Singh, Prahlad - Reflection

This course was one of the few interesting courses that explored the current state and the future of the industry in a very “futuristic” way.  It combined the various new technologies and ones that could possibly be witnessed by our generation in the future. I would have preferred the class to be split into 2 classes of 1.5 hours each as they did end up becoming pretty tiring. On originally signing up for the class I was expecting it to be more BIM and Revit oriented. Through the various assignments and blog posts I learned a lot over the short 10-week class.

The Weekly blog posts allowed for in depth research into specific topics while also brushing up in general topics other classmates read up on. This was extremely educational as there were many topics I had not even heard about. It also provided for a few different views on each topic due to each group working on it individually. Each classmates’ personal experience helped she da new light on their topics. On the other hand, the projects were in depth projects of two important aspects of Intelligent Buildings (BIM and Database’s). Being fairly new to databases, I was still like learning new aspects about what goes into them and how they are used in the industry. It showed the capabilities of databases and how big corporations use them to achieve greater efficiency. The guest lecturers also helped highlight certain software’s and how they are used and to what affect within their firms. They also spoke about the changes the industry is undergoing and what we as future employees can and should expect in a couple of years.

The class had a huge impact on me personally. I hope to, in the future, take back all that I have learned in this course and help in the installation of some new “Intelligent buildings” back home in India. I am sure that I will be using software’s such as Revit and Access to help provide and efficient and “Smart” building. Overall, I learnt a lot from this class, be it within the classroom or during my research for the various assignments.

Comments to others

Abdulaziz: Even I thought that this was going to be more of a designing course at first. I am also of the same mind as in I share your idea of travelling back home to further integrate myself with “Intelligent Buildings” as they are the future.

Abdullatif: I too like the Whiting-Turner presentation and the way they spoke about BIM and modelling in regards to construction management. I also find it very interesting that you incorporated this class into your senior design project. I hope to do the same and incorporate what I learnt into my other classes.

Maissoun: I like how you related your personal goals to your final project. You are right that green building are not necessarily intelligent buildings and vice versa. I look forward to reading your paper of the differences between Intelligent and Green buildings. I agree with you on how this class was both creative and technical at the same time.

Course Reflection - Nick Pawlikowski

When I registered for this course, I was unsure of what I was getting into.  The course name Intelligent Buildings gave me the first impression that the course would be centered around case studies of buildings that have utilized advanced technologies to meet the needs of the owners, designers, and occupants.  I also assumed that we would be learning about these technologies and how to implement them.  While the course did fall short of my initial expectations, there is no denying that I have gained a significant amount of knowledge through it.

Part of my qualms with this course come from the nature of the course itself.  I understand the difficulties of building curriculum for teaching about the future of the AEC industry.  Any prediction or discussion of the future has to be taken with a heap of salt; the technologies that we are focusing on now (drones, 3D printing) may not end up being the innovation that shakes up the industry, and likewise a currently unknown technology may come out of nowhere and pivot the industry in a new, unpredictable direction.  I recognize the value of discussing the technologies that are currently at the forefront of innovation, even if the discussion is at a cursory level.  However, much of the discussion in this course covered topics that I already knew about, in a depth at which I was already quite familiar.  Many of the lectures in this course, especially those on 3D printing and BIM, seemed to provide the educational equivalent of reading a handful of tech articles.  The most I can say about the value I received from these lectures is simply an awareness of the technologies with no idea of how they are actually implemented in practice.

The greatest value I gained from this course is in the area of Databases.  I had not used MS Access or any type of database before, and now that this course has concluded I am capable of creating a working relational database from scratch.  I consider this a great value because I learned how to actually use database software, rather than simply knowing the theory of SQL and relational databases.  Moreover, the gap between knowing the theory of databases and knowing how to use databases is a significant chasm.  This leads me to assume that the gaps between the cursory knowledge we gained on other technologies and their implementation are similarly large.  No amount of self-directed learning would be sufficient to close the gaps in all these areas.  Although I recognize now that this course was meant to serve as an introduction to emerging technologies, I maintain that the value I gleaned from it was less than expected, and concentrated in only a few areas.

