Computational design and process automation in structural engineering
Computational design and process automation in structural engineering
With dialogue with the supply chain, profits grow and costs fall.
DVS deals with engineering for structures in a comprehensive manner, targeted on buildings and spanning different types of construction in the civil sector. Established in 2021, innovation and digital are in its DNA. Modern working tools coupled with extensive use of computational design make it possible to optimise design and speed up processes.
Ours is a very competitive sector with companies that are more structured than us and well-established in the areas in which we operate, mostly in Milan and northern Italy. Despite everything, in just a few months the market has noticed us for the added value we bring.
We have three important jobs in the pipeline that are real training grounds: integrated designs that have allowed us to develop and refine our processes.
Investing first and foremost in people and their skills. DVS has chosen this road to offer added value. The team is heterogeneous and made up of talented and motivated professionals with highly qualified profiles, who are also able to deal with very specialised areas of the discipline (https://dvarea.vision/careers).
Although small in size, we are able to tackle complex projects thanks to a good internal organisation, the use of innovative methodologies and working in partnership with the DVArea group for business reasons. This led us to close our first year, 2021, with a 20% profit.
Building underground and above ground. We treat the building in all its parts, and for this reason we are gearing up to compose a complete team with a geotechnical engineer, structural engineers, a Bim site preparation coordinator, a Bim structural specialist and an estimator.
Operational efficiency. We favour agile and streamlined tools. We aim to cut costs and time by reducing the possibility of error. We work with a holistic approach.
We have created a tool that uses a series of proprietary algorithms to parametrically optimise the structural design of complex office and residential buildings. The concrete application on Euromilano’s contract in Cascina Merlata residential complex R8 is recent.
Sustainability and hybrid solutions. In the next three to five years, aided by the backing of the NRRP, sustainability will become the driver for the design world and the entire construction industry. There will be an increasing need for off-site solutions in facilities. It will therefore be necessary to propose options that are as hybrid as possible, where not just one construction technology prevails but where, depending on the client’s requirements, reinforced concrete parts are combined with steel and timber parts.
The future through wood. From our perspective, the key material will soon be wood. Already there is a lot of talk about it, we have years of experimentation ahead of us.
The challenges in the structural field are many, but by its very nature wood will be an excellent alternative. Lightness, efficiency and sustainability in a single product.
The introduction of the European New Green Deal has made quantitative indicators official that will allow the client to understand the soundness of a technical solution.
Cost alone will no longer be the only driver.
Structural optimisation translates into material reduction – this is a DVS mantra, which seeks calibrated, plant-integrated solutions that reduce the carbon footprint (https://dvarea.vision/progettazione-mep-efficiente-dare-valore-agli-impianti/).
We do multidisciplinary integrated design and try to intercept the client from the very beginning. That is why we are implementing a tool that allows us to compare ourselves on proprietary KPIs that hold together parameters on cost, efficiency and sustainability.
Necessary path: dialogue with the supply chain. Among insiders, there is a growing need to increase the integration between the design world and the companies that have the final goal of building the work on site. There are companies that put a lot of emphasis on innovation and are at the top of the game. DVS invests in activating synergies, without replacing partners, but by working together on the best solutions for construction aspects such as thermal performance, acoustics, fire prevention. We can and must offer a wealth of technical expertise and propose the best solution for every possible intervention.
Today, companies are trying to outsource more and more, our ability must be to define all the best choices, for all levels of design, from the final project to the working drawings.
Tag:
#parametricaldesign #BIM #method #holistic approach #sustainability #nrrp #supplychain
Luca Mari:
Engineer. Technical Director DVS.
