Rapidly evolving technology has not benefited our buildings, the way it should have. But in the next 10 years, Alain Waha, Global Head of BIM & Digital Transformation at BuroHappold, anticipates drastic transformation in the field. He should know. BuroHappold Engineering, a British engineering firm, worked with the award-winning architect Jean Nouvel, to build the splendid dome spanning 180 metres at The Louvre, Abu Dhabi, which opened to the public on November 11. As many as 8,000 metal stars create a mesh through which light filters. Waha is all for the use of technology in design and construction.
“You walk into a room and feel the air-conditioning is very strong. When the space has to accommodate a lot of people, it’s okay for the AC to work at that temperature. But when there aren’t as many people around? Why isn’t the building conscious of my presence and absence?” asks Waha. He was in Bengaluru to participate in Autodesk University India & SAARC 2017, a conference of designers and creators, last week.
According to Waha, great buildings — shopping malls, airports, museums — should engage people and give them a unique experience. Through 3D Building Information Modelling (BIM) and generative design, architects, designers and engineers can design based on site-specific constraints. Technology can be used to understand how the building is going to be used by people and also allow one to select from thousands of design possibilities. “In the case of a museum, we can find out when people go to the museum, what they like to do there, and what they want to see. We can use technology to put people back in the museums. At Natural History Museum in London, we were able to use the yardstick of donations to make some changes.”
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The convergence of building and technology offers immense possibilities, and Waha again goes back to cite the example of the dome, to reiterate the point. “It is through technology that we were able to assemble a thousand different pieces. Technology became indistinguishable from magic. The Louvre Abu Dhabi was built in a dry dock. It was like building a port. The sea waters were brought in methodically. It just transformed completely. But the bigger story for me was the dome. It was like mission impossible. The challenge was how to make a dome of that size,” he says. But with technology like BIM around, Waha claims, everything is possible. “The giant database of designs is powerful because of the magnitude of the information available. And generative design is so appropriate to create these kind of patterns.”
Now, BuroHappold is engaged with the Museum of the Future coming up in Dubai. He calls it a bold statement about what it wants to innovate and create with technology. He is of the opinion that technology can be applied to projects of different nature, for instance, housing at scale. “The fundamental need in India is to create housing at scale. With existing systems in place, you create ghettos. Regularity leads to anonymity, which can trigger other socio-economic issues. But with this technology, it is possible to create 10,000 houses all different from each other. We should use technology to create built environs that are a success.” Listing his favourite buildings and places, he says, “Centre Pompidou in France, Valencia in Spain, and the 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan, evoke an emotion. In India, when I saw the roof of Terminal 2 of the Mumbai airport from the flight as we descended, I felt nice about it.”
Yes to restoration
In Rajasthan, the State government has used Autodesk BIM technology to complete full-scale 3D models for Albert Hall Museum, Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, Udaipur City Palace etc. to provide accurate measurements of structures. The information is to be used for restoration and preservation of these heritage sites.
