AE 510 Course Review

AE 510 Course Review - Matthew Morimoto

When I first stepped into AE 510, I was expecting a course that was much different from the one that I have spent the last ten weeks being a part of.  I was expecting a variation of AE 391 in which we would be discussing buildings that currently exist throughout the world and how we should design similar structure.  Using projects to supplement our understanding of the material we would then use BIM and design as a class.  What we have done over the last several weeks is much different but just as beneficial to my education.  The ability to look at a multiple different aspects in the future of intelligent buildings has been something that I have never made myself available to.  I am usually the type of person that explores the different fields that I will be pursuing but there were some great topics that we went into during class that really peaked my interested.  The first being robotics in the field of engineering and how they can be used in the construction aspect of buildings.  While this technology is still a long way off it was interesting to see how robotics are currently used and where the advancements will put us in the next decade.  Furthermore I was never aware of the use of various software packages and their use in the real world.  I have been lucky to use Autodesk primarily at my coops but there are a dozen other programs that run just as well with their own unique benefits.  Presenters made this information more available to me and brought to my attention how much I have yet to learn when it comes to the field.

Overall there were some great aspects to the course however I do have some suggestions on how the class can be improved.  I think that guest speakers were good in networking and seeing what else was available in the field but I think that the scope of what their content was on was not consistent with the class at certain times.  It would have been awesome to be able to participate in the BIM discussion when ArchiCAD & Microstation I think that using those programs for design projects before that class would have been very enriching and beneficial for people looking to get experience in something they were not familiar with.  Another point that I thought would have been nice was to see the current application to a lot of these things we studied in class.  A lot of the time I felt that some of the concepts (robobtics) we were studying didn't apply to intelligent buildings but with a little re-centering on the main idea would be a great use to understanding their future uses.

To bring this post to a close, I thought that the course overall was good.  I think that I learned a lot, not exactly what I was expecting, but I learned about topics that I would have never thought of otherwise. The class gave me the ability to communicate some complex ideas with leaders in their respective field and overall it has been beneficial to my education.

Comments

Jeremy - I had the same notions coming into class.  I think that you and I were pretty much on the same page when it came to what we learned and what we thought were going to come out of the class.

Ryan - Ryan I really liked your post and what you discussed.  I wish that we had discussed softplan at some point during the class.  Im sure your insight would have been very beneficial to discussion. In the future I will make to come to you if I ever have questions in the subject.

Week 10 – Couse Reflection

When I signed up for this course, I had imagined that we would be covering topics which would allow for the creation of buildings that are “better” or substantially “different” than existing buildings. In a way, we covered some topics which fit my initial framing of the class such as 3D additive manufacturing of cement and plastics and BIM but I was somewhat surprised by the discussions of sensors and database.

I’m usually not very fond of in-class speakers for the primary reason that the majority of the time the discussion ends up being very one sided (it’s all on the speaker) and somewhat boring, especially if you just ate a heavy dinner and run the risk of falling asleep. In Intelligent Buildings, however, the speakers were on average much more interesting and engaging. I was very intrigued by the variety and scope of BIM and how it is used/viewed in the industry nowadays and how this technology takes time to reach contractors in the construction world. Some speakers made me appreciate the work they do in the database or sensors realm, which were some of the topics I found least interesting in this course.

Even if I didn’t particularly enjoy the database assignment, it was still worthwhile to experiment with it since I had no prior experience of using MS Access. Learning how to create families in Revit was very worthwhile and made me appreciate the program and discover more of its capabilities. As for the paper we had to write on a specific IB topic, I chose to investigate the potential for using additive manufacturing in construction to create objects with multiple material types in one “print”. I could not find any one example since nobody has developed the technology or the method but I researched current examples of simple additive manufacturing and used my knowledge of the class so far to outline what needed to be done for this particular process to exist.

The blog posts were an intelligent way to get all of the student discussion out in a single, easy to read forum. I suspect this class format would not be this way a few years ago when not everyone had a gmail account, and I suspect this class will continue to evolve as new technologies in the building world continue to surge. Overall, I thought this class was very well worth my time.

Week 10 Blog Post

D. Barbalace

I like to think that this course was less about what I learned, and more about how I was able to develop a new method of thinking about buildings.  I've had experience with BIM, and I was already aware of many of the ways robotics, databases, and sensors are used in engineering design.  This class allowed me to take everything I already knew on these topics, broaden my existing knowledge, and then consider ways of combining them to create intelligent designs.

