How Digital Design Supports Modern Sustainable Infrastructure Projects

Waking up every morning wanting to improve one's knowledge of BIM is a welcomed characteristic in the AEC industry. Expanding the group of stakeholders who could potentially benefit from the use of BIM in their project is the focus of this article. "Building Information Modelling" has it right there in the title: we should focus on buildings. This misconception contributes to one reason why I've slowly been shifting from strictly describing the use of REVIT or Sketchup as BIM, and have adopted them as tools in a more comprehensive digital design strategy. Infrastructure projects are a good example of where this technology is expanding to. These tend to be projects where construction is going on, but it isn't necessarily building related. This field is an important area of application for BIM because these projects benefit from same positive characteristics of BIM as vertical building: that being better coordination, earlier visualizations, more streamlined production workflow, etc. (I'm assuming my audience is well-acquainted with the benefits of BIM.)

The AEC industry is therefore faced with a choice to either focus more broadly on digital design, or continue to distinguish between horizontal building projects, like rail interchanges and mining concerns, and traditional vertical building projects. My advice is to ignore the debate over whatever to call it – it's a question that doesn't need to be answered at this exact moment. The far better goal, which is also more difficult to achieve, is to make sure your organization is fully dedicated to capturing the value of digital design on every level of the project: that being mostly found in the characteristics of collaboration and coordination, and analysis.

An example using computational architecture in a production workflow.

Say I've been tasked with laying out 300 km of pipe across some terrain in beautiful Southern Alberta (seen above). It's a very linear problem: There are not a lot of features on either side of the pipe to help orient oneself to the project. However, there is a good chance that despite the problem presenting itself as highly linear with many repeated elements, a great deal of engineering detail is subtly changing along the length of the pipe that absolutely must go on the drawings correctly. "Here the ability of computational architecture and programming skills to setup overview templates and routines which 1) automate the precise and equal spacing of views along the pipeline track and 2) cross-references engineering specifications contained within the view to some other human-readable format (the subject of data visualization). This translates in a production workflow as a nice cheat sheet that always references the important engineering data scaled to an appropriate layout of the project. This sort of script could be as sophisticated or simple as a firm's programming skill and project resources allow and benefits in terms of efficiency gains and increased accuracy will follow proportionally. In navigating these questions the topic of software development is the most likely source of information about the problems currently facing the AEC industry. 

The BIM Cycle. 

Lastly we come to Circular BIM which has implications for many firms wishing to offer the market a full suite of building services from pre-production to construction to post-occupancy facilities management. I don't remember where I first heard this idea but after applying it consistently for a period, the concept continues to shed light on how firms can attract projects at any stage of their lifecycle. Interpreting from within an economic framework of BIM, it's hard to ignore the many applications of digital design and data science to the field. Take for example the strong growth in the market for scan-to-model services of existing buildings. The real estate and development sectors see great value in digital models in the facilities management field. The decommissioning process is also another natural area to apply BIM. As counter-intuitive as it may sound to long time readers, situations arise where BIM for decommissioning and demolishing is the perfect digital platform for the project, supporting many automated quantifying tasks with only a little post-processing of the scan-to-model data. This is contrasted to how BIM was framed as just a building tool at the beginning of the piece. Firms wanting to expand in any market are going to want to invite clients to start their project anywhere on the BIM circle. Smaller firm might what to focus on only a couple of BIM phases to gain a competitive advantage in them. Larger firms will have an easier time establishing a complete tool chain to capture projects anywhere in the cycle. 

How Computational Engineering Supports Better Building Quality

News of Dynamo's achievements are starting to spread widely, but that's not to say it can't be helped further. I'm normally a bit more focused on the production side of computational architecture but this use case for computational architecture by ARUP and Populous really highlighted some of the benefits of using this technology. Populous is a small firm with a growing international presence but in this project's style and trends were not the only factors driving the early design phase. 

The linked case study explores how ARUP provided Populous with 12 detailed structural options in 12 weeks for Australia's proposed National football stadium. Without the computational support the article states they would have only produced 3 or 4 options in the same time period. From the perspective of the client, this increase in design options represents a better search of the total solution space. This translates for the building design manager as an increase in building quality. The source of this extra value is in the application of iterative design techniques. One of the characteristics of this application worth pointing out is the detail contained in the options. Dynamo was as much responsible for increasing the number of options analyzed but also, importantly, increasing the detail. In this data-intensive age where econometrics is replacing economics, the increased level of model detail drove more accurate cost estimates, certainly for materials, as ARUP's specialty is structure, but also I assume construction costs as well, which depends heavily on the complexity of the geometry. 

A last point to note is where ARUP stopped using Dynamo in the project: At the building performance analysis stage. ARUP owns a software company and therefore probably has little need for other 3rd-party software to analyze their projects to the quality they want. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, Dynamo is not optimized for the types of calculations seen in structural analysis, nor its interface, giving 3rd-party products an advantage. That is beginning to change as Dynamo matures as a programming language. A team in Europe has spent a great deal of effort putting together an Dynamo-based structural optimization package called DynaShape. Considering its aim, the software is a bit complex to use. And I can't speak to the quality of its output either, that being a whole other complicated subject. But the code is open-source so those curious enough can find out for themselves. There are some videos included in the link as well which give a clearer idea about the capabilities of the package, though I wish they were longer. 

How Graphic Design Makes Buildings Better

Over the last couple of weekends, in honour of Edward Tufte's work on information design, I drafted a visual example of one helpful principle from his lifetime of work. His work is so helpful in this particular instance because, beyond describing the importance of clarity in linework and colour selection, he also offers guidance on how best to choose them. Each should be proportionally chosen by their "smallest effective difference" relative to other elements (which the below image tries to represent; click to enlarge). The middle panel shows my best attempt at perfecting the balanced linework, with the two extremes set to each side, one with the line differences exaggerated and the other using all the same line weight. 

