Web-enabled Model-based Cad for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industry

Computer-aided design (CAD) applications have been widely used in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry to aid architectural design, to visualize the physical appearance of a building, and to specify design details for building construction and operations. As web technology continues to grow rapidly and the Internet becomes ubiquitously accessible, the ability to interact with online information and to integrate web applications and services within CAD applications has significant values. A web-enabled CAD application could facilitate architectural design, enhance the communication between architects and other stakeholders, and create new business opportunities. As building information modeling emerges, the technology has the potential to provide new ways of designing and managing constructed facilities. In a building information model, each component has its properties, information, and semantics. The building information such as product data and supplier information can be used for decision-making, design analysis, and project management. This paper discusses the principles and implementation details of a web-enabled model-based CAD framework, utilizing Autodesk Architectural Desktop (ADT) and Google Sketchup which are widely used in architectural and engineering design as demonstrative CAD platforms. Four example scenarios are presented to demonstrate the web-enabled model-based CAD for AEC applications. The first scenario shows the extraction of the object component information from CAD models to facilitate material procurement process. The second scenario demonstrates the usage of CAD applications to perform configuration design by directly interacting with online information through a CAD software plug-in, namely SpecifiCAD. The third scenario illustrates application of the web-enabled CAD environment to dynamically evaluate design alternatives according to energy and carbon emission simulation and analysis results, using the Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) software. The fourth scenario demonstrates the filtering by component information and the connection to web services in a CAD environment for a “pull-based” material delivery process.