Course Reflection - Arthur McCloskey

In this course, a lot of the forward-thinking technologies and capabilities that are revolutionizing our field were explored in good detail.  The highlights of these capabilities were BIM, artificial intelligence, robotics, relational databases, and sensors.  These lectures were supplemented by class visits from people in the industry that were able to bring a practical aspect to these ideas.  This class was comprised of many different types of students across many different concentrations and majors.  After graduation, many of us will branch off into various different job types in our industry.  From planners, construction managers, structural engineers, MEP engineers, I think we can take away something from this class that could be useful in our professional lives.

I personally will be going into the construction management field after graduation, and looking back on the things that I have learned in this class, there are several major takeaways.  The first is BIM.  The presentation by Whiting Turner was particularly helpful in extending what we learned in BIM to what I could use in CM.  Even over my limited co-op experiences, I cannot count how many times the proposed plans caused clashes and conflicts across trades.  Navisworks and Revit were a particularly useful software to use for this, and I had wished that the companies I was with were using it.  That would have certainly helped reduce some of the issues in the field.

I think the database lessons were really useful.  I didn't necessarily enjoy it to be completely honest, since large data management is never really that interesting, but I see how if can be very important in my industry.  Many of the projects I have been on require management of a lot of equipment, machinery, finance, etc.  The knowledge of Access and other database programs could make the aggregation and manipulation of data much easier for managers, which allows them to focus on more important things, like coordination and execution.

Overall, I think this class was a good introduction to the future possibilities of technology to our industry.  I can see how it is beneficial for all kinds of students, no matter their major or concentration.

Comments on Others:

Egla Qori – I think that your post was really beneficial to read, considering you seem to know what structural engineering firms are looking for in a candidate.  Since most of us are probably structural engineering, it is important to know which of these capabilities we learned in this class are important for those employers.

Paulina Gawor – I agree with Paulina in that I was expecting a lot of the class to be more in depth into Revit and programs like it.  I suppose this allowed us to cover a larger amount of information in such a short term, especially when it came to the sensors and databases.

Drew Hovey – I also enjoyed the presentation on NavisWorks.  It still surprises me how little I have seen it used in industry.  I suppose as we graduate and the industry catches up, we will see it used more.

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 - Team Project Smmary - Egla Qori

Using Revit's Families to Model Effectively

For our Senior Design Project, my team and I are acting as a structural engineering consultant firm, which will provide a final set of structural plans for the design and construction of a forty-story hotel located in Chicago, IL. After extensive research and factor weighing, the structural frame of the building will be designed in reinforced concrete for the majority of it, with some additional post-tensioning concrete provided for the lobby area and other spaces that are in need of longer spans.
After learning further about Revit and its abilities, Arthur McClosky and I decided to use Revit as a powerful tool to facilitate our drafting/modeling experience. One of the features of Revit we would like to explore further is the ability to create families and use them efficiently to model a large and complicated structure in a timely manner. One of the good things about a hotel structure, is the similarity between around 70% of the floors, whose layout and loading will be typical. We would like to use this opportunity to create families of typical beams, columns, floor slabs, caissons and other structural members, with their corresponding reinforcement. We would have to research a little further on Revit's capabilities of modeling a post-tensioned concrete member correctly, as we plan to use them for certain spaces or the hotel.
We expect this project to be challenging, but beneficial and rewarding. If it wasn't for this class, which specifically exposed us to families and their use, we would have probably modeled each floor separately, in a longer, more repetitive, tedious and time-consuming way.
Personally, I am very excited to learn and become proficient at Revit. Every structural engineering firm I have encountered uses Revit on a daily basis, and coming out of school with an already strong basis in Revit, is something that will definitely give us a jump start at any new job position. I decided to focus on Revit uses and capabilities, because that is a field and skillset I seem to not have mastered yet; therefore I want to use this class and this particular project as a learning experience.

Comments

Kerianne Vogler: I am not very familiar with Revit's capabilities when it comes to Energy Analysis and Life-Cycle evaluation, so I'm actually very excited to see the progression and results of your project. Utilizing Revit to walk the entire project from the design to the construction phase is important for today's designers, architects and engineers. I think this will be a very worthy investment of your time.