Why: 
Competency in information design is core to the fluent and detailed expression of architectural ideas. The reason I meet the subject with such intensity is because I recognize construction documents as central to the design process and building awesome structures. The graphic design characteristics of construction documents are actually responsible for communicating things with completely nontrivial risks attached to them like structural loads and electrical capacities. These documents have to go out perfectly. My appreciation of construction drawings and architectural renderings extends into the artistic, and a well-rendered architectural section would not be out of place on my apartment walls. We all sort of have an intuition there's something scientific about graphic design, but Edward Tufte's work was significant because it established the field in a larger scientific context borrowed mainly from the cognitive neurosciences and statistics. I return again and again to the three books I own of Tufte's:

• The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1983)
• Envisioning Information (1990),
• Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative (1997)

They are exceptionally good books and I've never felt the need to expand past them (with the exception of Ellen Lupton's excellent work for Princeton Architectural Press).

How: 
I think more than anything my accomplishments in graphic design lay in the intensity with which I bring to bare the topic. Having understood information design's central role in construction documents and architectural renderings, I attack the subject with zeal and make no apologies for being a perfectionist when it comes to the graphical quality of my work. Assuming one is properly motivated to summon the care necessary to match the challenge, these particular images were all made in Adobe Illustrator CC. Two of the references are from Francis K. Ching and the top parapet is from one of my building science texts.

How to Build Strong Narratives in Architecture

In response to some of the positive feedback I've been getting about my writing over on Instagram, I thought it would be nice to collect some of the best here in one spot for easy reading. If you enjoy the content, please consider sharing. It's all meant to put a smile on the face of anyone involved with the daily struggles of building and design.

Why:
There are two reasons we should be concerned about supporting quality architectural writing: Firstly, as a reaction to the deteriorating quality of architectural writing in general. This trend has very little to do with the architectural profession itself, but rather is being driven by the negative qualities the internet tends to exaggerate. Short attention spans in this case. Here architectural writing is just as much a victim of the need to feed the content treadmill as other industries. This trend isn't set to reverse itiself anytime soon. The numbers I've seen from 2016 seem to confirm that sharing lower quality content more often works better than only sharing good quality content less often. I'm only one person, so when I see numbers like this, my response is to zig when the rest of the field zags. I reject letting the need to feed the content blackhole take over my life, so that means doubling down on quality. This leads to the second reason why we should strive for quality in architectural writing; the subject of architecture deservers well-written stories driven by strong narratives, whether fiction or nonfiction. Architectural writing might seem like a small field, but it has a disproportionately large effect on the built environment we inhabit everyday. The better the writing, the better our analysis and the more people will be moved by the substance of the work.

How:
I think two reasons my work stands out on the platform is because of my background in creative writing and the strong narratives I'm able to develop. My process at arriving at each of those characteristics is a bit more nebulous; in the sense that creativity occurs inside a mystery box we can't see into. Having received some success with writing in high school, I now see that positive feedback in the late 90s as key to establishing my skill through practice during the intervening decades. If one is able to develop a strong narrative, even in a limited space, then I think it's possible to tap into very ancient parts of humanity everyone shares from when groups huddled around campfires and told stories. Tapping into those feelings, but bringing them to bare on topics relevant to modern architecture such as 3D printing or collaborative design, is a major goal of my work. As I've matured as a writer, I've come to recognize that I treat skill in design and skill in writing as very distinct. This affects how I write insofar as I think the skills of writing should be subservient to the skills of design. Excellent communication skills – as this piece about writing and Thursday's piece about graphic design illustrates – are core to the fluent expression of architectural ideas, either abstract or detailed. And for those that love architecture; that is where the game is played. Writing, drawing, are just extensions of that passion. Enjoy!

February 13, 2017

65 words.
A boy is playing with LEGO. A radical idea pops into his head. Not only should his house have a space port, can't it also be made of wood and raised on stilts? Is there room for a candy store, pool, and swing set? Will a Pokemon arena fit between the bunkbeds and science lab? There's no time to lose! Think big and remix architecture!

March 7, 2017

152 words.

The Engineer sat quietly at the computer. His other team members had left hours ago for other commitments but he was determined to stay right beside the computer until the solution was found. 5.2-billion data points; almost 3 months pre-processing the data for the run; one very bad quality assurance meeting; finally the day of the computation had arrived. Estimates suggested they should have their answer in less than 24 hours. The Engineer was determined to sit there all night if he had to because he knew it was a historical day. They wouldn't get a design proposal. Not a first draft. Not a concept. They would have the perfect solution. 24 hours passed. 48 hours. 72 hours. Something was wrong. A week. 2 weeks. Meetings started about how long they should wait. Preliminary investigations begun into what went wrong. 3 weeks. 1 month. Perhaps the perfect building wasn't possible after all. 

March 10, 2017

121 words. 

The professor stood at the edge of the silent construction site. No amount of raging at her assistants would restart the project. They needed to be smart. The professor took a deep breath and sighed as she looked over to her struggling grad students huddled around the unmoving timber-producing 3D printer. All the wires and pipes checked out. Scanning the 3D printer code again on her laptop, nothing stood out to her that could be causing the issue. Out of frustration the professor kicked the pulp tub beside her. With a *glurp* and a *swoop" the 3D printer whirled to life. The grad students cheered. Ok, that time they just needed to be lucky. Thanks for following! Good luck next week!

