Fabricated integrated modelling, or FIM, offers an innovative way to use digital technology to achieve a new economy of scale fit for the built world environment. A major issue that it aims to solve is the modular question. In short, as long as construction projects are conducted as a series of ‘bubbles’, thanks to fragmented data and supply chains, the same problems arise again and again.

Offsite construction has long been touted as the future of the construction industry, since way back in the late 1960s. It promises faster construction times, reduced waste and increased efficiency. However, despite the apparent advantages, offsite construction factories have never lived up to these promises.

But in recent years, there has nevertheless been a resurgence of interest in this area, as part of a wider construction technology movement. This has led to significant investments in new factories that claim to do things differently. In fact, it’s fair to say that the modular construction world has enjoyed something of an epiphany, backed by large investments from venture capital firms looking to profit from a revival of the concept. These investments have been spurred on by a view of construction as the next big opportunity for digital disruption. With the development of IT and automation tools, the timing seemed right for change, and governments were equally enthusiastic, pitching in to create incentives. It appeared for a while that a long-awaited transformation was about to happen.

So what went wrong? Why are we witnessing a slew of modular companies either going bankrupt or filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection? What happened to the built environment revolution that was apparently on the cards – and how might FIM get it back on track?

The rise and fall of Katerra was just the beginning. Soon, more and more investors joined the goldrush, lured by the potential rewards on offer for the company that finally succeeds in creating the ‘building factory of the future’. Unfortunately, these approaches have collapsed time and time again, leaving industry professionals still wrestling with the still unsolved modular question. How can something seemingly so logical on paper continue to be thwarted by reality? And if manual construction is outdated, slow and inefficient, how come it repeatedly beats offsite construction to the punch?

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Answering the modular question

In the hunt for a solution, a good place to start is by thoroughly understanding the problem. In this case, companies face a number of issues, typically summed up by the following:

To get scale, you need scale

Perhaps the biggest problem in the field of any automation, especially as heavy as construction, is the need for scale. Effective assembly lines only function well under standardised and repetitive conditions. Therefore, in order for any one project to be cost-effective, you need to have many projects in the pipeline.

Building twice

Building offsite essentially means constructing a building twice – once in the factory, and then again on site. That involves funding a large, spacious factory, equipped with high-cost assembly lines, even before the first commissioned project arrives. The upfront costs are huge and the return on investment is unclear. This leaves us once again tackling a scalability requirement.

The chicken-and-egg of distance

Transportation costs are another major challenge. It is extremely expensive and time consuming to transport modular buildings, especially volumetric ones, from factory to construction site. But the closer your organisation is to the target destination for building, the more you will pay in labour, factory rent and transport.

The customisation challenge

Not all buildings are created equal. Since most buildings are not designed for fabrication, most projects will be given permits based on spatial layouts rather than fabrication models. That means a complete rework to match the standardisation of offsite construction is needed, taking up a lot of time and extra cost.

The FIM solution

FIM presents a generative approach that can help solve the modular dilemma and increase the scalability and profitability of modular construction factories through smart planning automation. As artificial intelligence (AI) concepts unimaginable in the past unravel themselves on a daily basis, using FIM principles can unlock much of the long-awaited potential of modular construction.

FIM offers to standardise the construction process using a smart kit of parts that can be adapted to (almost) any layout. Using smart network effects, building plans optimised for smart supply chains can support mass customisation. Rather than limiting designs to fixed layouts, the approach seeks to standardise only what needs to be standard, while also permitting freedom of design where needed. Rather than fragmented point solutions for design, as in classic BIM, FIM promises to create a unified platform that supports the interests and activities of all stakeholders and where design and fabrication are linked at all times.

FIM can help architects and engineers create designs that are optimised for manufacturing from the beginning. Using generative AI to match design intent and real-world constraints means that designs can easily be translated into modular construction components in a seamless manner, without having direct expertise when it comes to all the manufacturing data. That allows them to focus their efforts on what really matters – the quality of design, rather than an endless game of Ping Pong with regulators, fabricators and other stakeholders.

Using generative AI to match design intent and real-world constraints means that designs can easily be translated into modular construction components in a seamless manner

Combining the power of AI with the creativity of human designers, FIM starts by defining the design requirements and constraints of a project. These requirements are then entered into the platform, which uses generative AI to create a range of design options that meet the requirements. Designers can then select the options that best meet their needs and refine them further. This process allows designers to explore a wide range of design options quickly and efficiently, reducing the time and costs involved.

FIM also incorporates DfMA principles into the design process, ensuring that designs are optimised for manufacturing from the very beginning. This means that they can be easily translated into modular construction components, reducing production costs and increasing efficiency.

Modular factories, meanwhile, can increase their scalability and profitability by supporting multiple projects that share similar attributes, and then optimising those for their facilities. Additionally, the speed and efficiency of the design process mean that modular construction factories can take on more tenders and approvals, further increasing scalability.

FIM versus BIM

There are six main verticals where FIM seeks to move BIM from a fragmented process supported by multiple point solutions to a uniform platform. It’s not about creating sketch pads and calculators, but about creating an informed design process fed by real-world data shared by all stakeholders.

1. Real-time data analysis: FIM provides real-time analysis of structural and thermal performance during the design process. This allows architects and engineers to make informed decisions and optimise designs for better performance and efficiency.

2. Efficient design iterations: With FIM, design iterations can be done quickly and easily. Changes to the design can be made in real-time, and the impact of those changes on performance can be immediately evaluated. This leads to more efficient design iterations and faster project completion.

3. Simplified collaboration: FIM simplifies collaboration between project stakeholders, including architects, engineers, contractors, and manufacturers. Because FIM is based on a shared data model, everyone has access to the same information and can work together more efficiently.

4. Improved accuracy: FIM uses a data-driven approach that relies on accurate and comprehensive information. This leads to more accurate modelling and better performance predictions.

5. Integration with manufacturing processes: FIM can be integrated with manufacturing processes, which allows manufacturers to optimise their production processes and reduce waste. This integration also allows for more accurate cost estimates and better project planning.

6. Sustainability: FIM can be used to evaluate the sustainability of a building design, including factors such as energy use, material selection, and waste reduction. This allows architects and engineers to design more sustainable buildings and reduce the environmental impact of construction projects.

The post Can FIM solve the ‘modular question’? appeared first on AEC Magazine.

We are often told that history repeats itself. As a species, we seem doomed to keep reinventing thewheel. For the uninitiated, a recent discovery may look like the Next New Thing. For us older folks, those of us who have been around the sun a few too many times, the distinction between what’s ‘new’ and what’s ‘old’ tends to blur. And that, I guess, is why somebody invented marketing!

Architectural design was once a predominantly 2D exercise, accompanied by some physical models. When 2D CAD came along, we merely replicated the process on a personal computer. Then we had BIM, which puts 3D modelling first, to produce drawings and then PDFs. Ultimately, the deliverable has not changed — just our way of getting there.

But today’s BIM systems rarely collect enough detail to pass along to the next stage in the workflow: manufacturing and fabrication.

In other words, a chasm persists between BIM data and manufacturing data. In other forms of manufacturing — think of cars, aeroplanes, consumer goods and so on — a designer’s 3D model is accurate and modelled at 1:1 scale. And it is connected to a digital process, in which a number of other systems are involved, in order to generate assemblies (right down to the nuts and bolts, a bill of materials (BoM) and a wide variety of product manufacturing information. Business systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software are integrated too, to produce costings and assess availability of parts.

There may still be 2D drawings on the factory floor, but the production of these is often wholly automated by core CAD systems. And these days, it’s not uncommon to see models get accessed at the point of manufacturing, too.

This begs the question: How might the AEC industry establish a ‘digital thread’ that extends further into the end-to-end process, delivers productivity benefits along the way, and helps firms manage the risks inherent to design and construction?

To date, a small number of architectural and construction firms have either augmented or ditched their BIM tools and adopted modelling software that is more commonly used in manufacturing in order to model at 1:1 scale, with high component detail. In this way, such firms are able to use design information beyond the design phase, to link it to fabrication, and to make it more accessible to downstream processes. In the process, they are in some ways becoming ‘master architects’.

Enabling design-to-construction

One such firm is Kreod, a London-based architectural and transdisciplinary practice, established 2012 by Chun Qing Li. The firm has built a reputation for the quality of its residential and commercial designs, and within the CAD community, it is particularly acknowledged for its approach to harnessing digital engineering and manufacturing.

Li has, almost single-handedly, promoted the benefits of using high-end manufacturing software in AEC, replacing BIM with 3DExperience Catia from Dassault Systèmes (DS).

Through using the base software and developing in-house applications such as Kreod Integrated DfMA Intelligent Automation workflow (typically shortened to KIDIA), the company prides itself on the accuracy of its models, its bills of materials and, ultimately, the financial success of its sustainable projects. By modelling everything at a fabrication level of detail, Kreod has made great strides in minimising risk.