Drew Hovey: I could learn a lot from your project. I know there is a lot of literature out there on the difference between green and intelligent buildings, how sustainability comes into play, got to get LEED accredited, etc. However, it would be very convenient to have all this information concisely summarized in a paper and learn more on how these disciplines could be consolidated to create a "green intelligent building" as you call it.

Hayley Selden: That's such an interest aspect of building design to focus on. I didn't know Alexa was a thing until a few months ago, when my friend told his Alexa to turn the lights on and I freaked out. That was all so futuristic and movie-like to me. I think using AI to not just perform tasks around the house, but also analyze, learn and optimize the functionality of systems is very impressive. I'm excited for my future home. I agree with the idea that in order for AI to function properly, it has to have a large database and information to process and understand in order to output meaningful and useful results and functionalities. Best of luck to you; truly excited to see how your project turns out!

B4 - Term Project - Arthur McCloskey

In my term project, I will be working with Egla Qori to create a comprehensive set of structural families for use in Revit.  In particular, we will be focusing our effort on creating families of typical components of Reinforced Concrete Building Design, including beams, columns, caissons, slabs, drop panels, and varying types of each.

The reason we selected this project was so that we may use the families we create in our Senior Design Project.  Our Senior Design Project is the structural design of a 40-story hotel in Chicago, IL, for which we have the actual architectural plan set.  It was determined in fall term that we would pursue a reinforced concrete frame structural system.  While Revit has a preexisting collection of structural families, including almost all of the above components, we hope to include the possibility of reinforcement detailing within the families, as well as including any post-tensioning that may be required.  As of right now, it appears Revit only has the ability to specify reinforcement spacing and bar size. [1]  We hope to be able to include these in the model, and just export to a schedule.

The idea of “Intelligent Buildings” has a lot to do with Revit and streamlining the modeling process.  The most challenging part of reinforced concrete design is the placement and sizing of reinforcement and post-tensioning.  Revit has been attempting to make modeling more object oriented, but still has to rely on geometric and tabulation to handle certain components.  We believe that creating these families will make the modeling process easier for our Senior Design Project, and the structural plans will be easily generated from the whole model.

The biggest challenges we will face are in the creation of the families themselves.  After the first assignment, we have some experience in creating families, but that was a very simple example, with only geometric constraints.  We plan to be able to assign structural properties and detailing within the objects themselves, which poses a challenge when considering how many permutations of reinforcement spacing and post-tensioning stress.  Also, considering how large the building we are designing is, there are likely going to be many types per family, so it is a challenge just to design that many types and making sure they are all correctly created.

Comments on Others

Andy Dinh – Your project seems similar to mine, since you are also creating families in Revit and Bentley to compare the two software.  I think it will be interesting to see which program is easier for this, and I would be interested to see if there are any advantages to using Bentley for different system families (structures, HVAC, etc.).

Kerieanne Vogler – Your project seems really interesting because I feel like the life cycle analysis of buildings is not something that we like to think of as designers.  I’m actually taking a LCA class next term and would be interested in seeing how BIM could help make that easier, because from what I remember from other classes, LCA is really difficult.

Nick Pawlikowski – This project is really interesting because it seems to combine all the major themes we are studying in this class: databases, BIM, programming.  I think the idea for programmatically generating Revit families would be such a great functionality, and I’m excited to see if it works out!

References

[1]  Wikispaces.  “Introduction to Revit Structure Families.”  Web.  Available: http://bim.wikispaces.com/file/view/Introduction+to+Revit+Structure+Families.pdf

Future Problems with Revit/BIM - Arthur McCloskey

     While Revit is getting increasingly popular among design and engineering firms, it still has a lot of drawbacks.  Revit can be a confusing program to learn, especially for those that are unfamiliar with object based modeling.  Particularly, employees that have been accustom to AutoCAD can  have particular difficult adjusting.  As the industry moves closer and closer to making Revit the new standard of modeling, it can only be assumed that the problems will minimize over time.  Many people see Revit becoming easier to use, have increased capabilities, and better sharing capabilities.  However, it is an interesting exercise to think about what could still be a challenge as more and more improvements are made to the program.

