our design.

DELIVERABLES

By the end of the term, we plan on having a working model. We would also like to apply what we learn from this project to our senior design project. One example is that in this project, we will have to deal with the relation of the house to the topography while in our senior design project, our housing apartments are on a 30° slope. We would also like to demonstrate a walk-through of the building in our final presentation. If this is successful, it would be something we could incorporate in our Spring Term senior design presentation.  

RELATION TO INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS

With IB, computer technology is used to follow the progress of the structure from design to construction and thereafter. This project will be about using available plans to create a Revit model. The interaction of the different materials is something that we believe would be easier to capture in Revit rather than Autocad. It can be predicted that changes will be continuously made to the model and Revit will make adapting the structure to the changes easier on us the designers. 

Reaction to other entries:

Brian Benson: I really like your topic. Although it seems like an obvious question, you raised some interesting points. Considering the current standard in place to rate sustainability, it is not so easy for a building to get the label. An intelligent building might incorporate some sustainable systems but it might not be enough to qualify it as sustainable. I'm also interested to see how the the concept of Intelligent Building will impact sustainability standards. Very interesting topic. 

Weiyang Wang: Your project sound very complex. In one of my previous post, I discussed the way automation and robotics in intelligent building have been used to improve energy efficiency in buildings. I think it's a very important topic, because of the great advances in technology and the need for more sustainable infrastructure. Do you actually plan on fabricating that system, or just develop a theoretical model? 

Signe: This sounds like a great project! I was exposed a little to Rhino on my last coop and it seemed really interesting and a different way to design. Have you read anything about other people being able to connect the two programs or is it something you decided you would like to try? I'm assuming it will be a small 3D model so that you can concentrate on the difficulty of connecting the programs. Good luck!

Group C - Week 4 - BIM makes the Engineer's Work Easier vs It makes the Engineer's work Harder

Group C

BIM makes the Engineer's work easier:

• With experience, BIM can save a lot of time.
• Easy visual communication with clients and contractors.
• Easier to visualize during design and construction.
• Allows for integrated design.
• More flexibility in design.
• Continuous use of the same document throughout a buildings life cycle.
• Aid in building operations and maintenance.
• Easier to detect or plan for construction errors in advance.

BIM makes the Engineer's work harder:

• BIM programs require significant computing power to operate smoothly and to maximize the number of functions they're capable of performing.  This increases costs for engineers.
• The file sizes are often very large and can be difficult to share with others due to size restrictions and upload times for email and cloud based services.  Organizations that use BIM programs often have to purchase a lot of extra hard drive space.
• The learning curve for existing BIM programs is large.  Simple projects (like the ones we complete in class) are easy to complete but realistic, full length projects require years of experience using the program to be successful.  Fighting through the learning curve can be frustrating.
• The programs themselves are expensive.  This increases costs for engineers.
• Models are often delicate.  If someone tries to make changes to a complex model and they are inexperienced or incorrect they can severely alter the model and its outputs.

BIM Technologies and Integrated Design

I chose to write on the topic: "BIM will Improve Buildings vs. It will make no difference or degrade them"

The American Institute of Architects defines Integrated Design as an “approach that integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a process that collaboratively harnesses the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to owner, reduce waste, and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication and construction.” [1] 

Integrated Design is a process that produce high performing and efficient buildings. Although fairly new, the Integrated Design model already shows promising result in the engineering and architecture fields. Although the process can be difficult to implement in the beginning, it is very beneficial to all interested parties. By having everyone involved from the very beginning (even the conceptual phase) ensures that everyone issues are addressed and dealt with quickly and efficiently. For instance, having the structural engineers involved in the early stage of the architectural design allows them to identify potential structural challenges and come up with creative solutions or compromises with the architects in a timely manner. [2]

