Blog 6 - Course Reflection - Calvin Tang

This assignment required students to think about what this course has taught them and how it might affect their profession and future.

When I started this course, I was one of the people who assumed that the main topics would focus on how we may improve the user-experience of the clients or building constituents using new technology after a building has been constructed. So I guess I’m saying that I thought we were retrofitting buildings with new technology. I did not think that we would start integrating these technologies at the conception of the building.

AI generating building designs is a fascinating idea that I believe will make things more complex. But complex isn’t a bad thing. It allows for unique ideas to become reality.

Automation of building construction will lead to job layoffs. I cannot be so optimistic as to hope that we can save every worker’s livelihood by training them in handling machines. Only the most adept will be retained and the others will be fired.

Sensors have been important for a long time. The advancement of sensors in accuracy of lifespan will be crucial to gathering more data that we can use to change design codes so that future buildings can perform better. We can also use sensors to make user-experience in the building such as lighting and IAQ much better.

I am studying architectural and civil engineering with a concentration on structures. I think having BIM assist in structural calculations is a good thing as long as we can still check the calculations. The super complex structures that architects want will need to push the limits of structural analysis and design. For that purpose, we may need to make use of FEM. Moving forward, I think I need to quickly pick up a structural modeling software and become proficient with it.

Blog 5 - SQL

This assignment required students to read about databases with a particular topic in mind. Each group had a separate topic to explore. I will be reading and discussing about Structured Query Languages (SQL) using information found online.

First, a SQL is a means of communicating with a database and has been adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as the standards. Various commands of SQL are present in the different database systems but the simple ones are capable of doing almost everything a user needs ("Sqlcourse - Intro" 2019).

Relational database management systems present data in tabular format. Searching, creating, populating, updating, and deleting are basic functions in SQL that most people will do with a table whether or not it is through using SQL.

Why is using SQL important? Well, most things can be represented as points of data and a large compilation of data into big data can be daunting to use and maintain. However,

SQL is able to perform functions across the entire database meaning that as long as the user has some idea of what they are looking for, they can use a combination of functions to narrow down the data until they find what they want ("Sqlcourse - Intro" 2019). This is why it is important to design a database properly. Proper management of a database using SQL prevents any hiccups in the future and provides better user experience.

After reading Nick Maloney’s post, I interpreted his idea of BIM using “massive amount of data in order to perform their intended functions” as manipulating the elements and their properties in the model and having Revit show the user what the model looks like on the front-end of the software.

It is even more important to companies who provide a service such as insurance or social media. These types of companies can have records of millions of people and they can have actuaries who can determine how much people should pay for insurance or marketers to personalize advertisements on social media.

While SQL may not be a necessary skill to have in the near future, being able to maneuver through data in a table has been a useful skill since the creation of spreadsheets.


Sources:
Maloney, Nick. 2019. "B5 - What Is SQL And Why Is It Important?". Ae-410-510-Ay18-19.Blogspot.Com. https://ae-410-510-ay18-19.blogspot.com/2019/02/b5-what-is-sql-and-why-is-it-important.html.

"Sqlcourse - Intro". 2019. Sqlcourse.Com. http://www.sqlcourse.com/intro.html.


Comments on colleagues’ posts:
Blas Andres Rodriguez Vieira
With the advent of big data being used in most companies, it is becoming more important to be able to manipulate data. When we were freshmen/sophomores, we were taught how to use MatLab and Excel but I feel like it will no longer enough in the coming years. Thankfully, the freshmen now are learning programing languages that I feel like it is incredibly useful when learning SQL.

Nana Lin Rasmussen
I think that the tabular method is very easy for beginners whereas more networks of data can be trickier to learn about. I didn’t feel like I was able to handle the database assignment in this class but I feel more confident now that I know how simple it can be.

Yicheng Li
It looks like you have experience with MySQL. What do you think of the usefulness of SQL in the job market today? I don’t have any experience with big data so if you think this is useful then I might be inclined to pick up some SQL.

