The construction industry is currently facing the
challenges of intensifying global competition, increasing market
volatility, increasing product differentiation, and shortening
product life cycles. In this context, versatile production concepts
with modular structures promise a better adaptation to these
dynamic boundary conditions in terms of quantity production,
product variety, and manufacturing location. Modular
construction has significant advantages over traditional on-site
construction in terms of material efficiency, safety, and
sustainability. Therefore, specialized software for building design
is one of the critical aspects of modular construction. This work
presents the development of an online platform for the design of
buildings using modular construction. The main features of this
platform are the 2D home design with 3D visualization, using BIM
approaches, the validation of architectural rules and system limits
taking into consideration the design and legal framework, and the
management of orders and workflows for sustainable
construction. The validation of architecture rules and system
limits allows the use of the platform by final clients to design their
houses and obtain the budget and the construction viability based
on modular construction. After, an architect can assume the final
design and legal approvement of the project.
This work was supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência
e a Tecnologia under Projects UIDB/05757/2020, funded by
Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior and Fundo
Social Europeu through The Programa Operacional Regional
Norte and NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-113482, funded by
Compete 2020.
