ARCH 653 Building Information Modeling in Architecture

Project 1 - Parametric BIM and AI Assistance

Due: 10/21, Wedensday, 10:00PM

Weight: 50%

You are expected to create a Building Information Model and a Parametric Design for your selected case study. Use AI tools to help embed your design intents into the case study and visualize the new design. Based on the new design, create the parametric BIM. During the project period, you may use AI to help you learn and implement BIM methods, e.g., learn a process of creating a family, learn parametric equations to implement your design intents, learn to resolve "overconstraint" problem, etc.

Your tasks include:

1. BIM / Revit Tutorials (Homework) and all versions of the project   (15 pts)

Complete all the homework assigned for from the beginning of the semester until the Project 1, and all versions of the project required to be submitted prior to the final version of the project. Follow the deadlines and submission procedures for each homework. The completeness of homework and all versions of the project, on time submission, and the quality of your work will count toward part of the final grade of project1.

2. Collect Building Information for a case study (5 pts)

You are recommended to use Building the New Millennium, Architecture at the Start of the 21st Century, published by Phaidon, as a reference to select a building that is both interesting to you and challenging to model. The selected and suggested specific case studies are listed in the end of this web page.

The first step is to browse the book, find a building, then to collect more information - drawings, text, photos, etc. about the building to enable you to study and model the building using Autodesk Revit. You can use existing CAD files of the building if you find them, with the permission from the authors and appropriate credits, to get started with modeling. However, you cannot use any existing Revit models of the building.

Alternatively, you can choose your design studio projects or other buildings to model/redesign. Your choice should have similar complexity and workload as those in the book referenced above.

3. Modify the case study with your own design intent and visualize the new design using Generative AI (10 pts)

Based on your study of the case, modify it with your own design intent and then visualize the new design using Generative AI, with the case study's images and your prompts as input, and generated images of the new design as output. In the next step of the project, a parametric model will be built based on the output.

The Generative AI tools for visualization include: Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, ChatGPT, Claude, Veras, etc. Video and 3D modeling AI tools may also be used, but a final major outcome of the project will be a Parametric BIM that can be changed interactively and parametrically, i.e. a Revit model with parametric families.

Name your AI-generated images Project1_AI_image1.jpg, Project1_AI_image2.jpg, etc.

4. Create a parametric, conceptual mass family for your building (10 pts)

Many of the buildings in the book are of free forms that are not easy to model using a normal modeling process (create a site, select wall types, position the walls, create floors, roofs, windows, doors, etc.). In Revit, to create these kinds of free form buildings, you can start by creating a Conceptual Mass, then convert the surfaces of the mass into walls, curtain walls, or roofs.

Make the mass into a parametrically-controlled mass, so that you can easily change the geometry of the mass using a few driving parameters. You need to identify what parameters to use (by studying the building, you may be able to find the architect's design intent that can be formulated with parameters and formulas, or you can add your own design intent for the building).

Name your building mass model Project1_mass.rfa.

See Important Project Tutorials below for how to create simple and complex mass families.

5. Create a parametric envelop (facade) family for your building (15 pts)

Create a parametric building facade based on the building mass. You may use the Divide Surface method of Revit and create a facade pattern and load curtain panels into the facade. The curtain panel should be a well-defined parameter family.

While your building facade model should be created according to the actual building design, you are encouraged to add additional features to it, for example: you can add Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) feature to your roof, curtain walls, etc. whose panel angles are driven by the sun path; or a structure driven by other physical or aesthetic parameters, etc.

Be creative to produce a significant family design that demonstrates substantial design thinking and well- thought-out design intent. Please discuss with the instructor about your choice of parametric family.

Name your building facade model Project1_envelope.rfa.

Review Important Project Tutorials from Homework assignments for how to create building facade with curtain panels from mass.

6. Create a BIM project model for the design (10 pts)

Create a Building Information Model for the design you choose. Create building floors, roofs, interior walls, etc. based on the building mass. Because of the time limit for the project, you may choose one or several floors of the building to create a detailed, partial BIM model.

Include your building mass family and the facade family into this project file.

Name your building model Project1.rvt

Note: you are given opportunities to experiment with generative AI tools to explore design intents in the early phases and the next phase for image generation, as well as use AI for learning in any phase, but not in the modeling tasks (although it's possible later to learn and use AI to generate models). In these modeling tasks, you are expected to strengthen your own understanding of parametric BIM methods by doing your work. You should be able to explain the detailed modeling process, BIM object relationships, and how parameters pass through families.

7. Visualization and Documentation - Publishing on your online portfolio/blog.

7.1 Rendering and Screenshots (5 pts)

Photo realistic Renderings using mental ray or other physcially-based rendering tools: Create 2 Revit photo realistic renderings of your model: 1 exterior rendering and 1 interior rendering. Format: JPG. Size: 1024x768 pixels or higher. For the two renderings, set up good camera views, and good lightings (e.g. exterior rendering with Rendering->Exterior: Sun only, and interior rendering with Rendering->Interior: Sun only or Sun and artificial).

You may use Autodesk Cloud-based Rendering servie (http://rendering.360.autodesk.com/index.aspx) if rendering on your computer takes too long time.

Name the two renderings as:

Rendering1.jpg and Rendering2.jpg

Use AI to generate 2 "renderings" in styles of your choice for your model, with Veras or other tools that can convert Revit model preview images into "renderings".  Name the two renderings as:

Rendering1_AI.jpg and Rendering2_AI.jpg 

Create 4 screenshots for the parametric families changed by different parameter values. Format: JPG. Size: 1024x768 pixels or higher. Name the 4 screenshots as:

Screenshot1.jpg, Screenshot2.jpg, Screenshot3.jpg, and Screenshot4.jpg

7.2 Description, Diagrams, and Equations (5 pts)

Describe your modeling process, and your critics about the Revit modeling application, in terms of user interface, performance, parametric modeling, limitations, etc. Clear and informative description is required.