I've spent a lot of my time at Drexel being impressed with building's that have one or two "main attractions," meaning that the design or operation incorporates a few intelligent systems but is otherwise an average building.  While buildings like these are important stepping stones to the end goal of creating a truly intelligent building, we won't get there until all of a building's systems are capable of interacting with both one another and the humans that inhabit it.  Utilizing green infrastructure, computerized systems, mechanized systems, building information modeling, and efficient spacial design are, in my opinion, the most important aspects of the intelligent building.

When I start my career as an assistant project manager at LF Driscoll this June, I'm certain that I'll be able to use everything I learned in this class in my work.  As a building contractor, I'll be responsible for performing work in an safe, timely, and cost-effective manner every single day.  I hope to utilize database and sensor technologies to organize my work and check site conditions on a consistent basis.  I firmly believe that artificially intelligent robots will transform the construction industry during my career, and I can only hope to be on the forefront of using these machines.  Another responsibility of mine will be to oversee construction of intelligent systems within the buildings I am working on.  Having taken this class, picking up on conversations regarding these systems will likely be significantly easier.  Furthermore, I will be sure to solidify the contractor's part in the building's lifecycle as early as possible in order to reduce the amount of conflicts later on.

I really liked this class, and I would definitely recommend it to other students in the future.  It does a fantastic job touching on a subject that is otherwise nonexistent in our curriculum, which is of extreme importance due to the ever-increasing utilization of intelligent building design in the professional world. 10/10 would take again.

Comment's on other's posts:

Audrey:  I like that you touched on the guest-speakers, as I completely forgot to mention them in my post.  They really were great.  I learned a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of all the major BIM softwares, and got a glimpse into exactly how important they are becoming in the professional world.  Great post!

Ryan:  My favorite part about the "you get out what you put in" mentality was that it gave us a lot of freedom to write the posts how we wanted to write them.  We were able to research our topics and establish our own ideas instead of everyone reading the same source and summarizing it.  That mentality, in my opinion, made the class much more fun.

Course Reflection

This course covered a lot of different topics, all of which I found to be very informative. The course had many different aspects and was all around a good experience. From the professor to the blog posts everything that happened in this class was useful in one aspect or another. There were a variety of assignments that covered a wide variety of topics all of which made me think about the future of the industry and the future for myself.

I would first like to reflect on my professor. Professor Mitchell is a great teacher and really cares about his students. He includes modern technologies such as blog posts and a variety of computer software. He really gets you involved, and is truly passionate about what he does and I feel like it should be publicly recognized how hard he works at making this class better with every year.  The guest speakers that Mitchell brought in were another privilege about this class that us as students would never have had the chance to experience if not for this class.

The topics in this class were a wide variety that covered BIM, databases, robotics, sensors, networks, and 3D printing. All of those topics were very interesting and really showed the potential of the industry to come. It really made me excited for the future and where my career is going to take me. The most interesting topic we covered, in my opinion, was the 3D printing. To me it is an insane concept that I want to dig my hands into, which is probably why I chose it as my final project. My least favorite topic was probably databases. I did not enjoy the assignment at all and I feel that it should be improved greatly or replaced with a different topic. My favorite assignment was probably the final project. This is probably due to the fact that I really enjoy the subject I did my project on, but it also gave me a deeper understanding on where 3D printing came from and where its most probable to go.

Overall I enjoyed this class. I wish I could have spent more time on some of the topics and less on others, but that is neither here nor there, just mainly my likes and dislikes for the topics. I am glad I took this class and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about some cool, not so far in the future, futuristic topics.

Comments on other blog posts:

Ryan Donahue:
I definitely agree with what Mitchell said in the beginning of the term "you get out of it what you put into it.” Is there any topic you feel like you didn't put enough in and as a result you didn't get much back, that you wish you had? What was your favorite and least favorite topics? What would you change about the course if you could? Great post!

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.

Week 5 Term Project's Description and Outline

BIM's future application; what else can BIM do?

Description of project

Saving energy is one of the critical issues in the world. To solve the issue, many material engineer and mechanical engineers are working on the solution.  Meantime, these problems could be minimized by observing and analyze the building. In this project, we will discuss how BIM would be used efficiently to save building energy. The BIM programs that would be focused on will not only analyze and control thermal mechanisms like HVAC, but also physical mechanisms which could move overhang structure to create shades or the Sun light depending on the day and season.

Why chosen?

Since saving energy has been an issue in terms of money and global, transformable structure could be the solution. The number of transformable structures has been increasing around the world, and they became really efficient in saving energy. Therefore, we choose this topic due the amount of the studies that shows how transformable structure could save energy and money. We will try to focus on the current transformable building's abilities and outcome and what the expectation of transformable structure on the future.