     Perhaps one of the most obvious drawbacks to large-scale adoption of Revit is the decreased understanding of traditional architectural design or engineering.  When issues arise in the field or in design, over-reliance on computer modeling hinders innovation, and encourages a narrow-minded perspective.  In the article "Want to be an Architect?  Don't Learn Revit" speaks a lot to this point.  Over-reliance on BIM puts architects and engineers in programming and drafting positions exclusively, which suppresses the potential of these individuals [1].

     In addition to the effect that Revit has on people, it can also have some technical drawbacks in the coming years.  These are more difficult to research, as most sources report that it is expected Revit will become more robust technically.  I think that there is a potential for the program to include capabilities like structural calculations, HVAC flow calculations, electrical component sizing, etc.  These may sound like a benefit (and they are), but all this increased computing requirements will be burdensome on our computers.  They also will now require a particular care in construction of a model.  This opens up new problems when, for example, an architect goes to edit a wall section, rendering the structure unstable and crashing the model.  Additionally, these models can become inflated in size, which can make using them on-site nearly impossible.  On most of my co-ops, our field representatives would often open drawing generated by traditional CAD programs.  If these 3D models are brought to the site, perhaps this ability will be overshadowed by the enormous model sizes as functionality increases?    Overall, I see many of these potential issues being mitigated and overcome, as that is just the nature of progress, but it is important to consider them as the program develops

Comments on Others:

Brennan Connolly - I think the article you linked was very interesting.  I always saw Revit being incorporated to analyze aspects of design we usually use other programs for, but it is interesting to see AutoDesk already developing a plugin to assess energy performance.  This, as you mentioned could really have a profound effect as more and more buildings are pushing for LEED certification.

Zhijing Zheng - The list of current issues with BIM was really useful to me as I constructed my blog post.  I was very interested in your comments on the effects on smaller firms.  We often do not think about how these large software agglomerations can put a huge burden on the little guys who might not have necessary computing power or technical infrastructure.  Perhaps BIM could be a major player in the reduction in small engineering/architecture firms.

Ronald Herazo - I found the figure you have on your post particularly interesting.  We always seem to assume the construction industry is far behind on the adaption of technology, but it is stark to see how far.  As BIM gets more and more complicated, we might just be trying to take on more technology that could prove useful or operable for us.

References

[1] Architectural Ellipses, Intern Architect.  "Want to be an Architect?  Don't Learn Revit."  Web.  Available: http://archinect.com/arch-ellipsis/want-to-be-an-architect-don-t-learn-revit

B2 - Group A - BIM Tools and Parametric Modeling - Arthur McCloskey

      Perhaps the greatest advantage to Building Information Modeling is the use of object oriented modeling and parametric modeling.  Until the development of this type of modeling, computer aided drafting programs relied exclusively on geometric based modeling, where the user would input direct geometry and properties.  The disadvantage to this is quite clear when considering drawing edits, alternate views, etc.  With non-parametric modeling, each view or drawing or object must be individually constructed, and interactions between all model components are more difficult to convey.  Chapter 2 of the BIM Handbook (BIM Tools and Parametric Modeling), cites these reasons for the push for BIM in the building industry.  Since the advancement of BIM from simple 3-D modeling in the 80's to some of the first BIM programs (TriCAD, Calma, GDS), and finally to this new age dominated by Revit, BIM's unique form of modeling has created a smarter way to design that moves beyond simple drawings to the modeling of actual objects in tandem.  [1]

      The theme of this class is the streamlining of technology to create a better industry.  We seem to continually discuss what makes technology "smart," and I think BIM is an excellent example of that.  Or Shani with wrote an interesting article that highlights the trends in technology, with special emphasis on artificial intelligence.  [2]  To call BIM a form of artificial intelligence is a stretch, but I think the history of AI and BIM are strikingly parallel.  The minds that conceived the idea of AI are the inspiration behind BIM, that our modeling software is not just a program meant to portray, but one to construct and interact, developing an "intelligent model" that is not just a collection of lines and shapes, but a system of fully integrated components.  In a way, it is no different from AI, but instead of large collections of data from sensors, BIM uses parametric objects to constitute its thinking.