Finally, reading the posts of others makes me consider that the value of this course is relative to one's level of knowledge before the course, their expectations for the course, their academic position, and their professional interests.  While the course provided lower-than-expected value for me, I now recognize that it could provide exceptional value to others who's positions are different than my own.

COMMENTS:

On Aziz AlSaleem's Post:
Aziz, Your post provides some useful perspective for me after writing my post. For me, this course provided less knowledge than I expected, but for you it provided more than you expected.  This makes me consider that the value of this course can be great for some and less for others, depending on the knowledge that one had before the class began.  I also recognize that I may be privileged to have learned about many of the topics discussed before, and that may be why I perceived the value of the class to be lower than my expectations.

On Brandon Mengel's Post:
Brandon, my favorite part of this course was also the personal project.  I agree with you that the freedom given to pursue the project was beneficial, and for me it allowed me to take a deep dive into one particular subject and gain a significant amount of useful knowledge.  I also agree that BIM will most likely be the main driver of change in the AEC industry.  I also think that 3D printing will be used more in the industry, but I am skeptical that it will be as game-changing as some predict.  I am of the opinion that the majority of 3D printing will be reserved for constructing smaller, non-structural elements.

On Rachel Frank's Post:
Rachel, reading your post makes me consider how valuable this course can be to students who haven't chosen a concentration yet.  As a student in the structural concentration, I was looking for specifics about how the technologies discussed in the course are actually implemented in practice, alongside current methods of design.  However, your comment about how this is essentially the only course related to the digital building concentration that can be taken before one decided on their concentration makes me realize that this course could provide incredible value to those interested in pursuing the digital building concentration.

B7 - Group C - Peter Dannemann

Intelligent Buildings Reflection 

I thoroughly enjoyed taking Intelligent Buildings with Professor James Mitchell. Professor James Mitchell put a lot of effort into this class and came up with a myriad of activities and lectures from his own sources and research. Prof. Mitchell came up with an engaging class full of projects with real world applications and even job opportunities due to the guest speakers coming in as recruiters. As for the course content itself, I learned quite a lot about what makes a building intelligent, what the capabilities and current status of artificial intelligence are, how databases work and what the various types of databases are, and a further understanding of BIM. As an environmental engineer, I had not been exposed to these topics much at all in my courses and was able to learn a lot, even without the background knowledge many of the architectural engineering students in our class had. I commend Prof. Mitchell for making these classes so easy for someone outside of the major to understand. I was able to take away a lot of knowledge from this class even without much education in architectural engineering

While it is unlikely I will use BIM or AI in my profession, I could see myself creating a simple database in my career and the knowledge I gained from this class would definitely serve as a great starting point for taking up a project such as this. It is unlikely I would ever design a building being an environmental engineer, but understanding what intelligent buildings are helped me become more aware of the green potential buildings have and how much we can improve our energy efficient and reduce our resource use through more advanced technologies in the future. While unlikely, the knowledge I gained through taking this class may allow me to make more educated suggestions as to building design for the building I work in in the future, and this could result in a better, more effective and efficient building coming into the world. I took away a lot from my experiences in AE 410 and would highly recommend this class to anyone with an interest in architecture or technology.

Comments

Abdullatif Alkandari - I felt the same way about what I learned about databases from taking this course. If I am ever in a management position I could see myself designing a database for the workplace, and what we learned in this class served as a great starting point for such a project. Obviously a lot more resource and effort would be required to put together something such as this, but the fundamental knowledge taken away from this course would certainly allow me to know how to approach such a task and makes me feel confident that with enough time and effort it would indeed be possible

Aziz AlSaleem  - I agreed with your statement about your impression of artificial intelligence prior to taking this class. I thought artificial intelligence was mainly implemented in manufacturing, but after some research done in this class I realize that it's applications are limitless and it would be implemented anywhere. I definitely did not fully understand what AI actually is before taking this class and now feel much more educated on this subject. I expect AI to take off in the near future and hope to invest in it at some point.