Blog 4 - Project Outline - CT

This assignment required students to describe their projects and have other students review and suggest any improvements.

Introduction:
My project will involve the structural design of my senior design project. I chose this project because it will be directly related to the completion of my senior design project. I believe that this project is related to intelligent building because as we move forward with using softwares for engineering design, we cannot fully trust the results generated by computers. For this project, I will be testing the accuracy of some modeling softwares. I will be keeping a log of what I’ve done and the obstacles that arose, particularly with Revit, as I have almost no prior experience.
1. Explain the experiment
     a. Is there a control? Either nothing or my hand calc's

Testing:
I will be analyzing the beams, girders, and columns of 1 floor from using softwares such as Revit and SAP2000 and my hand calculations. The shear, moment, and deflection are particular results that will be used for comparison.
1. Prepare the Revit model and run the simulation, ~Week 7
2. Prepare the SAP2000 model and run the simulation, ~Week 6
3. Analyze the structure by hand, ~Week 6
4. Vary the parameters of the models to obtain different results, ~Week 7

Results:
After performing the experiment, I will attempt to statistically analyze the results. The mean and standard deviation are good places to start. ~Week 8

Conclusion:
Explain how useful the results are to the senior design project, how accurate they might be, and how others might be able to use them. Reflect on how the softwares have helped and how much more advanced they can get.


Comments on colleagues’ posts:

Albert Hanan

I would like to see how far Dynamo will enhance your project because I am also interested in learning about it for my senior design project. I am unfamiliar with the potential of Dynamo but I am interested to see if what you do with it can be applied to my work.

Christian Tait

I once saw a concept idea of incorporating GIS and AR together so that the locations of utilities underground can easily be located without having to read plans. This is actually feasible right now in Philadelphia as long as there is someone who is willing to combine all of the GIS models of every utility into one. From there, it is simply the AR side that needs to work and contractors will be able to use it immediately.

Hanyan Chen

My stance is that a computer cannot create something with aesthetics in mind because it has no understanding of what is artistic. Even when Prof. Mitchell showed us the video where a computer created music, the AI itself has no way of judging its work to be artistic or beautiful. Even if it is based on previous data from famous artists and musicians, it cannot tell if it looks or sounds pleasing to people. With that being said, I wonder how clients will appreciate a building done with AI through many iterations. I also don’t see an architect using AI if it hinders their creativity.

How Far Can BIM Go In 10 Years?

This assignment required students to watch a video “The Future of BIM Will Not Be BIM—and It's Coming Faster than You Think” by Autodesk University, discuss it amongst groups and then share with the class, and then formulate individual ideas. The question to keep in mind is how relevant BIM is to engineering design and how advanced can it get in 10 years.

The video showed some of the state-of-the-art uses for BIM and how much easier designing architecture would be if more softwares were incorporated. The expression of more fluid shapes were possible within a computer. This combined with the iterative design process generated by a computer opens up many possibilities of architecture.

AI may be usable as an architects inspiration but it may not replace their sense of aesthetic. AI may not be able to produce something that is attractive to the human eye. What I mean is that the architects of old created art with the human fascination in mind. It may be difficult for AI to achieve the same results. However, an architect may be able to manipulate BIM and AI to create art.

In the engineering design process, I believe that within 10 years, we may see competitive engineering firms use automation to quickly generate ideas for clients. As the interoperability between different softwares increases, so does the speed of engineering design. However, it will be a pretty big investment. The training required to get everyone in the company to proficiently use BIM in several softwares will be rigorous. In the case where software proficiency is not widespread, the job market will be more focused toward hiring individuals who have practiced BIM and automation.

On the manufacturer side of construction, I can see the advancement of CNC machining to create the complex shapes that are generated in BIM. However, I can see that some CNC machinists may lose their jobs if a computer can accomplish the same results.

