BIM-Based Parametric Design Methodology for Modernized Korean Traditional Buildings

With rising social interest in the quality of life and sustainable development in architecture, demands are growing for Hanok, traditional buildings of Korea, as a viable alternative to modernized architecture of Western origin. However, even as the so-called "New Hanok" — which updates the traditional structure with modern design — is gaining popularity among the general public, its design and construction are still a minor practice, in the sense that they rely on a small group of professional carpenters whose practice largely rests on their personal experience. Aiming to build an information system of Hanok that can contribute to the industrialization of its production, this research proposes a new design process for traditional architecture, utilizing a parametric design methodology. This process, based on the understanding of tectonic joints and spatial composition of our traditional architecture, defines a parametric relationship among the structural elements that compose Hanok. The research uses Gehry Technologies' Digital Project and Autodesk Revit Architecture — most useful commercial programs of parametric (and associate) design among today's CAD/CAE/CAM applications — to apply a concurrent parametric design methodology, approaching the project from both "bottom-up" (building initiated by the assembly of smallest elements) and "top-down" (building from partial modifications on a pre-determined whole), to present a new design process for Hanok elements.