Rachel Frank - I also appreciated how Prof. Mitchell adjusted the course based on the student's experience levels. I had never seen so much foresight from a professor before and Prof. Mitchell clearly cares about his students to an extent that is rare in education. I agree it was difficult to really figure out what this class was about prior to taking it, but am also glad I took it now that the class is coming to an end.

B-5 Relational Database Theory - Arthur McCloskey

     A relational database is a collection of data items that are organized in a manner that relates the parameters between the data items.  In Hugh Darwen’s book “An Introduction to Relational Database Theory,” he uses tables to explain the theory behind a relational database.  In a way, a table can be seen as a relational database, where the various parameters are presented in a way that lends itself to relation.  However, Darwen argues that, while the visualization is similar, a table is not really a relational database in itself.  In order to be a proper relational database, the columns of a table must be algebraically or operationally related to one another. [1]  This aspect of relational databases are the primary benefit to using them in the organization of big data, especially in the construction and building industry.  The ability to operate on parameters within a database based on known relations allows the user to construct a systematic collection of information that is pertinent in the building.

     To understand the effects that this type of information can have on our industry, the mathematical theory is useful to grasp what should and should not be related.  Eliezer Lozinski explains this theory rather well in his journal “Construction of Relations in Relational Databases.”  He explains that all databases are made up of relations that are made up of a collection of attributes.  These attributes are linked through a set of dependencies to the relation.  This framework for relating the attributes is called a scheme.  The scheme of a relation can be represented graphically, as Lozinski does below.  This rather simplified progression shows how the various schemes can be put together to relate the appropriate attributes.  [2]

Figure 1: Relational Scheme Tree [2]

     The impacts to the construction industry are numerous.  As we heard in the Whiting Turner guest lecture, a lot of firms are pushing to tabulate the entire building, from door hardware to reheat coils.  Relational Databases can take it a step further, by joining the parameters of installed components, we can understand the connections between key parameters and design, maintain, and modify building components better.

Comments on Others

Andrew Ng – Your explanation of Structured Query Language was very helpful, particularly with the examples that you gave.  This system would be very useful to a project manager in this way to cut back a lot on the unnecessary work that stems from handling big data. 

Prahlad Singh – I particularly liked your post because of all the benefits you provided to having databases in our industry.  I think that both designers and contractors are constantly overwhelmed with large amounts of data, and any process by which we can eliminate raw number sorting/crunching can make the entire process more efficient.

Ray Powell – Your post was really interesting to read since it connects what we have been learning so far to our next topic.  Both BIM and databases are essential for design firms now and it was really interesting to see how the two can interact to make the design process more efficient.

References

[1] Darwen, Hugh.  “An Introduction to Relational Database Theory.”  Darwen & Ventus Publishing ApS 2010.  Web.  Available: https://dvikan.no/ntnu-studentserver/kompendier/an-introduction-to-relational-database-theory.pdf

[2] Lozinski, Eliezer.  “Construction of Relations in Relational Databases.”  The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.  Web.  Available: http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/330000/320155/p208-lozinskii.pdf?ip=129.25.36.43&id=320155&acc=ACTIVE%20SERVICE&key=A792924B58C015C1%2EE0B7266DB2A396BF%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35&CFID=900189139&CFTOKEN=74586775&__acm__=1487008321_4d9c6ffee5fc5fe79479552f6b170344

B4 - Paulina Gawor - Project Description

Project Description

My term project will focus on how BIM and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) can be used to develop more sustainable projects. Construction generates the largest amount of waste, and represents the heaviest use of resources and energy compared to other industries. Using BIM and LCA, the communication, scheduling, and budgeting practices of a project can be greatly improved. A soft value like environmental impact can be more easily represented numerically through LCA, and shown to project stakeholders. The lifetime impact of a project can be assessed, from construction and operations to retrofit and eventual demolition.