Architects, engineers, and contractors need to learn BIM for it to truly be useful.


Comments on colleagues’ posts:
Alec Silverstone
Your idea that the incorporation of this AI iterative design in BIM will come with setbacks is something that I believe will happen. It’s simply the way that new technology works. It may take several years just to convince higher-ups that technology is worth investing into and then training staff to use it proficiently. That being said, I like the way that the AEC industry is heading. However, it means that the way undergraduates are being taught will need to change as well.

Harvin Bhandal
I still believe that the smaller companies will hold onto orthographic drawings in AutoCAD rather than move onto BIM. The question arises is how useful is BIM if the client does not want a commercial building but something more specific like a power plant. In this case, the structural integrity is all that matters. Other small firms may choose to take a smoother transition by hiring a few people who are capable of BIM and have them work with senior staff. This is how I imagine small firms proceeding.

Matt Mullen
I can see VR/AR being the standard to advertising a product to clients. If everyone involved with the building is well-versed with BIM, there may not be as many conflicts during construction. I would also like to see the construction industry make the leap and perform at a higher speed and efficiency.

B3-How far will the AEC industry go in 10 years?

The computers used half-century to walk into ordinary people's life. How long will it take for the AEC industry? There was an advertising slogan for 4G (the fourth generation of broadband cellular network technology) when the 3G was commonly used several years ago-"The future is here." However, now, in China, 5G has already walked into our life. Therefore, the future is never far away from us. In Bill's presentation, I agree with his appointment that data optimization is the AEC industry's future. I believe that for one day, those AI BIMs and the robots will take an important role in the building designing process and take some jobs from the designers, but how long will they take? Ten years? Or another half-century?

About five years ago, the 3D printed residential houses were selling in some countries, which were high-efficiency for both money and time, and even environmental friendly since the printer was using construction wastes as the ink. However, for 2019, most buildings are still constructing by human beings. Why? It is because the technology for 3D printing houses is not progressed enough to receive the truths from the public. For the safety reasons, most of those 3D-printed buildings were dismantled in several months after built. It is improving, but not good enough. So we cannot predict how far the 3D printing construction will go in 10 years. 

For the Grasshopper and the Dynamo, which are the BIM programs that Bill mentioned in the presentation, since the sample programs have already been created, and they were only going to feed the applicable algorithmic modelings to the Revit and let the designers choose the model at the last, I am holding a positive viewpoint for their developments in following 10 years. Since human is still the object to make the final decisions, and the program itself is only providing reasonable options, this method is similar for nowadays’ AI working theory. Like the food delivery apps, it will help you to get rid of those far restaurants, the food you do not like, and show up all the options with a rated list. All you need to do is to choose your food at the last step. 

The AEC industry will realize the data optimization, but this will not come true instantaneously, and this might be a long journey so that it can be ten years, 20 years or a half-century. Haste makes waste, so nothing should go in a rush. The human beings already finished a lot of amazing pioneering works in 10,000 years, which is an extremely short period for the Earth, which is about 4.5 billion years old. Bill said in the presentation that we are fortunate for living now because many exciting things are happening. Future will be here, and the future will never be far away from us. 

Works cited:

Allen, Bill. “The Future of BIM Will Not Be BIM—and It's Coming Faster than You Think.” YouTube, uploaded by Autodesk University, 23 November 2016,   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq6yKyauu-o

Comments:


Matt Mullen:

I agree with you that the VR walkthrough will be more popular than the 3D printing models in the future. One is because the VR will cost less money and the 3D printing models might create wastes. The other reason is that the 3D printed model is a static model and VR is an intuitionistic digital model, so if the model needs any change, VR walkthrough model is only going to change the alternative part while the 3D model is going to be rebuilt entirely.



