The topics we were asked to research are:
- BIM
- 3D
Printing
- Structures
- Future
BIM
"Unlike commercial or residential facilities, health care
facilities are essentially functioning machines that integrate multiple
building systems, technologies, life-safety features and codes to meet patient
and staff needs while remaining operational 24/7”. Implementing BIM helps plan
and design every essential fractional inch to ensure that every system can fit
into the technologically complicated structure. With that comes the need for
all members work closely together to coordinate the project from start to
finish. BIM, especially in hospital design and construction, allows for 3D designing
for of all details. BIM creates a database to allow for proper planning. The
evolution of 2D plans and drawing to 3D has dramatically changed how different
companies and members work together to achieve a common goal. This article
notes a medical center project of that relied heavily on the implementation of BIM
for coordination and design. The 25 acre site houses a 182,300sf 2-story structure.
An important aspect of this project points to BIM being used, especially for
the off-site fabrication of: plumbing, HVAC ducts, and electrical mechanisms.
In turn, installation on site was rapidly reduced. Additionally as stated
before, more efficient installation was achieved because the ducts, and plumbing
were designed to incredibly specific dimensions. “BIM enables each manufacturer
to evaluate how duct work affects electrical wiring, or telecommunication cables
or fire-safety systems, prior to installation”. As building become even more
tech savvy, BIM will be relied on even more to ensure all systems are
functioning as a single unit, as well as the design members themselves, saving
money and time.
http://cenews.com/article/9475/bim-a-new-frontier-in-healthcare-design
3D Printing
Everyday 3D printing is making its way into new and
innovative aspects of design and construction. It is being implemented to
quickly and efficiently mass produce parts for machines and devices that both
technical and an everyday person can create. Another way 3D printing is being
used is in larger scale building techniques where all or most of the parts are
designed and fabricated off site using 3D printers. The parts are then brought
to the site and easily assembled. A Chinese company, WinSun Decoration Design
Engineering, displayed that this technique is not only feasible, but incredibly
fast and efficient. In a one day time period the company was able to construct
ten 3D printed homes. In this case, panels were designed and prefabricated to
allow for easy erection on site. The most challenging aspect of this process
was developing printer large enough to create large parts needed in
house/building design. Their printer is 10m by 6.6. While the houses that
WinSun printed were very simple structures, not outfitted with plumbing or
electric (but were built to accommodate them), cost and time was greatly
reduced. As printers get larger and faster, 3D printed house may become more
commonplace in residential construction in the near future.
Structures
Typically,
structures and their ability to be constructed to greater heights are
determined by the materials and construction methods in place to make that
possible. Engineers are quickly figuring out how to design and construct mega skyscrapers
as seen with the erection of the Burj Khalifa and the Taipei 101. One important
aspect of the buildings that limit their height, and show promise for future
buildings to quickly surpass those structures is elevators. A Finnish elevator manufacturer
KONE has created a new line of elevators using carbon fiber hoisting ropes. With
this technology implemented in a building, the elevators could travel distances
of 1km which is “twice the distance currently feasible and more than 5 times
the height to the London Gherkin”. UltraRope, as the technology is called, will
have an immediate impact on taller skyscrapers with built to even greater
heights. I thought this was an
interesting article because I always assumed materials and how buildings are
constructed limited our ability to go higher. Building technologies are a major
driving force behind innovative structures and designs. It is important that all
aspects of a building must be carefully assessed to see where positive
modifications to a system can be made.
http://www.archdaily.com/385506/new-technology-may-double-the-height-of-skyscrapers/#more-385506
Future
“Today, 76 percent
of the U.S. population lives in cities, and that number is expected to increase”. With a high percentage of people living in
highly concentrated areas, urban infrastructure will decay more rapidly and require
more routine maintenance. ASCE recently conducted a study that determined is
will cost approximately $3.6 trillion to upgrade all infrastructure to adequate
service levels. This article addresses new ways society needs to think about:
planning, design, delivery, tools and processes. Planning, especially in an
urban environment is crucial to ensuring the compatibility and cohesion between
systems and infrastructure. Sustainability must be looked at in the planning
phase as new standards and design methods are introduced early in the planning
phase as well. It is vital to look at the future while understanding the
current needs of a community or city. Technology will play an important role in
sustainability by allowing “performance based planning about existing and
planned infrastructure assets”. Real time, high speed information must be
easily transmittable to ensure information can be analyzed quickly and in turn
be used to assess a system or piece of infrastructures current state; this
includes real time monitoring by possibly using monitors or nodes directly on a
structure. It is difficult to look towards
the future while there are countless problems at hand dealing with the decay of
infrastructure. Again, BIM can help alleviate this issue by implementing intelligent
model based approaches. Models and simulations can aid in the planning and
design phase and help make more logical and accurate predictions of how systems
will perform both individually and with other systems.
http://cenews.com/article/9622/urban-infrastructure-challenge
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