B6 - Course Reflection - Mark Lodato

AE 510 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love BIM

                This course was very interesting and one of my favorite courses that I have taken at Drexel. It provided valuable insight on technological advances in the recent past and suggested possible advances that could take place in the near future as they relate to the construction and engineering industries. Examples of these advances were increased BIM integration in the architectural and structural design and construction processes, the increased roles of robotics in manufacturing and construction, and the importance of sensors and their outputs being stored in databases. The prevalence of guest speakers providing real world examples and stories about technology also helped to cement these ideas about technology.  I also enjoyed the emphasis of working in groups with my peers during class time. The ability to collaborate and gain multiple perspectives and viewpoints on the class topics was invaluable in regards to learning and fully digesting these topics.

                The portion of the course that I enjoyed the most was the guest lecturers. It is always beneficial to learn about BIM and how other technologies impact the world during normal class time, but actually hearing it first hand from engineers in the industry working for larger companies reinforces the class topics greatly. Each of the guest lectures was beneficial, worthwhile, and distinct enough so that each lecturer was separate from one another while still providing valuable information about the same topics. I also enjoyed how each of the lecturers had different perspectives and attitudes regarding BIM and technology in general as it relates to construction. I thought it was very important to look at the same issues from all possible sides and reference points in order to critically think about each topic effectively.

                The topic that I enjoyed the least was databases. This is not to say that the material was not relevant or applicable to the course or to us as engineers, but rather it just did not have the interest and wide appeal that the BIM discussions had. I think it would be beneficial to have a guest lecture about databases for future sections of the course to get another perspective and viewpoint about databases in general and the specifics about how they are applied in the industry.

                Overall, this course was definitely my favorite of the quarter and one of my favorite courses that I have taken at Drexel. I feel that it provided valuable information on the trends that the industry is taking in the professional world as it relates to technology and intelligent building. It definitely impacted me in terms of how I feel about the role of BIM in my professional career and the impact that BIM will have on me in the future. I definitely need to take a closer look at BIM as the technology develops further and familiarize myself better with more BIM software.

**Edit**

Comment 1: http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b6-group-b-alex-palma.html

Comment 2: http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/02/b7-group-b-schroeder.html

B4 - Group E - Hamad Al-Hajri

UN expert, Kleinschmidt mentioned in a recent interview that refugee camps shouldn't be temporary, and instead should be a permanent settlement for the refugees. He said

"These are the cities of tomorrow, The average stay today in a camp is 17 years. That’s a generation. In the Middle East, we were building camps: storage facilities for people. But the refugees were building a city. I mean what’s the difference between someone in Philly and somebody in a refugee city? We have to get away from the concept that, because you have that status – migrant, refugee, martian, alien, whatever – you’re not allowed to be like everybody else."



                               Figure 1. A Syrian refugee waking around the Al Zaatari camp.


Therefore, Mridul and I decided to incorporate engineering technologies towards finding a resolution to such an unfortunate situation. The research entitled " Replacing camps with permanent intelligent houses for refugees".  Engineers are charged with finding solutions to make things work reliably, prevent failure and achieve the desired results for the population being served. In my view, this same scientific mindset can be effectively applied to international security and peace keeping.

My immense interest comes mainly from being born and raised in the Middle East, a region that is suffering from constant conflict and is very volatile. That being said, there shouldn't really be a huge gap between engineering principles and applying them towards humanitarian aid, nor should be a large gap between developed countries and regions recovering from civil wars. Furthermore, my strong liking to innovations and technology, especially 3D-printing, is going to help us towards seeking an innovative solution.


In an article I read, China was able to built 10 houses using 3D-printing technology in just 24 hours! This is a clear indication of how important this industry is, and especially it's role in the near future. A private firm called "WinSun" managed to build 10 houses in just 24 hours using the 3D-printing technology. I addition, what was shocking was that one house can be printed, yes printed, for as little as $5,000. I don't see any reason why such thing can't happen in other less fortunate regions. It's truly fascinating how technology is rapidly developing, however what is the point of all this if only part of the world is privileged enough to be part of this amazing development while others do not.

