Mark J Clayton

Texas A&M University | TAMU · Department of Architecture

Identification of appropriate guidelines for climate responsive design at the earliest stages of an architectural project can have a large impact on the success and quality of the design. Climate consultant is a microcomputer-based program written to assist architects in this process. The program analyzes weather data to produce information useful...

Automation of plan review for building code compliance has been integrated into a commercial BIM authoring software system enabling study of an altered design process. The APR (Automated Plan Review) software checks the building design against code requirements pertaining to building size, construction type and fire ratings, flame spread classifica...

Architectural design education can benefit from incorporation of 4D CAD techniques into a BIM-enabled process for rapid design and assessment of alternatives. Experimental courses conducted at two universities provide evidence that graduate students possessing modest skills with BIM software can adopt 4D CAD methods and integrate them into their de...

Evacuation and egress simulations can be a useful tool for studying the effect of design decisions on the flow of agent movement. This type of simulation can be used to determine before hand the effect of design decisions and enable exploration of potential improvements. In this work, we study at how agent egress is affected by the environment in r...

This paper presents a framework for integrating building information modelling (BIM) and object-oriented physical modelling-based building energy modelling (BEM) focusing on thermal simulation to support decision-making in the design process. The framework is made of a system interface between BIM and Modelica-based BEM and the visualization of sim...

Architectural design is an intellectual activity where the architect moves from the abstract to the real. In this process, the abstract represents the logical reasoning of how architectural form is configured or structured, while the real refers to the final physical form. Diagrams become an integral part of the conceptual design stage because they...

This research presents a multi-objective optimization (MOO) framework to support the climate-adaptive building envelope (CABE) design decisionmaking process using a parametric behavior map (PBM). Unlike static shading, CABE systems include dynamic operations that significantly affect their performance; thus, well-informed strategies for scheduling...

The abundant use of highly reflective cladding in dense urban areas is causing severe visual discomfort because of reflection of the sunlight that falls on those surfaces. These intense reflections can cause a disabling glare that impairs the vision of the occupants of surrounding buildings [1–3]. Glare impairs visual performance and well-being, le...

The technology of immersive visualization has progressed to where it can be employed to deliver experiences of environments that are otherwise difficult or impossible to encounter today. The chapter describes the work of an interdisciplinary team that used digital models of places remote in distance and/or time to enable students in core curriculum...

This research presents a new method for evaluating the energy performance of climate-adaptive building envelopes (CABEs) called parametric behavior maps (PBMs). There are three main challenges when evaluating a CABE for energy performance that are not overcome by the currently accepted process: 1) representing complex three-dimensional dynamic geom...

In a short demonstration involving audience interaction, designers will design a house using the aesthetic system of the acclaimed architect, Richard Meier. With a designer using Autodesk Revit to manage a parametric Building Information Model (BIM), the audience will choose parameter values to govern regulating lines, mass forms and vocabulary ele...

Full paper can be found at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.5555/3390098.3390102

To this day, a proper handling of uncertainties -including unknown variables in primary stages of a design, an actual climate data, occupants` behavior, and degradation of material properties over the time- remains as a primary challenge in an architectural design decision-making process. For many years, conventional methods based on the architects...

This work suggests an approach to assure generation of aesthetically pleasing design candidates with high technical performance. By employing an aesthetically-driven initial population as input to an evolutionary algorithm using technically-oriented fitness functions and a filter to assure diversity, the method guides the algorithm toward candidate...

Beyond its widespread use for representing technical aspects and matters of building and construction science, Building information modeling (BIM) can be used to represent architectural relationships and rules drawn from aesthetic theory. This research suggests that BIM provides not only vocabulary but also syntactical tools that can be used to cap...

This essay describes a handful of recent research efforts to illustrate an academic research agenda that marshals and focuses the many tools of the post-digital context upon topics that are more fundamental to the role of architecture in society. Research projects to envision new ways to address self-help housing, to guide the formulation of urban...

The source code for Climate Consultant documents data structures and algorithms for the software.

Architectural knowledge is the starting point to learning BIM for the professional. This point of view is elaborated through four examples: the use of an ontology of architecture expressed through the software; notions of regulating lines, symmetries, proportions, and alignments; use of diagrams to clarify semantic expressions in a design; and use...

Architectural programming, although a key part of AECFM processes, has not been well integrated into Building Information Modeling (BIM). Having access to architectural programming information throughout the lifecycle of a building can add value to design evaluation, facility management, renovation and extension. There is not currently a comprehens...

