B4 - Week 5 Blog Post - Group B, Price

Intelligent vs. Green Buildings

For our project, we decided to do a comparison between intelligent and green buildings and whether or not it needs to fall into one category to be in the other.  This topic was chosen because both my partner and I found it very interesting and it really requires you to look in depth at the actual meaning of green and intelligent buildings.  The green building process puts its focus into making the project sustainable and not creating a large carbon footprint.  The intelligent building process is mostly focused on being efficient in the early design stages.  This can also be incorporated into the green building early stages, where they seem to differ is the end product.  While green building has an end product that is sustainable, intelligent building is more open ended and can just be very efficient for a certain set of tasks.  Most of the time these tasks incorporate being green and LEED certification but are not limited to a “green” end product and is much more open ended.  Some challenges that will be presented throughout this research is trying not to be very vague or broad about the subject matter.  Research will be conducted in order to find projects that employ intelligent building technologies, but do not in conventional “green” ways such as sensors for lighting/hvac controls.  The overall product of each procedure will be discussed, focusing on the benefits of applying both intelligent and green building processes.  Potentially we could look into two different buildings and see how they differ and/or are similar with one another.  

Comments:

To Dmitry - I like the idea of using this class to assist your team in your senior design project.  Not only will it make your project stand out when you present it in the end, but it will also allow you to explore the programs and add it to your skill-set in the future.

B4 – Hamad Al-Sulaiti – Group E

“Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Technology in Engineering”

I was very interested in writing a research paper on a very interesting topic regarding technology in the engineering applications. I have chosen to do the project by myself and the research topic will be about hyperspectral remote sensing technology, which is a type of sensing technology that detects dimensions by reflecting radiation in an electromagnetic spectrum. These dimensions are analyzed in a hyperspectral cube that processes this data as an image, which is represented in three various colors, which are red, green, and blue. Hyperspectral remote sensing technology is a recently developed technology; geologists around the 1980’s first used it to detect minerals. For about a century scientists have used imaging spectroscopy in order to identify each mineral and what it is composed of. However, today experts in the field are working on research and experiments in order to take advantage of this technology. Consequently, the scientists and researchers are able to use this advanced technology to discover and identify various classifications of each mineral. Some of these classifications include, each mineral’s history and whether it is manmade or not. This developed technology is used in many industries in order to aid scientists in identifying the root of the complications and be able to diagnose them. For example, within the medical field this technological advancement aids doctors to preform many experiments that lead to improvement in the health of the people. To be specific, this helpful source of technology allows doctors to be able to identify how the food processes within the digestive system. It is very useful for surveillance and many other purposes.

The research paper will be explaining and analyzing the engineering applications of hyperspectral imaging technology, which detects street conditions and traffic flow on the highways and the roads. It would also allow engineers to discover and diagnose whether or not there are any issues on the road. This research will be concentrating on how Hyperspectral imaging technology can be used in pipelines that transport oil and natural gas. It is crucial to understand how Hyperspectral remote sensing technology can help engineers discover whether or not there is damage or rusting within the transporting pipes.

Comment on Yanzhao Nong:

It is very interesting that you made an argument on how intelligent buildings projects do not have to be green all the time. I am very interested in the topic you have chosen because you have related the green houses to the intelligent buildings. It is also important to consider the challenges engineers are going to face when developing a design to link between those two systems.

Comment on Angelina Castro:

I didn’t know how useful BIM could be until I took this class. I think your topic is going to be one of the most interesting ones for me because it is going to include all the important knowledge an engineer should have before graduating. I have worked for co-op for a real estate company, but I did not get the chance to work in the designing department where they use BIM for having separate system designs. I am one of the students who are really interested in working for this department after graduation because it will be a very helpful field for me. Your topic is a very interesting one to discuss, but I think time will be a challenge when it’s a part of a senior design project.

Comment on Jinhao Liang:

I think it is very interesting to relate the intelligent buildings to the green houses since they follow the same mechanism. However, it is also important to consider if intelligent buildings require consumes energy that will impact the environment. Techniques for saving the energy will be a challenging topic to look for, but really interesting to present.

References:

Dutta, S., and Alam, (1995), W., Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Waste – RCRA Exemptions and Non-exempts, National Conference, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Houston, Texas,

B4---Project Outline Kaili Yue

Impact and Benefits of Intelligent and Green Buildings

The final project my group decided to do the research about intelligent and Green buildings.