March 28, 2017

202 words.
The search and rescue drones had departed a week ago. Now all that was left was a silent site and massive pile of twisted steel. Sharp and tangled, it looked like an uninviting challenge. Our hero engineer stood at the edge of the site looking on with contempt at the disaster before her. This needed to be fixed? With her army of construction drones? With the robotics engineers she led? With her double engineering degrees in structural engineering and computer science? This mess didn't stand a chance! She had a plan, she had her digital model, all that was left was to hit the return key to start the building program. She paused, disgusted other humans could do this to beautiful architecture, but confident she and her team could raise another better building in its place. The robotics engineers murmured behind her doing the final calibration checks of the drones and geospatial dataset. With excitement rising, the reports of all clear came back to her one-by-one. With a deep breath, she pressed the start button, and with it the site came alive with the sounds of whirring, clicking, beeping, and buzzing which now mark the 21st century construction site. Build build build!

April 4, 2017

128 words.
Slumped in her chair, she had heard "No" all morning. From her boss; from her team; even from the coffee shop in the lobby who were out of dark roast. This did not bode well for her presentation on sustainable architecture in the afternoon. As junior partner she had worked hard for weeks developing an impactful presentation and be as prepared as possible for any client question. The proposal included an aggressive water conservation program to be sure, but she had never been the sort of person to aim for mediocre. She didn't get out of bed every morning to do average. Now the horizon looked darker and goal totally uphill. It was time for her secret weapon to swing momentum back in her favour: Cake for everyone!

April 28, 2017

155 words.
If I had to write a story about harnessing the power of BIM to support facilities management, I'd start with a frustrated character, unable to see what they're aiming for. There's so much at stake, so many moving parts, and at the end of the process an owner expecting a perfectly operational building. But the designer can't see all of this. The modern-day digital operation of a building is intense. One might as well take up brain surgery for all there is to know about the details of digital building ownership. But what if the designer had a map? Would that help them see the field? Now they would actually know what they're aiming for, but with the added benefit of not needing to know every detail, just like a real map. After hitting the target, the designer becomes a hero to owners and developers; babies smile, unicorns frolic, and Spring arrives! Thanks for following!

May 16, 2017

187 words.

The three students finally found each other on the sprawling Minecraft map and set off to find the perfect location for their building. Carefully prepared at school all week, during language arts and math, lunch and recess, the design now contained every conceivable feature a castle/cave/mansion could ever need: Slides, pools, huts, and potatoes. Now standing at the top of a mountain after school Friday, the three students looked determinedly at the plains below where they planned to build all weekend. Those luckily enough to have played with LEGO when they were younger will be familiar with how time flies when the brain shifts into this creative gear. Suddenly it was Sunday night, the castle only three-quarters done, and delicate negotiations going on between parents and students about bedtime. With good intentions the discussion started, "yes, learning design is important and your teamwork is admirable, but..." In the face of the students' commitment to design and build the arguments finally wilted and took on a desperate tone "...just because!" If you feel the urge to build and create, please don't resist and build build build!

Computational Architecture in a Production Workflow

Besides maybe writing about Japanese architecture, one of my favourite topics to write about is computational architecture because its study so directly applies to those serious about building a lot. Knowledge of parametric and computational design techniques are increasing within the AEC industry. However, the use of this technology to define the form of high-concept, high-design projects – while very dramatic – represents only a small portion of what actually gets built every year. There are a variety of reasons for this, none of which really need to be unpacked here, because the substance of this article is concerned with expanding the range of buildings that could conceivably be supported by parametric and computational architecture techniques. A much larger area of application is indeed on the production side; harnessing computational architecture to facilitate efficient production workflows to design and build as far as the eye can see.

The uses of the DynamoBIM visual programming interface within the production environment is pretty much unlimited, and different firms will have different pain points they might possibility want a tool like Dynamo to fix. A long list of Dynamo production tutorials representing a range of functions put together by The Revit Kid author Jeffrey A. Pinheiro illustrates this point. From a strategic and organizational perspective, in the design studio it's important to remember problems still exist within the spaces between tutorials, and problems exist between those spaces too, and so on. Therefore, what follows doesn't focus so much on coding specific scripts, but rather offers guidance on how to think about Dynamo when faced with a problem in REVIT, either design-wise or technical. Encouraging a perspective that comes directly from business school, the first and last measure to use when navigating this question is whether it's cost prohibitive or not to use Dynamo when the same thing could be accomplished in REVIT alone. But even this framing of the question doesn't capture its full complexity because some scripts will take a lot of effort to initially code but could offer substantial gains to subsequent projects. I love the complexity of this topic, which is exactly what a modern building project is, so we press forward:

Coding efforts that can be reused and have a reasonable chance of being brought to fruition on time and on budget are good candidates to consider when trying to expand an organization's application of computational architecture on the production side. Luckily, we've have a huge body of knowledge about how to do parts of this process from the software development industry. As a mature industry, they have lots to say about expertise in programming, and the factors which influence software development. However, the depth of this field also results in an extremely wide range of talent coming into the AEC industry. There is a huge range in programming skills. What would take me hundreds of nodes in Dynamo could be accomplished in a block of Python code by some members of the DynamoBIM forums. Is their code objectively better? Probably. But these scripts and programs need to make it back to the production environment, where their success is judged on a physical building, therefore, this specific knowledge in programming needs to be balanced with specific knowledge of building science and building design management.