Describe a comparison in terms of effort, time, and quality of outcome between the physically-based renderings and AI generated renderings. 

For parametric modeling, use diagrams and equations to describe your design and modeling ideas and processes.

7.3 Project Movie (10 pts)

In addition , you are expected to create a movie (up to 4 minutes in length) by capturing your computer screen that demonstrates your building model, parametric BIM, interaction between the building project and families, how you used AI in your project, with your voice over as narrative. You can use Zoom's screen sharing and recording, or other software to make and edit the movie. Upload the movie to your portfolio/blog (directly or through embedding Youtube, Vimeo, etc. Make sure the video quality is high).

Suggested resolution: 1920x1080 pixels. Suggested format: MP4. Clear images and sound are expected.

Here's instruction about posting videos on Blogger

Note that you need to give reference for EACH image or citation of other people's work you used in your Blog or other documents. Also please check and follow the "AI Usage Policy: Guidelines and Disclosure" in Syllabus for this project (linking to Simple Syllabus).

8. Project presentation (5 pts)

Present your project movie + Q&A. Please make sure your movie on your portfolio/blog is ready to be played before we start the presentation.

9. Modeling details

You will need to have reasonable details at the level of Schematic Design. For example, you need to have the building walls, doors, windows, roofs, ceilings, and floors in the model.

You need to have furniture in your building to indicate the use of the spaces.

You also need to have your site modeled. For your site, you can use the Site tools in Revit: Site>Property Line and Toposurface.

Roads, landscaping, and environmental elements are good to add.

Note that depending on the scale of your select building, you may model partial of the building. Please discuss this with your instructor.

10. Submission

Project 1 submission includes the following items.

10.1 Submission to Canvas.tamu.edu

10.2. Submission to the Web

Setup your portfolio/Blog page using a free platform such as:

https://www.blogger.com/start (or any other blog you have already used, e.g., WordPress).

Create a web blog page containing your Project1 visualization and documentation (#6 above). Submit your portfolio/blog URL to Canvas when required. Your name and "ARCH655 Project 1" should appear on your page. 

Note: you can control your portfolio/Blog postings to be viewed by only people you invite (through Settings in Blogger or WordPress). If you choose this setting, for this course presentation only, please invite the instructor by email in advance so your presentation can be viewed by the class during the presentation. You may change your settings after the grading of the project to make your posts private or keep them public.        

The final collective student presentation page will be announced later. If applicable, check the following page and click your project1 thumbnail to confirm that the link is pointing to your portfolio/blog.

http://bim-sim.org/ARCH653/students.html

10.3 Submission of your project thumbnail to Canvas: https://canvas.tamu.edu

Create a 160x120 pixel thumbnail image based on your exterior rendering. Save it as Project1_YourFirstname_YourLastname.jpg, and upload it to https://canvas.tamu.edu (ARCH653->Assignments->Project1_Thumnnail).

The thumbnail will appear on the following page after it is uploaded by the instructor:
http://bim-sim.org/ARCH653/students.html

Finally, if applicable, check your web page and links from
http://bim-sim.org/ARCH653/students.html

Make sure everything works by the due time. (Thumbnails will be displayed before the presentation).

Objectives:

Understand and experience Building Information Modeling structure and methods. Learn how to use Revit to build a BIM with parametric design and modeling.

Notes:

1. If you need to use International Metric units for your project, try to find the method of installing it from Autodesk website.

2. To create the parametric BIM model, you can use any method. You don't have to use a specific one, e.g. the Method 3 for Helix curve, which uses point equations. You may use more interactive methods and existing Revit functions.

Evaluation:

Your work will be judged on its workload, richness of design thinking, technical quality, and visual quality.

About Exceptional Work (10 pts)

As stated in Syllabus, a project is given 90/100 as a basis for “Satisfactory work, meet standards”. Based on project requirements, errors will cause reduction of points and exceptional work is awarded with extra points.

Example of Exceptional Work:

Very well defined, sophisticated, parametric models with excellent design intent. The parametric models are seamlessly integrated into the entire building model. Creative and responsible use of AI with good documentation. Extra model files, images, and description may be submitted and integrated with the submission procedures stated above for presenting extra work.

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Important project tutorials can be found in Homework 5 and 6, as well as previous homework
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Also check the book “Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture” by James Vandezande, Eddy Krygiel, Phil Read for more information on the topic of “advanced modeling and massing”.

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Sample case studies as references
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From Building the New Millennium, Architecture at the Start of the 21st Century, published by Phaidon

Available at Evans Library or Annex (NA687 .B85 2009 )

Concert Hall
Mansilla + Tunon Arquitectos

Parco della Musica
Renzo Piano
Building Workshop

Selfridges Birmingham
Department Store
Future Systems

Walt Disney concert Hall
Gehry Partners
30 St Mary Axe (Swiss Re)
Foster + Partners

Scottish Parliament
Mirralle Tagliabue – EMBT

University Library
Wiel Arets Architects

Allianz Arena
Herzog & de Meuron

Casa de Musica
Office for Metropolitan
Architecture (OMA)

Eden Project
Grimshaw

National Assembly for Wales
Richard Rogers Partnership

Novartis Campus – Forum 3
Diener & Diener Architekten

Shipping and Transport College
Neutelings Riedijk
Architecten

Torre Agbar
Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Woerman Tower and Plaza
Abalo & Herreros

Ann Demeulemeester Store
Mass Studies

Kolumba Art Museum
Peter Zumthor

CCTV and TVCC Television Centres
Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)

National Stadium
Herzog & de Meuron