Masonry Magazine July 2009 Page. 29
The current stage of the research focuses in the early stages of design, before the architect seeks the advice of a structural engineer or a contractor. A prototype system functions as a tool to guide and validate decisions according to structural and construction standard knowledge. The system translates this knowledge into a set of geometric rules which "bound" the curvatures of the masonry walls to those with admissible construction and structural solutions. So far, rules for calculation and scheduling of block cuts, vertical rebar reinforcement in grouted cells and bond beams have been developed to allow for preliminary design of doubly-curved walls. Real-time feedback on wall configuration and reinforcement is provided as the model is built and the system also includes rules necessary for block wall description, including door and window openings. (See Figure 1.)
BECAUSE OF ITS INHERENT ADVANTAGES, building models are expected to become the standard representation of building used in construction in the future. New forms of contracts, capabilities for doing building code checks on BIM models, cost estimating and construction scheduling are all being interfaced with building models, with great benefits. In masonry, one could envision automated structural analysis, as outlined above. Accurate piece counts would be available. More complex geometries that have been fully analyzed could be designed with confidence. Eventually, robotic placement and mortaring machines may be invented and become available, using a building model of the layout to drive the machine's work. One day, the building model is expected to replace drawings, in the same way that the "horseless carriage" eventually was replaced by the automobile. A transition to Building Information Modeling and the transition of virtual design and construction is the future of construction. IMAS
Andres Cavieres is assistant professor in Digital Media and Design Studio, Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad de Chile. Andres has worked in several Chilean architectural offices and as independent architect. He received his bachelor's degree in architecture from Universidad de Chile in 2002. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in design computing and graduate research assistant at the Advanced Wood Products Laboratory-AWPL, College of Architecture-Georgia Institute of Technology.
Chuck Eastman directs the AEC Integration Lab at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, where he is a professor of architecture and computing. A pioneer in development of parametric modeling tools for the AEC. He also develops interoperability protocols and workflows. He is co-author with Paul Teicholz, Rafael Sacks and Kathleen Liston of the BIM Handbook, Wiley, 2008.
REFERENCES
Cavieres, A., Gentry, R., Al-Haddad, T., Parametric Design of Masonry dings. Embedding Construction Knowledge into Design Models, ceedings of the 8th International Seminar on Structural Masonry (ISSM), nbul Technical University, Turkey, 2008, pp. 39-47. Gentry, R., Cavieres, A., Al-Haddad, T., Parametric Design, Detailing and ctural Analysis of Doubly-curved Load-bearing Block Walls, 11th Canadian sonry Symposium, Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University. ento, Ontario, Canada, May 31-June 3, 2009.
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