B6 Final Blog Post

When starting the course, I was intrigued about what would it entail to study Intelligent Building. Would the whole class be just building oriented? Are we going to learn about new technologies, new materials, new software, new approaches to building? Are we going to concentrate on only AI and robotics? It was a little bit of everything that helped to shape my understanding about the discipline.

It was interesting to experience engineering from a different prospective. As future electrical engineer I deal with a lot if circuits, power elements, computer programs etc., and honestly have no idea what a problem-solving process for architectural and structural engineers is. Just to learn a little bit more about building procedure, design process, and interaction between parties that are involved in the project made it a great learning experience. 

I was introduced to new programs, otherwise I wouldn’t get exposed to. Trying to figure out how to deal with Revit and even create a small model was very exciting. Creating data base had its ups and down, but I solely blame it on MS Access. My opinions about sensors changed. I used to think of them just as small gadgets, but they are a part of a bigger network and help not only to control temperature but maintain a whole system. 

The understanding of intelligent building changed for me. It went from being defined as smart building or green building to actually building intelligently, using the best technology and the best techniques. And also most expensive doesn’t mean the best, there are a lot of things to consider.  

Also I did not expect how much writing I would have to do in this class. I am so used to writing lab reports that use a very dry language, I am not used to writing about my own experiences.

Varsha,
I really enjoyed reading your reflection. It was interesting to read about somebody else's experience with the subject, especially somebody's with AE concentration.
I agree with you about bringing more courses that help to apply the knowledge we gained in theoretical classes and actually help us to look whats needed in the field.   

Douha,

Great use of an emoji. It caught my eye, that is why I am commenting on your post.

I agree with you that one of the advantages of the course was exposing us to new programs and new technologies. It is hard to think outside the box sometimes and this course helped to look at certain things from a different prospective.

Manon,

I enjoyed reading your post. I think we had similar experience with the course. I was also confused at the beginning to what to expect.
I wish you a good luck with your third co-op. Virtual Design Construction field sounds like a very exciting field to enter. Hopefully you will get a job in that field.

B6 - Reflection

               Coming into the Intelligent Buildings course I was not sure what to expect; initially I thought it would consist of strictly Revit work, but I was very wrong. This course dove into a broad range of topics, introducing something new every week. Beginning with topics ranging from Robotics to 3D Manufacturing, we got the chance to read through a collection of articles that relate various technologies to the concept of an Intelligent Building. I believe utilizing the shared Evernote was greatly beneficial, for it allowed us to explore subtopics that interest us and showed what our peers were interested in researching as well. Following this topic, BIM was introduced; Building Information Modeling is the process of creating 3D models, enabling document management, simulation, and coordination. Prior to taking AE410, the only relevant technology I was familiar with was AutoCAD, but now I can add Revit to my current skill set. The first assignment was perfect for demonstrating the capabilities and functionality of Revit, never using the software, it took some time adjusting to all the features included, but once I was comfortable navigating the program I began to genuinely enjoy the design process involved. Soon after we focused on Databases, ultimately creating one of our own. After understanding how a Database works, real-world examples of Sensors were incorporated. Researching for viable sensors to implement was a challenge, but the results were worth the effort. I was forced to learn about various sensors and what specifications matter in order to record them into my database, and I know have a knowledge on the vastness of the Sensor realm. This assignment also provided me with skills I will utilize outside of the course, I plan on researching Database functionalities even further, and eventually create one for my current part-time work. Lastly, the Final Project was a great way to summarize what we have learned from the course, choosing our own topic to work on allowed us to implement what we found to be most important for the future of the AE world. I certainly could not have written the paper I did without the in-class discussions throughout the course, and because of these discussions I was comfortable with both researching and formulating my own opinions on the subject (Artificial Intelligence). It is worth mentioning the significance of the guest speakers as well. The few that came to speak were all extremely insightful and provided real-world applications of the material we were learning.

