A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF USER’S LIFESTYLE IN nD CAD SYSTEM

People’s lifestyle, traditions and culture affect the way they live, interact with the built environment and erect buildings. Lifestyle influences the physical characteristics of the space such as: organization of spaces, distances between spaces and location of spaces. Taking lifestyle aspects into account by architects would provide comfortable environment that is tailored to people needs and aspirations. On the other hand, rapid developments in computer modeling of buildings since 1960, led to the invention of 3D CAD systems that are capable of modeling the physical volume, shape and form of buildings and helping project team members to virtually visualize buildings. 4D CAD systems went beyond the mere 3D modeling of the physical building as they link the 3D virtual building model with other building’s information such as construction process, cost estimation etc. The nD CAD research that emerged in the late 1990s proposed endless dimensions of CAD modeling that would include the building regulations’ requirements, basic user needs and client requirements. This paper argues that it would not be enough to model the client requirements and some of user/ occupant’s physical and environmental aspects as it does not reflect the real utilization of the building by building’s user and the way that he/ she likes to live. This research aims to define the lifestyle characteristics of the architectural space and its boundaries. It suggests that various aspects of the user’s lifestyle such as degree of privacy, flexibility and adaptability required for each space, organization of internal spaces and style of spaces should be implemented in the future nD CAD models. Such implementation would enable designers to consider real life scenarios, model the real needs of people and provide the adequate end product for them.