Kreod models every component in detail, right down to fabrication level, in order to truly understand not just design intent but also constructability, cost and all the connection details

It is also tackling the issue of procurement, at a time when rapid raw material price inflation is contributing to escalating build costs and, in some cases, forcing projects to be put on hold. One of the innovations that the Kreod team has developed is a web service for onboarding clients. This details the materials required for their project, along with live associated costs. In this way, clients stay informed about budget issues and can even make decisions around when to buy certain materials for a job. For the first time, clients can actually tap into the supply chain themselves, as opposed to having to rely on traditional contracts and hoping it all works out.

At the same time, by shunning established BIM tools, Li has seemingly opted to perform the equivalent of climbing the north face of the Eiger. It’s only after talking with him that you get a real sense of what has driven him to bypass the predefined walls, doors and windows of ‘Lego CAD’, and make geometry and manufacturing his key drivers in selecting a design system.

Kreod models every component in detail, right down to fabrication level, in order to truly understand not just design intent but also constructability, cost and all the connection details.

With each project, if the company is using a new supplier, or a new process, project leaders will visit the fabricator and invest time in understanding the fabrication process and limitations that they must consider during the design stages. The level of communication the firm builds up with its trusted suppliers means that design communication is dependable and can be model-based.

A fair amount of experimentation

On our visits to other leading architects, we certainly see a fair amount of experimentation with manufacturing CAD systems. While director of innovation at Aecom, Dale Sinclair was increasingly using MCAD tool Inventor over BIM tool Revit, to model modular projects destined to be manufactured off-site. Sinclair looks to have carried that vision with him to WSP, where he also heads up innovation. Revit was Aecom’s weapon of choice, but the level of detail at which the firm needed to model for fabrication would have led to huge models, impacting Revit performance and potentially making the system unusable for this purpose. By contrast, MCAD tools are optimised to run with models comprising tens of thousands of parts. Very high-end systems can handle even more.

Kreod may have eschewed the comforts of ‘Lego BIM’, opting instead for the certainty of extreme detail – but in the process, it has brought upon itself a great deal of additional modelling work

This approach may not be for the faint hearted — but it is for the engineering-minded. It also suits those AEC professionals who want to use digital tools to be involved in the whole end-to-end, design-to-build process. The upside for clients, meanwhile, is that firms that model in detail and know a great deal about fabrication costs upfront are better placed to offer a full-service, singlepoint-of-contact approach, managing everything from design to delivery.

The industry is very slowly waking up to the connection between choice of design tool and project outcomes. At present, that awareness tends to be limited as being where the industry needs to focus. And, as discussed, fabrication considerations need to take place early in design processes.

This forward-thinking mindset is not dependent on the size of a firm. It can be seen both at Aecom (50,000 employees) and Kreod (fewer than 10 employees). AEC Magazine contributor and Foldstruct CEO Tal Friedman refers to it as ‘Fabrication Information Modelling’ or ‘FIM’, where designs are created with built-in knowledge of eventual production methodology. Li prefers the tried-andtested DfMA (design for manufacturing) label, but ultimately, we are talking about the same thing.

The big problem is that there is no commercial turnkey system to provide this. Every manufacturer has varying capabilities. In 2017, Bouygues paid Dassault Systèmes to custom-build a system to automate the stripping of models from Revit into their component parts in order to build an optimised, manufacturable model, with drawings, full costings and lean project management using Dassault Systèmes’ 3DExperience environment. Bouygues is looking to expand this system to include sustainability analysis and optimisations, too.

Maybe this is the way the industry will go, with traditional, federated workflows for some sectors, using off-the-shelf BIM tools, while others adopt bespoke systems to fully automate assembly models and drive fabrication.

Looking at what we have today, along with where we need to go tomorrow, if AEC is to embrace a completely digital end-to-end process, it seems unlikely that today’s 2D-focused BIM tools can evolve to keep pace.

Kreod may have eschewed the comforts of ‘Lego BIM’, opting instead for the certainty of extreme detail – but in the process, it has brought upon itself a great deal of additional modelling work. That said, the more work Kreod does here, the bigger its own library of parts, so there will be payoffs.

It will be fascinating to see what software and services Kreod decides to bring to market in order to assist the industry. From our conversation with Li (see boxout below), it’s clear he likes to have a lot on his plate. In return, he’s giving the industry plenty of food for thought.

What is 3DExperience Catia?

3DExperience Catia is a long name for a big CAD system. Catia is the flagship modelling ecosystem from French developer, Dassault Systèmes. As CAD systems go, the current version, V6, is the Ferrari of the manufacturing CAD world. Indeed, it’s used by Ferrari and its F1 team, as well as Porsche, BMW, and Toyota. In aerospace, both Boeing and Airbus are customers. Catia covers individual part models, assemblies (of parts), very high-end surface modelling, Finite Element Analysis, Structural Analysis, generative design, sheet metal folding, rendering and so on. The design tool is connected to other DS brands, Enovia (collaboration), Delmia (supply chain planning) and Simulia (simulation), amongst others.

The 3DExperience part of the name relates specifically to its ability to operate beyond the desktop and to work in the cloud, connecting to other parts of organisations with web-based model and business process management tools. This is commonly known as PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) in manufacturing circles.

Catia is not commonly seen in AEC firms. It’s viewed as an exotic choice. However, some exceptional practices are famously associated with its use. These include Frank Gehry, ZHA (Zaha Hadid Architecture) and more recently, Lendlease. We’ve also heard rumours that Laing O’Rourke might be experimenting with it as part of the company’s ongoing research into modern methods of construction.

Before Catia, Gehry had trouble getting his buildings built, because contractors would add a big percentage to the estimates, arguing that 2D drawings left too much to the imagination. When he switched to sending Catia models, all bids came in within 1% of each other.

Kreod is thus following in famous footsteps. In doing so, it has opted to build its own layers of functionality to enable the rapid detailed modelling of architectural and construction elements, down to every nut and bolt.

Chun Qing Li is looking to bring all the knowledge his team has amassed in design to fabrication modelling to offer on demand, online service to the market. Watch this space.

Kreod Olympic pavilion

The Kreod Olympic pavilion (London 2012) was designed to showcase modern design and innovative construction techniques. The unique form of the structure was made possible through the use of cuttingedge CAD technology, enabling it to be manufactured in modular form with minimal waste material. Prefabricated sections were quickly and accurately assembled, ensuring that construction could be completed within a tight timescale before the games began.

Innovative manufacturing processes such as laser cutting, vacuum casting and CNC machining enabled the creation of the intricate details that are a feature of the finished structure. During the build process, precision CNC tools cut individual components from a range of materials, including aluminium, stainless steel and composites. These were then hand welded together to create frames for a lightweight shell covered with wood panelling. The high accuracy of modelling and CNC-cut parts meant that each part fits perfectly, despite a wide range in variances.

Chun Qing Li describes his approach to creating the Kreod Pavilion as follows: “Our vision was to provide an exciting showcase for some of London’s most dynamic designers working in 3D-printed structures; making full use of contemporary technologies, while still meeting all relevant safety regulations.”

Kreod’s Olympic Pavilion demonstrates the potential of combining modern design and manufacturing technologies with digital building processes, offering a practical example of how custom structures can be created faster.

Q&A with Chun Qing Li of Kreod

AEC Magazine sat down with Chun Qing Li, founder & CVO of Kreod, to learn more about his non-conformist approach to BIM workflows and discuss his views on how and why the industry needs to change.

AEC Magazine: While there are a number of mature BIM applications out there, you have chosen to go with a CAD system more popular in high-end manufacturing. That’s meant developing your own layers of functionality — so what on earth made you do that?

Chun Qing Li (CQL): I feel that, as architects and designers, we have been kind of hijacked by the software companies. Because we are creative people, we have different mindsets to engineers, and the software companies develop tools created by software engineers who don’t necessarily understand how we work. We always have to bend ourselves and learn their logic. In my experience, it’s counterproductive. The tools we have as off-the-shelf solutions for AEC just don’t make any sense to me. For example, with BIM, we spend a whole load of time modelling a beautiful, 3D datadriven design, but ultimately end up delivering 2D PDFs. It just defeats the whole purpose.

AEC Magazine: But how much of that is down to the technology failing to map to dumb contractual constraints and deliverables?

CQL: Everything’s driven by the principal contractors. While architects may be using Graphisoft [Archicad], Revit and other interesting packages, in construction, they are still beholden to 2D drawings. That’s the thing, and the contractors mainly use 2D packages and specifications. I feel a sense of urgency that we need to change this, but obviously my company is very small, and I don’t have a marketing budget to educate the industry! When I started developing the software, I tried to convince developers and contractors that there was a better way of doing things, but they said that they didn’t want to be guinea pigs. So, I started my own construction company. Now, we are building things and we are our own guinea pigs!