I can imagine some uses of computation architectural in the conceptual stage for more conventional projects. Building performance analysis, for example, delivers lots of useful information to drive high-performance sustainable design efforts without necessarily aiming for the Pritzker prize. But really the use of Dynamo can start right at the very beginning of the production cycle to set up comprehensive REVIT project templates that are both more complex than previous and more accurate/consistent (because use of Dynamo can drastically lower the threshold for implementing quality assurance steps within the development process). Coming from a structural engineering background, I've seen some egregious carelessness in studios setting up grids. They always get coordinated and fixed before documents ever start going out, but what boggles the mind is how they crop up in the first place. Interfacing with Dynamo, precise control of the grid layout is increased, but the workflow to return helpful information to the design team about its accuracy is also reduced. This extends to any object in REVIT where coordination and precision is key. The example sits at the core of why Dynamo is so helpful: Complex operations can be done to the 3D model easier, but information can also be taken and structured from the model just as easily.

Establishing a library of reusable DynamoBIM scripts can eventually grow into a valuable knowledge management asset for an organization. However, sometimes these challenges in the design studio require one-off solutions to fix. One can take elements from the modelling environment and manipulate them in all sorts of complex ways using formulas that would be impossible to accomplish in REVIT alone. This feature can solve many problems if some skill is gained in coding and controlling lists in Dynamo. So if only a certain configuration of elements needs to be updated, computational architectural is the tool that allows these operations to be carried out on the digital model with greater accuracy and efficiency than ever before. Both the ability to reuse powerful scripts and having a computational architecture Swiss army knife to assist problem solving each combine to increase productivity in the production stage. ArchSmarter writer Michael Kilkelly has an excellent video up showing some advance MEP scheduling of >1000 pieces. If one has the power of MS Excel to shape schedules, these sorts of operations become trivial. It's so important in the production phase to be constantly harnessing the efficiency and accuracy gains offered by computational architecture. There is so much positive feedback to be gained in these sorts of systems as the team's skill at programming improves and library of quality scripts grows.

The market battleground where sharp computational architecture skills will be an advantage in the future is sustainable architecture. Building performance analysis is still very much a black art in the AEC industry. REVIT's out of the box optimization and analysis packages are wildly inaccurate but at the same time building performance analysis still has all sorts of valuable insights to offer the design process. Streamlining building performance analysis with DynamoBIM has all sorts of benefits, though the main obstacle to increasing accuracy remains outside the scope of Dynamo alone to fix, and will require more industry research and coordination. There is no easy to way navigate the helpfulness of Dynamo in the design process (and the risks of inaccurate analysis) except to encourage an intelligent case-by-case approach. Some types of solar modelling or structural optimization will be at low risk for these types of inaccuracies, energy modeling on the other hand, probably most useful for jurisdictional reasons, remains defendable territory for specialist firms.

One more variable sits at the heart of computational architecture which is only visible to control when adopting a collaborative design approach. There is a point in any computational architecture project where it might become more advantageous to reach outside the firm for expert help than struggle along oneself. If a design studio encounters a skills gap, do they try to jump it alone, or hire out? Lots of BIM consulting firms are starting to pop up to cater to the demand created by this skills gap. However, it's still up to the project manager to aim and direct this effort, and there is very little room for error with budgets and schedules so tight. Ultimately, adopting a multidisciplinary approach on every project softens the panic at having to integrate different specialities in the modern design studio. I wish to leave readers with the impression a computational architecture interface such as Dynamo or Grasshopper should be treated just like any other BIM input tool like a mouse or keyboard. This is what distinguishes a BIM manager from a digital design expert and BIM champion; the comfort one has using their tools.

Advanced BIM Workflows in the Digital Design Office

I came across the below linked video last month and instantly knew there was something to learn from it. However, the video format – a recording of a live meeting – was extremely limited as a medium to transfer the knowledge I so desperately wanted, and so had to come back to it later. I don't consider this the fault of the good folks at EvolveLAB or Autodesk Fromit. Quite the contrary in fact, I think they should be celebrated for releasing whatever they can to the community. I love learning and am more than happy to take up some of the responsibility for learning a complex subject myself. That said, one method of learning any subject is writing about it. Here I thought I would share my description of the class after draining all useful information from the video and reconstituting it here for my readers in a much more inviting and engaging form.

The almost hour long video is notable for how it links together several software applications. Transitions between software programs have traditionally been a pain point in BIM projects because the complexity of the digital model can inevitably lead to the introduction of small bugs that result in unexpected behaviour. Anyone in charge of supporting parametric design in the office should be aware that to support an architect's vision at a high level, a fluency in the topics discussed here on the blog continually, or specifically today in the video, is fundamental. 

Autodesk's Formit 360 is mentioned. Great little program. It's a lightweight modelling environment for conceptual design which integrates with each DynamoBIM, Revit, and the Cloud. I love REVIT but it's a heavy weight champ when sometimes nimbleness is required. Fromit was made with this goal in mind. The helpfulness of this software rests on the undercurrents of digital design the AEC industry is currently transition to. The ability to have a robust and flexible conceptual workspace supports iterative design techniques so prevalent in data-driven design methodologies. 

The presenters show DynamoBIM still growing in its role as a complementary tool in an a world-class digital design workflow. Here we see Dynamo used very effectively in a conceptual environment. Many firms could use this skill set to make amazing architecture, but I'm not sure all firms are ready to take the plunge, at least in Canada. Certainly from an architectural criticism perspective I don't know if this is totally a good thing either. But in an empirical way – taken in context of a suite of digital design software – this tool allows optimization of the design which, in turn, can drive building value for all stakeholders in a project, especially users. Two other characteristics of computational architecture and Dynamo not illustrated in the video but important applications nonetheless are 1) Dynamo has many functions in a BIM production workflow not mentioned in the video; and 2) there is a subtle but important difference between computational architecture optimizing a conceptual design and production workflow versus optimizing a building materials or performance through analysis. Computational architecture needs to be attacked from both angles to maximize the benefits of digital design. 