One of the topics I hope to investigate is the interoperability of how LCA programs are used, and if they are adequately supported by Revit. So far it seems there is a great deal of transferring information between platforms. One workflow showed a transfer from Revit to IFC to Excel to Ecotect. Autodesk’s Green Building studio has been using a data transfer protocol called gbXML.

I am excited to learn more about implementing the use of a new type of software and workflow process in an office setting, as well as the specifics of model sharing in Revit. I believe just as many architectural and engineering firms have been transitioning to BIM design in the last five years, there will be greater demand for information about the energy use and value of building projects. I have not had the chance to work with this apart from basic use of classroom E-Quest projects, so it will be interesting to see what software and solutions in this field are currently in use. Performing the Revit families exercise in AE 510 has also helped me familiarize myself with family types and properties that are a major part of performing a building’s LCA.

References

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705814018918

http://itc.scix.net/data/works/att/w78-2012-Paper-24.pdf

http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:566319/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Comments

Abdullatif Alkandari

Abdullatif, I would be curious to find out more about how you find robotics integrated into building construction and even operations. I can imagine a great deal of uses in prefabrication of larger scale elements for construction. You mention that finding investors for this type of research will be challenging. In this very old profession, I think the greatest barrier to implementation will be the human element--the existing construction and machining workforce and their unions.

Hayley Selden

Hayley, I also find the greater integration of sensors into building systems to be very interesting. Some friends I know use Nest and Phillips remote bulbs to monitor and adjust their home energy use. The concept of regular measurement, and even gamification of energy savings has great potential for raising public awareness of their personal carbon footprints and energy use. This is a great project and will focus on the intersection of intelligent and green design.

Yipin Geng

Yipin, I am also interested to see what type of uses you will be able to develop with Revit Macros. In the past I have run some very simple LISP scripts in AutoCAD that would sum total line lengths for me. I would be interested in developing a macro for an automated sprinkler head design layout. If your programming skill is not so high, it might be worth looking into Dynamo to develop your programs.

Maissoun Ksara - B4: Weekly Post

For this project, I will be working with Drew Hovey on distinguishing between an “intelligent” and a “green” building. 

The specific prompt: Explore the interaction between making a building “intelligent” and making it “Green.” Are they equivalent? Is it necessary to be “intelligent” to be “green”? Etc

The motivation for this project is that words like “intelligent” or “green” are constantly thrown around in the construction and building design industry. We hear that buildings must be intelligent or must be green, and it can be very confusing for the populace. Is an intelligent building a green building? Or are they completely different? This paper will shed some light on this topic and hopefully clear up some misconceptions, confusion, or ignorances. 

The main idea is that Intelligent buildings  ≠  Green buildings. Drew and I came up with our thesis statement (which is up for revision) and this thesis will be the framework of our paper. It says that “Although there is a significant overlap between intelligent and green buildings, they are their own entity and serve a distinct purpose into advancing the constructions industry towards being more innovative.”

This paper will begin by first defining the above terms and going into specifics about what makes a building intelligent or green. It is important to see where the two converge and also diverge from each other. Then, the bulk of the paper will be on several case studies and going through current examples or an intelligent, green, or intelligent AND green building. Finally, the drawbacks such as cost, variability in design, and so forth will be discussed. 

My personal goal for this project is to learn about the design process for both an intelligent and green building. What are the different factors that qualify a building as intelligent, and how can those be incorporated into any design project? I also would like to learn more about retrofitting current buildings to green or intelligent buildings. I have taken a sustainability course last term which discussed green building principles, but I would like to expand on that and further the knowledge on design. A challenge is finding relevant information on current buildings that are both intelligent and green, or case studies where Drew and I can pinpoint each of the two’s characteristics. I think since this concept is fairly recent, there might not be enough information that we can pull from online.