BIM technologies allow all parties to have access to the project, to easily make changes in the design, and efficiently evaluate the performance of the design at all stages of the process. These characteristic make BIM ideal if not essential to the collaborative design described above. BIM will definitely bring a significant improvement in our field. BIM facilitates collaboration of all the parties involved, and allow a creativity and innovation in the design. The implementation of BIM will require a great shift in the way things are currently done in the industry, but it is already happening. The old way of doing things as Engineers and Architects work separately using their own tools and software, and ignoring what the other side is doing until the very end. Because of this their are often communication problem between both parties, a lot of frustration, and a lot of time and money wasted. The use of BIM allows both parties to use the same tools and technologies, so information is not lost in conversion. The fact of using the same technologies also encourages collaboration, and avoids the headache of modify a finished design. Errors are caught quickly in the design process since BIM allows easier simulations, testing, and evaluations. Building built using Integrated Design often use BIM to streamline the processes. 

I'm glad to see more and more school add BIM to their curriculum, and more companies switching to BIM. I think this will allow to bring our field to new, exciting places. I have shared my co op experience in my previous blog post, and discussed how the use of Revit has increased the performance of the building estimators by about 50%. Also, I believe I'm not the only one. Most of us have experienced the benefits of BIM technologies when it come to the design of building, and it will only get better with time. 

References:

[1]"Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide." The American Institute of Architects. AIA National. 2007. Web. 
[2] Halevi, Tasha. "Integrated Design: Better Buildings through Collaboration." Architectural Energy Corporation. N.p. N.d. Web

Comments on other posts:

Dave Barbalace: Your post was great. It is important to understand the limitation of BIM technologies. Although they make a lot of the work easier and allow for a lot of creativity in the design, it is important to remember that their costs can be a real problem for small firms. After reading your article I realize how firms that can't afford to train their worker and upgrade to BIM can be left behind in the revolution and essentially disappear. As with everything it is important to find a balance, so that little companies stand a chance.

Weiyang Wang: I also chose to focus on the question of whether or not BIM would improve future building. Like you, I think that BIM technology will greatly improve the way things are done. I like that you focused on the issue of sustainability and energy conservancy. I once tried to use Revit to perform an energy analysis of my building, it was a little tedious but we obtain a good results. People that were familiar with that function of the software even designed their HVAC single line diagram in Revit. Have you had similar experiences? There are also a lot of software available to perform energy analysis, so how do you think BIM is better than these specialize software? 

BIM for Owners and Facility Managers

Chapter 4 discussed the many ways in which BIM can improve the life of building owners and facility managers. In order to do so the chapter first discussed the reasons owners should care about BIM, highlighted several BIM tools that could be useful to owners, a framework for them to understand how to understand how to get BIM to work for them, and finally challenges they might encounter while trying to implement BIM. 

Before I started reading the article, I wondered why owners would doubt that BIM would be beneficiary for them, but I realized that I could not exactly explain why. This chapter provides specific answer to owners wandering why they should bother with BIM. As mentioned in the book, the industry is rapidly changing and BIM is becoming the norm for many architectural and engineering companies, and by familiarizing them selves with the capabilities of the program Owners could benefit from its use. The chapter mentions 7 drivers that should motivate owners and facilities manager to implement BIM into their work ethic:  

-The ability to perform early and periodic design assessment 
-The facility to evaluate complex facilities 
-Better schedule management 
-Attain a more sustainable building 
-More reliable cost estimates at every stage of the process
-More efficient building
-Better management of assets 

The chapter presented several tools that would allow owners to realize the above using BIM. The ones that I found most interesting were the ones discussing the possibility to obtain more accurate cost estimates using BIM because it resonated with my last co op experience. 

Last year, I worked in an architecture firm as a member of the structural engineering team. However, as part of my co op experience my supervisors made sure that I was aware of every step of the process; so I got to work with the building estimators. The whole office was using Revit, but so far we had only been using its architectural and structural capabilities. It was hard for the building estimators to come up with timely and accurate estimation for the multiple projects that were being worked on at the same time. As this was becoming a real problem for us, we had an consultant come in to propose some solutions. We learned that it was possible to Use Revit to generate fairly accurate estimates. It was a long and tedious process that required a lot of us to change our work ethic, but we were convinced that this change would only increase the overall efficiency of the company. The system took about 4 months to implement and the team was still working out some kinks when I left, but the early results were really promising. After the implementation the building estimators were able to produce their reports in half the time it took them before. That was not only great for our firm, but also the owners. Our clients were really glad to have timely estimates of the cost of their project as it allowed them to better plan for financing. 