Lastly we introduce Autodesk's Project Fractal initiative. Certainly this isn't as big a piece of software as REVIT but it has some interesting characteristics for sharing parametric designs that have implications for teams designing distributively around the world. Basically it's a way for parametric models to be processed and hosted in the cloud for users to inspect and review. It's nice to see lightweight mobile options continue to be developed along side enterprise-level creative software. 

Data Science in the Service of Architecture.

I've been carefully reading articles about the impact of data science in architecture but haven't felt any cover the topic particularly well. This concerns me insofar as these changes are zooming toward the design studio. By comparison, there doesn't seem to be a lot of haste in communicating to firms the tools they'll need to adapt. Furthermore, the big data landscape is getting increasingly competitive. Firms without experience in data science will be at a disadvantage. Data science conversations are becoming more and more commonplace within the AEC industry and general public and, secondly, it's important to recognize excelling at any one type of big data application can require a deep understanding of the underlying math and science behind the data. This is a specialist knowledge many big data firm already have, and small and mid-size architectural and engineering firms will struggle to get. Venture capitalist Matt Turck's 2017 Data Landscape poster graphically represents the competitiveness I'm trying to express in writing. There are an absolute ton of smart, driven, and hardworking firms coming for your dollars. My hope with this article is that a defence can start to be built, and, on a whole, we can get data science working for architecture.

Before proceeding, it's worth describing some reasonable constraints on our approach to the topic. The rapid growth of big data in modern life brings many different characteristics of the field forward; here we are going to discuss the topic strictly in terms of building design management, that being the study of architecture in terms of economics and business analysis. Left aside for the moment are more existentialist questions related data science's role in architecture, such as whether it's a good thing or not to let an algorithm totally determine the form of a building. Instead I favour of questions of adaptability. This technology is coming toward the design studio and we need to try to get out ahead of it. Where I need to admit bias is that I have a strong belief data science can help myself, and my readers, build more valuable architecture.

It's the math itself which really distinguishes the study of data science. Many fields of math intersect at various points with data science, any one of which is worthy of its own international conference. Every subdomain of the topic is deep. How to bring all of this together in a single firm is one of the main goals of building design management. There are three broad areas to consider if facing a big data request in an architectural or engineering setting:

1. Infrastructure
2. Computer Science
3. Analytics

Infrastructure. This refers to all the physical characteristics of the system or network to be used for work and is meant to be as broad as possible. Questions regarding multiple monitor computer setups all the way to browser-based BIM software hosted in the Cloud are all valid objects of study. Having a firm grasp of the computer and network infrastructure used in the AEC industry, including its costs and capabilities, and how it scales, all create the framework necessary to support technology users carrying out the following two points within a firm.

Computer Science. At the core of this category is supporting the needs of a high-performance computation architecture department or some other per project application of the subject. Distinguishing performance in this field is signalled by a depth of knowledge with several types of programming used in the industry (or fluency in several different programming languages). This includes familiarity with generative design (which encompasses branches of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural networks) and geometry (mostly within the field of finite mathematics, such as combinatorics and graph theory, but also classical and differential geometry). On the horizon, leaders will soon be expected to support additive construction techniques within a firm like architectural 3D printing or construction drones. Finally, how predictive mathematical models are developed and relate to statistics has a substantial influence on our last category.

Analytics. If above was about programming expertise in data science, this category is about getting the answers you want from your data. Having been involved in the field now for years, asking good questions of your data still seems to be more art than science. Several different branches of mathematics, such as linear algebra, matrices, and discrete optimization techniques, are involved in analyzing data. Network analysis can also be a powerful tool because as the data is analyzed, it often starts to reveal all sorts of complex connections within the data to that can be exploited (such as adjusting a product's supply chain). Building performance analysis in its many forms – thermal, structural, etc., – are all examples of activity in this field. Once all this data is in the model, it's time to analyze its form and predict its behaviour.

Conclusion. Ultimately, all three areas should be addressed on every project. This framework will help support better decision making about data science topics in architecture. Assuming one of the hallmarks of creativity is open mindedness, if the architectural and engineering field considers themselves creative at all, it's important we be openminded to welcoming data scientists and robotics engineers into the design studio. The creativity of the field can also be a source of adaptability.

Facilities Management in Digital Design

Constantly promoting a building design management perspective, in this article we start by taking a 30,000 foot view of the BIM process and then focus in on how digital design is changing facilities management. Bringing this type of information forward into the design stage is an important step to understanding the requirements of modern owners in all their specifics. Facility operations is ultimately a characteristic of a building's function. With that in mind, I wanted to introduce a publication from ARUP which contained some insights which will be of interest to anyone responsible for increasing the value of architecture through digital design.

It's true designers could ignore these insights, but then specifications helpful to creating a valuable building would go untapped. The target one is aiming for would stay blurry and be much harder to hit. On the other hand, the ARUP document is long and therefore not so easily digestible. The goal of this piece is to communicate good ideas which represent low-hanging fruit designers can start implementing right away. To date, the field has been characterized by many individual strategies, and there is much to be gained from promoting the unified approach suggested by ARUP. 

The two main reason to consider digital facilities management and big data:

• More end user control and flexibility, leading to better health and wellbeing.
• Tracking methods to ensure the high performance building stays high performance.

ARUP outlines six categories of digital benefits across an asset's lifecycle which I've summarized below for convenience. These categories should be checked on every project going forward. 

