Team 5- Presentation Reflections

Group 5

The projects that were presented focused on General Intelligent building themes and methods. The overarching theme of the presentations were the availability of IB methods and how these methods can be implemented. Our projects varied in the target audience, for example Sarina and Alyssia’s project would be helpful to homeowners while Jordan’s can be implement into warehouses and has more of a commercial appeal. As a team we learned about how and why these new technologies can be implemented and got a basic understanding of the numerous advantages that are associated with Intelligent Building technologies. In conclusion, the projects in our group all focused on different usages but showcases the importance of Intelligent Building technologies/ concepts moving forward.

We chose Jordan’s presentation on Robots in Archival Spaces to be presented to the class.

Team 1 - Things we learned from our Presentations

Sarah Hollis was the first to present in our team. We learned about the history of automated design. It was enlightening to learn about the world before Autocad and Revit existed. She walked us through the way Autocad broke into the world of draftsmen and eventually evolved into a comprehensive, 3D model. Before Autocad, she said that designers would try NOT to change designs because it would simply take too long for the draftsmen to propagate the changes throughout the drawing sets!

Dung Tran presented about his Revit model of the Glass House, where he modeled with immense detail each of the systems within his building. Dung explored some extensions of Revit such as the structural analysis that we had never seen before. He was also very thorough in modeling subsystems such as the plumbing!

Brad DiGiovanni and Cody Johnson gave a super interesting presentation on laser scanning and BIM. They gave an overview of the applications of 3D scanning and the benefit of generating a point cloud. It was crazy to see how 3D scanning can survey, in one day, a space that would have otherwise taken multiple weeks to survey. The point cloud is super accurate - and they were discussing the future potential of putting 3D scanners on drones.

Zac and myself presented on our interdisciplinary model that we constructed in Revit based on our AE 391 design. Building a Revit model as we progressed through the design phases helped to visualize how the various systems interacted in 3D, and definitely helped to identify conflicts as they arose.

Overall, all the groups walked away with a better understanding of modeling processes. We received the whole gamut of knowledge about modeling. We started with the origins of Autocad and Revit, saw two projects utilizing the interdisciplinary capabilities of Revit, and also learned the ways that 3D scanning can be integrated with BIM to incorporate detailed, field information.

Team 4 Presentation Reflection

The topics we covered were automation and AI technology in construction, HVAC sensors, sensor implementation in BIM, and facial recognition sensors.

As a team, we learned how facial recognition works, and how it can be used to increase security in the wake of horrific mass shootings. We also learned that there are a multitude of different sensors that can be implemented within a building, especially for HVAC, to improve overall air quality. There are also many ways we can further improve security within a building without turning the building itself into a jail-like structure.

The main conclusion we can draw from these presentations is that there are very interesting and innovative ways that sensors can impact the use of a building during its design, construction, and day to day life.

For the class presentation we are choosing facial recognition.

Team 3 - Group Project Reflection

As a group, we learned that people bring different ideas to the table; these ideas can be influenced culture, geography, and other outside factors.  We also learned the importance of stating your definition and expanding on the idea you are speaking about.  As a group, we all had different definitions of intelligent and green buildings, and your definition may take your project or paper in a different direction than someone else's.  Technology can be defined differently depending on the time period.  Technology is constantly evolving and influencing the design, construction, and operational phases of a building's life cycle. 

Presentation Group 2- Green vs Intelligent Buildings

By going over our presentations as a group we were able to deepen our understanding of the differences and similarities of green and intelligent buildings. Many of us had found the same information and discussed the same points. The interesting thing to see was everyone's point of views and different takes on the definitions of a green and intelligent building.

In general, we exclusively looked at what it means for a building to be green and for a building to be intelligent. We identified fields of overlap and exclusivity. We decided that an intelligent building can make a building greener and vice versa. Another side note that we discussed within our group was that there is a measure of how green a building is with the leed standards but no method for classification for intelligent or smart buildings.

