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Schmidt_et_al_2011_Understanding_Adaptability_Layer_Depend.pdf (2.08 MB)

Understanding adaptability through layer dependencies

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conference contribution
posted on 2017-08-31, 11:45 authored by Robert Schmidt III, Jason Deamer, Simon Austin
This paper looks at change from the perspective of building design (i.e. building adaptability), and how a better understanding of product architecture can bring about an easier accommodation of change for an unforeseeable future. The work explores the use of a design structure matrix (DSM) to understand the building's capacity to accommodate change using building decomposition methods (Brand's layers) and component interactions as initial guides to suggest possible product architectures. Research for this study took place along side the design stage of an ongoing BSF school project. The systematic analysis of design drawings and reports was undertaken in three phases: code documents using Brand's layers; identify all variant components to create a work breakdown structure; and classification of all component relationships populating a DSM. Simple principles, such as achieving modularity between component dependencies, can potentially reveal the implication of changing components. Insights that have been gained through the data include the appropriate layer placement of components, the possibilities of new/different layers, and the highlighting of unwanted/ hidden dependencies. The DSM permutations have also provided a deeper understanding of the software used and its algorithmic behavior, giving greater clarity of the organization of the components, and the development of component typologies in an effort to provide a consistent, logical approach to refining the matrix.

Funding

This research project is funded by the EPSRC through the IMCRC at Loughborough University.

History

School

  • Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering

Published in

ICED 11 - 18th International Conference on Engineering Design - Impacting Society Through Engineering Design

Volume

10

Issue

PART 2

Pages

209 - 220

Citation

SCMHIDT, R., DEAMER, J. and AUSTIN, S., 2011. Understanding adaptability through layer dependencies. IN: Proceedings of 2011 18th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 11): Impacting society through engineering design, Copenhagen, Denmark, 15-19 August 2011, 10 (2), pp.209-220.

Publisher

Design Society

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Publication date

2011

ISBN

9781904670308

Language

  • en

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