Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 9am Pacific time (5pm GMT)
Zoom registration link: https://uoregon.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtf-igqjojHtZFJ5oLa-UWWdhwQxsBrBV9?_x_zm_rtaid=xjV5WCDfSOGMJI5P-NoCTQ.1635976693186.d3256f2e0e8abc43688644e05f8a5cbc&_x_zm_rhtaid=973
How can software better support how architects design buildings? Current building information modelling (BIM) generates and manages functional building elements such as walls, slabs, and roofs. However, buildings are often first conceptualized as a hierarchy of related spaces, and only after defining this spatial arrangement does the focus shift to physical building components. Dr. Wassim Jabi will discuss his new open-source free software, Topologic (http://topologic.app/) developed with Dr. Robert Aish, that supports thinking about building design first as a logical, hierarchical spatial configuration and secondly as an assembly of components. Because the language of topology matches data input requirements for applications such as energy simulation, Topologic models can also be easily connected to building performance simulation engines to predict the building’s performance. This will ultimately lead to more efficient buildings that have a lower environmental impact.
Dr Wassim Jabi is the course director of the MSc Computational Methods in Architecture program at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University in Wales, the United Kingdom. He earned his B.Arch. from the American University of Beirut, his M.Arch. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and taught at various universities in the U.S. before moving to the UK in 2008. Dr. Jabi has published widely on topics ranging from parametric and generative design to the role of light in architecture and building performance simulation, including the book “Parametric Design for Architecture” (Laurence King Publishing, London). His current research is at the intersection parametric design, the representation of space, building performance simulation, machine learning, and robotic fabrication in architecture. He recently concluded a £300,000 ($420,000 USD) grant from the Leverhulme Trust as Primary Investigator to study spatial topology in building information modelling (BIM). This resulted in a software library called Topologic which is the topic of this talk.
