DiGiovanni - Use of Databases in Design (B5)

I found an interesting article that talks about the use of "big data" in architectural design firms, and how databases are changing the design industry for the better. 

One of the main ways that the use of databases are improving the industry is through the growing expectations of building owners. Owners are no longer just accepting the thumbs up on substantial completion and calling it a day. Now they want a collection of data with important building information, warranties, product data sheets, and preventative maintenance schedules. One popular database that owners are demanding from designers is called a COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange). COBie is an international standard, it was designed by the Army Corps and becoming increasingly popular among owners, it is evenrequired for some UK Government projects.

Owners are also demanding building systems be more measurable, predictable, and controllable than ever before, and they are now implimenting performance contracts to hold designers accountable. While these contracts aren’t too common in the industry, they are not unheard of, especially in green design. One example of a performance contract is that if the designed building uses more than the specified BTU's per S.F., profits are withheld from the design firm. To be able to measure and track the performance of a constructed building, hundreds to thousands of sensors need to be employed throughout every building system. These sensors then need to be connected to a database that stores and organizes the information. LEED has also implemented a "Dynamic" plaque award for buildings that live up to their green design projections. This has apparently been around since at least 2014, but I have never heard of it. LEED Dynamic requires owners to submit building data at least once a year, for the LEED team to compare current data measurements to the projection. For the Green Building Council to gather all this data, a database must be used here as well. While the USGBC doesn't plan on publishing all the data it recieves from owners, it still needs to be a robust system to take information from buildings all around the world on regular intervals. 

Finally, design firms are using databases to collect and store data from previous projects. Having a vast quantity of information stored from previous projects can help optimize future designs. It could be invaluable to have an internal database that tells you information on past performances. For example, a designer could analyize their data to see what HVAC systems are the most efficient in what climate, or see if a system specified is really as efficient as it claims. 

There are countless ways that databases be used for designers, many of which are still in the infancy or just becoming popular in the industry.

See the article here:

http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/how-big-data-is-transforming-architecture_o

And supplemental info:

http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/performance-based-contracts-put-money-behind-the-promise-of-green-design_o

http://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/a-leed-dynamic-plaque-for-every-building-new-and-old_o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBie

1) Malik,

Thank you for listing the types of databases that are popular in the industry. After reading your post, my question to you would be to list the pros and cons of some of the popular databases. What would be some of the reasons a design, owner, or construction firm would choose one database over the other? As we are entering the industry soon, it would be great to know what is popular and what is known to be a tricky and difficult database to work with.

2) Kerry,

Great breakdown of the database language and design system. I learned as much from your post as I did in the first few weeks of my INFO 210 class. All joking aside, learning the logic behind SQL and other databases is very interesting to me and beneficial because it helps us think as engineers. Even if database design isn't something we will be doing post graduation, being able to visualize how a system will look solely off of a word problem is a skill that is invaluable to us.

3) Lauren,

I'm glad you mentioned field access to databases and other important pieces of IT on construction sites. During my last co-op on a large construction site, I saw first hand this technology being implemented. Subcontractors from all trades were using surfaces and tablets to access data and plans, and it was really neat to see. These were mainly the field engineers though, as the tradesmen and women strongly preferred paper plans.