INTERACTIVE COMPUTER MODELING OF THE BUILDING DESIGN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Scope of Study. Industrial engineers and architects both use the computer during the development of building designs. Industrial engineers have created a number of computer aided layout techniques which generate designs based primarily upon material flow or user defined departmental relationships. For many types of businesses, where material flow is the dominant decision criteria, these techniques have provided excellent results. However, in instances where material flow is not the major criteria--office buildings, restaurants, hospitals, fire stations or highly automated manufacturing plants--architectural designers have tended to avoid these techniques.;This research discusses a computer assisted building design technique based upon the procedures followed by many building designers combining the interests of both industrial engineers and architects. Selected design criteria and design development steps are used to construct a general technique applicable to a wide variety of building types. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this computer aided technique is programmed for a graphics computer system, thus allowing the designer to see the design develop and interact freely with its development.;Findings and Conclusions. Such a technique should be attractive to both spheres of influence. It will enable the designer to input design criteria directly affecting the building's function, quickly develop several design concepts and select the most appropriate. In addition, the interactive capability will allow the user to input data throughout the design development. The absence of these features has been the primary obstacle preventing the widespread use of computer aided design in many architectural offices.;Based on these perceived shortcomings, architects have created computer aided techniques which emphasize a variety of design criteria, ranging from room proportion to visual access. However, it appears that in general architects are using the computer not as a design generator, but as a highly sophisticated drafting machine. A possible reason is that no computer technique has yet been developed which models the design development process.