We, Mirdul and I, understand that there are number challenges we have to overcome when conducting our research. First, the isn't really much established in the literature about tuning temporary settlements into a permanent one, therefore, would be very hard looking into effective methodologies of implementing such policy. Furthermore, another challenge would be, whether the 3D printing technology is capable enough to build houses for an entire village. However, we look forward into addressing these challenges and that it won't be a problem.


References :

1- http://www.trueactivist.com/revolutionary-3-d-printer-can-build-10-houses-in-24-hours-and-for-only-5000-each/
2-http://thefreethoughtproject.com/average-stay-refugee-camp-17-years-expert-camps-the-cities-tomorrow/

Comments:
Janet : I believe Drexel should absolutely consider that, as we students are suffering from only having on library to go to. Furthermore, it gets very crowded towards the end of the term and sometimes halfway through the term. Using Revit is very helpful and I anticipate you won't face unsolvable problems, however as you mentioned, one must consider Revit's limitations to come up with high quality work. Good luck

Cristian:

What you are doing is exactly what engineering firms need to do more often. In a world of wars, famine, and unbalanced distribution of resources, other entities must be involved to alleviate the horrendous conditions of certain places. I really enjoyed reading through your post, and I believe it's of a great importance, In light of Latin-American political issues with land distribution.

B4- Rebecca Lynch (Group A)

The topic that I chose with my partner Sean Coffey is the use of the internet of things in increasing the sustainability of buildings. There is an increasing push in society towards the development of sustainable practices and products that reduce our impact on the environment. Besides from the politicians and spokespeople encouraging this move towards a more sustainable society, the main driving force is the money savings associated with the reduction of energy usage of the building as a large incentive for both companies and individuals. Through research and case studies, we plan to show that the implementation of the internet of things into buildings can increase the sustainability of any building, even those that are LEED certified.

An important aspect in the use and maintenance of intelligent buildings is the implementation of the internet of things. The use of smart devices to monitor and control a building increases the ease of maintaining the building as well as provides optimal comfort with less and less human interference. The ability of products to communicate with each other enables the control and monitoring of an entire building with just one app. With these new capabilities, the sustainability of our buildings can be drastically improved by increasing the ease and awareness of the user in the reduction of energy usage.

Products such as the Nest Thermostat have already been developed and are currently used as an easy way of energy conservation. The system acts as a hub for the control of smart devices through a single app that not only allows the user to change the settings from anywhere, but also learns the user’s preferences and behaviors to predict future changes. This reduces the use of energy through various methods, though the most prevalent is through reducing the energy usage when no one is home. Additional products can be integrated into this system to further reduce energy impacts, such as the connection of the washer and drier to the Nest, which gathers information from the power company to determine when the peak time is, and only run the washer in non-peak times.

As with any new emerging technology, there are many limitations and potential risks of the internet of things. The major limitation at the moment is the integration of existing products to work as one. Currently, the use of hubs attempts to solve this problem by connecting all of the smart devices to a single controller. However, the hubs have their own limitations in their capabilities of connecting to only specific products. The main risk that the public is most concerned about is the impact these systems will have on personal security and privacy. Not only is there the risk of hackers taking control of a smart device to cause harm to the user, but there is a fear of the misuse of the data collected by the companies themselves. For this reason, companies will need to gain consumers’ trust in the protection and use of their data.

Sources:

Amadeo, Ron. "Google Tracker 2015: Everything We Know Google Is Working on for the New Year." ARS Technica. N.p., 29 Dec. 2014. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/12/google-tracker-2015-everything-google-is-working-on-for-the-new-year/#h1>.

Cheng, Roger. "​What Lurks beneath the Internet of Things Hype? Nagging Security Fears." CNET. N.p., 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.cnet.com/news/what-lies-beneath-the-internet-of-things-hype-an-undercurrent-of-security-fears/>.

Colon, Alex. "The Best Smart Home Automation Hubs of 2015." PCMAG. N.p., 27 May 2015. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2468647,00.asp>.

Cringely, Robert X. "Prediction #7: Internet of Things Becomes a Security Nightmare." I Cringely. N.p., 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.cringely.com/2016/01/13/prediction-7-internet-of-things-is-a-security-nightmare/>.

Comments:
Laura Worley
Cristian Almendariz

B4 - Group E - Allison Lock

For out term project, Laura Worley and I are planning to examine the present and future of adaptive, dynamic building systems. The term adaptive building generally refers to a system which senses changes in an environment and responds accordingly to benefit the building and its inhabitants. Adaptive systems are a young and rather undeveloped as a technological field. This is primarily due to the necessity if sensors in such a system. Sensors are used to provide real time information but they were not readily affordable until a couple of years ago.

