Integrated building engineering design at early stages

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In continuity with past research funded by NSERC, the proposed research program is concerned with integration in building design, i.e. the development of an approach that promotes communication and co-ordination at the early stages of the building delivery process.  The research program aims at developing a more fundamental understanding of the building engineering design process, particularly as an interdisciplinary activity carried out at the early stages, to produce better buildings over the entire life-span.  The proposed research will cover three complementary levels, i.e. theoretical, computer-based avenues and actual building design applications to help produce better buildings.  It is hoped that software of immediate relevance to building designers will emerge from these practical applications, as indeed has been the case in the past for some of our NSERC-funded research projects. The necessity of developing integrated approaches for building design has been recognized for a number of years, albeit unevenly, as a top priority by the building industry throughout the world.  However very few research teams are active in this area in Canada.  Also several groups from the practice that have taken steps in this direction are constrained to specific hardware and commercial software combinations that severely limit their ability to integrate information effectively across disciplines.  Our program will lead to an integrated design approach capable of taking into account a wide range of information - from fields as diverse as structures and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning - in order to produce overall best building design solutions.