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Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Building Construction
Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Building Construction
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ItemHaptic Interface Design Support: Assisting Designers in Analyzing the Design Space of and Prototyping Haptic Interfaces(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-05-27) Lin, HongnanHaptic interfaces, which enable human-computer interaction through touch, have the potential to benefit a wide range of life activities, including communication, education, creation, entertainment, and transportation. The development of practical haptic interface design requires the involvement of designers with their user-centered design perspectives and creative design expertise. Designers entering the haptic domain need support. Previous efforts have focused on providing hardware and software platforms for designers to design haptic experiences on top. In this dissertation, we study how to support designers to create new haptic hardware with emerging technologies. Specifically, we focus on two main challenges: analyzing the design space of haptic interfaces and prototyping haptic interfaces. Our inquiry is embodied in two projects respectively: Hapticology and FlexHaptics. In both projects, we design, build, and evaluate artifacts, i.e. tools and approaches, to transform haptic interface design from its current state to a preferred state and reflect on implications for future efforts on supporting designing haptic interfaces. Hapticology project proposes a rational design process for haptic interfaces adapted from design space analysis and morphological analysis. It provides a combination of design artifacts needed to perform the analysis, including a space of design options, discussions of the impact of the design options, and data visualization of the design options and impacts. FlexHaptics project studies the prototyping problem, focused on passive haptic interfaces. FlexHaptics method to design passive haptic interfaces comprises the modules, mathematical models, and editor. It combines important advantages of previous techniques, including extensive and fine-tunable haptic profiles and computer-aided design and fabrication. It also introduces beam structures to the field of passive haptic interfaces, which benefit predictable haptic properties, accessible fabrication, and compact form factors. The workshop explores passive haptic inputs with novice designers using FlexHaptics method. It reveals the design process followed by novice designers, challenges encountered in designing haptic hardware, and informs implications for future design support for creating passive-haptic interfaces. The two projects form a T-shape research structure; Hapticology builds the horizontal line as it navigates through extensive possibilities of haptic interface designs, and FlexHaptics builds the vertical line as it focuses on one haptic interface type identified from Hapticology and dives into the design processes. Synthesizing the findings from the projects, we discuss haptic interface design processes integrating the outcomes of this work and depict a framework to promote innovation in haptic interfaces.
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ItemHuman-building interaction: Supporting students’ performance and wellbeing through built environments on campus(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-05-03) Kim, YujinFacility management aims to ensure buildings' quality and components to support occupants in achieving their goals and objectives. Campus environments play a vital role in student success by providing supportive spaces for learning, living, resting, and socializing. However, studies about the built environment of higher education have mainly focused on the ways of learning and teaching instead of physical components, and built environments on campus and their effects on students have been little studied. This study aims to 1) propose and investigate a theoretical framework on the relationship between built environments and students’ outcomes (i.e., academic performance and wellbeing) in higher education and 2) identify the preferred physical and functional environments on campus depending on student activities. This study proposed a theoretical framework based on the socio-materiality theory to explain the complex relationship between materiality and social practice in built environments. The proposed framework was tested in three-fold. First, study 1 investigated how students’ space usage of a library changed after the COVID-19 pandemic and was related to indoor environmental features. Data were collected via survey with 66 responses in pre-pandemic and interviews with 12 students during the pandemic. One of the main findings was that, even though students used the library less during the pandemic, they expected to use it as much as pre-pandemic or even more after the pandemic. Furthermore, students required different environmental features depending on their purpose of space usage, and the physical environment cultivated a sense of belonging and community. Second, study 2 tested the restorative effect in indoor settings using an eye-tracking device. Data were collected through a true experiment with 34 students randomly assigned to biophilic vs. non-biophilic design settings. The findings indicated that biophilic design itself was not decisive to restorative effects. Students in both settings selectively looked at nature-like (natural material) and views of nature and reported restoration effects. Lastly, study 3 analyzed how multi-dimensional environments (i.e., physical and functional environments) affected students’ outcomes in dormitories. A total of 128 self-reported survey responses revealed that the physical and functional environments were related to each other and directly and indirectly affected students’ perceived learning performance and wellbeing. In conclusion, this thesis provides a theoretical framework to explain the iterative process of physical and functional environments on campus and empirical evidence of the importance of built environments for enhancing student experiences and supporting different activities, such as learning, collaborating, socializing, and resting. For this, academic leadership, building managers, and designers should actively adopt the evidence-based design approach to provide appropriate environments and support student activities.
