Automating Building Design Process with KBES

Abstract

The building design process represents such a highly complex activity that only restricted and well‐structured tasks have been successfully computerized until now. The process is still largely characterized by the contribution of numerous diverse disciplines in a loosely organized manner and by suboptimal design solutions. This paper examines the characteristics of engineering design and, in particular, the building design process in an attempt to identify the most important features to implement in a realistic computer‐based design system. Knowledge‐based expert systems (KBES) are found to be suitable for automating the design process even though the majority of development tools available on the market are still too restricted for realistic building design applications. One such prototype application is described, applicable to the preliminary design of building envelope systems.