Useful References 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926580597000186

http://www.journalofgreenbuilding.com/doi/abs/10.3992/jgb.2.3.106?code=copu-site

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=comparing+and+contrasting+green+and+intelligent+buildings

http://www.nbmcw.com/tall-construction/28632-green-and-intelligent-construction.html

https://briannev.wordpress.com/disadvantages/

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/The_problems_with_smart_buildings

http://regencyhomesomaha.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-converting-your-home-into-a-smart-home/

https://www.uvm.edu/rsenr?Page=aiken/aiken.html 

Peer Comments

Alex Koo: I personally have minimal to zero knowledge on virtual reality in construction and think your topic idea is extremely interesting. I would love to learn more about virtual reality technologies. The intersection of Intelligent Buildings and Virtual Reality is the future and I think its important to get up to speed with its current progress to possibly have some influence on it in the future. 

Rachel Frank: When I first watched the video of how AI is used in the construction industry, I was amazed. This topic is very exciting and innovative. I’m not familiar at all with the different kinds of robots used and the different purposes they each serve, so I think this project would be helpful and beneficial in shedding light on the topic. To me, the extent of my knowledge is the bricklaying robots. The idea that there might be more is amazing. I agree that it might be challenging to find information on this topic because it is so new (I think I will struggle with the same challenge).

Egla Qori: I 100% agree with you on the idea that creating families is a time and headache saver. If it weren’t for the bookcase project that was due couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t have known that creating families was even a possibility on Revit. I have very limited Revit experience, so I’m glad I was introduced to this topic while I’m still in the beginning stages of learning. Your project does seem extensive and I can see why the use of families is a huge benefit. I can definitely see how this can help you in your future career, since most structural engineering firms see this skill as a big asset. 

Ray Powell B4 – Term Project

Theoretical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are rapidly advancing due to new sensor improvements, but traditional systems are just starting to apply this technology and strive for better systems. With improvements in sensors, and their applicability in the built environment, dramatic improvements can be used to make the systems more efficient and save energy in the long term. Current HVAC systems are often underutilized because systems are uninformed throughout most of the process, with minimal sensors placed only in critical locations. Until recently, wireless, networked sensors have been too expensive for regular use, but as technology improves, they will become cheap and routine throughout buildings as tools of managing the facility.

Energy attributed to HVAC systems is a major part of building usage, which accounts for much of the global total. Making systems more intelligent and connected with the occupants will lead to significant changes in building energy usage by utilizing it more effectively. Now, sensors commonly are used to check temperature and humidity typically a few times throughout an air cycle, with much of the air being wasted to unused space. Increasing the number of information points can offer information that essentially describes the entire air cycle. With this information, changes can be made on the fly for the system to maximize its efficiency. This addition will allow more accurately conditioned air, and the correct amount, to the spaces as needed. Researching this topic will allow me to show how current improvements in sensor technology benefit traditional HVAC systems and additional technology that can be applied.

There are many ways that sensors can help develop the industry and improve systems with the information they provide. Concurrently, BIM is rapidly developing as an informational tool for simulations and analysis, instead of strictly modeling software. Doing this requires accurate data for informed decision making. Much of this data can easily be collected and distributed by sensors to databases and BIM software to maximize how the system is used. Preprogramed conditions can be set by database information for sensors at critical points throughout the system to automatically adjust to the information that the sensors and database determine is ideal. This information can be collected in BIM software to be modeled information for any modifications or studies. Due to the wide variety of systems used today, it will be difficult to identify and compare current system improvements with the improvements that sensors can offer.

Sources:

I-Hai Lin, P., and H.L. Broberg. 2002. “Internet-Based Monitoring and Controls for HVAC Applications.” IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 8 (1): 49–54. doi:10.1109/2943.974358.