Currently intelligent systems are becoming more common installations. The most typical systems include motion activated lights, air temperature control systems such as nest, and shifting, sun oriented facades. They are being applied across a wide range of construction types from grocery stores to offices and from high tech buildings to private homes. However we believe that the field is still rather undeveloped. With the expectation that the field will continue to grow significantly in the coming years, due to high sensor and computational capabilities, we have chosen to write a research paper that analyzes discusses upcoming applications and the future of adaptive building systems. It is expected that brief analyses of the history of adaptive systems, current uses, and personal predictions may also be included.

Since there will be a heavy focus on technologies that are currently unavailable and other future extensions of the field, it is expected that restricted research and prediction formation may be the most difficult part of constructing such a paper. It was decided that dynamic buildings are a worthwhile topic to study because of the quick and growing implementation of such technologies into common societal use. We expect this trend to continue and wish to examine the how much integration will occur, how it will affect daily life, and overall environmental and societal impacts.

Adaptive, dynamic buildings relate to intelligent buildings because they simplify control processes which would otherwise be labor intensive and detrimental to energy savings. The implications of such tools across general areas would allow for interactions between buildings to increase effective energy use while eliminating unnecessary waste and byproducts.

I commented on Cristian Almendariz’s and Alex Palma’s posts.

Construction Specialities Inc. "Adaptive and Dynamic Buildings – The Future of Environmental Design & Architecture."ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 10 Aug. 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.

Kim, Jieun. "Adaptive Façade Design for the Daylighting Performance in an Office Building: The Investigation of an Opening Design Strategy with Cellular Automata." International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies. Oxford Journals, 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.

B4 - Danielle Beynon (Group D)

For the AE510 term project, I am working in a team with Dianna Vogel and Alex Palma to create a 3D Revit model of Farnsworth House, which is located in Plano, Illinois. The house was designed by Mies van der Rohe as a weekend retreat for Edith Farnsworth and was constructed between 1945 and 1951 [1]. Currently, the house functions as a museum and is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation [2]. The structure has a steel framing system with mainly glass walls, which coincides with Mies’ ideal to have the house mimic the nature surrounding it. Figure 1 depicts Farnsworth House in its natural landscape.

Figure 1. Photograph of Farnsworth House

We chose to create a multi-system Revit model for Farnsworth House because we want to expand our BIM skills through this program, integrating the Architectural, Structural, and Mechanical systems. Our team already possesses skills in the Architectural modeling system but we hope to gain skills in the Structural and Mechanical modeling systems in order to learn how system integration works in Revit. Farnsworth House was chosen because it is a fairly simplistic building that reveals its overall structural “story” just by looking at it, while also having unique aspects that are of interest to model. Also, plans and details are available which will help in accurately modeling the components of each system.

Our proposed 3D Revit model of Farnsworth House directly relates to Intelligent Building because, upon project completion, our team hopes to have recreated an existing building using advanced building software capabilities. The final model is expected to comprise multiple systems that accurately depict the actual structure, and potentially an energy analysis can be implemented to determine if the structure is successful in the input and output of energy. Other analysis capabilities could be achievable with our model as the cornerstone, and this reiterates the fact that 3D models represent one of many positive outcomes of Intelligent Building.

Since our project involves learning several Revit systems and how these systems can be integrated, our team expects to face several challenges along the way. We have started the Architectural model but once we work on the Structural and Mechanical models, it will be challenging to figure out the functionalities associated with these systems and it will be even more challenging to figure out how each separate system can be combined for one complete model of the building. As the guest speaker mentioned last class, clashes between systems can be detected in Revit, so clashes could definitely be a challenge that our team could encounter during system integration. Also, we would like to customize certain aspects of our model to more closely depict the existing structure, so we will face the challenge of creating multiple families in order to accomplish this goal. However, with all of these expected challenges, our team feels confident that by the end of the term, we will have a representative 3D Revit model of Farnsworth House.