• A digital Portfolio strategy embraces a data-driven investment strategy. It helps improve the decision making process and creates a framework under which to analyze operational performance across an investment portfolio. Both of which can lead to higher returns and operational cost savings. 
• Faster, safer, and more accurate project delivery during the fit-out stage is supported by process virtualization, enabling a smoother transition between design/engineering and construction. 
• Project planning can be supported digitally with new forms of stakeholder engagement. The data can also be applied during the planning stage to facilities optimal site selection. Ultimately, using digital for project planning can differentiate oneself in the marketplace. 
• Asset operations is shifting to rely on digital infrastructure and processes. It helps to understand the occupant's experience and increases flexibility through integration. All sorts of other digital services can be spun off at this stage which can increase building value. 
• When architects and engineers approach an existing building, digital design allows faster, cheaper and more accurate existing conditions modelling. Furthermore, simulations can be done to help understand and improve the experiences of future users. 
• Lastly, when it comes time to renew assets, portfolio-wide intelligence means a smarter and better informed plan. A digital platform promotes the streamlining of whole renewal process. 

A short but interesting case study included in the report is from Microsoft's I.T. and real estate department who makes the claim that even though only about 70% of their global campuses currently leverage digital dashboards, they've definitely come to rely on the technology to make better decisions. 

Lastly, introducing one last layer of depth, hopefully without adding too much more detail, I wanted to connect this shift in facilities management to where some of the best research on the topic is going on. This gives us insight into where the technology is expected to go so that architecture and engineering firms can try to get there first. Here we extend our thanks to the work of Stanford University's Center for Integrated Facility Engineering. This is where the most complex custom approaches are currently being studied but also where the topic of digital facilities management is being discussed almost philosophically. Reading about the center's research and accomplishments, one thing I appreciate about their approach is their steadfast dedication to integration. This follows other industry trends toward more focus on collaborative and interdisciplinary skills. 

Designing Super Complicated Buildings

Not wanting to waste anyone's time with a how-to post about gable roofs, we jump right into the deep end to consider three factors which influence the design of complex buildings. This subject does not get addressed enough compared to the importance these buildings play in our economy. One thing that needs to be set aside before proceeding are the details of the final fit out. Finishes can represent a significant amount of the final budget but rarely multiplies the complexity of the design or design process. Taking the 30,000 ft. view, we are much better off focusing on the coordination of the interior design team than if the carpet in conference room 8A should be fire engine red or poppy red. The following three fields represent three sources of complexity in designing structures:

• Constructibility
• Building Codes
• Project Management

Constructibility. One of the main characteristics of the adoption of BIM in the design studio has been that construction phase can now be addressed earlier in the design process through the use of prefabrication, modularity and 3D. It's up for debate how much a design should be modified to make construction easier, what isn't up for debate are the efficiency gains that result from constructibility being explicitly addressed earlier in the design phase. Financially, the focus needs to be on the structure of the building. Firstly, because the superstructure interacts in complicated ways with the function of a building. And secondly, the superstructure tends to take up an average of about 40-50% of the total budget of a building. This means getting the structure of a building right can have a significant impact on the value of a building and the success of its architectural programme.

Building codes. No doubt many human lives have been saved because of the safety regulations placed on buildings. Building codes have been successful in protecting these expensive investments, the assets contained within, and their neighbours' investment. Beyond fire safety, structural and HVAC codes are in the mix to be considered and these fields require specific expertise to sign off on which contributes to the complexity of the project. Simple solutions to ease the burden of complex building code requirements beyond sheer human effort are rare, but two points do address this subject for our built environment: Hiring specialists to review the design at a couple crucial way-points in the process, while a luxury in some firms, can also save money in other situations by keeping the building design and construction schedule on track. Secondly, automated build code inspection systems are on the horizon through building information modelling which aim to complement the human effort. 

Project Management. This is one of my favourite topics in building design management because it so clearly captures the multidisciplinary nature of the modern practice of architecture. Everyone and their dog says they're good at project management. I take such care to elaborate on the topic for my readers because when the field is this flooded, it's an advantage for firms to be able to distinguish between the finest of PM characteristics. I try to set the bar super high but respect that readers can judge for themselves on what makes a good PM. Some subject matter expertise is required. There's a language to many subjects that needs to be respected. Hiring the producer of the Oscars to raise your skyscraper will only bring heartbreak (though you'll probably get a fantastic grand opening). In highlighting the importance of the social sphere in project management, I've mentioned author Stephen Emmitt before and his suggestion architects, engineers and industry professionals need "cross-cultural leadership intelligence" to fully support a building project at a high level. Briefly, two other sources of complexity in project management are, firstly, the way subdomains interconnect in the project as a whole, much like how juggling is complicated, and secondly, that within each domain lays another complex object, itself with many moving and interconnected parts. We should welcome here the application of good executive cognitive skills. The project manager might say "I don't know" often; collapsing dimensions of complexity within the project so they can be inspected and addressed one-by-one by the team.  

BIM: The Mechanical Pencil

Sparked by a conversation months ago on Linkedin, a recent ARUP article on building information modelling was the final piece allowing me to write this piece. Last year it was a suggested by many in an epic Linkedin BIM comment thread that hand sketching was fundamentally superior to CAD/BIM. A bit of an echo chamber developed reinforcing hand sketching's supremacy. It was not lost on critical thinking readers, however, that many expounding the supremacy of hand sketching admitted to having little experience, skill, or inclination to practice digital design.

Offering a defence first, I hasten to add as I write this my sketching materials, fine-tipped felt pens and a sketchbook of good heavy paper, sit in the chair next to me. In the Linkedin comment thread, I raised the idea some might want to explore forms not reproducible by hand. Met by silence was my question of whether architectural designs should be limited to only those which can be generated by hand since hand sketching is so superior. Furthermore, the gains in efficiency computational architecture can bring to design or building performance can not be so lightly dismissed for those who love architecture and building. On the other hand, one of their criticisms is worth expanding on – in fact it's a position I've been advocating for years since I attack the subject from a building design management perspective – the benefits of BIM need to be quantified. 