Gabriel Grajewski:

I agree with you because I believe that to realize the data optimization will take a long time for the AEC industry, but I do not have an exact idea about how long it will be. Although they are progressing the data manipulation, the data gathering is still the central part of the AEC industry. Many examples, which Bill provided in the presentation, were the underlying ideas and samples. Therefore, the data optimization is not easy to be realized in only ten years.



Jenny Fretta:

Like you, I doubt that 3D printing will be used to construct an entire building ten years later. Because of the limitation of the materials, the development of the 3D-printing technique for the building was not fast in the past ten years. The limitation of the materials will still be a problem either before founding or creating new material or another printing method. Although the improving speed is ideal, the progress of it never stops. The road is 3D printable now, so it is sure that 3D printing will assist a lot for the construction in the future.

BIM Interoperability

This assignment required students to read about BIM from the 2011 edition of the BIM Handbook found in the online library of Drexel University. Each group had a separate topic to explore. I will be reading and discussing about interoperability located in chapter 3 of the book.

In this instance, interoperability means the ability to exchange data between softwares almost seamlessly. This is going to be an important feature to have in softwares as we move forward because it will save time for design if different softwares that specialize in different aspects of building design can account for the other softwares usages.

My interpretation of the definition of interoperability would be something like the “effective communication between different accents within a language.” In this case, the language is BIM and the accents are softwares like Revit or SketchUp or eQuest. They are made by different companies and are used for different purposes but they can be used to simulate the performance of a building model. Sometimes it may be difficult to understand someone who is speaking the same language but in a different accent. Effective communication would be having users being able to move from one BIM software to another without losing any information along the way.

I may not have as much experience with BIM but a fellow student can explain the current state of BIM interoperability better. In Nick Maloney’s post, he explains that “during my co-op experience I have seen that REVIT’s family properties have become robust enough to take not only standard members but also custom trusses or girders and convert them into usable STAAD models, greatly improving efficiency in design” (Maloney 2019). What this tells me is that there is progress to increase interoperability between softwares. In this case, the structural design of a building can be modeled in Revit and STAAD and exchanged.

There are a few things that are promoting interoperability today. The National BIM Standard (BIMS) is establishing some standards for formatting data. Another effort is the Industry Foundation Class (IFC) which is a type of data organization method that “define[s] an extensible set of consistent data representations of building information for exchange between AEC software applications” (Eastman 2011). IFC may be used more frequently since it can exchange simple but adequate components of building data such as the properties of elements from groups. It may not be the complete package but it is useful for quick simulations. Even though the concept of interoperability seems like it is the way of the future, there are some obstacles that hinder interoperability.

In the post written by Christian Tait, there may be conflict between the companies or “it’s not in either company’s interest to make their products interoperable with their competitors” (Tait 2019). I agree that as we move forward, doing something as simple as exchanging data can be a problem if the capability exists but the business practice plays dirty. In the future, I think interoperability will be much more prevalent in softwares if the developers of the respective software were to work together from the start of coding, much like the integrated design of a building and sort out conflicts early on.

Source(s):
Eastman, Charles M. 2011. “Chapter 3: Interoperability.” BIM Handbook : A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. Vol. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. http://ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=364239&site=ehost-live. 99-149.

Maloney, Nick. 2019. "B2 - Advantages And Challenges For Interoperability In BIM". Blog. AE-410/510 AY18-19 Student Work. https://ae-410-510-ay18-19.blogspot.com/2019/01/b2-advantages-and-challenges-for.html.

Tait, Christian. 2019. "B2 - BIM Interoperability". Blog. AE-410/510 AY18-19 Student Work. https://ae-410-510-ay18-19.blogspot.com/2019/01/b2-bim-interoperability.html.


Comments on colleagues’ posts:
Hailey Ihlow
I can see why even now, BIM isn’t fully adopted in the industry if there are specific methods for engineering design and code requirements. BIM is good for simulating building performance but is not a substitute for engineering calculations. We should not depend on computers to do the engineering if the engineer is the one who is liable if they don’t check it. It will be interesting to see if AI in the future will be able to have a human intuition as to whether something seems wrong even if the model has no conflicts.