We started with our own architecture firm, and from our in-house development work, we launched a multi-tech start-up to share our solutions, the first of which was an intelligent automation tool. This will eventually enable us to bring to market a complete platform that will integrate design with procurement and supply chains. This system will be able to get prices immediately, instead of relying on a QS (Quantity Surveyor) benchmark estimate. When we launch our platform, clients will be able to access our system and pick, choose and buy products from the catalogue.

As to contracts, based on all our in-house process development, we have introduced what we call ‘open book contracts’, so that when we talk to a client, we are incredibly open with materials costs, down to the brick, as well as all the preliminary costs and even our profit margin.

AEC Magazine: You sound very frustrated looking at the AEC workflows that have been adopted and codified?

CQL: The RIBA Sequential Work Methods have a linear format which necessitates sequential focus on phases, one at a time. Each stage must be completed before the next is initiated, leading to a drawn-out development process with intensive design alterations, delaying projects and having financial implications for all involved. Linear workflows, by their very nature, build in risk, not eliminate it. From a commercial perspective, I understand that the method makes it easier to break down payment phases, but I think you can simplify the whole workflow.

In manufacturing, they have refined the process. They produce 3D models that are manufacturing-ready. They do assembly sequencing, as in how you put things together, while we as an industry, we produce hundreds or thousands of drawings, bundle them up and throw them over the fence!

Our specific workflow, which we call KIDIA (Kreod Integrated DfMA Intelligent Automation) is specifically designed to eliminate the need for repetitive work. It enables an early and accurate calculation of cost by automatically creating the necessary manufacturing/fabrication code and bill of materials (BOM). KIDIA not only expedites RIBA Stages 2, 3 and 4, but can also potentially save up to 90% of the time spent doing it, all while eliminating or reducing risk, which can be seen in our contractor quotes.

AEC Magazine: Some may say that it’s extreme, opting for an MCAD system versus a BIM platform that was custom made for architects?

CQL: I think that the whole process has to be integrated on a single platform. Otherwise, you end up using all sorts of applications: Rhino, Grasshopper, SketchUp, AutoCAD, Excel spreadsheets and Revit. And the best the industry could do to join them up was IFC, which is a lowest common denominator format.

I guess like most of us, toolswise, I have been on a journey. I started off using MicroStation and Generative Components (GC), then moved on to Rhino and Grasshopper. Then I started to get into geometry rationalisation and teamed up with a professor of mathematics from ETH Zurich who did it all in C++, no CAD system required!

Experience is essential. On the Olympic Pavilion project, I was the lead designer, the client, the contractor and the project manager! I had to do everything, apart from structural engineering. After rationalising the geometry, I built what I called at the time a ‘building manufacturing model’, though I found out later it’s called DfMA. I found a second-hand robotic arm and started experimenting with cutting and assembling wooden frames for the pavilion. For the metal frame, I collaborated with a steel fabricator and took a highly collaborative approach, which was great. I learned so much.

AEC Magazine: How on earth did you fund the Pavilion as a personal project?

CQL: I pitched everyone! I had a fulltime job. I think I spent £2,000 on stamps, writing to a lot of people and companies. I just sold the idea and made it possible!

AEC Magazine: How did you get involved with Dassault Systèmes and the 3DExperience Catia platform?

CQL: Frank Gehry was the pioneer. He developed Gehry Technologies, with his own Catia tools for architectural designs. For us, this is a financial decision, a commercial decision, to go and find the best platform which can go all the way to fabrication and then develop on top of it. The 3DExperience platform is very powerful and can handle lots of complex information. It’s why it’s so popular in aerospace and automotive.

Initially, when I first contacted DS around 2010, they said they didn’t really work with one-man bands or students. They worked with multi-billion dollar engineering and aerospace firms and that was the end of the conversation! Later, things bounced back, especially as they created an on-boarding programme for start-ups and started to see potential for their applications in AEC.

AEC Magazine: So how do you think this is going to play out? AI is starting to appear at the edges and some systems will take polylines and deliver fully detailed 3D models, with drawings for fabrication. Are we going to see more design/ build firms? Will we need fewer architects?

CQL: I use the term ‘Digital Master Builder’ from the traditional meaning, dating back to the mid-sixteenth century, where architectural designers were closely involved in the whole construction process.

We have self-restricted the role of architects to just delivering design intent. Back in the day, architects used to lead the process, but now we lack broad industry competence and there is a general lack of interest in understanding the construction side of the business. There’s a shift in the way we work, where the principal contractor is now playing a major role in the entire process.

Through our plans for development, I want to give more power to the architects. They will be the designers that will understand the costs. That’s how we sell our schemes. We need to widen our spectrum, not just be the producers of couture drawings with beautiful line weights. Buckminster-Fuller asked Sir Norman Foster how much his building weighed? We need to be more like BuckminsterFuller, who was obsessed with the relationship between weight, energy and performance — of “doing the most with the least”. And, of course, customers want to know the cost. We need better tools to do this.

AEC Magazine: You have started a lot of different firms with different aims. What can you tell us about them?

CQL: There’s a reason we started these companies, for architecture, software development, and especially construction, because in each, I need to build, to demonstrate and deliver. From our experience, we can convince more customers to use our technology or consultancy. That’s the notion. Ultimately, we have to do something to better serve architects and developers and the key is to integrate the whole process. To provide more transparency, with design costs understood, which means there will be less need for damage control at critical points in any build.

The post Kreod and Catia: new model architect appeared first on AEC Magazine.

It is a common notion in the AEC industry that building is a linear process. It begins with conceptual design, moves into compliance, then analysis, and finally, fabrication. That process can take months, and sometimes years, every single time.

But FIM (Fabrication Integrated Modelling) offers to reverse the equation, allowing us to get fabrication right from the start. Looking at the construction software industry roadmap in past years, it is evident that the design/engineering process is perceived as a ‘solved’ issue by the mainstream CAD/BIM companies that dominate the market. In the eyes of executives at these companies, the next stop on the journey to conquering the entire construction value chain is project management and procurement.

In the age of FIM, the one who controls the initial design/ engineering process controls the rest of the value chain, too

But I would like to propose an alternative perspective. To my mind, procurement and project management are not a ‘continuation’ of the design process, but a derivative of it. Instead of running forward, perhaps we need to go back to basics, and think about the building process more holistically. In the age of FIM, the one who controls the initial design/ engineering process controls the rest of the value chain, too.

Though BIM’s original concept was to simplify the design process and cut resources, current methodologies demand special BIM managers and experts and more planning time and costs. It is no wonder, then, that only an estimated 20% of projects use even the basic capabilities of BIM. A much smaller fraction is actually implementing detailed, high-level modelling, as seen in BIM Level 3.

In today’s construction world, space layout planning is not enough. Design teams (architects, engineers, consultants) often reside in ‘masstopia’ or ‘renderland’, their thinking dominated by virtual environments and documents nested as far away from a real-life work site as possible. As a result of this fragmentation, the level of control that design teams exert on the fabrication supply chain is diminishing.

In an age where the biggest challenge the construction industry faces is adopting advanced industrialised methods, smart materials and sustainable supply chains, why do these considerations come last, when it’s already too late to make changes?

Fabrication first

Getting started with ‘FIM thinking’ requires a mindshift at every stage of the process. Below, I outline the current situation and then the necessary shift to be made at each of those stages.

Design phase

Current situation: Architecture starts with a sketch and moves towards detailed design, regulation and building permits. Fabrication, sustainability and supply chain considerations come at a later stage.

FIM thinking: Building details and regulation compliance are integrated as part of the design process using AI. This ensures that everything we design is ready for construction from the get-go.

Supply chain and procurement

Current situation: After planning is approved and permits are given, the design and plans are ‘frozen’ in place and the search for methods, procurement and detailed fabrication drawings begins. This makes it impossible to adjust to any method or system that requires design optimisation, ruling out most industrialised methods by definition.

FIM thinking: Supply chains and bestpractice methods are an integrated part of initial design and decision-making. FIM methodology creates best-fit results using big data gathered from supply chains to help planners make the right choices from the start.

Cost analysis

Current situation: Costs are assessed as general numbers and after a design is finished, it goes to tendering. This creates many unknowns and a tendency to design for the lowest common denominator in order to reduce risk.

FIM thinking: Costs are embedded in the planning data and connected to a realworld supply chain, turning your BIM model into a shopping cart.

One offs vs. network effect

Current situation: A building is designed once and lives in a vacuum. It is a one-off in every sense of the word and lacks interaction with external supply chains, knowledge bases or other projects in its surroundings.

FIM thinking: Building plans live in a smart network. They learn from one another and share a unified supply chain. Not only do they all have access to procurement data, but they can also be optimised, to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs.

A digital revolution

Construction, the largest industry on the planet, is going through a digital revolution. If we want to see more sustainable, affordable and efficient cities, a radical approach is needed to break the current bottlenecks.