Intelligent buildings and Green buildings have lots of commons. But they are not same. People will easily think intelligent buildings are high technology; everything in the intelligent building is automatic. Because of the automatic it will need a lot of power to support. Therefore intelligent buildings are not economic.

The Green Buildings are not a new topic in today. People like green buildings. It is not only protecting the environment also it saves money. The traditional power is more expensive than ten years before. And it will more expensive in future. Therefore green building will more and more important in future.

The final project will focus on the overlap section of intelligent building and green building. Actually, it has lots commons between intelligent and green. We did research for some buildings are intelligent as well as green. There are many technologies such as LEED, sustainable building system and optimize energy system. We will deeply analysis the systems and technologies. We will summary the benefits and weakness of each system and technology. We will explain each system, and to understand how it works. We will evaluate and compare intelligent buildings and green buildings.

In many countries sustainability is one of required of new building. In German, the energy consumption of green building has 70% less than traditional building. LEED is one of the technologies that we are very interested in our project.  LEED certified buildings save money and resources and have a positive impact on the health of occupants, while promoting renewable, clean energy.

In summary, either intelligent buildings or green buildings have lots of benefits for people. The overlap section of intelligent and green buildings has more benefits.

Reference:

DGNB. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2015. <http://www.dgnb.de/en/council/dgnb/>.

Comments:

To Yanzhao Nong:

Similar topic as mine, but I find some different ideas. Very helpful! Good job!

To Husain Lbrahaim:

Very detail explains. I am not familiar with Revit neither, feel like you did great job.

B4 - Project Outline

My term project will be a research paper focusing on the use of 3D printing on project sites. More specifically, I will be researching the use of 3D printing to create custom connections at the project site. The outline to my paper can be found below. I chose to research this topic because I have some familiarity with framing connections from specifying them at work.

• Cover Sheet
• Abstract
• Background
• Purpose
• Design/Method
• Results
• Conclusions
• Brief History of 3D printing
• Advancements in 3D printing
• Reduction in costs for machines
• Different materials, specifically the ability to print metals
• 3D printing on a Project Site
• Creating custom connections for unique situations where a standard connection (from Simpson Strong-Tie for example) may not suit a particular situation. Examples of such situations are:
• Standard connection may not meet capacity requirements
• Potentially print a connection that is very similar to a standard connection, though with a thicker gage to increase its load capacity
• Standard connection may not have the correct geometry for a particular framing design
• Print out a connection to accommodate for unique framing situations
• Contractor did not order enough specific connections and cannot afford to wait for the part to ship or be delivered.
• Printing is currently very slow, so this would be an added benefit with advancements in the future
• Connection companies could create a library of standard connections for contractors to license which allows connection companies to still see a profit off of the evolution of the industry.
• Much like AutoDesk, connection companies could license specific types of connections. For example, it would cost X amount of money to license a library of joist hanger models and Y amount of money to license a library of column cap models.
• This could help aid the creation of unique connections by giving contractors a base model to start with.
• Conclusion

Responses:

Lenny Knittel - The Bullitt Center is a really cool looking building and the fact that it is the only building that is energy neutral will make it a fun topic to research.

Santiago Uribe - The topic of automated home systems is very fitting for the class. Researching both the presents and future advances in the industry should be interesting.

Angelina Castro - Creating a BIM model of a proposed building is definitely going to help learn BIM/Revit in detail. While watching tutorials is great, actually putting together a model will really help learn the program and its capabilities.

B4 Week 5 Blog Post

For this term project, our group chose the Revit modeling project on the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, in Massachusetts. This building was chosen for its unique structure and design. Research was conducted on the building to determine the historical uses, base structure, and loading methods for analysis. We have also created a timeline for upcoming tasks. Our team met with a professor to discuss ideas for different modeling styles. This project can be considered to be an extension to the project for CIVE 371 course as an extensive exploration on Revit modeling. Therefore, the plan drawings can be acquired and shared mutually between team members. Currently, floor plans and some detailed information have been obtained from the Internet and other sources. Aside from solely modeling the architectural system, we were advised by Professor Mitchell that further exploration on both structural and MEP system should be performed. This method fits our project initiatives and will allow for a different experience to do all the structural analysis in a 3D drawing program.

ICA Boston is just as artistic structurally as it is architecturally.  In order to achieve the 56’ cantilever within the top floors, four steel truss superstructures (2 exterior, 2 interior) are located in the top portion of the building (the gallery space) to carry the load from the end of the cantilever to the foundation.