Aaron Goldberg
I was also questioning why we can’t import files from one software to another if they attempt to do the same thing. Even opening an Excel spreadsheet in Google sheets will produce differences. It comes down to the coding and the way data is presented. My topic was interoperability, the ability to exchange BIM data between softwares. The problem is we can’t have identical product functionality in the coding or else there might be some copyright issues. But there are clear benefits to being able to have an in-house method of exchanging data like the way Kayleigh Houde described in her presentation during week 2.

Tyler Madden
I had always assumed that contractors weren’t up to the latest practices considering they have to work with construction workers who may not have had the best education. It would be worth spending time and money teaching and certifying contractors to be able to use BIM such as Revit to see what the final product would look like as they are constructing the building.

B2_Chapter 5_Scope of design services

  For Chapter 5, the author introduced the BIM (Building Information Modeling) for the architects and engineers.  Many experts of architectural, engineering and construction are currently using BIM tools for modeling. This design approach is evolving from simple warehouses to new complex buildings.  The BIM provides a virtual building model for the design teams (such as architects, surveyors, civil engineers, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers) to be delivered to the contractor/owner, who can add their professional information, update, and track at each stage. Change and maintain this standard, single model. The result is a desire to reduce the information gaps and communication conflicts that occur when the project provides and receives information between participants.

  Design-bid-build is a traditional project delivery process. In this process, architects and engineers will do the design work individually, so they will not cooperate with the constructor and fabricators. When there is litigation, since collaboration is not the architects’ responsibility, they may withhold the information for their design. Therefore, it is not efficient both for money and time. For the improvement, there is the design-build process. In order to involve in the larger projects and to deal with the capitalization, the large firms will cooperate with small firms. For design-build delivery, the efficiency raised, but I like the new option—Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). For IPD, the architects, engineers, constructors, fabricators, and the owners will come together to form a single cooperation unit. During the collaboration, the architect and the engineer can receive potential payment and benefits for their contribution for the design performance, such as the project can be finished before the deadline, the building sustainability, the energy use saving, and environmentally friendly improvements. The reason why I like IPD the most is that it can dramatically increase the efficiency of time. Because of the potentially lucrative rule, the architects and the engineers will push the effort to design a better building. On the other hand, the technic improvement for saving the environment and energy will happen during this process. Moreover, the collaboration will reduce the conflicts between the constructors/owners and the designers. Different from the traditional methods, architecture and engineering take important roles in IPD, so it also benefits the design services.



Work Cited:

Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, 

Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. Vol. 2nd ed, Wiley, 2011. EBSCOhost, http://ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=364239&site=ehost-live.

Comments:

Harvin Bhandal:
I agree that using BIM tools will save your time and your money, for example, when you finished a 2-D drawing on Revit, you can also get a 3-D model for your floor, and you can also use Revit to analysis the sunlight effects on your design. You mentioned in your article that you never used Revit before.  Don't need to worry, the processes for using it is not complicated, and you might also find fun from it because when you can put your thought from the brain on an actual 3-D model is very cool.

Alec Silverstone:
I agree with you. Because of designed-bid-build and designed-build, which are the two traditional procurement processes, the relationship between architects, engineers, and constructors is not close cooperation. Therefore, for many cases, the constructors will join into the project at the very late, so the conflicts are hard to avoid at that time.  This case will waste time and money.

Christian Tait:
I agree with you because when I use Sketchup and Revit, or other Autodesk related products, I suffered a lot because of their incompatibility. Formit is undoubtedly a great product, but for now, it is not as widely used as Sketchup. As well, for some function tools, such as the content library, Formit is not as developed as Sketchup, because the database of Formit is not as plentiful as that of Sketchup. Therefore, the different BIM products from different companies cannot perfectly match each other, which is a problem for BIM.