Relation to Intelligent building

In construction, design wouldn’t do anything if the parts are not properly installed. Even with best HVAC system, there will be error and problems if the building itself has an unexpected problem. BIM is the most efficient way to analyze the building because they record and save data as-is based on installed sensors. This project would be all about BIM which possibly could be operated without any guidance of human.

Challenges

Although BIM users are increasing fast, still many people out there are not familiar with software. Since there aren’t many cases, it’s not so easy to find many case studies. Also the challenge we face in this project would be the transformable structure. Although transforming part could be as simple as small overhang shades, these structure designs and applications aren’t common these days. To get the best feed-backs  we should be contacting many different organizations.

Project Outline: 

1.    Introduction of BIM and Intelligent buildings

a.       Definition of Intelligent buildings

b.      Diversity of programs

2.       BIM system and HVAC

a.       Previous attempts and strategies of BIM system

b.      Newer methods and programs

c.       Case study

d.      Analysis

3.       Physical Mechanism

a.       BIM usages for advanced techniques

b.      Case studies

c.       Analysis

4.       Conclusion

Team Member:

yoon and Abdulrhman Alkraidees

Comments:

Comment on Brian Benson’s post:

I find your topic really interested since I was wondering what is the relation between   intelligent building and sustainability, what  it can do for the sustainability of the building, and whether it is  helpful or the opposite . Considering different system of standers like LEED are really important.  I really look forward to find out how can intelligent building affects the sustainability.

Comment on Teddy Bruder’s post

The 3d- printer is a wide topic to be covered. I was interesting on doing this topic at first but I guess many students will do this. While I was reading through your post, it seems that you will the major aspect of the 3D printer. I found the topic really interested, and what I like the most is considering current and future cost and comparing them to see the different. What makes me confused a little bit is how the 3D printer can be used in food, I truly look forward to find out about it.

Week 5: BIM's future application; what else can BIM do?

Project Outline: 

Kyung Yoon, Abdulrhman Alkraidees 

Description of project

Saving energy is one of the critical issues in the world. To solve the issue, many material and mechanical engineers are working on the solution.  Meantime, these problems could be minimized by observing and analyze the building. In this project, we will discuss how BIM could be used efficiently to save energy of building. The BIM programs we will be focusing on will not only analyze and control thermal mechanisms like HVAC, but also physical mechanisms which could move overhang structure to create shades or clear out for the Sun lights throughout the day and season.

Why chosen?

BIM's ability is almost infinite. Since the program is still in the early stage of developing, the growth of its power can be exponential. Working on the same program is challenging to improve; however, we decided to approach the challenge in different way. The way it doesn't only require the thermally efficient, but also it has a great aesthetics of it. When we think of BIM as a tool of communication between buildings and human, we also come up with an idea of building that has a life; buildings that can not only communicate, but also moves. Many cases and studies are taken for entertainment purposes in this stage, but they do have small cases being used in residential buildings. This project will make us understand what the real meaning of intelligent would be and the future of buildings.

Relation to Intelligent building

If the construction goes bad, no good design would work as it was calculated. Even with best HVAC system, there will be errors and problems if the building itself has an unexpected problem. BIM is the most efficient way to analyze the building because they record and save data as-is based on installed sensors. This project would be all about BIM which possibly could be operated without any guidance of human observation. With this project, classmates and presenters will learn alot about intelligent building and understand better for the future.

Challenges

Although BIM users are increasing fast, still many people out there are not familiar with software. Since there aren’t many cases, it’s not so easy to find many case studies. Also the challenge we face in this project would be the transformable structure. Although transforming part could be as simple as small overhang shades, these structure designs and applications aren’t common these days. To get the best feed-backs  we should be contacting many different organizations.

1.    Introduction of BIM and Intelligent buildings

a.       Definition of Intelligent buildings

b.      Diversity of programs

2.       BIM system and HVAC

a.       Previous attempts and strategies of BIM system

b.      Newer methods and programs

c.       Case study

d.      Analysis

3.       Physical Mechanism

a.       BIM usages for advanced techniques

b.      Case studies

c.       Analysis

4.       Conclusion


Comments to other colleagues:

 Our project seems very similar to Waiyang's group in sense of utilizing the physical mechanisms to control the indoor environment by using BIM. However, using the BIM with smaller scale plus using different UV lights would be closer to common BIM approach with no technology. This project could work with Signe's project as well how she would like to discuss about the Sun light effecting the indoor environment. For her case, it would be opposite of energy saving because she would like to have the Sun light to come into the building. Ivan's project also have slight similarity to ours as well since we are mainly focusing on the indoor air quality and human comfort. The difference we will have would be the progress of BIM system to visualize how it's been changed over time. Many of student other than dave would have project about 3D printing. Dave specifically 3-D printed house which is very interesting subject. A house could be modified, renovated, and expanded for many different purposes. Based on my understanding 3-D printer requires one consistent material. It is very interesting how things would be put together to build a building with 3-D printer.  