The MEP system was a very challenging part because my group only has experience on modeling building envelop. Modeling the MEP system needs more than some basic knowledge of this field and requires a higher familiarity in modeling MEP components in Revit. Not many in our group is very familiar with this. Aside from that, we are still trying to get more information on the structural members such as the material and steel size. Although our group will not be doing a finite element analysis, this is still crucial to the accuracy of the model. However, there is very limited source for structure. We are reaching out to the structural engineering firm, Arup, for more information. 

Response: 

Lee
I like your project. I was a starter before and I wish I could be this determined to research on Revit and gain more proficiency on it. This is could be a very good chance to learn Revit in-depth. I may know where to look for the button to put a truss and change parameters, but I will not exactly know why I am doing so.

Knittel
The Bullitt building is certainly very interesting building as its slogan goes "the greenest building in the world". How the engineers incorporated the intelligent features into the building will definitely enhance the understanding in Intelligent Building subject.

Voznyak
It seems your revit model designed for the senior design is already sophisticated. I like how you continuously work in extensive manner to your revit model. I am sure you will have a great turnout.  

B4 - Group D Jiaao Wu

The interaction between intelligent buildings and green buildings

         There are many different elements in intelligent buildings will reduce the energy use in a building. For our group’s project, we will concentrate on one the most important property of intelligent building, which is the integration of the intelligent buildings.

We have divided the paper into three parts. First, we will talk about the history of the combination of green and intelligent buildings. Then, we will focus on how integration in an intelligent building works to make the building more sustainable. I have thought about three points:

•          Integration reduces energy waste.

         Due to the integration, Operation of each system will be in a unified and coordinated way by the artificial intelligent, while in a typical building, different systems are operating independently. This will reduce a lot of energy for the operation of the building. For example, this integration could be used in HVAC system. With detecting both the outside and inside temperatures as well as the occupants inside the building, the artificial intelligent will give the best efficiency solution to the HVAC system.

•          Integration reduces cost.

             Integration gives intelligent buildings excellent ability in flexibility and modularity to accommodate changes of the building. “It can provide a well-engineered platform from which any type pf intelligent building service can be provided. According to the results about the network installation, the intelligent building with one cable network will have a substantial reduction of the order of 15-20% in the cost of initial installation (Intelligent Buildings).

•          Integration brings comfort.

             The major function of a building is to serve people. A green building could not ignore people’s feeling to maximize energy efficiency. The ultimate goal of integration in intelligent building is to connect people and building. And this will be the future direction of development. For example, when an office building system detects that a meeting is going to be held in one room, the system can automatically turn on the lights and HVAC system in that room. This is how intelligent building serves people.

              In conclusion, Integration connects various building systems, provides building flexibility and also enhance the interaction between building the people. All these provide a solid foundation for a green building.

Finally, I will combine my thoughts with my teammates to broaden our views on the integration of the intelligent building and submit the final outline of our group.

Comments:

To Ilana Ritvalsky: Ilana's project is going to focus on the ability of adaption in an intelligent building. This is similar to our group's topic. I think Ilana has a very clear outline about what will be included in the project including different sensors and applications. And I think Ilana can talk about the relationship between different sensors. That's what our group going to focus which is how integration affects the intelligent buildings.

To Alex: Alex's group is going to talk about the differences of intelligent and green buildings. I am not sure if it will be too broad. It will be good if they just focus on one major point and analyze the differences between intelligent and green buildings in that specific criteria. It can be a very interesting topic.

To Rikki: I think 3-D printing would be a very fashion topic nowadays. Rikki's group seems to focus on the 3-D printing of concrete. I would be very curious about the technology used in that direction. In addition, they can also discuss a little about the relationship between BIM software and  3-D printing.

Sources:

Madsen, Jana J. "Intelligent Buildings are Green, Too." Buildings 102.8 (2008): 22. ProQuest. Web.

Flax, B. M. "Intelligent Buildings." IEEE Communications Magazine 50.4 (1991): 24-7.

Ehrlich, Paul, P.E., and Ira Goldschmidt P.E. "GREEN INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS - A Brief History." Engineered Systems 25.3 (2008): 28. ProQuest. Web.