FIM offers such an approach — but it also demands that we push back the boundaries of our comfort zone in order to get there. This means letting go of old hierarchies, business models and workflows, leading the way to true human/ machine integration.

In my work with Foldstruct, these principles are being applied on a daily basis in a constant battle to expand architectural horizons with artificial intelligence (AI).

Main image: A midjourney, AI-inspired vision of the future for Fabrication Integrated Modelling (FIM)

The post The pillars of Fabrication Integrated Modelling (FIM) appeared first on AEC Magazine.

The next generation of buildings will have to be designed and built differently.

When connecting the dots, it is no wonder that 40% of CO2 is produced by the building industry alone. “Traditional” mainstream construction has proven to be unsustainable, inefficient, and unaffordable. It’s time for a change.

Towards a new industrial revolution

As Einstein allegedly said: “The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.” Going by this example, the results we see today are inevitable.

Perhaps, these two facts tell the story better than any dystopian diagram:

1. A city the size of Paris is being built every week.
2. Only 1% of buildings actually meet sustainability standards and goals laid out by world government, according to a recent study by World Construction Forum. To make things worse, these numbers are not decreasing but exponentially rising due to labour shortage and material supply chain issues.

So, what needs to happen? Just look at the manufacturing world before and after the industrial revolution. The prices of commodity products like cars, furniture, clothing and more have decreased by x10 when compared to 100 years ago and their CO2 emissions due to manufacture have dropped due to standardisation.

Just like in all other manufacturing fields, the solution for tomorrow’s buildings is the trinity: industrialisation, scale, repetition.

But how can you industrialise a building? A building is not a shoe or a car. It has embedded attributes which require customisation.

Not all buildings are created equal. But they are darn similar

Welcome to the age of AI and “buildings as products.” Let’s start with the basics:

Why is industrialised construction sustainable? Industrialising construction consists of a few benefits vital to decarbonisation:

• Controlled manufacturing: Navigating CO2 emissions through automated EPD approved assembly lines.
• Reducing material waste through manufacturing standardisation.
• Increasing work efficiency through automated production around the clock.

Ultimately, this not only helps reduce CO2 on an individual basis, but, perhaps most importantly, creates a scalability effect able to reduce costs.

The equation is simple: produce more, produce repetitively in a controlled environment, and save CO2, cost, and time… the holy trinity.

The missing link

Simple, right? With all this said, we must remember that prefab methods have been around since the 70s and are notorious for creating repetitive socialist blocks all over the world. This, however, is rapidly changing thanks to mass customisation manufacturing abilities and, most importantly, AI-aided design tools that can help us design for machines.

Contrary to DfMA, FIM doesn’t only talk about the outcome, but, more importantly, about the process. The ability to unlock the knowledge for the industry without requiring it to change, and empowering the masses

To build smart, you need to plan smart, and that’s where AI comes into play.

Contrary to shoes or furniture, buildings cannot be 100% replicated, nor should they be.

Fabrication Integrated Modelling (FIM)

In today’s world, BIM is essentially a geometry canvas. Any data on top of that is a bonus, an expensive bonus delivered by expensive consultants (we already mentioned only 1% of buildings being sustainable and there is a reason).

Standard BIM solutions don’t provide real insight about what we should be designing and how it should be designed. This is the main challenge of my work with Foldstruct — empowering the planning process with embedded knowledge that makes all the difference with a term I call Fabrication Integrated Modelling (FIM).

Contrary to DfMA, FIM doesn’t only talk about the outcome, but, more importantly, about the process. The ability to unlock the knowledge for the industry without requiring it to change, and empowering the masses.

Sustainability=data

To reach net zero buildings, we need data! Data about materials, about life cycle assessment, and energy usage and about cost.

The data pillars of sustainability There are multiple ways to analyse a building’s sustainability. From multi physics analysis to supply chain footprint. However, all these can be nested in the following metrics.

• Embodied carbon – The amount of CO2 emitted in the production/manufacturing process.
• Operational carbon – The amount of carbon emitted during the building’s operational lifecycle, with each one having its own sub-metrics.

A building is more than the sum of its parts

Unlike common belief, there is no standardisation or one system that fits all. In fact, industrialised and modular methods include hundreds of different methods, materials systems, and manufacturers, each one having its advantages and disadvantages and demanding design optimisation.

Just to name a few: prefab 3D capsules, flat packed panelised systems, casted prefab element assemblies, dry connection systems and more. Now add to that different structural material systems such as concrete, wood or steel, and you can see how the number of variations grow exponentially.

The new age of planning

What all these do have in common, is that they all share the need for design optimisation to be integrated in projects.

With so many options and variations to choose from, it is no wonder that standard planning tools and methodologies cannot begin to provide solutions for embedding them.

Repeating success with AI

A recent study conducted on two best practices projects in London has shown a 35% CO2 reduction when compared to standard construction methods. So, can we duplicate this to the rest of the market? Yes and no.

As mentioned, every method has its strength and weakness, and is usually intended for a certain type.

For instance, 3D prefab ‘capsules’ work wonderfully when containing repetitive enclosed units such as small hotel rooms, student housing or sanitation room pods. However, they are much less efficient where custom sizes are needed, or for larger spaces that cannot be enclosed in a capsule.

Panelised systems are wonderful for large scale projects and provide an optimal solution for flat packed shipping. However, they require standardisation and large scale production.

What’s next?

This is exactly where AI comes into play. I believe we will soon see a merge of manufacturing integrated in design stages and create buildings as living products. With the great advancements in AI being created on a daily basis, it is only a matter of time before we can design optimal buildings at the click of a few buttons.

Tal Friedman is an architect and construction-tech entrepreneur active in automated algorithm-based design-to-fabrication. His work explores new possibilities for transforming the built environment through innovative use of materials and creating new typologies for architecture and structural purposes. Tal has also presented at NXT BLD.

The post From BIM to FIM (Fabrication Integrated Modelling) appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Unveiled in February of this year, the Tower of Light structure in Manchester was designed to support the five exhaust flues of a new Combined Heat and Power energy centre. Manchester City Council and main contractor Vital Energi awarded the project to architects Tonkin Liu and built environment consultancy Arup in Autumn 2017. The central purpose of the project was to design and develop the tower which would house an energy centre supplying surrounding buildings with low carbon energy. This is part of Manchester’s Civic Quarter Heat Network project, and will serve heating to a district spanning two kilometres including several iconic buildings such as Manchester Town Hall and The Bridgewater Hall.

Expanding the client brief to combine the façade and structure, the tower celebrates architecture and design excellence. The 40-metre-tall tower was inspired by the natural world, with the vision of creating a solid structure with minimal material. Making this a reality required the latest advanced digital modelling, analysis and fabrication techniques.

The approach

At the heart of the tower’s design is its unusual perimeter shell, which acts as both the primary structure of the tower and as its façade. This is achieved by employing the unique ‘Shell Lace’ structural technique; a method pioneered by Arup and Tonkin Liu together for over a decade, inspired by geometries in the natural world. The Tower of Light is the largest built structure using this method to date.

This technique helps to create a lightweight, elegant structure using thin steel plates. Doing so required a multifaceted approach to the design, with parametric modelling at the centre. For example, the geometry of the shell corrugations and perforations was developed collaboratively between Tonkin Liu and Arup, via the use of digital workflows to identify the best form structure.

Parametric tools, such as Rhino, Grasshopper and Karamba, were used to quickly generate and analyse several variations of the geometry. This allowed the design team to study the individual form’s structure and performance, and select the optimal version, before arriving on site.

Furthermore, programming enabled parametric optimisation of the façade’s geometry, and detailed buckling dynamic assessments to ensure the nine-storey structure was sound. Not only that, but through careful development of the façade’s geometric shell, it could be fabricated and assembled in a timely and cost efficient manner, on site. The parameters of the geometry were manually adjusted, and the resulting structure analysed at each iteration.

These structural principles paired with tailoring, led to the creation of a strong 3-dimensional structure, generating maximum strength from the minimum of resources.

Achieving the Shell Lace structure

Arup undertook several forms of analysis and tests to confirm structural integrity and to better assess which process would lead to a better use of resources. For example, the structural performance of the tower needed to be assessed and justified through a combination of detailed finite element models (using Oasys GSA and LS-DYNA software), simplified beam element models, and hand calculations.

The buckling of the thin shell was tested, again using Oasys GSA and LS-DYNA software, through eigen-buckling analysis of FE models, the load amplification, ‘Dallard method’, and hand calculations. A detailed non-linear material model was used to confirm the buckling capacity in one critical location. The dynamic performance of the tower was also assessed, and several of the details were influenced by the wind-induced fatigue performance requirements.

