| Robert Amor's Publications in 1990 |
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Amor, R., Groves, L. and Donn, M. (1990) An Augmented Frame Representation for Building Designs, Proceedings of The Fourth New Zealand Conference on Expert Systems (NZES 90), 28-30 November, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, pp 15-28. |
Abstract: We are developing an intelligent interface for the many design evaluation programs becoming available in architecture. As the central part of this project we have developed a model of buildings, capable of holding all the information needed to describe a building to a number of design tools commonly used by architects. The model also contains knowledge about components in a building and their inter-relationships. This paper examines the applicability of frame systems for representing the different types of information and structures that exist in a building, including declarative knowledge about buildings and heuristics about building design. An extension to the frames system is described which allows the designer to simultaneously model, compare and contrast many design alternatives for a single building. A frame system of this type has been devised for this project. Its low level structure and the methods used to encapsulate declarative and heuristic knowledge about buildings are described. In the conclusion the fit between our augmented frames system models and the knowledge required to represent buildings is evaluated.
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Amor, R.W., Groves, L.J. and Donn, M.R. (1990) Integrating Design Tools for Building Design, ASHRAE Symposium on Artificial Intelligence in Building Design: Progress and Promise, ASHRAE Annual Meeting, St Louis, Missouri, USA, 9-13 June, ASHRAE Transactions, Vol 96, Part 2, pp 501-507. |
Abstract: This paper examines the methods being devised at Victoria University to provide an intelligent, knowledge based interface to expert systems, simulation packages and CAD systems for architectural design. Currently a large amount of information is duplicated in describing a building to different design tools. To enable designers to use different design tools to evaluate a building design, without having to duplicate so much of their effort, we propose a system that uses a common building model to represent their knowledge of a building. On top of this building model we provide an interfacing mechanism to move information between the different design tools and the common building model.
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Amor, R., Donn, M. and van der Werff, I. (1990)Solar Modelling of Commercial Buildings, ANZSES Conference, Living in the Greenhouse, Auckland, New Zealand, 28 November - 1 December, pp 97-104. |
Abstract: A number of computer programs have been developed over the last 20 years that are capable of modelling the thermal response of buildings. There have been two major obstacles precluding these programs from becoming commonly used by practitioners when designing buildings. Firstly, The high cost of the mainframe computer that was required to run the program. Secondly, The data models required by these programs can be quite complex, and very difficult for the designer to master. New Zealand has also faced an additional obstacle in the lack of comprehensive weather data files (containing the information required by the programs).With the advent of increasingly more powerful personal computers, DOE2 and SUNCODE have been adapted to run on these cheaper computers. The Ministry of Energy sponsored this project, that has seen the development of "standard" data models describing various types of commercial buildings, from the corner dairy to a multi-storey building. Using these standard buildings as a base, the practitioner should be able to adapt them to model their design. In order to increase the applicability of the programs, suitable weather data files for over 30 New Zealand locations have been produced.
| Amor, R. (1990) ICAtect: Integrating Design Tools for Preliminary Architectural Design, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, Masters thesis, December. |
Abstract: ICAtect is a knowledge based system that provides an interface between expert systems, simulation packages and CAD systems used for preliminary architectural design. This thesis describes its structure and development.The principal work discussed in this thesis involves the formulation of a method for representing a building. This is developed through an examination of a number of design tools used in architectural design, and the ways in which each of these describe a building.Methods of enabling data to be transferred between design tools are explored. A Common Building Model (CBM), forming the core of the ICAtect system, is developed to represent the design tools knowledge of a building. This model covers the range of knowledge required by a large set of disparate design tools used by architects at the initial design stage.Standard methods of integrating information from the tools were examined, but required augmentation to encompass the unusual constraints found in some of the design tools. The integration of the design tools and the CBM is discussed in detail, with example methods developed for each type of design tool. These example methods provide a successful way of moving information between the different representations. Some problems with mapping data between very different representations were encountered in this process, and the solutions or ideas for remedies are detailed. A model for control and use of ICAtect is developed in the thesis, and the extensions to enable a graphical user interface are discussed.The methods developed in this thesis demonstrate the feasibility of an integrated system of this nature, while the discussion of future work indicates the scope and potential power of ICAtect.
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van der Werff, I., Amor, R. and Donn, M. (1990) Standard Data Files for computer thermal simulation of solar low energy non-residential buildings, Energy Research Group report, School of Architecture, Technical Report CRP 53, October. |
Abstract: Standard data on building materials used in commercial buildings in New Zealand has been collected into computer files in a form for entry into two thermal simulation programs, DOE2.1D and SUNCODE. The materials data has been collated into descriptions of standard buildings to provide starting points for designers modelling their own buildings. As a further aid to the use of these two simulation programs in New Zealand, standard weather files have been developed for 22 locations in New Zealand and the South Pacific.