B4 - Project Outline - Yanzhao Nong

Brief Description of Group Project Outline

The topic that our group have chosen was “Intelligent and/Green” under “Intelligent Building” category.  In the paper, we are going to focus on analyzing the integration within an intelligent building and how it works to satisfy “green”. The reason for choosing this topic was that since more modern technologies have been applied into constructional industry, future buildings are more likely to be intelligent. On the other hand, since human are paying more attention to our environment, being green has become one of the major concerns of a project. It was interesting that many people thought that intelligent building doesn’t have to be green. We didn’t agree with their point of view.

In the introduction, we are going to talk about the background of intelligent buildings and green buildings. Basically, intelligent buildings integrate many modern technologies such as innovated construction and smart control systems. In comparison, green buildings are more focusing on environmental aspects, such as energy efficiency and indoor air quality. Many people think that intelligent building and green building are separated. However, we claim that an intelligent building is also a green building, since its integrated system help enhance sustainability.

For the body paragraphs, we are going to talk about the how to make an intelligent building green. Getting LEED certification is one way to make a building green. According to Continental Automated Building Association (CABA), there are a few possibilities that help get credits:

Optimizing Energy Performance

By applying BIM, engineers are able to optimize the system design, so intelligent buildings could have better energy efficiency.

Additional Commissioning

This will help better integrate each system within the building, so the overall efficiency will increase.

Measurement and Verification

Sensors will collect data which help owners and engineers analyze a building’s situation, therefore they can address the design based on the feedback.

Carbon Dioxide Monitoring

Innovative HVAC system will help better control CO₂. This will make people within a building feel more comfortable.

Controllability of Systems: Perimeter and Non-Perimeter Spaces

Individual control system will help increase energy efficiency.

Thermal Comfort: Permanent Monitoring System

Innovation of thermal system helps increase energy efficiency.

Innovation in Design

Innovation in design will help building perform better, both structurally and systematically.

The systems within an intelligent building is able to deal with the possibilities above, which means intelligent building can be made green.

For the conclusion, we are going to summarize the research and our analysis. Also we are going to talk about challenges of the approach. Finally, we will discuss about future development of intelligent building.

Reference

Sinopoli, J.. “How do Smart Building make a Building Green?”. Continental Automated building Association. <http://www.caba.org/resources/Documents/iHomes_Spring08_web.pdf> (Feb 3, 2015)

Sinopoli, J.. “Defining a Smart Building”. Smart Buildings, LLC. <http://efficiencylaunchpad.com/jim-sinopoli-smart-buildings-different-green-buildings/> (Feb 3, 2015)

Stade, A., Eboli, J., Ryberg, A., Mitchell, J. and Spatari, S.. “Intelligent Sustainable Design: Integration of Carbon Accounting and Building Information Modeling”. ASCE Library. <http://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%29EI.1943-5541.0000053> (Feb 3, 2015)

Comment to Chang Qin
I agree that green building is a subset of intelligent building. Based on my understanding, a intelligent building has to be sustainable, which means it has to be green. However, there are also conflicts between them, such as artificial systems require more energy, which mean a intelligent building can be NOT green.

Comment to Mark Bancroft

3-D printing is really an interesting topic. Currently it has been used more widely, since the price expenses has reduced a lot in comparison to the past. I agree that a 3-D printed model will help contractors understand building requirements better.

Comment to Abdulghni Albaloushi
Your outline is pretty straightforward. It clearly illustrates your project and how you are going to finish it. I agree that BIM plays an important role in senior design. Without using BIM, we won't be able to finish our project.

B4 - Automated Home Systems - Uribe

My Research paper will be about automated home systems. In my paper I will talk about the technology in the present and also where the technology is going in the future. I would like to see what technology is currently available and what this technology is going to look like moving forward.  I will also focus on the technology in the United States as well as abroad. I will do a comparison and see how many different option this technology offers across the globe. I will also look into the economic feasibility of this technology and research the average cost of implementation. This will be done by looking into what companies produce this service.

Automated home systems can be a subcategory of what is considered to be an Intelligent Building. As this technology progresses, buildings are going to become more self-sustainable and self-operated.

Comments:

Alex dePinhoNunes: The comparison between green buildings and intelligent buildings is something that relates very well with this class and it’s also something we discussed a little bit last class as well. I’m sure you and you’re group will find a lot of good information regarding both intelligent and green buildings. It will be interesting to see how you guys decide to lay out your papers and what key issues you will be talking about. I would suggest including a section where you discuss how both of those types of buildings could maybe be combined to create a “green intelligent building”.

