scholarly journals Generative BIM workspace for AEC conceptual design automation: prototype development

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepehr Abrishami ◽  
Jack Goulding ◽  
Farzad Rahimian
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Automation ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Generative Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Prototype Development ◽  
Conceptual Design Stage

PurposeThe integration and automation of the whole design and implementation process have become a pivotal factor in construction projects. Problems of process integration, particularly at the conceptual design stage, often manifest through a number of significant areas, from design representation, cognition and translation to process fragmentation and loss of design integrity. Whilst building information modelling (BIM) applications can be used to support design automation, particularly through the modelling, amendment and management stages, they do not explicitly provide whole design integration. This is a significant challenge. However, advances in generative design now offer significant potential for enhancing the design experience to mitigate this challenge.Design/methodology/approachThe approach outlined in this paper specifically addresses BIM deficiencies at the conceptual design stage, where the core drivers and indicators of BIM and generative design are identified and mapped into a generative BIM (G-BIM) framework and subsequently embedded into a G-BIM prototype. This actively engages generative design methods into a single dynamic BIM environment to support the early conceptual design process. The developed prototype followed the CIFE “horseshoe” methodology of aligning theoretical research with scientific methods to procure architecture, construction and engineering (AEC)-based solutions. This G-BIM prototype was also tested and validated through a focus group workshop engaging five AEC domain experts.FindingsThe G-BIM prototype presents a valuable set of rubrics to support the conceptual design stage using generative design. It benefits from the advanced features of BIM tools in relation to illustration and collaboration (coupled with BIM's parametric change management features).Research limitations/implicationsThis prototype has been evaluated through multiple projects and scenarios. However, additional test data is needed to further improve system veracity using conventional and non-standard real-life design settings (and contexts). This will be reported in later works.Originality/valueOriginality and value rest with addressing the shortcomings of previous research on automation during the design process. It also addresses novel computational issues relating to the implementation of generative design systems, where, for example, instead of engaging static and formal description of the domain concepts, G-BIM actively enhances the applicability of BIM during the early design stages to generate optimised (and more purposeful) design solutions.

Virtual generative BIM workspace for maximising AEC conceptual design innovation

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepehr Abrishami ◽  
Jack Goulding ◽  
Farzad Pour Rahimian ◽  
Abdul Ganah
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Computational Design ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Generative Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
Support Mechanisms ◽  
Aec Industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find optimal solutions for conceptual design automation, which can be integrated with Building Information Modelling (BIM) support for construction automation. Problems relating ostensibly to failures in computational support for the conceptual design stage are well-documented in extant literature. These failures are multifarious and significant, with several deficiencies being acknowledged in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. Whilst acknowledging this, extant literature has highlighted the importance of computational design in the AEC industry; and failures in this area include the need to strengthen the congruent links and support mechanisms in order to exploit the opportunities presented by new computational design methods. Given this, it is postulated that the application of generative design could enhance the design experience by assisting designers with the iterative generation of alternatives and parameterisation (change management) processes. Moreover, as BIM applications are increasingly providing comprehensive support for modelling and management, then additional synergies could be examined for further exploitation. Design/methodology/approach – This paper focusses on the potential for developing an interactive BIM environment that purposefully adopts generative design as a method of computational design for the early design stages. This research facilitates the automation of the conceptual architectural design process, using BIM as the central conduit for enhancing the integration of the whole building design process (including design interfaces). This approach is designed to improve designers’ cognition and collaboration during the conceptual architectural design process. Findings – This paper evaluates the existing methods and decision support mechanisms, and it introduces the potential of combining different concepts into a single environment (generative design/BIM). Originality/value – This research is novel, in that it critically appraises virtual generative workspaces using BIM as the central conduit. The outcome and intervention of this research forms a theoretical basis for the development of a “proof of concept” prototype, which actively engages generative design into a single dynamic BIM environment to support the early conceptual design process.

Forging a Geometric Link Between Function-Based Design and DfM

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manish Verma ◽  
Hui Dong ◽  
William H. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Direct Connection ◽  
Functional Modeling ◽  
Small Space ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Design For Manufacture ◽  
Part Geometry ◽  
Conceptual Design Stage

Design for Manufacture (DfM) tends to explore only a small space of possible designs toward improving manufacturability. By focusing primarily on detailed geometry, DfM tends to recommend incremental changes. This paper presents a methodology that begins at the conceptual design stage, applying functional modeling to the generation of design configurations. These functional abstractions are merged with real part geometry toward generating potentially manufacturable design skeletons. The direct connection from function to manufacturable form afforded by this method allows the designer to make better-informed design decisions at the earliest stages of the design process.

