<Automating Code Checking for Building Designs> <Ding, Drogemuller, Rosenman, Marchant, Gero> Clients Driving Innovation: Moving Ideas into Practice (12-14 March 2006) 1 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Construction Innovation CONFERENCE THEME: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IMPROVING EFFICIENCIES Full Paper AUTOMATING CODE CHECKING FOR BUILDING DESIGNS – DESIGNCHECK Lan Ding CSIRO Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology, Australia Lan.Ding@csiro.au Robin Drogemuller CSIRO Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology, Australia Robin.Drogemuller@csiro.au Mike Rosenman Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney, Australia Mike@arch.usyd.edu.au David Marchant Woods Bagot David.Marchant@woodsbagot.com.au John Gero Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney, Australia John@arch.usyd.edu.au ABSTRACT This paper presents an automated code checking system (DesignCheck) that enables quick and easy compliance assessment against building codes and assists designers in finding potential problems early. The system enables modelling of extended design information and encoding of a wider range of domain knowledge embedded in building codes. It uses Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) as a common model to transfer 3D object-based CAD models to the DesignCheck internal model. The DesignCheck internal model allows for the definition of comprehensive design information as well as identical description mapping onto building codes. Building codes are interpreted using an object-based representation and then encoded into object-based rules using Express language. A geometry engine and semantic interpretation are used in the DesignCheck system to support design performance verification. The system allows for checking designs at the different stages – sketch design, detailed design and documentation. It enables the checking of building models against individual clauses within a building code, or alternatively, checking individual object type or group of objects rather than the entire building model. Once the checking is completed, the interactive reporting interface offers a variety of viewing options and enables the user to input the required specifications of objects. The first code to be implemented is the disabled access code. Keywords: design check, building codes, IFC, EDM