B1: Group E: Mohammed Alqallaf

Databases, networks, and sociology all play an important role in the future of building construction and the building design industry. Databases for instance are an important part of building design. A large number of information is collected as data and filed daily in different databases. For instance, ASHRAE has weather data and standards for building cooling and heating for international locations. Data analysis has to be performed in order to obtain averages, deviations, and other information that would be used for building design. So the future of databases and data analysis is crucial for the future of building design.  Advancements in data analysis are being made such as the “Data Science Machine” from the first article I read [1]. MIT researchers have been working on developing a system that would “replace human intuition with Algorithms.” This means that people used to analyze the data and recognize patterns are no longer needed. This also involves sociology in a sense, where people are no longer needed because machines can perform the tasks.

Network on the other hand is also an important part of the future of building construction and the building design industry.  For instance many people have used the term “Internet of Things” to refer to future advancement in network and how everything will be linked to one another. This synchrony is attainable with new technology and with advancements that are currently being made.  For instance, in the second article I read, Intel chip makers are currently working on numerous advancements involving RealSense cameras that detect obstacles to actively avoid colliding with them [2]. This innovation can be applied to the building industry the same way drones were used to build an architecture model in the video we watched in class.

Sociology is also linked to all these innovations because advances in robots are being made and many people are worried that robots would take over jobs, and that would socioeconomically be disastrous.  For instance the third article I read referred to “adaptable robots” meaning robots that have the capacity to learn and adapt to certain situations [3]. Such advances are amazing to the industry because it means that less man labor would be required for certain tasks. Eventually robots might be able to construct buildings in the same fashion a 3D printer would construct something.

[1] http://scitechdaily.com/data-science-machine-replaces-human-intuition-with-algorithms/

[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/ces/11329790/Intel-shares-futuristic-vision-of-the-connected-world.html

[3] http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32884768

Comments:

Alexis,

I found your subjects very interesting and relevant to future advancements in the building design industry. The application of 3D models and how they can be analyzed in certain situations is very beneficial for helping better understand the reaction of buildings. The ease and time efficiency of additive manufacturing of 3D printing technology has made it surpass that of models manually machined for wind tunnel testing. What I also found very interesting is the advancement in digital fabrication with robotics. Designers were previously confined by the size of the printer but now with the robotics, size is essentially a non-existent issue.

Kai,

I myself did not know the depth of BIM. I am really glad I read this article and learned more about BIM. Also, 3D laser scanning seems like a very great idea for building surveying. The fact that the process only takes as little as 30 minutes as opposed to the conventional surveying and modeling which would take a large amount of time is intriguing. I also found it interesting that using a 3D laser scanner can identify many problems and how some problems might go undetected when using conventional methods.