Development of building information modeling-based automation assessment process for universal design of public buildings

The aging population is growing drastically all over the world. With the advent of the global era, Universal Design is garnering considerable interest, as the number of multicultural families is increasing, and various user classes are being created. In addition, with the advances in construction technology, architectural design is becoming more diverse, and convenience facilities are also getting distributed in various ways. As a result, more buildings need to apply Universal Design, indicating that various architectural information and Universal Design for the user class are required. Various data are needed for Universal Design evaluation, but there is a limit to evaluating with two-dimensional (2D) drawings. However, the limitations of 2D drawings can be overcome via building information modeling (BIM) combined with architectural data, which remarkably simplifies the Universal Design evaluation. This study was conducted with the aim to analyze architectural information by extracting architectural elements necessary for Universal Design evaluation from BIM data. It was confirmed that the calculations for Universal Design evaluation can be performed by 3D shape or attribute analysis using BIM data and computer programming. In order to create an automated evaluation algorithm for Universal Design, the evaluation methods were classified according to the Universal Design evaluation guide, based on building users and user diversity. In addition, even if the evaluation methods were the same by location, different points were classified by location, and evaluation items and information necessary for the evaluation were organized by category for each facility. Through this classification, we created an algorithm with seven types of methods for extracting the BIM data and comparing them by evaluation method for an automated analysis. In addition, an analysis was performed directly on the BIM design sample model using an automated evaluation algorithm. Although there were various architectural objects in the design data, evaluation was possible using algorithms. By applying the Universal Design evaluation and BIM data evaluation methods, we could confirm that the BIM-based Universal Design automation evaluation method prevents human error and is thus superior to the existing evaluation methods. Further, the automation evaluation method can contribute to BIM activation as the BIM data can be used in various studies such as design certification evaluation and automation analysis.