Application of Topology Optimization in Product Design and Manufacturing

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ihab Ragai ◽  
Harry Tempelman ◽  
David Kirby
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Development Time ◽  
Optimization Problems ◽  
Mathematical Formulation ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Conceptual Design Stage ◽  
Structural Design Optimization ◽  
The Cost

This paper deals with the utilization of topology optimization in the design process. Topology optimization is considered the most challenging task in the structural design optimization problems because the general layout of the structure is not known; however, implementing it in the conceptual design stage has proven to reduce the cost and development time. In this paper, the design process is briefly discussed emphasizing the use of topology optimization in the conceptual design stage. Also, the mathematical formulation for topology optimization with material density contours is presented. Furthermore, two industrial case studies, related to off-road mining and construction trucks, are discussed where the use of topology optimization has proven to dramatically improve an existing design and significantly decrease the development time of a new design.

scholarly journals Acceleration of Evaluation, Synthesis and Selection of Engineering Solutions by Morphological Approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 346 ◽  
pp. 03031
Author(s):  
Dmitry Rakov
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Decision Support System ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Support System ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Conceptual Design Stage ◽  
Morphological Approach ◽  
The Future ◽  
Selection Of

The article discussed the issues of creating a decision support system in the design process. It is based on morphological methods and approaches. These approaches can be successfully used to accelerate the evaluation, synthesis and selection of engineering solutions at the conceptual design stage. With the help of combinatorics, it is possible to generate a significant number of different engineering solutions. The conceptual stage is the most important in determining the future parameters and characteristics of the designed systems. The article also considers the possibility of computerization of the morphological approach. All this leads to an increase in the efficiency of the design process as a whole.

An investigation of the mass-market fashion design process

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prabod Dharshana Munasinghe ◽  
D.G.K. Dissanayake ◽  
Angela Druckman
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Market Design ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Fashion Design ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mass Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Responsible Consumption ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The process of fashion design varies between market segments, yet these variations have not yet been properly explored. This study aims to examine the fashion design process as practised at the mass-market level, as this is the most vibrant and the largest market segment in terms of production volumes and sales. Design/methodology/approach It is observed that 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with mass-market fashion designers. Key activities of the mass-market design process were identified and a comparative analysis was conducted with the general design process. Findings The mass-market design process is found to prioritise profits rather than aesthetic aspects, with the buyer exercising more power than the designer. This hinders creativity, which, in turn, may impede a move towards more environmentally benign designs. Originality/value The clothing industry is responsible for high environmental impacts and many of these impacts arise through decisions made in the design stage. In particular, the mass-market for clothing because of its high volume of sales and fast throughput, accounts for a great deal of the impact. However, little is understood about the design process that is practised in the mass-fashion market. This paper fills the gap by developing a framework that describes the mass-market design process. Understanding the design process will enable progress to be made towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

A Web-Based Process/Material Advisory System

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusheng Chen ◽  
Satyandra K. Gupta ◽  
Shaw Feng
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Material Combination ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Advisory System ◽  
Conceptual Design Stage ◽  
Design Requirements ◽  
Parameter Ranges ◽  
Process Material

Abstract This paper describes a web-based process/material advisory system that can be used during conceptual design. Given a set of design requirements for a part during conceptual design stage, our system produces process sequences that can meet the design requirements. Quite often during conceptual design stage, design requirements are not precisely defined. Therefore, we allow users to describe design requirements in terms of parameter ranges. Parameter ranges are used to capture uncertainties in design requirements. Our system accounts for uncertainties in design requirements in generating and evaluating process/material combinations. Our system uses a two step algorithm. During the first step, we generate a material/process option tree. This tree represents various process/material options that can be used to meet the given set of design requirements. During the second step, we evaluate various alternative process/material options using a depth first branch and bound algorithm to identify and recommend the least expensive process/material combination to the designer. Our system can be accessed on the World Wide Web using a standard browser. Our system allows designs to consider a wide variety of process/material options during the conceptual design stage and allows them to find the most cost-effective combination. By selecting the process/material combination during the early design stages, designers can ensure that the detailed design is compatible with all of the process constraints for the selected process.

scholarly journals Retrieval of Semantic-Based Inspirational Sources for Emotional Design

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Jian Du ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Jinlong Ma ◽  
Yan Xiong ◽  
Wenqiang Li
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Activation Mechanism ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Emotional Design ◽  
Semantic Richness ◽  
Retrieval Systems ◽  
Conceptual Design Stage ◽  
Semantic Techniques ◽  
Semantic Expansion

In the conceptual design stage, inspirational sources play an important role in designers’ creative thinking. This paper proposes a retrieval method for semantic-based inspirational sources, which helps designers obtain inspirational images in the conceptual design stage of emotional design. The core principle involves solving the designer’s own deficiencies in associations and limited knowledge, by bridging the “semantic gap” faced by designers when they use Kansei words for inspirational sources. This method can be divided into two aspects: (1) based on the semantic richness of Kansei words, the first part describes how a lexical ontology for Kansei words called KanseiNet is constructed and proposes a spreading activation mechanism based on KanseiNet to complete the semantic expansion of Kansei words; (2) the second part describes how, using existing semantic techniques, relevant design website resources are crawled and analyzed, images’ context descriptions and Kansei evaluations are extracted, and Kansei evaluation index of inspirational images is established. The KanseiNet for Chinese is first constructed, and the Sources of Inspiration Retrieval System for Emotional Design (SIRSED) is developed. An experiment comparing the existing image retrieval systems with SIRSED proved the latter to be a more comprehensive and accurate way for designers to access inspirational sources.

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