Reflection

As I look back on what I learned in this course the two main topics I feel will apply to me the most are the BIM and Database topics. I am pursuing more of a career in the construction industry and it is almost a staple in and General Contracting company is to have a Revit model. The Revit model helps the general contractor to estimate, detect any problems with the plans easier, and to also show the owner a pretty picture of their building. This helps streamline the process once the model is built in Revit. Building a model in Revit can take anywhere from a few days to over a month depending on the size of the building. I have worked for a civil construction company that uses Agtek and Sketchup to model the various projects like large sites with a lot of earthwork or bridges to help with estimation. What these programs also do is allow for the contractor to see where the cut and fills are on the site, and also show the owner that “this is a big problem” or this is how you can fix it easily. I find that programs that are able to model the project are very beneficial in the construction industry as it allows both the contractor to see the finished product and to also show the owner what it will look like once completed.

The other topic that I found interesting is the database topic and the assignment that went with the topic. When I was completing the project I kept thinking of how this may or may not relate to my previous co-op positions and how they may utilize it in their everyday work. The one way in which I found this may be helpful in a contractor’s company is to have a relational database about all of their subcontractors. Being able to go into on place and find a subcontractor based on the work they do is very beneficial. The company I worked for was using an excel spreadsheet which made it somewhat difficult at times to find the contractor you were looking for. A database of all of these contractors would help with the estimation process. Another database I think would be beneficial to have is one that stores all of the information from previous jobs and how they long each activity took. This helps ensure the estimator allows for enough time for its company to finish the activity. This is important because if he does not estimate the project properly the company could lose a lot of money. The entire goal of any project is to make as much money as possible.

COMMENTS:

Jacob Wahbleh

I think that BIM is and will become a bigger impact on our industry. I believe that every company I interviewed for asked about the various programs I have used in my time here at Drexel. These companies are aware of where the industry is going and they want to invest in those students who know how to model the buildings, bridges, site, etc. so that they can see it and show it to the owner.

Andrew Maita

I like you signed up for AE 410 for the reason that it could count as a Technical Elective for one of majors. I had also heard from others that it was an interesting class and many recommended it to me. This put into perspective the various technologies that are already in place in the industry that I had not realized until taking this course. Reflecting on my co-ops I am able to see these technologies at work and the potential for them all.

Mark Odorizzi

You bring up the interesting point that having more knowledge in new technologies could and most likely will set you apart from other potential candidates. I believe employers are looking for employees that are able to learn new technologies quickly or have that knowledge already because we are currently in a transition period where our industry is catching up on all the technology out there. Companies are investing in this industry and creating specific departments within to deal with and implement these technologies such as BIM or a generic modeling division.

B7 Final Course Reflection - Tangari

Over the past term this course has helped to create a starting foundation for understanding various systems and programs which are commonly used by engineers. I thought it was a great start to beginning by looking at different topics such as BIM and robotics and researching how they are going to evolve and change with the future. Using a program such as Evernote which I had never used before I was able to access different articles while learning how to use this tool. Another key aspect was being able to look at BIM and understand its purpose and how it functions. How there are so many different tools out there that enable engineers to be able to study a buildings function and performance. By gaining an over sight of some of these has helped me to understand how every company has their own preference when it comes to using different tools and programs but that being able to self teach your self these skills and programs will give you a competitive edge in the work force as well as strengthen your skill sets. 

Another great part of this course was the ability to be able to use different programs to learn new skills. Having used Revit briefly in the past it was helpful to be able to use it again and be focusing on a specific aspect of it such as families. Having the tutorials to follow was extremely helpful in being able to complete the project. The database project I felt was a great addition to the course content as well as it introduced me to a program I had never used, Access. From having very little experience in what a database was and what its components were, lead to self directed research which helped to complete the project. Having an idea and a starting point on how to operate these programs will be a very useful tool in future occupations. Even if these programs are not utilized at future jobs, it will be easier to be able to understand how to self teach a program to oneself because of how we were able to do so using tutorials and such in this course. 

Comments:

Sarah, 
I as well enjoyed doing the Revit project. I feel focusing on creating families was a great way of understanding how Revit has many different tools that can be used to make designing easier and more efficient. 

Andrew,
I like how you discussed how reading the posts furthered your understanding of different topics. I too felt that by reading other students thoughts I was able to understand topics better especially when it came to databases where I did not understand their purpose until looking at others posts. 

Jacob,
I like how you mentioned how now you see that you will use BIM in any job you find your self in. I agree, having not understood before what BIM really was this class really helped to further my knowledge of it as it is greatly in the engineering world.