BIM technologies are still fairly new in our field, but they have already made a tremendous difference in the way things are done. I believe that once all interested parties start to implement it in their work processes, the concept of intelligent buildings will reach new heights. 


COMMENTS:

Yoon: You discussed the fact that people in the industry that are used to do things one way are reluctant to see things change. Although I agree with you, I think that the chapter addressed that issue and presented convincing arguments. As stated in the book BIM had been adopted by more than 50% of building professionals in 2009 and I imagine this number is much higher today. I think these statistics shows that the benefit of implementation of BIM outweighs the discomfort of older generation in front of new technology.  



References:

Eastman, Chuck, et al. BIM handbook: A guide to building information modeling for owners, managers, designers, engineers and contractors. Wiley. com, 2011.  

Project and Team Members

Team Members: Nameita Toure & Esther Ninshuti

Project Description: Our term project is to explore the capabilities of BIM by modeling an existing building into Revit using existing floor plans and pictures. Esther and I have some knowledge in Revit but would not consider ourselves experts. After this week's reading, we became more aware of the capabilities of BIM and its role in our field. That is why we decided to have our term project axed around it.


The building we chose to study for our project is: Glass/Wood House by Kengo Kuma and Associates.
This house is complex enough to represent a challenge for us with the different material use, the overall texture of the house, and its relation to the topography. Our aim is to have a working, usable Revit model by the end of the term that would include all the data we can gather on the house.

Term Project: Revit Model of Glass/Wood House

Team Members: Nameita Toure & Esther Ninshuti

Project Description: Our term project is to explore the capabilities of BIM by modeling an existing building into Revit using existing floor plans and pictures. Esther and I have some knowledge in Revit but would not consider ourselves expert. After this week reading, we became more aware of the capabilities of BIM and its role in our field. That is why we decided to have our term project axed around it.

The building we chose to study for our project is: Glass/Wood House by Kengo Kuma and Associates.
This house is complex enough to represent a challenge for us with the different material use, the overall texture of the house, and the relation to the topography. Our aim to have a working, usable Revit model by the end of the term that would include all the data we can gather on the house.

Week 2- Possible Term Project

I would really like to make something for my term project.

Ideally I would like to apply the theory from my 5 years at Drexel into a practical project.

Of course I would also like to incorporate the new technologies I'm discovering as part of this course.

Idea 1: Design a concrete model, calculate and predict how it will perform under specific load, fabricate it, and see how far of I was. 

Idea 2: Get in touch with the Robotics club of Drexel and see how the technology they develop could be applied in our industry

Idea3: Try to locate an Intelligent Building in Philly and observe how it performs and how it interacts with the user.

Idea4: Find an interesting building that already exists and has been thoroughly documented and try to reproduce it in Revit. <----- We are doing this!

nt329@drexel.edu

Week 2- Group C - Future Robotics Capabilities Summary

Our group discussed the improvement made in the robotics field and the possible applications in the world of Intelligent Building. Overarching themes were increased efficiency in the maintenance of the building and improved safety for the users. Dave specifically talked about the possibility of using robots for janitorial task. He pointed out that robots are already being used in that sense, but that there is a much bigger market for them. They could be used for cleaning chemical spills, or cleaning spaces impossible to reach for humans. Nameita also discussed maintenance, but focused on the building skin. Like Dave, she talked about the way robots could be used for the continual upkeep of building envelope. She also touched upon the possibilities of using robots to make the skin more responsive to external conditions. Yoon talked about the use of robots for construction. He noted the fact that they would have unlimited access to the construction site, speed up construction, and increase safety for the workers. Yoon was pessimistic about the capabilities of robots as construction instrument because of the limiting weight they can carry.