Young Kwang Lee: I’m not sure I understand your project. Will you be writing a paper? From your project description it looks like you’re saying that you simply want to learn how to use Revit through online tutorials and videos. I can’t picture the real deliverable of your project. With that aside, I agree that getting familiar with software such as Revit is very beneficial for your career, especially if you’re thinking about going into the HVAC field.

Drew Sivertsen: This sounds like a very interesting topic. The idea of creating a database that can identify and track the type of steel that will be used in a project can be very beneficial for designers and managers alike. I see that you’re already looking into A2 and it is good that you’re planning ahead. I’m just wondering if the deliverable will be the same for this project as well as for the A2 assignment. Or will this project just be the research component?

B4: Week 5 - Group B, Lee

Topic: Project

I chose to do a Revit project where I go through tutorials and learn many of features Revit is capable of doing because I wanted to become familiar with the software. As a beginner, I look forward to exploring many features Revit allows users to apply in building modeling. I have had experience with HVAC but only limited to AutoCAD. As a result, I think Revit provides an excellent means of service to AEC industry where it will be critical in leading the companies to employ Intelligent Building more. I want to gain more knowledge in Revit so that I will be more equipped when looking for jobs in this field. Thus, I am motivated to get most out of this project. The challenges I will face during this project are time-consuming research on Revit features and tutorials from old versions. Researching on features of Revit will be laborious as the software has countless features and tools available for different uses. I would have to decide how much I would like to learn and choose several critical features only. In addition, many tutorials I find online are using old versions of Revit. Because of slight differences in interface and tools, I need to find the appropriate features of Revit 2015, which is the software I will be using. Nevertheless, these challenges are certainly achievable and I will be able to overcome these challenges as I get more familiar with Revit throughout the project. 

Comments:
Ilana Ritvalsky
Ilana's project is a research paper on technologies that allow buildings to adapt to different climate changes. It is certainly an interesting aspect of intelligent building. Currently, HVAC and energy efficiency are affected by how building loads vary due to climate changes; however, Ilana will be focusing on how the building's architecture will adapt to the weather changes and that is a very interesting topic. I look forward to seeing what she finds out for this research paper. 

Dmitriy Voznyak
Dmitriy will be using his senior design project to explore how BIM can be incorporated to further advance the design. His project involves working with real world engineers, which is a great way to practice what we learn in school. By seeking what other ways the existing buildings in Philadelphia can benefit from the use of BIM technology, his team is taking important steps as engineers. I would like to see how they use BIM techniques in their project so that I can learn what are good uses of the technology. 

Taylor Castonguay
Taylor's team will look into the uses of 3-D printing with building materials such as concrete. The 3-D printing technology is certainly getting more attention these days as more engineers are looking into utilizing its potential further. According to Taylor, there have been cases where houses are made out of entirely 3-D printed concrete. I am interested in how efficient it is to use 3-D printing for building homes and whether these buildings are as stable and sturdy as the traditional method of construction. 

P2 - Project Plan - Sivertsen & Lavigne

This week we were asked to present out term project plan and comment on other students as well. For our term project we've chosen to create a database that will build on the ideas and concepts of A2. For my A2, I plan on developing a simple tool that can identify and track structural elements of a building. More specifically I will focus on steel. I will create a few tables for steel and and they will list the structural properties such as: manufacturers, AISC designation, cross-sectional area, tensile strength, unit weight and nominal/actual height etc. Our term project is as follows:

Project Title: Intelligent Building Database: Building Design Codes

Members: Drew Sivertsen and Derek Lavigne

Overview: We will build off of A2 by creating a database that will run queries to tell the engineer/designer what building codes or design specifications need to be implemented based on:

• materials used in design

• location of the project

• scope/scale of the project (i.e. green infrastructure)

• construction type/methods used

• possibly display rough quantities or estimates for steel and R.C. members based

Plan: In order to make this database feasible, a large amount of tables will need to be created with a range of varying parameters. We plan to implement an Oracle database program and use SQL to run queries to display certain information. For example, a query could be executed to display IBC for a 6-story high rise building in a city that is implementing R.C. as its primary structural feature. A table will then display the codes that must be implemented in the design. We am still in the early phases of planning the database and we may find that there are be too many building codes to account for. If that is the case, we will only include the primary codes or the sections that the engineer should reference. However, we might find that we'll need to scale down parameters to a more specific project. For example, a residential house and run queries to display codes for plumbing, electrical and HVAC.

