Developing software for parametric modelling of buildings and structures for the purposes of BIM

• Main Authors: Joanna A. Pawłowicz, Marlena A. Jurczak
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Warsaw University of Life Sciences 2021-04-01
• Series: Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Architectura
• Subjects: design tools; computer-aided design (cad); building visualization
• Online Access: http://www.architectura.actapol.net/tom20/zeszyt1/20_1_87.pdf

Visualization models have accompanied the designing of buildings and structures since ancient times. Their purpose has been to give the investor an idea of what a building and different solutions applied in it would look like. To this end, models of different materials were built. But as technology progresses, it became possible to create new visualization tools and methods. Initially, drawing boards were replaced by computer programs referred to as computer-aided design (CAD), which supported the design process. They facilitated the creation of sets of lines and simple planes. With time, the designers increasingly felt the need to shape not just rectilinear but also curvilinear objects by means of computers. This is when parametrization came in handy. Parameters constitute a set of variables which can be shaped while keeping the interdependencies between them. Parametric modelling gave rise to the building information modelling (BIM). Now, a virtual model can not only be shaped in a digital environment but also enriched with different information. This way it not only has a geometry but also a structure. It was also assigned other data allowing identification of the material or technology used to erect a building or a structure. Parametrized elements of a building provide information about their number, purchase cost or physical properties. Parameters allow making quick and seamless corrections. Thanks to the application of advanced technologies, designers from different areas can keep track of these changes. Following accepting them, one can easily generate a complete set of technical documents and use them in a digital or paper format at a construction site. Parametrization makes it possible to erect buildings and structures that would have been impossible to design in the past. Today, every designer either already uses parametric modelling or will start using it sooner or later.