Agenda
7:00 am Breakfast & Registration
8:25 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
8:28 am
Organizational Communication Structures
8:30 am Integrating Your Team Into the Fabric of the Organization to Foster Symbiotic Relationships with End-Users
Synopsis
• Analyzing the relationship between a computational designer and an architect: How can you best integrate efforts of the two when solving design challenges?
• Strengthening communication between technical and non-technical personnel to bring them onto the same page
• Structuring teams to better integrate computation with other functions
9:10 am Building Knowledge Sharing Systems Between Project Teams to Enhance the Efficiency with Which Computational Is Being Adopted Firm-Wide
Synopsis
• Examining the various means through which architects can share best practices and increase visibility over the various applications benefiting projects
• Discussing how you can develop clearly structured tool repositories for knowledge sharing
• Promoting robust knowledge sharing mechanisms for continued adoption of computational tools
9:50 am Morning Refreshments & Networking
Track 1:
Computational in Action
Track 2: Strategic Leadership & Development
Improving Model Quality
Evaluating Off-The-Shelf Tools
10:30 am Establishing Robust Quality Control Practices to Increase Reliability of Computational Models
Synopsis
• Identifying the most common quality challenges and root causes of these with computational outputs
• Benchmarking the most effective approaches to minimize human error in model creation and how you can streamline final quality checks before publishing design options
• Confronting the current limitations of the software in creating high quality models and how teams are trying to combat this
11:10 am Harnessing Computational Capabilities for Tracking 2024 Reducing Embodied Carbon of Your Designs
Synopsis
• Overviewing the increasing demand for embodied carbon tracking in the industry: How can you get ahead of the curve and educate your firm on successful tracking strategies?
• Understanding how material selection and quantities directly impact embodied carbon in building structures
• Harnessing computational capabilities to link external carbon data to your models to make more informed design decisions
• Developing carbon accounting workflows that allow for flexibility at various stages of design
10:30 am Panel: Considering the Landscape of Off-The-Shelf Add-Ins to Select the Best Tools for Your Organization
Synopsis
• Surveying the range of computational tools on the market today: What are the strengths and limitations of each tool?
• Reconciling potentially limited applications of off-the-shelf tools that aren’t workflow-specific
• Assessing the catalyst for making an investment decision for in-house development versus off-the-shelf solutions
11:10 am Case Study: Build or Buy?
Synopsis
• Discussing the paradigm shift from manual to programmatic tool operation and how this enables business logic automation, generative design workflows, and integration of AI models
• Considering how purchasing a “manually operated” third party tool may achieve short-term benefit at the cost of long-term innovation and discussing how firms should balance this trade-off
• Outlining why CRB decided to build its custom DataSync platform rather than use a third party solution and showcase the current and future workflows this tool enables
• Exploring the ideal end-state where internal computational design teams build custom workflows that leverage licensed third party APIs
11:50 am Lunch Break
Driving Process
Efficiency
Computational & Design Team Cooperation
12:50 pm Creating a Centralized Database of Multi-Family Residential Unit Layouts to Empower Designers & Unlock Value From Past Work
Synopsis
• Moving from problem identification to full roll-out: How do we build trust and co-ownership with design staff to obtain buy-in and drive adoption?
• Levaraging custom code to extend Revit’s capabilities and develop workflows that incentivize data standardization, allowing for collection of valuable design data in a usable format
• Maintaining focus throughout tool development to ensure we are solving practical problems, engaging staff in brainstorming to identify potential additional use cases, all while maintaining a big picture view and moving towards the horizon
• Strategically aligning pluralistic R&D efforts within a development pipeline to translate success into momentum
1:30 pm Case Study: How We Applied Computational Scripts to Multiple Design Disciplines to Fully Optimize Cost Savings & Design Outcomes
Synopsis
• Highlighting the additional technical requirements of multi-disciplinary design optimization outside of just architecture and structures
• Bringing together a multi-disciplinary team from external stakeholders to map out a highly collaborative approach
• Working holistically as a team to define project goals and constraints
• Aligning data and strategies across all parties to make sure that every team member is working cohesively towards end goals
12:50 pm Collaborating with End-Users to Translate Design Challenges Into Innovative Computational Tools
Synopsis
• Working with end-users in developing the necessary paradigm-shift when articulating their design challenges to someone without design expertise
• Evaluating the role of the computational designer as an extension to the architect for shaping a clear fit-for-purpose computational design solution
• Refining the development process to seamlessly incorporate end-user input at each phase, guaranteeing the tool’s maximum optimization
• Highlighting the benefits from automating repetitive design tasks and impact on ROI as a strategic business goal
1:30 pm Agile Methodology for Computational Design Tools: Give Your Users the Tools They Need Faster & More Efficiently
Synopsis
• Overviewing how to implement agile methodologies and tools to plan, track, and release computational design tools
• Ensuring continuous improvement of computational design tools to deliver value and increase adoption
• Establishing effective communication and feedback mechanisms to foster team collaboration, learning and enhance user satisfaction
2:10 pm Afternoon Refreshments
2:35 pm
Looking to the Future
2:40 pm Case Study: Discussing How We Maintained Process Innovation Despite Limited Internal R+D Resource to Keep Up with the Competition
Synopsis
• Identifying workflow bottlenecks by evaluating the time associated with each task
• Utilizing free collaboration tools to document testing and time estimates for improving resource management
• Looking for the required skillsets within the existing staff base to maintain R&D efforts
• Developing a roadmap for automation and intelligent communication with senior management
3:20 pm Panel: Exploring the Future of Computational Technologies & Applications to Stay Ahead of the Curve In 2024 & Beyond
Synopsis
• Discussing the broadening landscape of computational applications to unlock new design possibilities
• Exploring the evolution of software infrastructure and the developments necessary to facilitate the scalability and robustness required for computational technologies to thrive
• Analyzing how teams are adapting and evolving to harness the full potential of computational tools, enabling organizations to derive maximum benefits from these technologies