Wei, Y; Choi, H and Lei, Z (2022) A generative design approach for modular construction in congested urban areas. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 11(4), pp. 1163-1181. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
Purpose: Modular construction is widely adopted and used in the construction industry to improve construction performance with respect to both efficiency and productivity. The evaluation of design options for modular construction can be iterative, and thus automation is required to develop design alternatives. This research aims to explore the potential of utilizing the generative design approach to automate modular construction for residential building structures in urban areas such as New York City. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed research methodology is investigated for a systematic approach to parametrize design parameters for modular construction layout design as well as incorporate design rules/parameters into modularizing design layouts in a Building Information Modeling (BIM) environment. Based on current building codes and necessary inputs by the user, the proposed approach enables providing recommendations in a generative design method and optimizes construction processes by performing analytical calculations. Findings: The generative design has been found to be efficient in generating layout designs for modular construction based on parametric design. The integration of BIM and generative design can allow industry practitioners to fast generate design layout with evaluations from constructability perspectives. Originality/value: This paper has proposed a new approach of incorporating generative design with BIM technologies to solve module layout generations by considering design and constructability constraints. The method can be further extended for evaluating modular construction design from manufacturability and assembly perspectives.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building information modeling; generative design; modular construction |
| Index terms: | practitioner, modular construction, methodology, urban area, construction process, integration, generative design, building code, New York, research methodology, module, manufacturability, option, automation, constructability, construction industry, residential building, building information modelling, efficiency, parametric design, construction performance, productivity, design parameter |
| Subjects: | urban form and morphology, performance management, research methods, construction integration, architectural elements, management, manufacturing engineering, design process, Geography, automation and robotics, design constraints, decision analysis, building construction, organizational analysis, information systems, regulatory law, industry analysis, research design and methodology, construction type, practitioner, design methods, performance assessment |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Site Management, Quality Management, Design Practice, Legal Issues, Urban Studies, Digital Applications, Construction Technology, Roles and Professions, Risk Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here