User behavior Simulation in built Environments

ended

The impact of a building design or renovation on the behavior of its intended occupants can be assessed only after the building has been built and occupied (or the renovation has been completed). This is a risky proposition, because design mistakes can cause severe consequences in terms of under-performing buildings, reduced productivity, absenteeism, and general user dissatisfaction. During our ERC-funded project, titled NextGenBim, we were able to develop and demonstrate a method to computationally simulate human behavior in built environments, which allows representing the intended occupants and their activities in a given building. In this PoC we aim to develop a software simulator that allows: (1) to visualize, analyze and evaluate trade-offs between several design options for a new building; and (2) to evaluate the systemic implication of proposed renovations on the operations of a building. The software will potentially impact millions of professionals (architects, civil engineers, internal designers, facility mangers, etc.), especially in the healthcare sector, where large budgets are spent to build and renovate facilities, and in the educational sector, which invests heavily in computer-aided design software to train the next generation of professionals.