How BIM will be used to 3D print structures in the future

This assignment required students to read about each topic separately with regards to an overall theme. My topics are BIM, 3D printing, and structure and the theme is the future. At the end, I will be combining them all into one, “How BIM will be used to 3D print structures in the future.”

BIM:
BIM softwares have only recently started becoming more mainstream. The co-ops I’ve worked at still have a physical archive of their paper drafts. It also may not be possible to scan them if there is a chance that the scanner will miss a very fine detail or mistake a dot for a speck of dust. However, the co-ops all used AutoCAD for drafting orthographic drawings. Now, BIM softwares such as Revit are more relevant since they can contain many aspects of building design in one file. As time goes on, the use of Revit and other BIM softwares will become more widespread because it allows everyone from the clients to the engineers to the contractors to see the same product.

3D Printing:
I would like to start off by saying that my experience with 3D printing is very limited. Four years ago, I got to see the process of using a 3D scanner that used laser triangulation to create a topographic model of someone’s face. From there, the smooth topographic model was converted into a polyhedron made of many triangle faces. Lastly, a bar of soap was cut out to form a miniature soap bust of a head. Obviously, this is the type of basic 3D printing that happens at home or in a class. However, within a few years, 3D printing has advanced very far. The ability to extrude concrete, metal, and glass allows construction of intricate details for buildings or make quick work of constructing simple objects. MIT has been experimenting with 3D printing glass as early as 2015. Where previous attempts created structurally weak and opaque glass, “The high-temperature system developed by the MIT team retains those [desired] properties, producing printed glass objects that are both strong and fully transparent to light” (Chandler, 2015). The high temperature is nothing to shrug off, considering the extrusion nozzle can reach almost 2,000 °F in order to create these pieces of glass. Currently, many new buildings happen to have glass curtain walls that allow a lot of sunlight to illuminate buildings. The use of glass printing may be very useful in the future.

Structures:
The physics behind structural engineering hasn’t changed much in the past few decades. What’s new is the different types of structures that have emerged with better materials and building techniques. For example, the diagrid structure for buildings. With better computers now, there are softwares that are capable of FEM analyses and other calculations that would take humans way too long to process. This allows new ways to analyze the effectiveness of new structures. An example of this is the crew partition in the European Airbus. The current partition weighs 143 lb but with the new design based off of bones and slime molds, the proposed partition weighs 66 lb (Rhodes, 2015). This biological-structure approach is possible with Autodesk software that was used in the medical field. New softwares allow different approaches to the structural engineering field because as long as load paths are accounted for, the software could theoretically be able to optimize paths.

Combined:
MX3D proposed a pedestrian bridge in Amsterdam back in 2015 where the construction would be done by 3D printed metal with aesthetically pleasing details (Starr, 2015). The 12 m long bridge structure was completed in 2018 and is currently being load tested by Arup and others  (Block, 2018). If successful, it may be installed in 2019 over a canal in the Dutch capital. Figure 1 shows a picture of the metal bridge being manufactured in a shipbuilding hangar. This technology is a very innovative process that could change the way modern architecture is created.

Figure 1. 3D printed steel bridge construction (Block, 2018)

Sources:

Block, I. (2018). Robots complete span of 3D-printed bridge for Amsterdam canal. [online] Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2018/04/17/mx3d-3d-printed-bridge-joris-laarman-arup-amsterdam-netherlands/ [Accessed 15 Jan. 2019].

Chandler, D. (2015). Printing transparent glass in 3-D. [online] MIT News. Available at: http://news.mit.edu/2015/3-d-printing-transparent-glass-0914 [Accessed 15 Jan. 2019].

Rhodes, M. (2015). Airbus' Newest Design Is Based on Bones and Slime Mold. [online] WIRED. Available at: https://www.wired.com/2015/12/airbuss-newest-design-is-based-on-slime-mold-and-bones/ [Accessed 15 Jan. 2019].

