A Computer-Based Building Design Support Environment

Continuously decreasing cost has brought computers into most architectural and engineering offices, most commonly for activities such as drafting, accounting and word processing. Computers are used less often to predict the performance of design solutions. However, most performance simulation software packages are simplified versions of main-frame analytical tools, originally developed for research. Such software packages focus on specific design issues according to the research needs. Also, the data input requirements are complicated and incompatible with each other, and the output data are usually specialized and difficult to interpret. It is yet to be seen how the increasing memory and processing speed of computers, the two main advantages that computers have over the human brain, can be used to assist designers throughout the design process, allowing them to organize design projects electronically. We describe the design and initial implementation of a computer-based Building Design Support Environment whose structure and operation are derived from a detailed theoretical analysis of the design process, into the iterative and interactive activities that contribute towards the formulation of design criteria, the generation of potential solutions, and their evaluation. The identified design activities are characterized with respect to the nature of knowledge requirements and the degree to which they can be specified and delegated to computers. The results are considered as criteria to determine the level of automation and the interaction between designers and computers, to model the delegateable and non-delegateable activities, respectively. We believe this approach, when fully implemented, has a good chance of providing building designers with a powerful environment to enhance building design.