One of the main drivers of building is economic. At every stage and scale, the economics of building needs to be understood, absorbed, and reapplied forward. While the criticisms of BIM in business are mostly anecdotal, it's also not so easy to dismiss them, or at least it would be unwise to so quickly dismiss the points-of-view of respected industry members. It's completely reasonable people are sceptical about the overall benefits of BIM when within their own firms they've witnessed BIM projects go awry. The tools of business analysis are here to help bring the larger picture into focus. From concept to production to facilities management, there are benefits to be gleaned from BIM, and an important step in capturing these benefits is recognizing there is a direction to the flow of information in BIM projects. The major benefits of BIM in the construction and occupancy stage can only be realized if implemented in the design stage. The fact building operators, and the list seems to be growing everyday, are paying for 3D models of their existing buildings for facilities management purposes should put a giant exclamation mark behind the value of creating a high-quality digital model at the design stage. 

Arup's suggestion of a BIM Maturity Measure is another good approach giving structure to the BIM feedback process. It's aim is to track key metrics for comparison across projects. Before letting Arup's director Michael Stych describe the program himself, it's worth pointing out the main value of such a system in regards to building design management is that it facilitates portfolio management across a firm's stable of BIM projects. 

"To date, BIM assessment has been complex, providing only a high level overview of its implementation and has been limited to high-achieving projects. Our BIM Maturity Measure tool aims to democratise assessment, enabling comparisons to be made across all projects quickly and easily. This will allow us to recognise where BIM has been used effectively, creating a code of best practise and helping to identify trends and training needs.  We have stopped counting the projects that are doing “BIM” and have started to measure the maturity of BIM application on every project."

The measure is a mix of passive data collection and structured feedback from participants. The program is obviously finding some success internally, with one conclusion worth sharing here and easily implemented in any design shop: BIM projects that have a BIM champion attached, an intense and passionate digital designer, do measurably better. Amazing!

No doubt myself and some of my Linkedin connections easily fit the description of BIM champions. The world is filled with designers and technologists just going through the motions. In fact, I would go so far as to say some managers, despite fancy HR websites stating the opposite, give the impression they would much prefer employees that just sit at their computer in a catatonic state. That's never a good foundation from to which start building a lot of valuable architecture. I've had the pleasure of being the office helpdesk and supporting teammates through their struggles with BIM. I completely empathize with their intimidation of sitting behind multiple monitors running a complex REVIT project. It looks overwhelmingly complicated. It can't be that dissimilar from sitting in a jet fighter cockpit. But not one that sends wayward missiles into hospitals. We get to master the tools which build hospitals; and warehouses, and skyscrapers and fire stations! Everytime we can reflect on the economics of our design process it opens the doors to building more. Being able to quantify our effort and track rates of change greatly helps in strategically distributing skills, monetary, and leadership resources across a firm's portfolio of projects. I'm not particularly good at gardening, cooking or line dancing, but sitting at my desk with REVIT open in front of me, I can build anything; and I'm so grateful for that opportunity.  

How to Adapt to Disruption Through Collaboration in the AEC Industry

This article begins by raising a red flag that disruption is coming to the AEC industry. A maturing workforce with expertise in building information modelling and computational architecture could not have arrived at a better time to match these challenges. However, business models and best practices around architectural 3D printing and additive construction are still very much in flux and a different type of mindset is needed to successfully tackle these subjects. Education is needed:

• Building Design Management. Here we strive to understand additive construction techniques, architectural 3D printing, and building information modelling with the tools of business analysis and economics.
• Digital design. There's a range of digital design characteristics to consider which affect creativity. Starting at the almost childlike interaction with technology through to architecture-specific traits like modularity and prefabrication.

One thing a fair and open society can do to adapt to these changes is collaborate; and here yes I mean in the warm-and-fuzzy sense but also the literal sense. A significant feature of preparing wisely for such a disruption is acceptance of the solution's multi-disciplinary nature. Here I'd like to introduce the work of Swiss-scientist Jonas Buchli in support. His recent research published through the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research is proposing a drastic change to the construction site, stating "radical focus on domain specific robotic technology enabling the use of digital fabrication directly on construction sites and in large scale prefabrication." Doesn't that sound like science-fiction? Science Daily goes on to describe the importance of multidisciplinary skills in the research, "They bring a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach that incorporates researchers from architecture, materials science, and robotics."

As buildings become more complex, the proportion of a structure an architect is qualified to design decreases. This highlights the collaborative role of the contemporary architect. Author Stephen Emmitt suggests "cross-cultural leadership intelligence" is needed and that is a very good way to describe it. Combining different engineering disciplines, construction specialities, and stakeholders into one motivated team still strongly depends on more ancient and subjective leadership qualities like open mindedness and compromise. Building projects are complex and expensive and therefore deserve a great amount of scrutiny and study to drive positive results. 

Understanding economic developments in the field are a bit more complex. To date, I haven't read an authoritative analysis of how the economic structure of the industry will shift when the effectiveness of economy-of-scale methods are reduced. Additive construction reduces the penalty for customization by moving the process dominantly into the software realm. It might take a once-in-a-century economic thinker like Adam Smith to frame our understanding of how these new markets will behave. In other respects, the educational component seems to be taking care of itself. Human playfulness and curiosity have ignited maker spaces across the world and there is lively research in the field into how best to introduce digital design to students of any age. Here readers are encouraged to check out the work of educator Corinne Okada Takara and institutions like MIT's Multimedia Lab which really are the sharp point of the multi-disciplinary architectural practice.

