Alexander Ng

DynaHome

Preview

Struggling with your homebuilding because you have difficulties visualising the end product and worry about making the finances work? DynaHome is the tool for you! The DynaHome feature (which is fully compatible with Dynamo Player) allows you to easily develop and generate cost estimates for a new home design at the touch of a button. This user-friendly tool that does not require prior knowledge of dynamo scripting or Revit know-how conveniently allows you to customize your wishes and wants for a standard two-storey single family dwelling including your choice of wall/roofing types and even has the option for adding on a garage unit if you so desire!

DynaHome Manual

Step 1 - After opening the DynaHome tool using Dynamo player, you will be invited to input your desired length and width parameters for your home. Your choice of wall and roofing material may be amended/selected as desired from a drop-down list. You can also customize the extent of your roof offsets for either increased or decreased sunshading based on your aesthetic preferences.

DynaHome User Interface on Dynamo Player
DynaHome User Interface on Dynamo Player

Step 2 - To complete the tool inputs, you will be invited to confirm if the roof and ancillary add-on structure should be included in your home design. This is made available by simply toggling between the True/False switches for the Include Roof and Create Ancillary Add-on inputs.

Step 3 - Click the run button! This will generate a simple revit model of your desired home and also reflect the total housing costs for your home. Breakdowns of each housing element (i.e. walls, roof, garage, floor) are also available so that you can weigh and inform your final design decisions.

DynaHome Outputs on Dynamo Player
DynaHome Outputs on Dynamo Player

DynaHome Model Generation in Revit

Revit model for a reference housing unit (with garage add-on) generated using DynaHome
Revit model for a reference housing unit (with garage add-on) generated using DynaHome
DynaHome Walkthrough

Description of DynaHome Graph & Logic

An overview of the DynaHome proof-of-concept graph can be found in the following:

DynaHome Graph Logic
DynaHome Graph Logic

The inputs for this graph can be segregated into two main categories: (i) Variable and (ii) Fixed. Variable inputs are inputs that the user can readily adjust in DynamoPlayer (e.g. length, width) while fixed inputs are inputs that the user can amend by opening the DynaHome script (i.e. material costs, size of ancillary garage structure, number of levels).

Variable Inputs
Variable Inputs
Fixed Inputs
Fixed Inputs

Nodes and logic for creating the respective housing elements such as the walls, roof and ancillary add-on structures can be observed in the following:

Logic for Creating Main Housing Structure and Calculating Gross Floor Area
Logic for Creating Main Housing Structure and Calculating Gross Floor Area
Logic for Creating Roof Structure
Logic for Creating Roof Structure
Logic for Creating Ancillary Add-on Structure
Logic for Creating Ancillary Add-on Structure

To give the user more information on the relative costs (& overall aesthethics) of the home components, boolean functions were included to provide the option of either including/excluding the roof and ancillary add-on structure in DynaHome. This would enable the user to make more informed design selections by comparing between the differences in overall housing and individual component costs.

Boolean Inputs for Including/Excluding the Roof & Ancillary Add-On Features
Boolean Inputs for Including/Excluding the Roof & Ancillary Add-On Features

The logic for determining the surfaces and costs for each housing element and final housing cost output can be found in the following:

Quantity Take-off for Housing Structure based on Selected Input Parameters
Quantity Take-off for Housing Structure based on Selected Input Parameters
Cost Determination and Final Housing Cost Estimate Output
Cost Determination and Final Housing Cost Estimate Output

Reflection & Observations

DynaHome is a proof-of-concept to determine if such a tool could be created and made accessible to users who may not be proficient or familiar with Dynamo scripting. The current version of DynaHome demonstrates that the development of such a tool is indeed possible and future iterations of DynaHome could be patched to include more features such as:

(i) Incorporating basic home design elements such as entryways or windows

(ii) Providing other estimates that inform the overall design relating to carbon footprint or solar PV potential

(iii) Designing room layouts to inform the internal structural elements such as internal walls

(iv) Updates to material/construction cost estimates based on prevailing market rates

Collectively, this could reap tremendous time and cost efficiencies for homebuilders and could be scaled for other uses such as designing affordable homes for disadvantaged communities or creating mass-housing for international development.

Acknowledgements: Thanks Glenn, Nico & Gabe for your time and support this quarter, I definitely appreciated the opportunity to preview and explore the possibilities of Dynamo. Have a great summer ahead!