Reference: This idea was briefly raised from B2, Interoperability, on page 83 of the BIM Handbook. This chapter discusses the “implications of IFC use” and how data models are becoming implemented to automatically check for building codes and for the review of designs. More stringent submittal requirements will need to be put into place to ensure checks of this magnitude can be carried out. Space method calculations have slowly been implemented by ANSI-BOMA (ANSI 1996). Being able to have programs instantly provide you with building codes as you are designing something can eliminate a lot of error and wasted time.

Comments:

Timothy Perdue: I think you are off to a very good start and have a solid understanding of what you want your paper on health monitoring to encompass. There is a lot of great information and ideas in your initial outline. However, I think it would benefit you and the reader to narrow down your topic to a few sensors and discuss how they function and their real world application to intelligent/digital buildings and how they can be improved. I look forward to learning more about this.

Hamad Al-Sulaiti: I have never heard of your topic before but it is interesting that there is an overlap between the medical and engineering world using this technology. From what you have explained, it seems like a very viable option in regards to civil projects. It could prove to be a great non-intrusive method for assessing conditions. I look forward to hearing more about its real world applications.

Hang Wang: Your idea of implementing your building's loading analysis and construction schedule to BIM will be a very valuable tool to learn for senior design and for future endeavors. I don't know too much about scheduling using BIM (including Revit) so I am very interested in seeing what your group uncovers.

P2: Week 5 - Lee

Project Outline

• Deliverables
• RVT model
• Sheets
• 3D views
• Schedules
• Final evaluation paper
• Resources to use
• Tutorial 1
• Tutorial 2
• Possibly more.. 
• Description of planned building (Optional)
• In addition to going through tutorials, I may try to make Revit model of a Drexel building
• Making a model on my own will be optional depending on how much I can apply what I learned to a Drexel building model 
• Timeline
• Week 5: Outline/Plan due
• Week 6: Start on Revit with logging each time
• Week 7: Draft due (at least 3/4 of project done)
• Week 8: Finish the project
• Week 9: Final deliverables due
• Logging
• Each time I use Revit for this project, I will be logging the process
• Amount of time spent
• The challenges I faced
• What can be improved in Revit
• Table of Contents of final descriptive document 
• Introduction
• Procedure
• The steps I followed on tutorial
• The challenges I faced
• Summary of the building features
• Results
• Screenshots of the model and sheets
• Conclusion
• My experience with Revit
• What can be improved

B4: Week 5 Blog Post - Group B,Voznyak

My team decided to apply and further explore ways in which we can utilize Building Information Modeling techniques to further design, analyze, and present our senior design project to the owner, Terri Matthews, CEO Jaden’s Voice. In its nature, we are working on an extremely interesting and unusual project as we have helped the owner analyze various sites, find the right site, and are now in the process of actual design and communicating and managing "real-world" engineers and builders. We believe that the AJ Drexel Autism Institute (whom we presented the idea to already) and Drexel’s Center for Community Outreach will want to collaborate on the future of this building. Additionally, we in the process of arranging an environmental survey, site survey, subsurface exploration, and will be presenting to City Council Members and stakeholders on February 16!

 Besides simply using Revit to create a simple architectural three-dimensional drawing as the senior design team originally planned, we plan to search for other ways in which we can employ this software to incorporate scheduling, structure, and MEP. As well we hope to explore, learn, and find use in other various interoperable software such as: Simulation, Green Building Studio, Ecotect Analysis, Rendering in A360, 3Ds Max, Navisworks Simulate, Seek, Buzzsaw and Showcase.

 The objective of this senior design project is to “design, develop, and renovate an existing building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to serve as an educational, social center, and living facility for children and adults with autism and their families”. Our project scope is to create a community center on a series of occupied and vacant sites located at the intersection of North Union Street and Haverford Avenue. The Jaden’s Voice Autism Community Center aims to bring “ASD awareness to the public, provide a space for play and social interaction, provide a temporary 6-10 family shelter, establish affordable and quick medical/psychological/physical therapy diagnostic clinical services to children with ASD, and provide a space for emotional support/educational classes to parents who have children with ASD. The building will also adhere and comply with ADA building codes”.

Our final deliverables for AE510 will aim to include an energy usage model, structural analysis, preliminary Architectural, Civil, and MEP design drawings, total construction cost, a project schedule, and hopefully a 4D video of the construction progress.

Figure 1: Preliminary Rendering of the ASD Community Center