How Computational Design Can Upgrade Your Current Workflow

Computational design and the tools and processes behind it—which include parametric design, generative design and algorithmic design—are revolutionizing today’s building industry, with some even calling it the “defining moment” of this decade. For those who aren’t familiar, it’s a design method that uses a combination of algorithms and parameters to solve design problems with advanced computer processing.

Structural engineers are typically tasked with manually analyzing and then designing a structure to see if it met the governing code-based requirements needed for a successful construction, including gauging any stresses on the model. This can be a time-consuming and often frustrating process, as it’s often difficult to account for all of the variables in a design, not to mention the frustration of having to account for any changes made after the initial analysis.

Computational design addresses common issues by helping structural engineers automate repetitive tasks, explore different design options and improve their productivity. Structural engineers experiencing limitations and inefficiencies in any of these areas who choose to stick to processes like manual calculations risk losing clients and projects to their peers who take advantage of the increased speed, accuracy and productivity enabled by this type of design.

Automate Tasks

Updating a dimension or renaming a surface is simple when it just applies to one element, but it becomes tedious and wastes time when it needs to be applied hundreds of times. With computational design tools connected to modeling software, structural engineers are able to create an algorithm that modifies the entire model in real time.

Design automation is the ability to script computational processes that reflect the creative and analytical methods of human-driven design using specific rules and instructions. While time is spent upfront making the script, even more time is saved in the long run by automating repetitive tasks. These algorithms can control and manage much larger portions of functionality, data and analysis than a person can. 

Explore Design Options

Using parametric design, an engineer can make changes to the 3D model in real time, and the model is updated automatically. In this way, a designer can explore many options before choosing a final design. This automation makes the entire process much faster than traditional design, reducing design work from weeks to mere days. It enables a design team to test multiple solutions and save certain designs for reuse on later projects. 

Being able to use repeated design processes and visual programming tools enables structural engineers to improve design quality and create better solutions for customers. Using this iterative approach, designers can test thousands of options, while also assessing risks for each design of the project. In addition to saving time and increasing productivity, structural engineers are finding that this process is a reliable way to lower project costs and anticipate risk. 

Improve Productivity

Because structural engineers using computational design can quickly make design changes and facilitate iterations without having to recreate an entire model, the complications with design revisions are removed. Engineers don’t have to wait until the implementation phase before they know how certain aspects of the designs will work. They can run a better analysis of the designs, discover loopholes and make effective adjustments while the work is in progress. As a result, the design process can run without interruptions and deadlines are easier to meet.

Once implemented, computational design is an effective and useful tool for increasing productivity and creating more information-rich designs. With computational design, structural engineers can work faster with fewer iterations and without worrying about errors in the model—improving productivity and accomplishing more with fewer resources.

Computational design provides a bridge to the future of the industry, offering structural engineers a greater ability to run more intuitive analyses of their designs and increase their productivity. For engineers facing common issues like tediously changing components individually or needing to manually create different versions of a model, it offers a powerful opportunity for them to work more efficiently by upgrading and automating the tools used in the design process for digital workflows.

Learn more about leveling up your workflow, including how to reduce the risk of errors, here.