Comments to others:

Varsha Ajith

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/b6-reflection.html

Varsha, I was in the same boat as you! Starting the course, I was intimidated by the syllabus’ anticipated course load, entailing things like Revit models and Databases, but once I started working on them, I was enjoying the work it required. The course also opened my eyes to the potential of job opportunities in the AE field, not only for AE students, but for all disciplines. I could easily work in the field even though I am studying computer engineering, for “Intelligent Buildings” require input from various kinds of professionals.

Reece Masucci

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/reflection-post.html

Reece, I am glad to hear you will be changing the pace of your coop work; I know the feeling of having an uneventful coop, so I also switched it up upon my second coop to gain a broader understanding of my major and engineering as a whole. I agree with you that this course did an exceptional job in aiding the understanding of Databases, and that knowledge is beneficial to anyone in any field. Since you touched on environmental awareness and concrete, I was reading on a study that aspires to implement living concrete, utilizing biological aspects that will allow for self-healing material. Hopefully technology such as this will get you thinking of ideas for the future of environmentally friendly construction.

Douha Alqudaihi

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/b6-final-blog.html

Douha, I agree that the blogs and research performed through the shared Evernote were greatly beneficial to understanding the content covered in the course. I was also a strict AutoCAD user at the start of this course, but with the aid of Professor Mitchell’s tutorial I feel I got a good grasp on Revit as a whole and all the functionality it possesses. I also enjoyed the structure of the class, breaking the roster into groups based off general interests helped keep discussions on track and ensured that everyone was at least familiar with the topics at hand. Overall, the course was designed in such a way that allowed consistent understandings of each newly introduced subject, and I wish I had other courses structured in a similar manner.

B6 Course Reflection

This class has opened my eyes to a lot of new technologies that I had never had exposure to before. I think that there are many advances that our Co-Ops can't prepare us for, so we cannot anticipate by the time that we are ready to join the field for our careers. In some ways it made me feel behind, I am so close to graduation and there was so much about the AEC industry and the technological capabilities of Intelligent Buildings and construction that I did not learn about until this term. I hope that in actuality, this small amount of exposure has been enough for me to be able to make career decisions from, and at least be able to have a radar of which companies are going to be technologically focused, and which ones will be dragging behind the industry.

My favorite parts of this class were learning how to use Dynamo and the Access database. Ever since taking a database class in the INFO department I've been very intrigued by the programming databases, and I think that both assignments were looking at manipulations of data in new ways that I had not experienced before. I think that in the future it will be a great boon for architects and engineers to be able to do basic coding and programming as buildings become more intelligent and more reliant on databases to hold information.

Overall, I wish that this class had happened earlier in my Drexel career, if I had the opportunity to take this class before my final Co-Op, I think I could have made more informed decisions about where I was interested in taking my focus in my senior year. I think in general, Drexel should engage more classes tailored for the Digital Building concentration because it has incredible, relevant potential, but all too often it gets shuffled between the construction management department and the Informatics department, without enough dedicated AE classes designed to further the curriculum.

Andrew,

I agree that the industry is going to be rapidly changing during our careers, and the best thing we can do to prepare for this is to be adaptable to the new technologies we encounter. What continues to be important is that we push for change in the AEC world so that it continues to evolve as other tech industries flourish and speed ahead, it is important that we keep up.

Hi Manon,

I think your insights on this class structure were spot on! As a senior, I wish that I could have had a class like this earlier in my Drexel career so I could have been more aware of the different Co-Ops I could pursue as someone with a digital building concentration. I think that the overall structure of this class did a great job introducing us to many different facets of what the AECO industry will look like in our careers, and the technologies that we will be exposed to.

Jake,

I agree that the database section of this course felt more abstractly related to intelligent buildings than perhaps the other sections did. I think that if there had been more time in the course, or maybe even if the database project was altered slightly, we'd be able to get more of a grasp of HOW databases are used in order to design or operate an intelligent building, and maybe focus less on what databases can do.

Course Reflection

When signing up with class, I truly was not sure what to expect. From the course description, the material of the class didn't really seem like it would be relevant to my major or helpful in bringing me towards my goals. Regardless, I signed up for the course as I needed the upper level elective credits and was curious what an intelligent building was. 