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ItemProduct Model Exchange Standards for Cast-in-Place Reinforced Concrete: Implementation Methods, Value Considerations, and Application to Design Indicators(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-04-27) Garcia Bottia, LeonardoBuilding Information Modeling (BIM) has changed the way information in design and construction is communicated by allowing the possibility of exchanging project models and data together. To optimize the process, standards have been developed to define what is required in each exchange and how to represent it. For several years Cast-in-Place (CIP) reinforced concrete (RC), one of the most important construction materials worldwide, has been subject to considerable efforts toward the development of its standards. However, the monolithic nature of the material and its complex supply chain makes it difficult for this development to be properly carried out. This dissertation presents the results of a study with four key aims: (1) identify how exchange standards for CIP RC fit into current engineering and construction practices, (2) develop the requirements and methods for implementation, (3) study the value considerations of implementing the standards in practice, and (4) apply the information available in exchange standards to enhance the design and construction processes through the estimation of design indicators. This research is developed in the context of the undergoing efforts of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) to develop industry-wide standards for CIP RC concrete. To map the current engineering practices and challenges regarding CIP RC model exchanges, the dissertation presents the results of an ethnographic-action study performed to allow a description of current behaviors, the acquisition of qualitative data regarding the advantages of implementing BIM standards on a practical level, and to inform of potential additional requirements for standardization. To assist the implementation of standards in practice, this dissertation presents a set of methods for implementation that adapt to current tools and practices. To study the value considerations of implementing exchange standards, the same CIP RC processes captured in the ethnographic study are reproduced using the methods developed for model exchange standards. Finally, the study presents the results of a logistic regression model developed to use the parametrized information made available through these exchanges, to estimate indicators that improve the design and construction processes. In conclusion, this research provides recommendations to further develop CIP RC modeling and exchange standards, studies how design and construction practice aligns with new CIP RC standard workflows, provides methods for implementation, and develops a model useful to predict design indicators during early stages using the valuable information embedded in CIP RC exchange standards.
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ItemAnalyzing Physical Workplace and Service Management Using Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning Approaches(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-04-26) Hong, SungilThe demand for workplace flexibility has emerged according to ever-changing environments, such as sharing and gig economy, alternative work arrangement, and COVID-19. This study proposes a redefined facility management model corresponding to the changing circumstances, which provides not only space but also activity support and leisure services. Coworking space (CWS) is one of the embodiments of the model. This research aims to develop CWS management strategies for 1) user preferences in physical workplace environments and services during COVID-19 and 2) data management methods utilizing natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning techniques. Two main studies in this research address three research objectives: 1) identifying preferences for facilities and services factors in CWSs during COVID-19; 2) detecting changing preferences for factors about facilities and services during COVID-19; 3) proposing the applications of machine learning and NLP techniques and demonstrating the applicability of computational data collection and analysis methods in the physical workplace management research. First, Study I proposes a thematic categorization scheme of CWS spatial and service factors and elements. Based on the categories, a mixed-method approach was utilized for the comprehensive data analysis, including content analysis, classification, and clustering. The results show that CWS users have become sensitive to disruptive behaviors and hygienic responses to infectious diseases after the pandemic. The findings also present a need for a sense of community and various technology needs for virtual interactions. Second, Study II performed the data integration of a large computerized maintenance management system dataset of a public college campus into a single CWS building maintenance dataset to build robust machine learning-based text classification models for a small dataset. The results show the qualitative and quantitative increase in prediction performance of text classifications. Study II implies that data integration will accelerate smart facility management, including small or single buildings, by sharing public datasets. In conclusion, this research sheds light on online big data collection and analysis in physical workplace management research. It also presents how the facility management industry can apply such state-of-the-art technology in utilizing historical data to make data-driven decisions.
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ItemDecision support system for the integration of sustainable parameters in single-family housing project delivery(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-07-26) Tijo, Silvia JulianaThe implementation of sustainable practices in building construction has a direct impact on the financial, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainable development. Powering and heating buildings consumes enormous amounts of energy, and the residential and commercial building sector remains the largest end-use sector for energy in the U.S. The fact that actual energy consumption of this sector is two-fifths of the total energy consumption in the United States represents a significant economic opportunity for the country. In spite of the progress in performance and affordability of sustainable technologies, materials, and systems, the residential sector is behind in adopting these in single-family homes. Several building aspects must undergo evaluation under a holistic approach to achieving the technical and economic success of the project, but the fragmentation of the industry and the required expertise level for using existing simulating tools represent a barrier for this purpose. In residential projects, the selection of design and construction parameters occurs mostly during the early stages of the pre-construction process, while the majority of the building simulation tools require information from late stages of the process. During the early stages, the designer cannot easily predict the impact of decisions on building performance and cost. Furthermore, existing methodologies do not integrate project goals in early stages (i.e., pre-design, conceptual design, and schematic design) of the pre-construction process. Without these methodologies, selecting sustainable parameters for housing delivery and implementing sustainable principles is difficult, and consequently jeopardizes reaching sustainable goals for the building. The result of this research is a decision support system (DSS) that uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and system dynamics (SD) to assist decision makers in the selection of construction parameters for sustainable housing. The proposed DSS integrates a set of project goals in the process of selecting alternatives, allowing a balance between the preferences of the decision maker and the solution that better fits those preferences. The approach focuses more on using DSS to support design exploration rather than finding optimal solutions. Given the iterative nature of the design process and the fragmentation of the construction industry, the proposed DSS provides information about costs, duration, and environmental impact of the alternatives at early stages of the project development. Therefore, an objective comparison of different design alternatives under identical conditions can take place, and the decision maker can learn from the effects of new decisions over other parameters that are interrelated. The outcomes of the research can help developers, architects, and home-owners to define sustainable parameters at early stages of the project delivery when the impact of their decisions is higher, and the cost of implementing changes is lower than in the later stages.