J.A. Clarke, D. F. Mac Randal
Year:
1993
Bibliographic info:
Building Simulation, Australia, 1993, p. 93-102

Over the past decade developments in the building simulation field have given rise to the prospect of a new generation of design tool which has the potential to allow rigorous hypothesis testing at the design stage. While powerful at their core, simulation based design tools suffer from several user interface limitations. This paper describes an attempt to solve some of these problems by developing an Intelligent Front End authoring environment for building performance appraisal in general. The architecture of the developed system, termed IFe is described and its use explained by demonstrating its application in the context of the ESP-r system for building environmental performance prediction. Pie paper then describes how some elements of the IFe are being used within the CEC's COMBINE project to explore the architecture of an intelligent, integrated building design system.