Reasonable computing for architectural fabrication

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2008.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64).The use of digital fabrication tools in the architecture industry serve a particular group of individuals whose familiarity of the tools are by trade skill. Machines lack the understanding of people in its ability to objectify common knowledge. This thesis describes the Adeon system, a software agent for implementation at the initial design stages whereupon the designer conceptualizes about a particular building component while the Adeon system serves to bridge the gap between design and construction knowledge, fusing the two regions to ultimately inform the designer about particular construction, design, and cost analysis constraints and opportunities upon the design proposal. The system adapts to different design situations and delivers pertinent information lending to its capacity to understand design moves and translate it to machine readable instructions for direct digital fabrication.by Rachelle B. Villalon.S.M

Data mining, inference, and predictive analytics for the built environment with images, text, and WiFi data

Thesis: Ph. D. in Architecture Design and Computation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, June 2017.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. "February 2017."Includes bibliographical references (pages 190-194).What can campus WiFi data tell us about life at MIT? What can thousands of images tell us about the way people see and occupy buildings in real-time? What can we learn about the buildings that millions of people snap pictures of and text about over time? Crowdsourcing has triggered a dramatic shift in the traditional forms of producing content. The increasing number of people contributing to the Internet has created big data that has the potential to 1) enhance the traditional forms of spatial information that the design and engineering fields are typically accustomed to; 2) yield further insights about a place or building from discovering relationships between the datasets. In this research, I explore how the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry can exploit crowdsourced and non-traditional datasets. I describe its possible roles for the following constituents: historian, designer/city administrator, and facilities manager - roles that engage with a building's information in the past, present, and future with different goals. As part of this research, I have developed a complete software pipeline for data mining, analyzing, and visualizing large volumes of crowdsourced unstructured content about MIT and other locations from images, campus WiFi access points, and text in batch/real-time using computer vision, machine learning, and statistical modeling techniques. The software pipeline is used for exploring meaningful statistical patterns from the processed data.by Rachelle B. Villalon.Ph. D. in Architecture Design and Computatio

Breaking down brick walls: Design, construction, and prototype fabrication knowledge in architecture

Architectural designs are not just collections of 3D objects. Architects have both high-level aesthetic design intent, and intent for the functionality of the building; these must eventually translate into real-world construction materials and processes. Physical prototypes are still essential for the architect and their clients to get a feel for whether designs "work". An exciting recent development in architecture is the use of industrial robots to automatically construct 3D prototype architectural models. But programming the robots requires tedious procedures of low-level commands, far removed from the designer's intent. Adeon is a system that integrates high-level architectural design knowledge, including aesthetic and stylistic intent, with knowledge about materials and construction processes, and robot programming code for constructing prototype 3D physical models. It centers around collecting and associating "common sense" knowledge, expressed in English and converted to a knowledge representation about the various levels. It provides a graphic editor that allows architects to draw high-level aesthetic designs, perhaps referencing known styles or historical examples, and retrieving relevant construction, materials, and cost information. It automatically produces a robot program for constructing the prototype. We present examples detailing the design of various styles of brick walls. Adeon is an interesting example of how to provide an interface for creative work that spans both high-level and low-level concerns

Solar Energy Generation in Three Dimensions

We formulate, solve computationally and study experimentally the problem of collecting solar energy in three dimensions(1-5). We demonstrate that absorbers and reflectors can be combined in the absence of sun tracking to build three-dimensional photovoltaic (3DPV) structures that can generate measured energy densities (energy per base area, kWh/m2) higher by a factor of 2-20 than stationary flat PV panels, versus an increase by a factor of 1.3-1.8 achieved with a flat panel using dual-axis sun tracking(6). The increased energy density is countered by a higher solar cell area per generated energy for 3DPV compared to flat panel design (by a factor of 1.5-4 in our conditions), but accompanied by a vast range of improvements. 3DPV structures are steadier sources of solar energy generation at all latitudes: they can double the number of peak power generation hours and dramatically reduce the seasonal, latitude and weather variations of solar energy generation compared to a flat panel design. Self-supporting 3D shapes can create new schemes for PV installation and the increased energy density can facilitate the use of cheaper thin film materials in area-limited applications. Our findings suggest that harnessing solar energy in three dimensions can open new avenues towards Terawatt-scale generation.Comment: 40 pages, 16 pages paper (3 figures), 24 pages supplementary information (7 figures). Energy and Environmental Science (2012, Published on-line