CFAST is a two-zone model which simulates fire growth and smoke transport. Manually modeling a building using CFAST user interface is a time consuming and error-prone process. In addition, the limitations in CFAST structure impede data transfer between CFAST and BIM (Building Information Modeling). In this research, we identified major limitations...

This paper presents a new approach to translate between Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Energy Modeling (BEM) that uses Modelica, an object-oriented declarative, equation-based simulation environment. The approach (BIM2BEM) has been developed using a data modeling method to enable seamless model translations of building geometry, m...

In recent years, researchers have been utilizing BIM and 3D GIS such as CityGML to solve the limitations in conventional GIS, an inherently 2D or 2.5D format. However, because GIS and BIM are developed independently, they have intrinsic structural differences to serve different purposes. This research focused on converting 2D GIS data into BIM data...

A simulation system based on Building Information Modeling (BIM) software can speed the prediction of the acoustic performance of an indoor space during the schematic building design stage. This claim is demonstrated by a software prototype that is composed of four modules: BIM data extraction module, frequency analysis module, sound effect simulat...

This paper presents our research and development of system interfaces between Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Energy Modeling (BEM), for supporting integrated architectural design and energy simulation. Our methods utilize the BIM authoring tools' Application Programming Interface (API) to translate BIM into Object-Oriented Physica...

There has been a significant need for the new urban design apparatus that carries out performance analyses of the urban models, since the code reform movements focused on the sustainable urban developments. This research explores the use of parametric Building Information Modeling to enable stakeholders to intuitively understand the implications an...

A decision-making framework for real estate development incorporating sustainable principles and using Building Information Modelling (BIM) may enable developers to explore real estate value in more comprehensive and profound ways than achievable through conventional practice. The framework uses the concept of Quadruple Net Value Analysis to struct...

This project describes investigations into whether parametric modeling using a Building Information Modeling (BIM) platform can represent the provisions and constraints of Form-Based Codes (FBCs). BIM software environments couple 3D modeling with parametric form generation and rich semantics. Further capabilities of an Application Programming Inter...

This study aims to develop the parametric urban model to support Form-based Codes (FBCs) by using Object-Oriented Parametric Modeling (OOPM) and Building Information Modeling (BIM). FBCs have been used to substitute conventional land-use and zoning regulations in the United States. In many cities, FBCs were implemented successfully, but excessive d...

The growing demand for sustainable architectural design motivates the integration of BIM technologies and novel design processes into architectural education. This paper presents the results from a set of educational case studies for the incorporation of BIM-based daylighting simulations and analyses into the design studio. With a carefully devised...

An investigation has been conducted to explore the steps required to move information from a Building Information Model (BIM) to a Computer Aided Facility Management System (CAFM). The growing popularity of BIM draws heavily upon a perception the the technology can facilitate all major operations during the building lifecycle. Current deployment of...

This research was undertaken to seek an understanding of the lifespan costs and benefits of using Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Facilities Management Industry (AEC/FM industry). The research goals were to develop well-reasoned arguments supporting cost/benefit models of BIM in the building in...

This paper reports an empirical study that tested the usefulness of Web-based four-dimensional (4D) construction visualization in collaborative construction planning and scheduling. Several recent construction projects have employed 4D visualization to better understand the construction schedule and make proactive decisions to prevent logical error...

Tools for modeling function may be an important step in achieving computer-aided design software that can genuinely improve the quality of design. Although researchers have included function in product models for many years, current commercial Building Information Models are focused upon representations of form that can drive models of behavior bu...

This paper introduces three case studies that implement the idea of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) strategies to share and reuse tacit design knowledge in a distributed design environment. Prototype software was developed and tested in three design studios in which design students sought advice from experts in remote locations. It provides t...

White Paper - Reflecting on 25 years of ACADIA

Data collected from real-world projects using Web-based communications and project management systems provide quantitative evidence for characterizing the design process. Tens of thousands of records have been analyzed from six cases. The cases are all high-end office and retail building projects, with about 50 members of the design team. The data...

Although the user interface and operation of AutoCAD may seem counter to architectural predilections, the software can be better understood in a historical context of themes of computational design, automated production drawings, and design graphics. Current interest in Building Information Modeling draws upon themes in architectural computing esta...

The history of computing is expressed through AutoCAD as an accretion of ideas and inventions, each of which was a breakthrough in its time. Learning to use AutoCAD, or any CAD system, is augmented by an understanding of the historical context of its development. In contrast to a ?deconstructivist? criticism of AutoCAD that avoids all historical co...

Much knowledge in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry is experience-based and tacit. Nevertheless, the typical strategy for knowledge management is focused on computer-based approaches for capturing and disseminating explicit knowledge. AEC firms have been successful at collecting and storing explicit information in enterp...

