Traditionally, engineers have communicated design primarily through sketches, drawings, reports and specifications.
In current practice though, engineering drawings are slowly being replaced by BIM (or Building Information Models).
The next step may be to replace both of these with generative scripts.
Recent change
The change to BIM has been a very slow process for the industry. Despite modelling having being around for decades, BIM is now a standard deliverable only for large projects, whereas on smaller projects it is still common to still get away with drawings only.
Evidence of the change happening however is by examples such as:
- It now being common for models to be shared directly between designers without waiting for drawings to be produced.
- To speed up programme, fabrication models are commencing based on Work In Progress design models – again without drawings.
- There have been projects where no drawings are produced at all. For these, site workers are discouraged from using printed plans and rely on tablet computers to locate design elements and even lay out reinforcement.
As a half step, normal drawings are now often produced by cutting plans and sections from models which has the advantage of saving effort in the short term.
It is worth noting that due to the increased information requirement for BIM, it is unlikely that existing roles will be made redundant by the change. Instead many will up skill to provide more value to the client.
Regardless, there is no doubt that a majority of clients will demand BIM in the future.
BIM Saturation
Even with extensive adoption however, BIM will likely never take over from hand sketches and engineering drawings completely.
Hand sketches are immediate and flexible. They will always have a place to explain concepts quickly.
Drawings are ingrained in the industry and will likely never go away either.
Conceptually therefore, the percentage adoption of documentation may look something like:
But what about the future beyond that? Is there anything beyond BIM?
A future beyond BIM
A new fourth method of documentation is now beginning to be possible.
This is effectively a set of rules (a script) which describe how building elements will be placed given a geometric area. By changing the size of a room for example, a script will dictate how the elements that make up the room are to be placed. This is referred to Parametric Design.
The concept can be used for Architecture as well as many engineering disciplines. The image below shows a structural plan updating based on a changing floor outline.
In a similar way to BIM before it, a useful half step that will aid in adoption is the ability of scripts to automatically generate both BIM and drawings.
Much manual work was once spent producing drawings. This has now been automated, with that manual work being spent producing models. In future, models will be automated with the work going into script design.
The old practice of sharing drawings is being replaced by sharing models. This in turn may be replaced by sharing scripts.
Consulting firms may become providers of a ‘tall building script’, ‘bridge design script’ or ‘hospital design script’ which will automatically generate a model and drawings for each building type based on the geometry of the concept or site.
Will this make current designers roles redundant? As with the transition from drawings to BIM, it is more likely that the technology will give projects even more efficiency and allow designers even more possibilities. Current designers will up skill and become proficient in designing custom scripts for many unique situations.
A framework for future engineering documentation
Just like the change to BIM, if generative scripts do become the new standard delivery method, the traditional methods will not likely disappear. Scripts will produce both drawings and BIM automatically but both these outputs will continue to be used.
The percentage adoption of documentation may therefore look something like:
If this is the path forward, current and future designers should consider the implications for their future careers.
Take Away
Change has been slow up to this point and will likely continue to be slow. Hand sketching and CAD skills will never be obsolete, while BIM skills will likely see increasing demand in the near future.
However, if your role involves something that can be automated, it would be wise to start to up skill at some point.
Regardless, a future with generative scripts should lead to more possibilities for innovative design and have a real positive impact on the industry.
If you liked this information and wanted to find out more, please visit www.structuredparametrics.com.
Structured Parametrics 