Compliant mechanism prototypes from paper to 3D prints. Inspiring presentation by Larry Howell @byucmr at @NASAAmes today. pic.twitter.com/ovUouy0QRf

— Corinne Okada Takara (@CorinneTakara) February 23, 2017

Want creative thinkers? Help kids create, says @mres in the Winter 2017 issue of @MIT_Spectrum https://t.co/w149C6UrPI pic.twitter.com/iLQ7QjotTt

— MIT Media Lab (@medialab) February 21, 2017

Software Tools for Great Architecture

This article is not meant to be an introduction to parametric design – there are a gazillion other articles online for that – I write to strike right at the economic heart of BIM to develop productive design workflows, and in doing so hope to build valuable architecture. To keep our commitment of supporting not only creativity but also helping build more, from time to time we turn to look at the tools of design. It's only fair in the 21st century that this means reporting on the complex software which drives building information modelling. In the space of a day last week I read an online article about the growth of parametric design and accompanying commentary that didn't know what it was ever going to good for. To me this signaled that there is quite a lot of confusion around the subject meaning design firms will struggle to capture the efficiencies of BIM when such an ambiguous environment exists.

Before addressing how architecture and engineering firms can harness parametric design a short description of how BIM intersects the topic is appropriate. In this article I draw very little distinction between building information modelling, computational architecture and parametric design. Sometimes the differences between these topics is very important, today approaching the topic from a building design management angle each relates to the other so tightly in the design process such distinctions become unhelpful. I'll confess to being a bit of a math nerd and one of my favourite applications of calculus is the parameterization of systems. Formally the topic is applied to modelling dynamic systems but it's a good analogy for how we need to break down and organize a building model to start leveraging the advantages of digital design. If a building has three different roof heights, each can be assigned a variable. If a building has two window sizes, each can be assigned a variable and so on. The same way applied mathematics breaks down a complex dynamic movement (i.e. free-body diagrams), a building model too can be thought of as system of equations. Parameters are the handles we use in order to control the equation and model. The reason there is so much overlap in the topic is because pretty much any information attached to the digital model geometry can be considered a parameter, though this time not so much in the mathematical sense but instead a very functional one: Material type, material specifications, manufacturing information etc., in addition to every type of relation and offset amongst the geometry that is conceivable by the human mind or computer. These parameters allows for different types of model control and comparative analytics.    

Breaking down four ways firms can start leveraging parametric design today, parametric design:

1. Can streamline the production of a construction drawings.
2. Supports the search for an optimal design solution through rapid design iterations.
3. Helps develop a building's advanced sustainability features and functional requirements through comparative analytics.
4. Can generate complex yet elegant design forms.

Construction Drawings. Even the most basic applications of parametric modelling require skill and foresight to ensure success. Experience correlates only weakly with its application because the process is so complex and other factors begin to overwhelm the process. Architects, engineers and industry professionals need to have an excellent understanding in how the model will behave when the programmed variables change. For example the basic variables discussed above: Roof heights, floor elevations, offsets, etc. When design changes come across my desk sometimes I smile ecstatically – almost laughing out loud – because of how trivial it can be to make complex comprehensive changes (assuming the digital model has been caringly and intelligently built). All my beautiful details updating automatically across the drawing set. An example of this from last year was when an engineer brought some foundation changes to my desk. He looked so despondent because he thought I would have to spend half a day updating everything. Instead, with a few clicks, I updated everything while he was standing there, and could show him the updated sections and annotations. The ability of a well-designed building model to quickly absorb changes makes me smile even now as I write this remembrance.

Design iterations. Sometimes the solution space for a proposed design is truly prodigious; and while I love discussing the intersection of complexity theory and architectural theory, here we need to remember our priority should be searching the vast solution space of possible designs efficiently and productively. Here the task is supported by being able to generate and test many possible proposed designs efficiently. Clients have a lot on their plates and it's appropriate they ask for quantifiable ways to produce their expensive buildings. Being able to show the solution space was much more thoroughly searched leading to an even better high-performance building is an important way of distinguishing the project in the marketplace and ultimately offering the client a more valuable design.

Comparative Analytics. Having oodles and oodles of possible design solutions and making sure the solution space is well searched is only one step in creating a valuable building for the client. Comparing proposed designs relies on analyzing the differences between models. Comparative analytics is a field within computational architecture and all those parameters associated with the geometry are now needed to accurately model and control all sorts of conclusions about the proposed structure. These include energy modelling, solar modelling, building safety, material optimization, etc. A further step often seen in high-performance buildings is that results from predictive modelling can be fed back into the building model to optimize all sorts of things. The simplest example might be orienting a building to optimize the location's solar properties, but pretty much anything can be compared; material economization, mechanical systems, user travel paths, solar shades, and on and on. This is why beyond the formal skills needed to compare features, the subjective meaningful qualities of architecture again rise up to distinguish good architecture from great in what features were highlighted by the architect and client.

Parametric Forms. As referenced above, the advantages of parametric design can be utilized without any drastic changes in visual characteristics. It's still a strip mall but at least it's a computationally optimized one. Over the last number of years, however, several projects have been completed which, to my eye, establish parametric design as a visual style. (Calatrava's New York Oculus Station is very successful in this regard but Pinterest is as good a catalog as any to understand it further.) The notable feature of the of parametric exteriors and interiors is their seductive rhythmic variation. Looking forward, I hope parametric design isn't used for the sake of parametric design. As programming skills mature and expand amongst BIM professionals, there's going to be a tendency to use it everywhere. Complex patterns really are trivial to generate and critical thought will need to be applied to probe the meaning and depth of its use. It's the only way to ensure clients and communities get the beautiful sustainable architecture they deserve.

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