The implementation of social dimension of housing design in nCAD 


Abstract

The architecture mission is to address the human needs and to respond to how people like to live. The architect should not make a building and enforce people into it. Instead, he should consider a number of concepts in his design that would include people lifestyle and common conventions. A lifestyle typically reflects an individual's attitudes, values or worldview and would include patterns of social relations and entertainment. The incorporation of knowledge about people lifestyle and preferences in the design process is vital as it would increase user satisfaction about the end product and may create a human, sustainable, flexible and quality product that would address people real needs and hopes.

The extended use of 3D CAD models has been under interest by researchers in the building industry from around couple decades ago. Various parameters can be assigned to CAD models so these models would be used for visualization and walkthrough, simulation of construction process (or 4D); people accessibility; energy acoustic; and safety. The examination of these concepts during the early stages of design stage would help the designer tailor the design and to produce a sustainable and safe product. 

The current theme of nCAD research aim is to respond effectively to the building regulations and guidelines requirements. This research however suggests that it is not sufficient to address some of the occupant’s physical and environmental comfort and it is rather important to implement the social dimension such as the user’s lifestyle in the future nCAD system. The lifestyle aspects that are suggested to be a part of the future nCAD system would include: the visual comfort of spaces, level of privacy of each space, the flexibility of internal and external spaces, easiness of use of spaces and so on.

The research will discuss how these lifestyle aspects should be implemented in the future nCAD system. The system will adopt IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) concept which represents not only the elements of 3D architectural models but also abstract concepts such as schedules, activities, spaces, organization etc in the form of entities. These features would allow the user preferences to be translated into parameters that can be assigned to each building element. The system will support multi criteria assessment and decision making during the early stages of the design process. Moreover, it would enable the architect to compare solutions and verify the best and it would also facilitate user participation in the design stage which would be an added value to the design outcome.
 