A decade ago, Bill Mitchell wrote ?Chroniclers of our era may one day write ?What was computer-aided design?? To them, it will just be design.? Because of the proliferation of digital tools for design, we are rapidly forgetting that there was ever design before computing. Ask an undergraduate student to describe the design process. There is a good...

In this paper we discuss the impact of e-commerce on the design and construction industry, with specific reference to how information technology will affect competition and competitive advantage in the industry. This paper continues the exploration of a concept that we have been working on for several years, namely `…that information technology is...

In this paper we discuss the impact of e-commerce on the design and construction industry, with specific reference to how information technology will affect competition and competitive advantage in the industry. This paper continues the exploration of a concept that we have been working on for several years, namely ‘…that information technology is...

3D modeling and computer simulations provide new ways for architecture students to study the relationship between the design and construction of buildings. Digital media help to integrate and expand the content of courses in drafting, construction and design. This paper describes computer-based exercises that intensify the student's experience of c...

This research explores the feasibility of Web technology as a means for delivering building information to better support facility operations. Our research proposes just-in-time (JIT) facility documentation as a pragmatic solution to the limitations of current as-built documents, allowing more effective reuse of building information. Our investigat...

Web technology provides a new way of generating information about design processes. By monitoring student use of Web-based design aids, it is possible to collect empirical, quantitative evidence regarding the time and sequence of activities in design. The research team has undertaken several software development projects to explore these concepts....

Internet collaboration software has the potential to change paradigms in design education by allowing students and faculty who are geographically separated to maintain close personal contact. This research focuses upon studio-based architectural design education, and specifically the use of desk crits in which the student and instructor discuss an...

Empirical studies can help characterize media usage in Internet-based collaborative environments and how they support architectural design. The information gained can lead to development of better tools, improved business practices, innovative educational approaches, and more effective design instruction. A rigorous controlled experiment has reveal...

By collecting time sheets from architecture students, this research attempts to quantify and generalize how time is expended in architectural design. Students categorize their time expenditures based upon Asimow's theory of the design process. The categories used in the research are: Research, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation, Documentation, and Pre...

In architectural design, diagramming has an equally important role in functional studies and in aesthetic studies. Diagrams are used to create and explore alternative schemes at the very early stages. They are also used to explain concepts once a project is completed. Learning to diagram is an important part of architectural education. A particular...

In architectural design, diagramming has an equally important role in functional studies and in aesthetic studies. Diagrams are used to create and explore alternative schemes at the very early stages. They are also used to explain concepts once a project is completed. Learning to diagram is an important part of architectural education. A particular...

Internet tools are becoming a legitimate option for conducting design discussions in a global market, but architects are uncertain of how these tools may affect the discussions. The desk critique is an important kind of design discussion in both education and professional practice. This research is employing empirical methods to compare desk critiq...

The virtual design studio (VDS) points to a new way of practicing and teaching architectural design. As a new phenomenon, little research has been done to evaluate design collaboration and multimedia usage in a distributed workplace like the virtual design studio. Our research provides empirical data on how students actually use multiple media duri...

Effective delivery of facility information is necessary for high quality facility management service. There are large opportunities for improving facility formation systems using emerging information technology. A study conducted by the CRS Center at Texas A&M University for USAA Inc. has examined the delivery of facility information using Web-base...

Internet technologies provide opportunities for improving the delivery of facility information to building owners and operators. Discussions with facility operators have led to identification of problems in current practices of delivering facility information using as-built drawings. A Web-based software prototype illustrates how facility informati...

Software can produce a product model of a building as a consequence of the designers' actions in drawing and evaluating the design. The actions of the designer include interpreting, predicting and assessing the emerging design and describe the building in terms of forms, functions and behaviors. A software prototype has been implemented that incorp...

We have reviewed intranet technologies as a strategy for improving the availability and quality of building information to support operations. Discussions with facility managers and design consultants have revealed problems with the as-built documents that are typically provided by the AEC team. Experiments with intranet technologies have led us to...

This paper reports on findings of a November 1996 exploratory survey of architecture–engineering clients (Fortune 500 corporate facility managers). This research investigated how the practices of corporate facility managers are being influenced by rapid changes in information technology. The conceptual model that served as a guide for this research...

This paper discusses validation of an evaluation process in building design. We claim that it both matches designers’ cognitive activities and is implementable as software that partially automates the process. The working SME system provides evidence for the latter claim. An example of the Cyclotron Suite shows that the software can automatically c...