Week 5 Project Description – 3D Printing with Multiple Materials

The project topic I chose was 3D printing with various materials, specifically for analyzing the feasibility and capabilities of such tools in a building construction or renovation setting.

Why I chose this topic:

I chose this project because 3D printing is such an exciting subject, and I want to know more about the current limits of 3D printing and new developments on the horizon. We saw a video in class about a large 3D printer capable of creating concrete portions of buildings, which could either be made on site or transported to one if made at a specialized facility. I would like to see if a 3D printer could print with additional materials such as iron, steel, copper, and insulating rubber to create a more diverse structure, piping and wiring.

Relation to IB:

With intelligent buildings, comes an intelligent way of building them. Computing power is so large nowadays (and growing) that we can accurately predict the performance of a building based on the architecture, structure, hvac and lighting on any given BIM. By 3D printing multiple materials in one session, you could potentially save on labor costs of installing unfinished parts to a printed material.

Challenges:

I want to know if 3D printing multiple materials at once will save money or simply cost more, and if it does not, at what point would it become viable. 

Project Outline

3D printing with multiple materials

3D printing

o   Background

o   Current uses

o   Various applications

3D in construction

o   How it is used

o   Materials currently used

o   Hopeful future uses or changes

3D printing with multiple materials

o   Contemporary examples used outside construction

o   Current use in construction (if any)

o   Cost/benefit analysis

Conclusion

o   What I learned from this project
o   The future of multi-material 3D printing

Comments on other Blog Posts

Nameita and Esther's Post:
Great project idea! I looked up this house, and noticed the openness of the floor to ceiling windows throughout the exterior. Are you going to address how the house deals with heating in the winter months due to such a situation? In my neighborhood back home in California there are houses which use a similar floor to ceiling window in living areas, named Eichlers.

Ted and Mike's Post:
Very interesting and an important topic for the future of 3D printing. With file sharing as prominent now as it ever was, 3D printing blueprints could be a commonly shared item. How do you think the makers of these blueprints will try to protect their ideas from being pirated?

Week 5 - Project Description

Project Description: I choose to create a residential house on an existing site and incorporate some of the necessary systems into the home.

o   Existing Conditions

§  Model the existing conditions of the site to show the changes that were made throughout the project.

o   Architectural System

§  Model all of the things that would make this house look like a home. (Appliances, Furniture, Automobiles, etc.)

§  Create realistic renderings of the space to give clients a visual understanding of what the spaces will look like.

o   Mechanical System

§  Model a simple HVAC system for the home and show the connection of the components throughout the home.

o   Structural System

§  Model a simple structural system to a residential home and show the framing system separate from the architectural and mechanical system.

o   Site

§  As well as incorporating the existing conditions, model the post construction site conditions to show the progress and result of the project with respect to the site.

Why Chosen:

After hearing Eric Kuszewski talk about the future of BIM last week, it confirmed my belief that BIM will be the future of the engineering and construction industry. With that in mind, I wanted to learn more about BIM (in particular Revit) and become familiar with the tools that will be utilized to design buildings. By adding the existing conditions and further exploring the different systems, I hope to gain more knowledge and be better prepare myself for the uses of these technologies in the real world.

Relation to Intelligent Buildings:

The use of BIM to output energy usage is a key feature that often gets overlooked but is vital in the building running efficiently well after completion. After effectively setting up an architectural, mechanical and structural system, I hope to show that this design software has the capability of outputting such parameters that will help in the daily maintenance and operation of this building.

Challenges:

The challenges for this project will be to model the site conditions as they exist and will exist before and after construction. This may not end up being a very big challenge but I have little experience in creating a topographical map of the site and showing the changes throughout construction so I am hesitant to say it will be easy. The other challenge will be to model the mechanical and structural system in a residential house. I have no experience in modeling mechanical and structural systems in a residential house and am not sure if room needs to be left for mechanical chases or if it can be ran through the walls.

Post Awareness:

Although there are a fair amount of students that are focusing on BIM for their projects, I feel the exploration of Revit and it capabilities with different building systems will benefit all students as we move on into our careers.

References

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