References:

[1] http://www.archdaily.com/59719/ad-classics-the-farnsworth-house-mies-van-der-rohe

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth_House

Comments:

1) http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b4-group-c-sean-coffey.html

Sean,

Your project topic sounds pretty interesting. The internet of things is certainly a prominent aspect of today’s society, and I like how you and your partner plan to refine this broad topic to focus on intelligent and sustainable buildings. Even though sustainable buildings and intelligent buildings differ in some ways, I think you will find that they share several similarities when it comes to technological capabilities. It is phenomenal what technology can do in regard to building applications, and I can only imagine how much there is to research for this topic. The future holds many opportunities for “smarter” buildings, and learning the current capabilities in both intelligent and sustainable buildings can be highly informative and inspiring.

2) http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/as-i-haveprogressed-through-my.html

James,

Your term project sounds both interesting and challenging. I was exposed to sensors during my freshman design project but thankfully, there was a mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer in the group so they were more informed about how sensors work. Sensors are such a beneficial invention, and learning how they work is a beneficial feat. As building technology progresses, more sensors are being placed in them to detect many different types of things and to be more user-friendly. It surely will be a challenge to find a large amount of technical information, but I am sure that by the end of the term, you will have a plethora of knowledge about indoor air quality sensors. I look forward to hearing the inner workings of these devices.

B4: Group B - Dianna Vogel

I am working on a Revit project with Alex Palma and Danielle Beynon. Using Revit we plan to model the architectural, structural, and MEP systems of the Farnsworth House, and have them completely linked to each other. The Farnsworth House is located in Plano, Illinois and is currently owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. [1] It was originally built in 1951 by Mies Van der Rohe for Dr. Edith Farnsworth as a weekend retreat. Mies Van der Rohe strived for integration with nature, seen by the prominence of glass throughout the building (as seen in Figure 1). This structure was chosen by our group because it is the same house we are analyzing in our structural design class. Thus, we have all the structural and architectural documentation necessary to recreate an accurate model. It was chosen for our structural design class due to the beautiful minimalistic design.

Figure 1. Farnsworth House

Creating a model in Revit is, at its core, intelligent building design. Part of Professor Mitchell's definition for an intelligent building is ""Intelligence" requires the use of adaptive computer technology". [2] This leads right into the use of BIM, and more specifically Revit, to model a building. Revit becomes more adaptive each year with new abilities to customize the structure depending on the needs of the company or the specific project. This can be done by creating new families that may directly match what is trying to be created, compared to what Revit already offers. This allows companies to create their 3D model with unique structural, architectural, or interior components. Currently, my group members and I are trying to determine what families would be important to create for the Farnsworth house. One of the key components that Revit does not supply are the brackets that connect from the columns to the panes of glass (as seen in Figure 2). [3] These connections are too crucial to be left out of the model, thus it is beneficial that Revit can be customized to provide what we need.

Figure 2. Column Detail

There will be many challenges to face during our project. A main component is the incorporation of the three types of models (architectural, structural, and MEP) into one functioning system, with no clashes. Personally, I have seen the process done before during my co-op, but was only involved enough to learn how complicated the process can become. Furthermore, no one in our group has a background, or concentration, in MEP. Thus, it will be a very strong learning process to understand all the different components, how they interconnect, and how to model them in Revit. Finally, Professor Mitchell asked in class if we were planning on performing an energy analysis on the Farnsworth house. I have never done this before, so it would be very interesting, but I believe it will only be accomplished if we are successful with implementing the MEP model in a timely manner. I look forward to our project and increasing the depth of my Revit knowledge.

Citations

[1] http://farnsworthhouse.org/

[2] http://ae510ay2013-2.postach.io/post/intelligent-building-professor-mitchells-definition

[3] http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il0990.sheet.00001a/

Comments
http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/as-i-haveprogressed-through-my.html?showComment=1454177551352#c6505760332188799298

Comment to James,

I really enjoy the outlook you have on your project. It is important to understand the concepts we use every day in our work. I am taking the same approach with my group’s project. I hope to understand the underlying concept behind using Revit to incorporate different types of models into one functioning unit. I look forward to hearing about what you and Bryan learn in your quest into sensors. This is an important concept for many of the environmental reasons you hit on. The pollution in certain areas of the world is getting to the point that sensors will need to become more advanced in order to detect and react the environment around them. The challenges you mentioned do include a lot of new concepts to learn, but they sound very interesting and will be useful down the road.