Starr, M. (2015). Gravity-defying 3D printer to print bridge over water in Amsterdam. [online] CNET. Available at: https://www.cnet.com/news/gravity-defying-3d-printer-to-print-bridge-over-water-in-amsterdam/ [Accessed 15 Jan. 2019].

Blog 1-The HVAC system and the environmental challenges for the future buildings

  Now is 2019, so the “future” is here. Currently, for those new buildings, computers and smartphones are not the only staffs can connect to the internet and log in the database. The doorbell can record guess’ message when we are not home; the lights would be turned off automatically when there is no one occupied in the room; the fire alarm would call the fireman for us. But the future is still coming. “The home devices are able to communicate with each other, send the message to the host, and take commands for improving. This is not science fiction anymore. Because of the Internet of Things (IoT), it is possible to build the home automation.” Wrote by Colon and Griffith. [1] When it comes to practice, the HVAC system would be the main part to be automated. Here is an AD for the air vent, “Keen’s Smart Vents make it possible for homeowners to close the vents when the room is not in use with an app, instead of a ladder. The vents are rigged with sensors for temperature and pressure. After you install it, you can set up a profile for the room to tell the vent how it should work. For an office room, the original program is set to work between 9 in the morning and 6 in the afternoon for the workdays. If there is a hard-working guy wants to stay longer, he can use the app to adjusted time. Keen will also remember user habits and intelligently open and close vents accordingly. Initial studies show that Keen can reduce 22% of running time on the air vents.” [2] The benefit of the automated HVAC system and the electricity system is to save our planet. Rhodes wrote, “If we turn down the air vents during the unoccupied period, the efficiency of a 3,500-square-foot building can decrease to the same efficiency serving a 2,000-square-foot home.” [2] A lot of energy would be saved.  

  Of course, as engineer students, we all have been told that environmental problem is not an ignorable problem for the building constructions. “40% of greenhouse gas is produced by the buildings in the U.S. In New York, this number even raises to 80%. This happens because the commercial buildings waste a large amount of energy by heating and lighting unoccupied buildings. There is also another problem for the architects and engineers, the green building conferences are packed with everything from recycled building materials to solar awnings. The challenge is choosing the products that offer the best return on investment and fitting them into an overall design.” Martin LaMonica wrote. [3] For better life of our progenies, engineers should start to save the Earth. However, to construct a green building is not as easy as its definition. Martin LaMonica wrote: “One of the challenges in green building design is making dramatic energy reductions to existing buildings. The constructor would fill the insulations, such as the vacuum insulation panels, between the brick walls or ceilings. The building will use efficient lighting and HVAC systems. Engineers and designers can save energy and money by using smaller HVAC machines in an insulated and tight constructed building. Another method to improve the overall efficiency of the building is by certain practices like, to precool the conference rooms before meetings, Cheimets says.” [3]

 The development of the buildings and technology is important but it does not mean that we can ignore the problems they have, such as environmental problems. I believe the balance is much more essential than the developing speed. 

Reference:

[1] Colon, Alex and Griffith, Eric. “The Best Smart Home Devices for 2019.” PCMAG, 1 Nov. 2018,

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2410889,00.asp. Accessed 13 Jan. 2019.

[2] Rhodes, Margaret. “The Brilliant Air Vents You Never Knew You Needed” Wired, 14 Jan. 2015,

https://www.wired.com/2015/01/brilliant-air-vents-never-knew-needed/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2019

[3] LaMonica, Martin. “Putting Building Science into Practice” Technology Review, 21 Jan. 2013,

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/510131/putting-building-science-into-practice/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2019.