In addition, based on analysis of the high number of edges and corners in the tower shell, there was a risk that a painted corrosion protection system would not be sufficiently reliable. Therefore, stainless steel was selected for the tower shell to ensure greater durability. While the tower is painted white for architectural reasons, this also allowed a lower grade of stainless steel to be used and avoided expensive surface treatments, reducing the project costs without lowering the level of durability.

The Tower of Light pushes the boundaries of what is possible in steel design and fabrication, with methods grounded in the latest advanced digital modelling, analysis and fabrication techniques to achieve the curved rigid surface

Additionally, the tower’s performance was further factored into its design, which consists of a series of modules, with bolted L-flange connections at the top and bottom of each module. These flanges acted as templates during fabrication of the shells, and also during installation on site. This proved invaluable in ensuring that the modules fitted together within tight tolerances. And this connection detail also served to minimise stress concentrations for optimal fatigue performance.

Advanced fabrication techniques

The building may look complex, but the fundamental geometric principles of the shell structure are deceptively simple. It was vital that the project was developed in a timely and efficient manner, taking into account building costs and labour.

The construction of the tower needed a high level of skill and workmanship from the steelwork contractor. The shell panels consist of singly-curved surfaces which fit together to form the folded geometry of the structure. This was essential to ensure that works were practical, as double curved steel plates would have significantly increased the complexity and, by default, cost. Tight tolerances were required, and the structure was fabricated to Execution Class 3 due to fatigue requirements.

The design team issued a Rhino model of the tower to the steelwork contractors, who then used Rhino and Tekla to devise the cutting patterns for each of the 432 shell panels. They were then rolled to the correct curvature, before being welded together to form the nine high shell modules that the tower consists of.

Looking ahead

The Tower of Light pushes the boundaries of what is possible in steel design and fabrication, with methods grounded in the latest advanced digital modelling, analysis and fabrication techniques to achieve the curved rigid surface. This building is set to inspire engineers paving new ways to minimise material usage and ultimately striving for a more sustainable future.

Main image courtesy of David Valinksky

The post The light fantastic – Tower of Light appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Despite the current “green hype” from regulators and industry, 99% of buildings are still being built to the lowest common sustainability denominators.

Einstein allegedly said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results, and the same is true in construction.

If we keep planning the same buildings, we will end up with the same results.

Sustainability cannot happen on a local basis. A “green” house, school or even neighbourhood which do not prove a cost effective and scalable model are many times a part of the problem, also known as “greenwash”.

In order to effect true change, we must see the industry as a whole and provide models that can work for the mainstream instead of one-offs.

The architect does not stand alone. Gone are the days where architectural design can be dispatched from its means of manufacturing and footprint analysis. New technologies now allow us, like never before, to create unified methodologies that blur the boundaries between disciplines. But to grasp the potential, we first have to understand the problem.

So how big is this problem?

You’ve all heard this one before: the construction industry is responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions, making it the most polluting industry on earth.

In fact, reducing emissions for this sector alone can achieve the global benchmarks for preventing global climate change.

Add to that a geo-political turmoil caused by external energy source dependency, and you have the most burning issue of this century. The coin of the future is, therefore, not the Dollar or the Bitcoin, but the Kilowatt.

Bridging the gap

As demonstrated in my previous articles, the planning world has not changed fundamentally for thousands of years, relying mainly on pure geometric representations, very far from their actual manufacturing details and eco footprint. Yet, it is clear that industrial manufacturing holds the key to improving performance, reducing waste and using smart materials – the main factors affecting a building’s sustainability.

The biggest challenge is in matching the restraints of these in early design stages.

Today, “real world” data leading to CO2 calculations can only be extracted at the last 20% of the planning stage, after planning is pretty much complete, making it practically too late to change and optimise.

So how come in a world of BIM, digitation, and open knowledge, we are so far behind?

Compare today‘s AEC planning firms with those of 50 years ago, and you see something remarkable. Planning costs, times and complexity have gone up due to extra BIM experts, consultants – and rising software license fees (more on that in Martyn Day’s article “Prisoner of Vendor), yet the overall detail level has not seen significant changes for the mainstream. In other words, we have digitized the same problem.

The solution: optimise early on

Design for manufacturing (DfMA), the holy grail for the construction world, is often overlooked by AEC firms due to complexities. However, it is now becoming more feasible than ever.

According to the latest reports by bodies like McKinsey, Deloitte etc. adopting industrialisation and automation for the construction world can not only reduce CO2, but also cut costs by 15-25% when applied at scale. Yet, this requires all stakeholders to “play by the rules” in all stages.

Looking at other industries like furniture, automotive and aerospace that have managed to revolutionise their manufacturing, we can see the large role that designing to the screw level holds. The equation is simple: the more data you have, the better you can optimise.

It is, however, unrealistic to expect an architect or engineer to know how to write machine code, analyse CO2 footprints and be acquainted with all the latest building technologies. So how do we bring all this together?

A new state of mind

Using AI, a radical mindset shift is now available. No longer should architecture remain isolated as a ‘soft’ discipline, ending its role upon design completion. New architecture is deeply rooted in its environmental and social impact.

Planners must take full responsibility of what they design above its local usage.

On the other hand, manufacturers, contractor and regulators must provide the infrastructure and data for its adaptations.

The amazing possibilities of data analysis for AEC that can be achieved through digitation are immense and growing by the day. Just to name a few: daylight analysis, CO2 calculation for materials, thermal insulation with Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based wind calculations, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), manufacturing supply chain optimisation – all these, when combined together, can help us create greener, smarter and more cost effective buildings.

From my personal experience with Foldstruct, working with corporates in the manufacturing field, it is all about data collaboration. A true open book approach from all sides can digitally dissect the project in ways that are not seen to the naked eye.

In a recent project, we were able to not only reduce CO2, but also cost, by optimising the design according to a specific system. The main challenge was to reverse engineer something that has already been designed. However, using AI and parametric logic, it was possible to make slight adjustments that were non-intrusive to the original design, yet proved to be of great benefit in terms of performance. It is indeed an ongoing journey to digitize the construction industry, but the path has been set with more and more corporates joining the game.

As more analysis tools spring up and regulations demand more sustainable buildings, we will see a unification of all disciplines in a “building as product” approach. It is a time where AI, robotics and smart materials are no longer buzz words, but the future of the AEC industry.

About the author

Tal Friedman is an architect and construction-tech entrepreneur active in automated algorithm-based design-to-fabrication. His work explores new possibilities for transforming the built environment through innovative use of materials and creating new typologies for architecture and structural purposes. Tal has also presented at NXT BLD.

The post Reducing CO2 by AI design and robotics appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Digital optimisation promises to revolutionise the world of con struction via ‘Industry 4.0’ mechanisms. But current BIM solutions, being pure geometry platforms, have little to contribute in terms of solving today’s problems. In fact, they may actually be part of the problem.

A controversial statement, maybe – but let’s look at the impact of optimisation and automation on another sector: manufacturing. The Industrial Revolution and the invention of the assembly line triggered a giant leap in manufacturing productivity, reducing the relative cost of a car by a 10x multiple over the course of just over a century.

Yet, over the same time period, construction costs have consistently risen, because on-site automation is nowhere to be seen. In the planning world, the focus has been on optimising the production of documents, rather than the performance metrics of the final building. In other words, we have industrialised planners, not buildings.

Focus on the right problems

So what does this mean for the promise of BIM? Is BIM even focused on the right problems?

These questions remind me of a story I heard about a large toothpaste company, looking to increase its market share and assembling a crack team of scientists, designers and marketers to come up with the world’s best toothpaste. After a lengthy R&D process, their decision was unanimous: increase the nozzle diameter on a tube of toothpaste by 2mm.

It seems that the AEC world is not so different from the world of dental product R&D. Despite rising software prices and the move to subscription-based software-as-a-service platforms, not much has really changed over the years since the introduction of BIM in the early days of Revit.

Little of the innovation we see actively seeks to address the sector’s inherent problems. Software suppliers scramble to make the move to the cloud and M&A activity flourishes in the sector, with deals springing up like mushrooms after the rain – but that’s because the holy grail for these technology vendors is to control the complete supply chain via unified platforms. The big question for customers, however, is this: What are we getting in return?

That’s not to say, of course, that BIM has created no value at all. On the contrary, it has supported some incredible projects, delivered with very high levels of detailing – but these typically involve extremely high budgets and designated BIM experts, and by no means reflect the average project.

In fact, despite BIM’s promise to support more design freedom and bring down planning times, it still takes an average of two to three years to design a multifamily project, regardless of the planning method involved. This may explain why only one in five offices have adopted BIM to its full extent. At the majority of firms, employees swap between four or five platforms — SketchUp, AutoCAD, Rhino, 3ds Max, Solidworks, Revit and so on — with each one providing just one small piece of the puzzle.

Five changes needed

So what needs to happen for BIM to truly deliver value and more closely meet the sector’s needs?

