The BAS*CAAD Information System for Design principles, Implementation, and a Design Scenario

The objectives of the BAS-CAAD-project are to investigate into theories and methods for computer aided architectural design, with emphasis on requirements of early stages of the design process. Information systems can be characterised as static or dynamic concerning the definition of classes in the model schema, and concerning classification of model objects. The paper presents the BAS-CAAD system, a prototype software that implements the conceptually most important features of a dynamic information system for design. The BAS-CAAD information system is built on a generic ontological framework. The system allows a free combination of attributes, supporting the incremental way that knowledge is built up during design. It provides a generic library structure that allows definition of objects classes in different levels of generalisation that may originate from international standards or the individual designer. For example, in the construction context, it allows modelling of buildings and their parts, as well as user organisations and user activities. The function of the system is illustrated in two scenarios