      To understand the real benefits of parametric modeling, I think its best to take an example.  Professor Ramesh Krishnamurti at Carnegie Mellon University describes a pretty basic one.  With BIM, objects can be immediately exported to schedules and quantity takeoffs.  This is particularly useful for project managers and contractors, who no longer have to manually compute takeoffs for sheetmetal, structural wood, etc.  Parametric modeling creates a fully integrated design and construction process.  The point of modeling, Krishnamurti argues, is to reasonably recreate a proposed or existing construction.  BIM creates a way to look at a virtual model for what it is, a compilation of objects, not a agglomeration of shapes. [3]

Responses to Others:

Hayley Selden - I really enjoyed reading your blog post this week.  I am going to work for a GC after graduation, so the effects BIM has on contractors is of utmost importance to me.  I think that BIM has such a benefit to contractors.  Instead of just having a collection of 2-D plans, contractors can have the whole model, which helps them fully realize the design and make conscientious choices on procurement, labor, etc.

Kerianne Vogler - As I said above in Hayley's post, the effect on contractors that BIM has is really profound.  It is particularly useful, as you said, when creating quantity take-offs, but, like you said, still requires the use of estimators.  I don't think BIM will ever replace humans in this particular aspect, but it will definitely cut down on human error.

Egla Qori - Your post was particularly interesting, as interoperability really wasn't something I've every heard of.   This concept is so important as we go forward, because the better buildings can be in exchanging information, the better we can understand the needs.  I think the Main Building here is a particularly bad example, as we never seem to know the source of a problem.  Perhaps if this was a design consideration at the time, we would be able to maintain and sustain better.

[1]  Eastman, Charles.  BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors.  2nd Edition.  2011.  Web. Available: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzM2NDIzOV9fQU41?sid=4b36a05f-c301-4337-95c1-7ab9e4e9a765@sessionmgr120&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

[2]  Shani, Or.  From Science Fiction to Reality: The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence.  Wired.com.  Web. Available: https://www.wired.com/insights/2015/01/the-evolution-of-artificial-intelligence/

[3]  Krishnamurti, Ramesh.  Parametric Modeling with Building Information Models.  Special Topics in Computational Design.  Web. Available: http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/ramesh/teaching/course/48-749/

Term Project - Qori & McCloskey

Team Members
Egla Qori
Arthur McCloskey

Potential Project Idea
Creating Revit Families (BIM) in order to take a generated Reinforced Concrete framing and structural plan and export typical structural properties (i.e. reinforcement detailing, dimensions for casting, etc.).  This will make the construction drawing generation easier when going from a simple BIM model to a complete set of structural plans.  We hope to use this technology to aide us in our Senior Design Project, where we are designing the structural system for a 40-story hotel building.