First, we need real-world data integration. As mentioned previously, BIM architectural models are still pure geometry, detached from real-world data. This means a design will undergo endless iteration loops, each involving different stakeholders and consultants who add their input and enforce changes.

Second, we need the integration of manufacturing data. If we are unable to estimate costs in the planning stages and understand the implications of design changes, we are designing for the lowest denominator. Simply put, we cannot speak of robotic automation and design for bricklayers.

Third, we need a lower barrier to entry for BIM. Due to its complexity, BIM managers have become the norm, meaning increased workforce numbers and costs. This often involves asking the client to increase the planning budget, too.

Fourth comes increased flexibility. Designing in template-based environments leads to high rigidity and an inability to customise without deep technical manoeuvres. Software must support more customisation while remaining in the scope of feasibility.

Fifth and finally, an easier learning curve is a must-have. It is said that for an average office to make a complete BIM transformation takes two to three years, during which the team will undergo a painful period of relearning. This risks losing control of projects and experiencing a degree of trial and error that few offices can afford.

The missing link here? Design with purpose. As buildings become smarter and more technological, it is clear they will also need smarter planning tools. The race to arms is on!

The software of tomorrow will be much more than ‘just’ software. It will be deeply nested within the value chain of a project. For this reason, the AEC field is hotter than ever, characterised by a race to dominate the sector in a 360-degree approach.

From the ground up

But the solution to the problem — as always — comes from the ground up. With mounting international efforts and pressure to reduce both CO2 emissions and building costs, it is no longer an option to ‘choose not to choose’. Developers and contractors have to show empirical evidence of gains in order to get ahead of the game. Projects that fail to comply with these standards will simply be thrown off the wagon.

The age of artificial intelligence, or AI, promises to put the intelligence into BIM, adding valuable information to models that will help optimise buildings and shorten design loops. For this to happen, the boundaries must blur between designer, builder and regulator, with all three groups working from a unified data hub. Writing about these topics naturally raises many questions on actual implementation plans and next steps. I cannot, of course, speak for the whole industry, but in my work with Foldstruct, we are working to implement those principles and use AI in a unified platform that calls all stakeholders to get involved, regardless of format or pedigree.

Technologies that bring value should take the lead. Those that don’t will simply have to try harder, regardless of market share.

It is time to bring the power back to planners and free them to spend more time designing and less time drafting. The age of closed circles and formats is over. Welcome to the age of optimisation!

About the author

Tal Friedman is an architect and construction-tech entrepreneur active in automated algorithm-based design-to-fabrication. His work explores new possibilities for transforming the built environment through innovative use of materials and creating new typologies for architecture and structural purposes. Tal has also presented at NXT BLD.

Read more of his articles here

The post Power to the planners (and why BIM doesn’t really exist) appeared first on AEC Magazine.

AEC Magazine has been at the forefront of promoting BIM for almost 20 years. A few years ago, it was becoming clear that the amount of development work being put into many leading AEC applications was on the wane, so we set an editorial agenda to identify where the next innovations would come from, and examine how the industry would have to adapt — mapping itself from current processes to new digital workflows.

NXT BLD is the physical embodiment of our mission to explore new technologies and boldly go where no industry events had gone before!

Topics include VR-based design, robotic assembly, offsite construction, 3D printed buildings, digital twins, photogrammetry, robots on construction sites, real-time rendering, collaborative design, knitted buildings, generative design, mixed reality, city modelling and blockchain.

Topics and speakers, almost entirely come from the research we do for editorial, or from recommendations from people in practice, who may be part of ongoing R&D, either in-house or with a university. While in the past, technology had tended to be dictated by vendors, we are now seeing a much more hands-on approach to tech stack and workflow development from leading practices, something we covered in our January / February 2021 cover story.

Now, as the AEC industry moves to complete digitisation, academics, startups and established mature BIM customers have been looking to converge tools and processes, to meet their future needs

At our November event, which is now available to view free on-demand, we were lucky enough to have a stellar line up of industry heavyweights. This includes speakers from the Foster + Partners Advanced Research and Development (ARD) group, Cobus Bothma, director at KPF, Greg Schleusner, director of design technology and innovation at HOK, Dr Marzia Bolpagni, head of BIM International at Mace, and Emily Scoones, business and project lead at Ramboll.

These practices didn’t present case stories about their use of procured technologies, but showed their in-house developments and shared their goals.

This trend can also be seen in previous NXT BLD talks from the likes of Woods Bagot, Facit Homes, Gensler, Skanska, Herzog & De Meuron, Katerra, Laing O’Rourke, to name but a few. Expect more next year and an increase in the amount of AEC firms collaborating together in software development.

Automation has always seemed a great fit for construction. Even at our first NXT BLD event we had a prototype robotic assembly system from Arup and the amazing Arthur Mamou Mani.

Two years later and NXT BLD 2019 heralded the first appearance in Europe of Boston Dynamics’ SPOT robot, marking its launch into construction. That year we had R&D teams from laser scanning firms flying in with 3D printed mounting plates to try out their laser scanners on the robot, as it was their first opportunity to see SPOT in the ‘flesh’.

Foster + Partners also met SPOT for the first time at NXT BLD 2019 and this year the R&D team presented their findings on the potential of the robot for use on live projects and in the future. Meanwhile, Trimble’s Construction Robotics Lead also talked about the growth in robot adoption on construction sites.

As workstation CPU and GPU capabilities forge ahead, the ability to handle more complex geometry, on a city scale, in real time has finally become a reality. This isn’t just helping those involved in arch viz, but also virtual reality and augmented reality.

The AEC sector is also taking influence from beyond. This year we took a bit of a gamble asking Aston Martin to present, but it really paid off. Cathal Loughnane did a great job of explaining the Aston Martin design team’s philosophy which applied to everything from cars to residential buildings, to watches. As the AEC industry looks to change its workflow, it can’t remain an echo chamber. So we will continue to bring in speakers from other industries to see what we can learn from their digital design to manufacturing processes.

While NXT BLD examines early market trends, it also has the opportunity to follow these developments as they flourish and adapt. But, more importantly, how they are seen through the eyes of technology savvy users and within the context of real projects.

For future NXT BLD conferences, expect to hear more on the connection between architectural design and digital construction. This is a huge topic with a long way to run. There will certainly be more AEC firms discussing their own inhouse and collaborative developments, as the call for industry openness and productivity improvements grows – against the background of a seemingly slow-to-react commercial software market which is focussing elsewhere.

In the meantime, all of the presentations from NXT BLD 2021 are now available to view completely free on-demand, so grab a coffee and dive in. You’re welcome.

Location independent design – collaborative design

Cobus Bothma, KPF

Today’s leading architectural practices are experimenting to develop their own bespoke solutions, using the exploding resources of open-source components. Bothma demonstrates a number of tools he has created for use on KPF projects, connecting designers with different skill sets to enhance the internal iterative design process.

Other challenges included: ‘How to get a full BIM model, Grasshopper model, and 40km2 of modelled London at 150mm accuracy in front of a user, with real time capability, when we can’t control their hardware?’ The answer: Nvidia Omniverse. Bothma has expanded this to mixing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis with real time graphics and virtual reality (VR).

Changing perspective and changing vision

Cathal Loughnane, Aston Martin Design

Aston Martin is a classic British sports car brand which blends its racing heritage and craftsmanship with the latest digital design technology.

As the AEC market looks to other industries to learn, Loughnane gives us his insight into how Aston Martin has expanded its design practice to motorbikes, helicopters, watches and residential development.

A key take away is that even with all the new digital technology at Aston Martin’s disposal, nothing is held in more esteem than the hand-crafted 1:1 clay model of the car – keeping true to the 108 years of Aston Martin DNA.

Creating balance

Greg Schleusner, HOK

BIM has been on the desktop for over 20 years but we have ended up spending more time documenting the design. As the AEC industry looks forward to improve productivity and refine workflows, Schleusner questions historic concepts of BIM tools and makes insightful suggestions as to what BIM needs to be able to do to evolve beyond its current document-centric limitations and ‘dumb’ models.

Silos are a major problem for the industry, data needs to flow more openly and in a more co-ordinated manner, between all tools and workflow participants. Schleusner is calling on AEC firms and developers to work together and cooperate on making the design process flow before AEC gets subsumed with new challenges.

From design to Digital Twin and beyond

David Weir McCall, Epic Games

Epic Games is looking to extend current BIM workflows to add real-time rendering, pedestrian simulation, LiDAR and digital twins. Weir McCall looks at how firms like HOK are using Twinmotion, Unreal Engine, Cesium and 3D Repo to model city-scale projects and co-ordinate design teams and interaction with the public.

Foster + Partners is experimenting with extending its real-time model assets to have Augmented Reality onsite to bring its designs to life. Digital twins means many things to many people but Unreal is focussed on contextualising data, from many different sources, in real time to all be displayed in the context of a model.

Buildmedia’s detailed model of New Zealand is amazing.

