An interesting discussion occurred a few days ago in the Autodesk Discussion Groups, which prompted me to try and document a process that I’ve been utilizing to leverage a combination of features in AutoCAD Architecture (2008) to help analyze a project for certain aspects of building code compliance. So here goes…
An essential part of Building Code Analysis is determining Occupancy. So many of the calculations required to determine compliance with things like: Number of Exits, Exit Width, Plumbing Fixture Counts, etc. derive, at least in part, from Occupancy; which is really a summation of each space’s Room Occupant Load, or ROL. To determine ROL, one must decide 2 things: 1.) What type of Occupancy is the Space? and 2.) what is the Floor Area of the Space? Once these two variables are defined, a ROL is typically derived from a Table in the Building Code. Example: A “Classroom” Occupancy might dictate that the ROL is 1 person per 30 square feet of Gross Floor Area. What’s nice, is that AutoCAD Architecture (ACD-A) includes a set of features, that when used in combination, can help us automate these types of calculations; and from there we can display this derived data in schedules and/or schedule tags. ACD-A is by no means a complete solution for Building Code compliance analysis, but it can be used to automate portions of the process, and help us obtain, process, and format data more accurately and efficiently.
The features in AutoCAD Architecture that make-up this data-generating “tool-box” are: AEC Spaces, Classifications, and Property Sets; and we can then utilize AEC Schedules and/or Schedule Tags (attributed MVBlocks) to display and format this data as required.
The concept that I’ll be explaining uses Spaces to define the physical properties of the Occupancy, which in this case will be Floor Area. Classifications are used to categorize the Spaces per Occupancy type, and Property Sets are used as the “data engine” to pull all these disparate pieces of information together, and then to run a few calculations and isolate and format useful output. Because of the inherent interoperability of these ACD-A objects and features, the best way to implement them is not necessarily linear. For demonstration purposes I will concentrate upon the setup of each component individually, but in actual practice you’d likely develop the Spaces, Classifications, and Property Sets in unison; checking interoperability at increments along the way.
I’m finding that documenting this entire process will require more effort than I have patience for in a single sitting, so I’ll be posting successive “Chapters” on this topic to my blog over the next few weeks. I’ll start with setting up Classifications, and then follow with Property Set Definitions, Space Styles, Schedules and Tags, and Display Themes in successive topics respectively. When complete, these topics will hopefully serve as an informative resource for using AutoCAD Architecture to aide in Building Code compliance and analysis; and maybe generate some new ideas in follow-up discussions that will benefit the larger AEC Design community. Wish me luck…