Now after taking the course, I certainly don't regret it. The structure of the class gave me a lot of freedom in reading the type of articles I was interested in and picking what kind of project I would complete for my term project. I was able to use this freedom to learn more about the topics I'm specifically interested in and how they relate to the field of construction. The term project provided me the opportunity to complete a project very relevant to my major that helped me to expand my current skillset. The experience working with time series data will certainly be beneficial to me in working professionally and on my personal projects. Additionally, I learned many things that likely won't be relevant to my line of work but that I found interesting and refreshing. One very interesting thing I got to learn about was BIM. I had the opportunity to learn about the different industries BIM is used in and some of the primary troubles found in its adoption. Through this process, I learned how to design a simple house within BIM.

I really enjoyed learning from the professor who taught this course. Professor Mitchell did a great job presenting a very large variety of material in a short period of time. He kept a very open mind and seemed to genuinely care about the well-being of his students. He did a good job maintaining the attention of the students in his course and regularly asked for feedback from students to help guide the course. I am very happy I took this course for one of my higher level elective courses and feel that this course will definitely be beneficial to me in my career and personal life.

Mika: https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/week-10-course-reflection.html

I agree, it is really crazy how fast this term went! I think it's great you were able to expose yourself to relational databases in the course and think this will be beneficial to you as an architectural engineer. This course definitely gave a good overview of relevant modern technologies.

Isabel: https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/b6-course-reflection_7.html

I was in a very similar spot to you coming into this course as a non-architectural engineering major. I agree with you that this course was very eye opening to some of the applications of modern technology to the world of building design. I hope you can use what you learned to better the world.

Abdul: https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/03/b6-course-reflection_5.html

It is truly crazy how many different topics we were able to cover in just a ten week period of time. I agree with you that getting exposure to blogs was a valuable experience. It was a form of communication I had always heard of but never new much about. I think the blog posts did a job getting students thinking.

B5- Uses of databases in design offices. 

There is an expression that states that knowledge is strength. And it has been the truth for centuries. However, in modern world the expression should be a little bit different "Data is Strength". 

Databases have a very wide application in the modern world. With the spread of the internet the need for structuring and sorting of new data erupt. There were always databases that consisted of different tables that could be cross referenced. Though modern technology made it possible to create data structures with virtual referencing that make it easier to access and use.

Design nowadays highly depends on computers. They not only provide useful software but also help to provide useful information about new trends and development of the industry. However, one of the most important features of the modern software is access to wide range of databases. All the information is being grouped and classified. Anything starting from different kinds of concrete to different type of light fixtures. Not only modern designers can base their project on using existing available products but also give their project a real life feel.

The proper software with proper database can either enhance the design or ruin it. All the projects start with an idea. Something that somebody thought of. A lot of times it starts with a piece of paper and then travels to a display. Having access to right information and right tools to use that information can help to build the project up from that original idea, adding to it. Using data collected such rain accumulation, weather patterns, seismic activity, wind strength and etc. can help to choose the right materials and even change the final look of the project.

Comments.

To Michael Manley:

I enjoyed reading your post, it is well structured and makes some good points. I liked that your pointed out how much can be done with “big data” and how hard it is to find reliable space for it. I just wanted to point out another disadvantage of having large databases is navigation. Creating and putting together, cataloging large amounts of information is not an easy task. The way the information is out together directly influence on the way it is accessed. And if it is not done correctly some of the information might be unused. 

To Brian Huynh:

Your post is very informative. I haven’t dealt with database languages before and to be frank did not know that such a thing existed. It is very fascinating that with the development of a bigger data structure there are ways to ease communications within them and make extraction of the information less complicated. However, it is good to know that SQL deals with only relational databases, that’s quite a limitation. 

To Douha Alqudaihi:

It is an interesting post about the relational databases. I like that you added a little figure to represent the way the tables are connected it made the narrative more understandable.

 It is very true that databases are everywhere. It is quite interesting how they found there way in our life and most of the time people are not even aware of their existence. And sorting function is very helpful. I buy a lot of things online and sorting through the selection help to find the right objects.