The NASA Control Room for Construction

Dr. Marzia Bolpagni // Mace

Bolpagni starts this talk by looking at the limitations of Level of Detail (LoD), acknowledging that different people require different data at distinct phases of a project and that most data created in the design phase is not formatted or useful to construction. She then suggests this can this be improved by using frameworks that are based on the level of information – why, when, who and what.

Mace has also been actively researching and benchmarking an ‘AEC production control room’, like NASA had for each space flight — a design room for project data, collating all project metrics for filtering and display.

Bringing digital twins within hands reach

Greg Demchak, Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems is the biggest proponent of digital twins and has also led the charge into reality modelling. Demchak comes from the research side of the company and has been experimenting and connecting Bentley with both large and small development firms to capture ultra-high resolution photogrammetry to build digital twins. The twins are then hosted in the Microsoft Azure cloud and streamed to collaborative Augmented Reality (AR) sessions, using Hololens headsets with physical hand interaction.

Demchak uses an example of bridge inspection, scanned by drone, automatically modelled in 3D and then used to identify cracks with machine learning, all at 1:1 scale

Collaborative design: Revit, Rhino & SketchUp models

Hilmar Gunnarsson and Johan Hanegraaf, Arkio

From our first NXT BLD to our fifth, we have watched Hanegraaf’s ‘VR design for architects’ concept go from an idea to a shipping product, Arkio. This year, the Arkio team modelled the QEII Conference Centre and the Parliament building area – the location of NXT BLD – and demonstrated the breadth of Arkio’s modelling and collaborative capabilities, together with links to working with Revit and Sketchup.

At one point, they invited the whole audience to join them in a massive, live, collaborative session using their phones!

Autonomous robots in construction

David Burczyk, Trimble and Brian Ringley, Boston Dynamics

How does robot autonomy work on a construction site, a space which changes every day and is unpredictable? The heads of construction from Trimble and Boston Dynamics look at the benefit of flexible autonomy while performing high resolution data capture. Burczyk and Ringley also explore what can be done with robotic data capture, now it can be automated and carried out much more regularly. Trimble extends this concept to show how the data could be used in real time for in-field analysis, such as monitoring slab pours and comparing the as built vs the constructed.

Spot for the AEC industry

Martha Tsigkari and team, Foster + Partners Applied Research and Development (ARD) Group

The ARD group at Foster +Partners is legendary in the fields of complex geometry, AI, VR/AR, performance simulation and IoT. This year we were lucky to have four of the team onstage to talk in detail about their research into digital twins and the use of robots in construction. Foster + Partners sees benefits in not only creating construction twins, but also beyond in operational twins, seeing how buildings are used, monitoring environmental conditions, as well as energy usage. These experiments were carried out on its own campus, as well as on actual active projects

The future of collaboration through Open Source

Dimitrie Stefanescu & Matteo Cominetti, Speckle

Speckle is an open source enabling ecosystem, designed to remove the bottlenecks created by today’s federated and proprietary constrained data environments. We need a more flexible solution to store this data, says Stefanescu and Cominetti, and Speckle delivers an object-based, open source, interoperability platform designed to bypass the current bottlenecks. It’s a rare initiative in this industry that is almost wholly altruistic.

The clamour for openness is growing and many are wondering if having a single BIM model was such a good idea in the first place. Stefanescu summed it up in one sentence: ‘single source of truth is a fallacy, we don’t want one ‘God like’ model’.

Industrialised Construction – transformation through data for manufacture and assembly

Amy Marks, Autodesk

Out of all of the traditional CAD firms, Autodesk is the most vocal about developing a strategy for its customers to cross the chasm between architectural design and digital fabrication. Marks has joined Autodesk after running a successful industrialised construction firm and is looking to educate and engage the industry as an evangelist. She acknowledges that change is hard but this has to happen as the fabrication needs to be considered at the point of design. Her strategy is to design using a kit of parts, to productise the physical and the digital and reduce the production of one-off parts.

The next generation: generative design in practice

Emily Scoones, Ramboll

Ramboll has been looking at how it can take its in-house generative design knowledge and apply it at a more traditional scale, to create tools for designers to enable them to design with competing constraints and iterate faster. As engineers, Scoones points out that, all too often in the existing process they come to a project at a late stage and point out problems.

The company is keen to share its knowledge earlier to avoid ‘well documented designs’ that are problematic. SiteSolve is a productised generative design tool from Ramboll which looks at feasibility for residential massing, looking at competing variables – roads, target mixes, floor heights, topology etc. using built-in engineering knowledge and rules to define overall design options.

The future of architecture: design & code across realities

Andreea Ion Cojocaru, Numena

Numena is a start-up of ‘coding architects’, which is developing a new VR / AR design tool, based on Unity, for architectural experimentation. One of the fundamental features is the system’s ability to display, for the user, 1:1 interaction with the design model, while including traditional scaled digital documents, merging plan and model.

Part of the research asks clients to ‘design their own buildings’ using the VR system, as they respond to the volume and light in the model, which is impossible to realise from 2D plans. This all feeds back into the BIM system.

Twinning it to 11

Robert Jamieson, AMD

AMD Threadripper Pro multi-core processors launched in 2020 and were quickly established as a price / performance challenger to the mighty Intel, especially in high-compute throughput use cases, such as rendering, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and simulation which can make use of the processor’s 64 cores.

The future of processing is more cores and software companies are redeveloping popular tools to access this power, with more cores rumoured to be coming in the next generation.

Research in practice

Francis Aish and Martha Tsigkari, Foster + Partners

Two of the industry’s applied computational giants, Aish and Tsigkari, highlight some of their research work, starting with famous work done on ‘The Gherkin’, from a time when there was no Rhino / Grasshopper, to today, where they are dealing with buildings that require performance-driven complexity over a thousand times greater than the problems they were solving in the 1990s. With every project comes new challenges, “Francis, can you scan the desert?” asked a senior partner! The challenge was to capture the ripples of the sand to be used in the building design, which had to be modular, appear random, interchangeable and be low cost! Well worth a watch, as the pair also talk about Omniverse, machine learning, AR, simulation and in-house developments.

Delivering real-time experiences

Rob Harrison, Epic Games and Murray Levinson, Squire & Partners

A year in to using Twinmotion, Levinson gives an insight as to how Squire and Partners has been using the real-time viz technology in its master planning and commercial, large scale residential and hotel work. The firm employs 16 people in its in-house CGI team and has recently moved from mainly making stills to producing high-end moving animation and VR for projects, as the competition raises the bar.

Levinson nails the current zeitgeist, “Design has become a massive shared event, where you have to talk to everyone.

Scaling remote & hybrid workforces without compromising productivity

Mike Leach, Lenovo

Given the last two years, it was no surprise that our annual update from Lenovo’s workstation expert focused on the latest in ‘work-from-anywhere’ solutions, where performance is key but so is security given the geographically stretched nature of company networks. TGX is a software layer that is installed on Lenovo workstations which means you can connect to any machine, any user, anywhere at anytime, leveraging Nvidia RTX power that firms have perhaps had to leave in an office. Also mentioned is CloudXR which provides VR and AR wirelessly across mixed devices.

An architect in the Metaverse: social VR, NFTs, and new opportunities

Alex Coulombe, Agile Lens

In his talk at NXT BLD Virtual in 2020, Coulombe looked at the mapping of the virtual to the real, having a real mock-up that can be tested with subjects in VR. This year he talked about designing virtual spaces that don’t exist and will never be built, “I guess it’s called ‘the metaverse’”. Alex explored: What is virtual architecture? What is the psychology of virtual architecture? The unique affordances of virtual spaces, how art, film and games can inspire virtual architecture and with the rise of NFTs the commercial aspects of VR architecture. Mind blowing stuff.

Nvidia Omniverse, an open Platform

George Matos, Nvidia

Mentioned multiple times by firms throughout the day, Nvidia Omniverse is the passion and baby of Matos. The platform enables users in different applications, in different geographic locations to be able to share geometry and ‘scene’ information between core AEC tools with active, live synchronisation, all while powered by Nvidia’s cloud GPUs. It’s a game changer in collaboration and underpinned by Pixar’s USD file format. Matos explains that in our locked-in, siloed AEC workflows, Omniverse breaks down the boundaries and connects the 3D data sets from design teams and multi-disciplinary participants with the power virtual super-computer. This is a great in-depth talk on everything Omniverse.

Virtual collaboration and visualisation in AEC

Aleksander Nyquist Langmyhr, Varjo

One of the most impressive VR headsets we have seen in the last two years comes from Finland. The headset was specifically clever in the way it uses a bionic display and tracks the eyes of the user to provide ‘human eye’ resolution at the point of focus.

At NXT BLD Varjo launched a new lower cost headset, the Varjo Aero and TeleportVR  – a metaverse which allows users to ‘drag and drop’ AEC models into their software for collaborative VR review, which it then uploads it to the cloud for sharing. It can also link to desktop apps such as Revit. The system supports multiple manufacturers’ headsets, not just those from Varjo.

