Dr. Fan “Frank” Xue (Co-PI) presented a seminar on “Design for eXcellence (DfX) with Digital Twins: From Reality Data to Semantic Models to Optimized Design” at  Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft, Netherlands on 30 June 2023. The seminar was hosted by Dr. Tan Tan (Postdoc at TU Delft, Co-I of this project).

Abstract: Digital twins (DTs) are virtual replicas of real facilities. A DT utilizes real-time data and enables evidence-based understanding, learning, and reasoning. This talk will introduce a general DT-based design process from data collection to semantic modeling to optimized generation with a few cases. This talk will also share some lessons learned about data granularity, semantics in point clouds, handy machine learning tools, and simulation-based optimization in generative design.

iLab successfully organized the Generative Design for Modular Buildings Forum 2023 cum the Research Grant Council (RGC) Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) Project “Generative DfX in high-rise modular building (C7080-22GF) Kick-off Meeting in Le Meridien hotel, Cyberport, on 10 May 2023.

The forum focused on the theme of generative design for modular buildings in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector. The Forum lined up speakers from different backgrounds (e.g., architecture, engineering, material, construction, and others) from different top universities (e.g., HKU, CUHK, HK PolyU, TU Delft, Tsinghua University, Tongji University, Melbourne University, National University of Singapore, and so on). Prof. Chris Webster, Dean of Faculty of Architecture at HKU, opened the Forum by sharing his experiences on generative design in urban scale and his views on AI (e.g., ChatGPT) in urban and architectural design. The cutting-edge research and development by these scholars and practitioners was presented and exchanged on the Forum.

 Professor Hanbin Luo and Dr Ke Chen from National Center of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction (NCTI-DC), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) paid an academic visit to iLab on 20 Feb. 2023. Both research team gave a detailed presentation about current research on smart construction and had a deep discussion on mutual interested topic.