Leavey, Anna, Yong Fu, Mo Sha, Andrew Kutta, Chenyang Lu, Weining Wang, Bill Drake, Yixin Chen, and Pratim Biswas. 2015. “Air Quality Metrics and Wireless Technology to Maximize the Energy Efficiency of HVAC in a Working Auditorium.” Building and Environment 85 (February): 287–97. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.11.039.

Lu, Jiakang, Tamim Sookoor, Vijay Srinivasan, Ge Gao, Brian Holben, John Stankovic, Eric Field, and Kamin Whitehouse. 2010. “The Smart Thermostat: Using Occupancy Sensors to Save Energy in Homes.” In , 211–24. ACM. doi:10.1145/1869983.1870005.

 “Smart HVAC & Sensor Technology for Smart Buildings.” 2016. Arista. November 17. http://aristair.com/blog/smart-hvac-sensor-technology-for-smart-buildings/.

“The Core of Johnson Controls.” n.d.

Comments:

Kerianne’s topic shows a very interesting component of intelligent buildings by focusing on the information components of Building Information Modeling (BIM). The way programs like Revit organizes the information of families and building components benefits the construction industry greatly by accurately managing the information and providing it to the contractors.  This utility within the software has made it a revolutionary part of building design and often benefits designers’ projects. The models produced with this information directly relate to the intelligent building industry by showing how the building and its systems interact with each other.  Utilizing the software for additional analytical simulations, like hourly energy analysis or finite element analysis greatly benefits the design process by allowing designers and owners to make informed decisions.  These decisions often have cost conscious solutions, which quickly pays for training designers how to utilize the software.  BIM is changing the way construction documents are created and digital modeling will become a major part of the design process. The software has many capabilities and I believe that learning all of them is impossible, though it is very intuitive and easy to learn. It sounds like much of the information you plan to cover can be addressed with construction document schedules, but requires in-depth research.

Joe and his team have selected a very involved topic addressing how robotics can help to survey sites.  Oftentimes there are many assumptions made about the site, leaving construction managers to verify many of the conditions and adjust much of the construction to fit to terrain around it.  Surveying a site can take countless hours with much room for variation as survey areas become large. Though the technology already exists, there are many improvements available to fully utilize surveying robotics.  Today, typically due to expense, these types of robots are used only for large projects, where the building’s interaction with the ground is critical.  Using the recent development of infrared and ultrasonic sensors should benefit much of the data collection process. Also, with the recent increase in the use of BIM, three-dimensional modeling of this information will be needed much more often.  Big-data is a major part in constructing the information needed for BIM and intelligent buildings.  Accurately scanning the terrain and implementing the information into the model requires many aspects of intelligent technology and greatly benefits how these buildings are constructed.  Integrating all of this information into one model can greatly reduce questions during the construction process, speeding up construction time and reducing much of the errors.  Though this could lead to job losses in the surveying industry, these robots will need people to create and operate them, creating jobs elsewhere in a very expansive field.  There are many challenges associated robotics technology, but the field is advancing quickly and should be becoming easier to create.

Ronald’s post presents a topic of comparing Revit and Bentley Architecture software to study how the programs work together.  To do this, the team will create a model, essentially from scratch, in Revit and follow how this information is transformed to the Bentley software and then compare the end product with the original Revit model.  Noting these differences will help to understand the software’s capabilities and limitations and help to better determine the information that can be transferred between the models. With this information, it can be determined which software should be used from the beginning to insure that export issues are avoided.  It is likely that with the development of the two products, some designers will prefer some software to others, forcing large firms to offer both products.  With the use of both products, there is surely some time where the two will need to communicate with each other well, so knowing what to look for through these exports can be important. An interesting addition to the project would to be operating the other way around, exporting from Bentley to Revit, and comparing how these differences vary from the original transfer, Revit to Bentley.