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NXT BLD is AEC Magazine’s annual event where we examine the disruptive technologies coming to the architecture and construction space. We look beyond today’s BIM adoption challenges to smarter, intelligent digital workflows, from concept through fabrication to operation.

Last year, the pandemic forced us to go virtual but the incredible vaccine roll-out means NXT BLD 2021 will now take place at the prestigious QEII Centre in London on 9 November 2021 and we can’t wait to meet you all again in person.

The last eighteen months are already starting to feel like a dystopian VR dream, being confined to our homes for so long and only able to connect virtually.

It was certainly the year in which the Internet rescued the AEC industry, with various cloud platforms enabling projects to keep going, despite working together, apart.

This experience has changed attitudes to where we work, how we collaborate and how we make our IT backbones more resilient. We will be addressing this subject within the conference with our partner, Lenovo, and others.

In terms of core AEC technologies, we have an inspiring roster of speakers for our two conference tracks, covering a wide range of hot topics — off-site construction, computational design, collaboration tools, robots and construction, VR, mixed reality, digital twins, extremely high-resolution reality capture (photogrammetry) and the latest in powerful workstations. Each talk include an audience Q&A. See below for some of the highlights.

Meanwhile, here’s some more information and details of our enhanced COVID safety procedures

Exclusive 2-for-1 ticket offer for AEC Magazine readers

For readers of AEC Magazine, we are offering a strictly limited number of tickets on a special 2-for-1 offer.

Simply use the promotional code 241AEC and you can pick up a pair of tickets for £69.

Tickets include full access to the conference and exhibition, refreshments, lunch and drinks at the networking reception. When they’re gone, they’re gone!

Greg Schleusner

Principal / director of design technology, HOK

In this unmissable presentation, Greg Schleusner, director of design technology and innovation at HOK will explore the necessity and opportunities for architecture and engineering practices to work together to solve the challenges facing our industry.

Foster + Partners applied research and development (ARD) group

The in-house Applied Research and Development team (ARD) at Foster + Partners is legendary. Comprising, architects and engineers who can program, the multi-disciplinary team are tasked with solving complex design problems, developing tools for teams, as well as evaluating the latest hardware and software.

NXT BLD will feature two talks from ARD. The first, on its real-world evaluation of using robots in construction. The team (pictured right with Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot) will relay the positive and negative findings of their experiments with automation.

For the second talk, Martha Tsigkari and Francis Aish will highlight some of the research projects the team has undertaken to resolve complex design issues. ARD’s work covers: computational design, performance analysis, optimisation, fabrication, AR/VR, machine learning, and real-time simulation.

Both talks are not to be missed.

The NASA control room for construction

Dr. Marzia Bolpagni // MACE
How can NASA control projects in real time and predict events, while in construction we are struggling? Is it possible to create a control room for our sector? In this presentation Marzia will present the work that Mace has been leading together with other industry and academic partners to solve such a challenge. The work aims to help UK construction be more efficient and proactive rather than reactive with a scalable and repeatable plug-and play construction management and reporting platform known as the AEC Production Control Room.

Marzia works as Head of BIM International at Mace where she develops and implements digital construction solutions for public and private international clients in five international hubs. She holds a PhD in ICT and Smart Construction and she is passionate about filling the gap between industry and academia.

Autonomous robots in construction

David Burczyk, Trimble

Robots in construction have the potential to enhance field-oriented workflows, reduce the amount of rework, and facilitate on-site tasks. Utilising robots for routine tasks in hazardous environments such as construction sites can improve safety, efficiency, and data capture consistency.

Trimble and Boston Dynamics announced an exclusive alliance agreement for Trimble to be the sole integration partner for construction data collection technologies, including 3D laser scanning, GNSS, and robotic total stations with Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot. With a focus on building construction and civil construction workflows, Trimble and Boston Dynamics will introduce new products and services to advance the use of robotics in the construction industry.

Design and code across realities

Andreea Ion Cojocaru, Numena

Numena, a design and software development company with a pioneering approach to the practice of architecture, comprises coding architects that both design and develop. The company works on spatial experiences and interactions across multiple dimensions and modalities.

Projects range from custom VR and AR applications, to virtual architecture, to physical architecture. Numena XR, a VR design tool at the heart of the company’s workflow was born out of its belief that architects should also design and code their own tools. Cojocaru will do a live demo and argue for two major propositions VR has to offer beyond visualisation.

Amy Marks

VP of industrialised  construction strategy, Autodesk

Amy Marks will be talking about integrating with off-site construction and prefabrication, together with sharing her industry experience at XSite Modular.

Remote inspections with Mixed Reality

Greg Demchak, Bentley

Very high resolution photogrammetry is bringing Digital Twins to life, with exceptional detail and accuracy. Greg Demchak, director of Bentley Systems’s digital innovation lab, looks at the latest mixed reality technology to aid construction planning and virtualised inspections.

An Architect in the Metaverse:

social VR, NFTs, and new opportunities

Alex Coulombe of Agile Lens will discuss how the rapidly evolving landscape of emerging tech has presented myriad opportunities for architects to apply their skillsets to the digital realm. What happens when a virtual space needs to provide the same functions as a real one for hundreds of people?

Dimitrie Stefanescu, Speckle Systems

A shared mission, a common greater good, collaboration, and passion are key ingredients of Open Source. In this presentation, Dimitrie will untangle what it means for the AEC industry, and how Speckle is attempting to transform the industry with those values in mind.

Nvidia Omniverse, an open Platform

George Matos, Nvidia

Nvidia Omniverse is an open platform built for virtual collaboration and real-time physically accurate simulation. Nvidia’s George Matos will explain how the platform allows teams to piece together many different tools, in an open and extensible way to focus on what matters most.

Scaling remote & hybrid workforces

Mike Leach, Lenovo

With a major shift to hybrid working, it is important to understand how technology can streamline new & key business processes. How do you build on existing IT infrastructure, how do you better manage a growing hybrid workforce and can you still leverage immersive technologies whilst working remotely?

David Weir McCall, Epic Games

David will explore how real-time technology is transforming the AEC industry, enabling faster, more iterative design solutions and bridging the gap between an idea and reality. The boundaries and output of the traditional architectural deliverable is evolving, giving new life to your digital models after design.

Robert Jamieson, AMD

How the Lenovo ThinkStation P620, powered by AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors, is the platform of choice for demanding AEC professionals. By combining high CPU clock speed and industry leading core density, Threadripper Pro processors deliver the full spectrum of compute capability.

Rob Harrison, Epic Games

Rob is connected to many of the leading architects and engineering teams, as well as a host of specialist firms that deliver real-time experiences, such as digital twins and immersive collaboration environments. At NXT BLD Rob will be joined on stage by one of these customers to explore their use case in detail.

Johan Hanegraaf, Arkio

Regular NXT BLD visitors will be familiar with Johan Hanegraaf, the Dutch architect who presented a concept of what an architectural virtual reality design system would look like, at the first NXT BLD. This year his prototype turned into a product and Arkio has become so much more.

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Microdesk has released version 3.0 of the BIMrx software suite for BIM project lifecycle automation.

General enhancements include ‘intuitive UI updates’, expanded export options and cloud integrations. The software is also said to further streamline the tasks associated with Revit project setup, modelling and project management.

BIMrx for Revit is comprised of three purpose-built applications: BIMrx Core, BIMrx MEP and BIMrx Fabrication.

BIMrx Core 3.0 is designed to elevate Revit project, data, and document management with the addition of model and user analytics as well as Imprint, a feature that links or imports Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF files directly into Revit views and sheets.

The software now includes Revision Manager which allows users to add and remove revisions from multiple sheets at the same time and automate the creation of print sets of those revised sheets. There are also further improvements to tagging, extracting, logging and the Sheet View Manager.

BIMrx MEP features customised commands designed to simplify mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design work. Modelling enhancements include automation of sloped piping, multiple selection routing, panel move circuits and over/under horizontal re-routing.

BIMrx Fabrication for contractors includes several new features for streamlining bill of materials creation for more accurate takeoffs, from automating sleeves, dimensions, and spool definitions to more in-depth tagging information. Existing commands have also been updated in terms of elbow fittings, hanger rods, bloom equipment and selection updates.

Finally, enhancements to BIMrx Cloud Manager Pro, coming in September, are designed to simplify Autodesk BIM 360 project management

Vrsion 2.7 will include a license for BIMrx Core which will enable scheduled PDF printing and NWC exporting jobs from BIMrx Cloud Manager Pro. Additional improvements in BIMrx Cloud Manager Pro 2.7 include an official BIM 360 App integration, the ability to schedule jobs via Autodesk user account credentials and granular control of folders and files selected in upload/download jobs and license management.

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