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b4-group-b-cummings.html

Comment to Bryan,

It is good to see that you and James have a stage process on how you are going to approach your project. It is important to perform a sensitivity analysis on the Matlab model when it is being created. Furthermore, all the uncertain parameters need to be established before the model is created, otherwise it may be unclear what the model is reacting to. The programming for the creation of an accurate model will not be simple and it is going to be very interesting how you tackle this task.

  

 

B4 - "Internet of Things" in Interlligent vs. Sustainable Buildings - Sean Coffey

Project Topic Description:

How the internet of things distinguishes intelligent buildings from sustainable buildings, its uses and limitations.

I decided a project topic that dealt with the comparing how the internet of things concept is and could be applied to intelligent buildings and sustainable buildings for many reasons. Overall I am interested to find out how this evolution is progressing and what is currently happening to make buildings better by embedding technology in them. It will be cool to find out what the future may hold, but also this topic choice will help get a better understanding of what an intelligent building is and how it compares to sustainable building, something that I am already familiar with.

This topic will not necessarily be straightforward. My partner and I will need to research intelligent buildings, sustainable buildings and agree upon definitions for each. Also we will need to do a lot of research into how devices and sensors are being integrated into building to make them smarter. There are a large variety of applications of technology for both building types which will need to be generalized or selectively analyzed to find out which applications are comparable. After that we will need to perform an analysis on how they compare. What makes the implementations different? Do they perform the same task but achieve a different result? The biggest challenge here will be finding sufficient research to back up our conclusions. We should be able to get some good data from researching examples of different examples of intelligent buildings and sustainable buildings, scholarly articles that present reviewed and tests theories of building systems that have been improved by integrating sensors to enable automated building adaptation that is directed to making the building more intelligent or more sustainable.

Comments

@Dianna Vogel
http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b4-group-b-dianna-vogel.html?showComment=1454046675441#c1298989061727037337

I am interested to see more of what you end up discovering by modeling Mies Van der Rhoe’s Farnsworth House. I think that you all have made a wise decision to pick a project that lightens your workload and also developing a crucial architectural engineering skill. Our most recent guest lecturer and Mr. Mitchell  have certainly been emphasizing the benefit of learning and becoming confident with Revit. Like them I think this is a great way to prepare yourselves for Senior Design and what better way is there to learn and practice Revit than by recreating an existing building. You may be able to use the structural analysis tools built into Revit to help you with your structural design class deliverables or export the finished design to a program that can do a better structural analysis than Revit. But I am more interested in what you all will find about how the building accomplished its architectural purpose of integrating itself with nature from modeling the building. You may also find that the building was not an optimum design either due to a mistake in its construction or on purpose to make the building more connected with nature. I would bet that you would bind that so much glass in a building in the 1950’s would not be the best choice for a building built in Illinois climate. The use of a lot of glass does not lend itself to good heat retention. There may be other discoveries that you come across that help you to better understand how Mies Van der Rhoe achieved the objective behind the buidling’s design by applying architectural principles. I am interested to hear more about your reflection on recreating the building.

@ Laura Worley

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b4-group-worley.html

Your project topic has also been an interest of mine because of how adaptive facades can make a building come to life in a small way. Just like how the lit facade of Cira Center arguably makes the building more expressive and attractive. I enjoy how the facade changes themes and makes Philly’s skyline a little more artistic.

As you mentioned there are many different types of buildings with adaptive facades and they vary widely in design and purpose. Because of this you and Allison may need to narrow down your topic by focusing on specific types of adaptive building facades. Whatever you chose to do moving forward, I am excited to hear about the building facades you feature in your project.

B1: Group C - Alexis

All three subjects – robotics, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing – are beginning to see applications in the building design industry. Additive manufacturing is not a new technique, but has recently been used for rapid prototyping of structural elements, concept models, and prefabrication. The declining cost of commercial 3D printers has allowed architects and engineers to manufacture industrial prototypes within project budget (1). Engineers can analyze their scale models in a wind tunnel as an example. This applies to automotive and aerospace analysis as well as architectural models. Additive manufacturing of 3D printing technology has reduced costs and time compared to machining wind tunnel test models. Engineers are able to print smaller characteristics of the design like interior corridors that may be difficult to machine at scale using the traditional methods (2). Designers can also incorporate sensors into 3D digital models that are embedded during the printing process, such as velocity or pressure measurement devices.

