Bradley DiGiovanni - First Post

My name is Bradley DiGiovanni, I am a senior Architectural Engineering major with a concentration in Digital Building and a minor in Construction Management. I've done one co-op in design, one co-op in project management, and one co-op in field engineering. My experience with intelligent buildings has mainly been in class; either in my studio classes or learning about sustainable buildings of the future. I have experience in class with Revit and AutoCAD, but my as my working experience is field based, my current skills are mainly in SketchUp and Excel.

My expectation for this class includes learning about where the building industry is headed. I'd like to learn about both the design and construction sides of the industry if possible, because only covering one side would be leaving out a lot of information. Designing something unique and intelligent on paper is great, but being able to construct it and make it work properly is just as impressive. I also would like to see where sustainability for buildings is headed.  To me, many aspects of the current sustainable industry appear to be a gimmick or something just to appease stakeholders, such as certain building certification organizations.

One Evernote article I found interesting was using patterns and models that bones heal with to develop stronger structures, specifically in airplanes. Our bones have been regenerating after being broken for hundreds of thousands of years, becoming more efficient over time. Being able to harness that power could provide some interesting solutions for building design.
https://www.wired.com/2015/12/airbuss-newest-design-is-based-on-slime-mold-and-bones/

I would define an intelligent building as a structure that has features and functions that many current buildings do not possess. The definition of "intelligent" to me, is definitely a relative one. Once other buildings catch on and implement these intelligent features, the original building isn't seen as intelligent anymore. For example, when the elevator was first invented, a building that decided to install them could be seen as intelligent compared to a building with only stairs. Now, tall buildings are required to have them and it no longer is a definition of an intelligent building