Assignment B1 - Group A - Arthur McCloskey

     Artificial Intelligence, at first glance, does not seem like it has a large pertinence to the construction, building, or engineering fields.  However, technology companies are fervent in their pursuit of new applications to this technology.  One such application is the structural health monitoring of existing structures.  Stephen Shankland discusses the effect on a particular case, bridge monitoring.  He argues to ability of AI programs to monitor acoustic changes along bridges to provide warning for catastrophic failure. [1]  According the American Society of Civil Engineers, one in nine bridges in the nation are structurally deficient, so this technology could be instrumental in rebuilding this country’s infrastructure. [2]  This technology can be extended to infrastructure monitoring of buildings, especially during demolition, or refurbishment work, where the stability and structural soundness is most compromised.
     Artificial intelligence may be the future of computing in the civil engineering and architecture fields, but digital technology has long been a part of our field.  From early analysis and drafting programs to Building Information Modeling, computer technologies are revolutionizing our field, and helping us tackle new problems.  In fact, the architecture firm NBBJ in London is looking to computer technology to design a pair of buildings that does not produce a shadow. [3]  The BIM software at use here is being leveraged to calculate reflected rays between the two buildings, which will reflect sunrays into the shadow of the towers.  The computer program was able to test many different shapes that fit prescribed building parameters and produces a best fit building design.  Without the advanced computing programs like these, this type of building would probably not be possible.  Hopefully, as computer capabilities increase, we will start to see more of these impossible buildings being constructed.
     Beyond modeling, computer software can be used to monitor building consumption, as Laurie Guevara-Stone encourages in her article “Five lessons the Buildings Industry Can Learn From the Wearable Tracker Craze.” [4]  She argues the benefits that buildings can reap by installing energy monitoring software can result in better data acquisition, better target setting, and long term goal completion.  Once the problem is defined with the hard numbers, it is easier to reduce building energy consumption.  According to the United States Energy Information Administration, 40% of total energy consumption was due to residential and commercial buildings, about 39 quadrillion BTU.  Currently, there are around 64 million smart meters that measure and record energy consumption in real time. [5]  While it seems like a lot of this monitoring software is out there, this only is a small fraction of the total buildings in the country.  The more energy monitoring, the better we can understand the energy crisis and work to remedy its effects.

Responses to Others:

Egla Qori – What I found very interesting about your blog post was the recent advances in our particular industry.  I had no idea that 3D printing is used with concrete to build actual structures.  I wonder if this is a cost effective method?  It probably would save a lot in labor costs, but the equipment and setup might be prohibitive.  Still, I think it has a lot of promise in the building industry, and has a lot more applications than rapid prototyping small parts.

Brandon Mengel – After reading Egla’s post, I was wondering what the effect on construction costs with the advancements of 3D printing.  It is so crazy how much money could be saved by precasting 3D printed components in advance.  This could have a pretty profound effect on Affordable Housing Programs or expedited projects.

Maria Raggousis - I also found the ability to use 3D printing to improve housing conditions in poverty stricken areas rather interesting.  We don't often think of this technology as cost-effective, Brandon's post above showed just how economical it can be.  Perhaps this initial investment is worth it in the long run, if we can utilize this technology for multiple full scale structures.

Works Cited

[1]  Shankland, Stephen.  “Artificial Intelligence has a Big Year Ahead.”  Cnet.  14 December 2016.  Web. Available: https://www.cnet.com/news/2017-artificial-intelligence-mainstream-businesses-adopt-ai/
[2]  American Society of Civil Engineers.  “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.”  Web.  Available:  http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/bridges/overview
[3]  Woo, Marcus.  “The Plan to Build a Skyscraper that doesn’t Cast a Shadow.”  Wired.com.  13 March 2015.  Web. Available: https://www.wired.com/2015/03/plan-build-skyscraper-doesnt-cast-shadow/
[4]  Guevara-Stone, Laurie.  “Five Lessons the Building Industry Can Learn from the Wearable Tracker Craze”.  RMI Outlet.  7 July 2015.  Web. Available: http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2015_07_07_five_lessons_building_industry_can_learn_from_wearable_tracker_craze
[5]  United Sates Energy and Information Administration.  “Independent Statistics and Analysis.”  Web.  Available:  http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=108&t=1

Week 1 First Post - Arthur

My name is Arthur McCloskey, and I am a structural concentration in the BS/MS program.  I have not necessarily had a lot of Intelligent Building background, excluding BIM, but I am going into the construction industry after graduation, so I am hoping to come out of the course better prepared for how these concepts may affect the management and process in my field.  I would define an "Intelligent Building" as a construction that is built to anticipate and respond to changing demand, rather than simply reacting, and is built to maximize productivity of the occupants, owners, contractors, and engineers involved from conception to the end of its life cycle.

Names Placeholder Post for Labels, Tags -2

This post creates the second half of the last names of everyone as a label/tag in the class as of 1/4/2017.  I have to add in two posts because it’s limited by Blogger.