Comments for others:

Alec Silverstone: (Blog Post 1- The Future of Sociology, Databases, and Networking)

I totally agree with your appointment. The problem is very serious. The database is not only sharing the information, which been put into the database on your own initiative but also passively. For example, nowadays, everybody talks to their smartphones for doing a favor, and we think they are helpful. However, did you ever think about that the devices are "monitoring" us by that function as well? One time, my friend told me about "23andme" which is a genetic resolution test and I had never heard about that and never searched anything related to the "23andme" using my smartphone before. But a few hours later, there was an ad of "23andme" showing on my device, and I and my friends were freaked out that time. If the personal privacy is not "personal" anymore, then who will care about the "person" as an individual in the future? Undeniable, the "big data" makes a convenient life, and humans will get more benefits from it in the future. However, the sociology will become one of the largest roadblocks for the development of the database.

Christian Tait:

Yes, the material is the largest limitations of 3-D printing. When it comes for the building construction, 3-D printing is an environmentally friendly method. The construction wastes can be reused by 3-D printing. In 2014, at Shanghai, China, there were 10 3-D printed houses built out for selling. The large properties of the "ink" were from the construction wastes. In this case, the building cost and the constructing time would decrease, and it is good for the environment. However, some parts of construction wastes were not safe enough, and for separate those harmful wastes, the cost would rise back. Also, the material is not fully developed, so the stability of the building is a big problem. So, because of the materials, 3-D printing still has a long path to go for constructing purpose.

Tyler Madden:
There is another interesting story about the facial identifying. Xueyou Zhang is a super famous artist in China, polices caught five escaped criminals on his concerts. This happened because of the real-name facial identifying system at ticket checking entrances. As you said, even though the database is touching our privacy, it is also helping us to get rid of the hiding dangerous. This contradiction will be sharpening in the future.

First post for self introduction-Weiyi Tang

  I am Weiyi Tang from China. My major is AE, and concentration is Digital Building. I was born in Hubei, China, and raised in Shenzhen, China. I am currently taking Korean 201 course for learning my third langue. For resting time, I do the Lego and the puzzles a lot. I travel a lot, and usually travel with my family.

  For the co-ops. I finished my first co-op in the Street Department of the Philadelphia Government. My main job during this was reviewing the projects' plans of the city, and check if those would affect the streets safety, the other buildings around them and the pipes or electricity lines underground. For my second co-op, I went back to Hongkong, China. The company was an environmental friendly counselor firm, so my job there was doing the site monitoring for the noise, dust, and little bit about the waste water pollution level for the constructing buildings, and then wrote the reports to helping those buildings to receive the certifications for BEAM Plus, WELL, or LEED.

  For my understanding, the Intelligent Building should be the building with the computer system that can automatically control the building HVAC system, Electricity system and any other system has the variability.

Introduction and Intelligent Building Definition - Calvin Tang

Introduction

Hello, my name is Calvin Tang and I am a senior studying architectural/civil engineering with a concentration in structural engineering. I am born and raised in Philadelphia. I like to cook and my self-diagnosed OCD dictates that I must clean as well. I also like internet memes.

Intelligent Building Background
In terms of intelligent buildings, I have zero experience. I am studying structural engineering, something
that we’ve had an understanding of for a long time and probably won’t change much in the next few
decades. Intelligent buildings are quickly evolving.

Expectations for the class

From this class, I expect to learn everything from the intended course objectives. I would like to have
more Revit experience at the minimum. Learning MS Access and other database management would
help organize big data.

Initial definition of “Intelligent Building”

My definition of an intelligent building is a network of different systems that work together to optimize the
comfort to cost ratio. I did not use the term ‘performance’ because that would step into the net-zero and
environmentally-friendly territory. An intelligent building simply needs to provide user comfort without
having the need for manual input. As new technology is developed, the definition of intelligent building
must evolve to keep up. It is no longer simply turning on lights or HVAC when someone is in the room.

Bonus Video:
Here's something that combines a a fun hobby that I would like to afford with what I'm studying

Dummy Post2 - Other Names

This too is necessary to get your last names in as labels.