Overall we are really optimistic about the use of robots in building.

Group C - Future Robotics Capabiliites

     Our group defined an Intelligent Building as a building that uses adaptive technology to maximize its efficiency through all stages of its life cycle. An Intelligent Building should also be able to take readings from its environment and communicate with its users and other interested parties. In order for Intelligent Building to effectively communicate with their users, a lot of the building functions are automatized with the use of robots and sensors. Robotics capabilities in general are quite impressive nowadays. We will discuss the way the progress in the field of robotics will affect Intelligent Buildings in the future. 

           Robotics is very present in the architectural world from construction with robot builders to HVAC with intelligent thermostat, but let's focus on the use of robotics in the design of building skin and envelope. Responsive skins are being used increasingly to create better performing buildings. The Albahar Towers in Abu Dhabi are a prime example of computerized responsive skin. Due to Abu Dhabi's climate, shading and air conditioning occupied a central place in the design of the towers. The architects on the project made a creative use of available robotics capabilities to create a dynamic solar-responsive screen [1]. The facade responds to the solar condition, and retracts or expands as necessary. The use of this technology at such a grand scale was unprecedented. It also opened the door to more creativity, innovation, and efficiency in future building skin.The example of the Albahar Towers demonstrates that architects and engineers are working together, and taking bolder steps in the design of Intelligent Buildings. Innovation in robotics would then find direct application in the world of building skin. 

           What if buildings could feel? New sensors are being developed that could allow robots to feel. These robots would be able to detect humidity, pressure, temperature, and light very accurately and in an unprecedented way [2]. Robots such as these could be used for the maintenance of building skin. They would detect cracks, or excessive stress on the envelope and notify the users or the engineers. We could have skins that expand or contract depending on outside conditions. A robot such as this would maximize the efficiency of the building envelope of structures located in climate with great variations in temperature.    

         Gecko-Wall-Climbing robots are more efficient than ever. These robots can climb surfaces as smooth as glass, without leaving a trace, and adapt to abruptly changing angles [3]. One of the biggest problem of building skins, especially in tall structures, is cleaning and maintenance. Such robots could be used to efficiently clean and maintain even the wildest skin. In the future that technology could be used to prevent the degradation of building envelope and preserve the beauty of the original design. As Dave B. mentioned in his post the maintenance aspect could go beyond the skin. Robot trash cans, or robots to clean up chemical spills. The possibilities are endless. 

         The progress in the robotics field, and the willingness of architects and engineers to experiment with new technology is exciting. We are eager to see what the future has in store for Intelligent Buildings. 






References:

[1]"Abu Dhabi's sun sensitive twin towers." Phaidon. n.p. n.d. Web. Jan. 2014.  

[2]Moskvitch, Katia. "Artificial skin lets robots 'feel'." Mother Nature Network. n.p. Jul. 2013. Web. Jan. 2014

[3]"Crawling gecko robot may help tend spacecraft one day. " RT. n.p. Jan. 2014. Web. Jan. 2014. 

Group C: Intelligent Building Definition

Intelligent Building - Using various technologies to maximize the efficiency of all stages of a building's life cycle, including Design, Construction, Use, Renovation, and Demolition.  The building should be able to take readings from its environment and communicate the data to its occupants and other interested parties.

Nameita TOURE Initial Blog Post

Intelligent Building Background 

Unfortunately I do not have experience dealing with "Intelligent Building" 

Classes like AE 390/391 have briefly discussed the concept, but that was it.

Expectation for the course

I'm hoping to learn more about "Intelligent Building" and expand my horizons as an engineer.

Initial definition of "Intelligent Building"

As mentioned before I have a very limited knowledge of "Intelligent Building". The best definition I can come up with right now is: An "Intelligent Building" is a building that uses computer programming and automation to manage certain aspect of the building, such as HVAC, fire and safety, lightning, etc... 

Dummy for Names

I had to add this post in order to make Labels for all your names (technical limitation).  Please ignore it.

Here’s the post with all your names as of 1/4/2014