Architects and archaeologists have been able to recreate historical landmarks using 3D printing, such as the Palmyra Arch, a part of a 2,000 year old Syrian temple destroyed in August by ISIS militants (3). The Institute for Digital Archaeology works to preserve these historical artifacts in a digital library for conservation. The 3D models can be shared with researchers or replicated around the world with the advancements in 3D printing. Combined with advancements in robotics, designers have begun to develop 3D printed structures using six-axis robotic arms. One Dutch company MX3D plans to construct a pedestrian bridge using digital fabrication. Their robots print with metal, precisely placing thousands of dots of molten steel essentially drawn in the air (4). The firm has experimented with freeform benches manufactured by robotic welding machines. Digital fabrication with robotics means that designs are no longer confined by the size of the printer.

Intel recently presented their developments on future trends in robotics and artificial intelligence. The company predicts that the technology industry is moving towards the Internet of things, personalizing everyday devices with human-like senses through an internet connection. At the 2016 consumer electronics show, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich demonstrated a Segway hoverboard that doubles as a personal robot (5). This device is intended for use in smart homes, with features like voice recognition and a 3D camera. The technology of this device runs on an open platform, which allows inventors to program their own applications and uses for the robot. This device will be able to communicate with the smart home to adjust temperature and humidity setpoints personalized with voice recognition.

1. http://www.computerworld.com/article/2500602/computer-hardware/3d-printers--almost-mainstream.html
2. http://www.stratasys.com/solutions/rapid-prototyping/functional-prototyping/wind-tunnel-testing
3. http://www.dezeen.com/2015/12/31/giant-3d-printed-replica-palmyra-arch-syria-installation-london-trafalgar-square-new-york-times-square-unesco-world-heritage-week/
4. http://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/19/joris-laarman-3d-printed-canal-bridge-amsterdam/
5. http://www.cnet.com/news/intel-looks-beyond-chip-roots-with-gadgets-ces/

Comments:

Alex,
Interesting article predicting the 3D printing of buildings. As this technology develops, it will become common for large sections of the building envelope to be prefabricated with simple piping and electrical connections. Digital fabrication will depend on comprehensive 3D models to print layers of the building skin and structure with varying densities of concrete. I agree with you that the industry is not ready to adopt this kind of construction for commercial applications. Most building design firms today use BIM just for producing plans and sections. The software is used for clash detection between systems, and not modeled with the additional parameters needed for those calculations like material density, required daylighting, or heat flux. That design process would require many more iterations and assumptions to create load bearing walls that correspond to the exact stresses the wall could experience due to lateral wind or earthquake loads.

Bryan,
I also read the article on the company MX3D and their plan to digitally fabricate a pedestrian bridge. This project will involve multiple robotic arms working together to essentially draw a steel bridge over the canal. While this construction method may be faster, the design development phase is a much longer and more complicated process. In the future this method of construction might reduce labor and material costs in the field, but it will require many more iterations to model every aspect of the complex design. I agree that the main draw to incorporate digital fabrication in construction is the greater degree of customization in material properties and design.

Farnelli Introductory Post

Hello!
I am Cathlene Farnelli and am one of the BS/MS Juniors in the course. I am an AE for undergrad and a CIVE for graduate coursework. I like cats.
I am interested in this course because we have been told many times by professors how quickly what they learned in college about innovative design became obsolete. During co-ops I also saw a lot of managers and professional engineers who know very little about the software used for design, either for modeling or analysis.
I was expecting to gain some familiarity with upcoming design options that may become more prevalent as I become a working professional.
I would define "intelligent buildings" as buildings which make use of computers, sensors, etc. to aid in their design, construction or operation in order to more efficiently or effectively operate.

Schroeder Introduction

Hello all, my name is Danielle Schroeder and I'm a Junior BS/MS in Civil Engineering. I love the Eagles (though they disappoint time and time again) and play tennis in my free time. Through school, I am currently the President of Society of Women Engineers and the Vice President of ASCE. What I want to get out of this class, AE-510, is a better understanding of building systems and the current innovations in the field. Personally, I would define intelligent buildings as a structure constructed without the use of human labor, as shown in the video at the start of class.