Rivard, H (1997) A building design representation for conceptual design and case-based reasoning. PhD thesis, Carnegie Mellon University, USA.
Abstract
This dissertation describes a method to store design solutions for a computer-based design environment that supports the early phases of building design. The proposed building design representation, used to store design solutions, consists of two levels of abstraction models defined on top of the object-oriented data model. The first level is a generic information model, called the Building Entity and Technology (BENT) model, that stores design data as they are generated during conceptual design, supports case-based reasoning, and shares data among all design participants. This model represents each building entity as a generic container that encompasses its geometry, taxonomy, design knowledge, composition, relationships, and properties. The second level is a conceptual model that defines the types of objects, relationships, and data needed to fully represent the information in a given design domain. The conceptual model specifies the semantics of the design information for the domain using the syntax defined in the information model. A sample conceptual model has been defined for the structural system of buildings. The development of case-based reasoning capabilities first involved the development of a faceted classification scheme to define the controlled vocabulary from which indexes are obtained. The classification is extensible and designers have the freedom to complement the vocabulary with their own idiosyncrasies. Indexing is performed automatically as building entities are designed through the selection and application of technologies. Hence, a design is already indexed when it is added to the case library. A case library was implemented in an object-oriented database management system for accumulating cases and for providing efficient query facilities. Three different methods to create a query based on the current problem statement were developed to find the most useful cases stored in the case library. The selected case is adjusted to the current problem in order to provide a complete solution with an adaptation method, called derivational replay, that re-enacts the set of reasoning steps used to produce the retrieved case in the new situation.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Fenves, S J |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | reasoning; taxonomy; building design; indexing; case-based reasoning; designer |
| Index terms: | case-based reasoning, management system, reasoning, data model, conceptual design, semantics, geometry, building design, designer, adaptation, database, taxonomy, indexing, dissertation |
| Subjects: | design practice, management, data management, cognitive psychology, information systems, profession, research dissemination and communication, user focus, mathematical modelling, data analysis and analytics, data science, architectural design, analytical methods |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Roles and Professions, Research Practice |
| 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