Suspended ceilings are known as a complex plane which integrates the building services onto it. The intricate planning and functional design of these planes are often neglected which lead to challenges on the site. For this reason, throughout the project, emphasis has been laid on careful planning of the services on the ceiling plane such that it aids the functional and spatial planning of the services while maintaining ceiling properties such as acoustic, fire resistance, seismic and moisture resistance. While achieving this, the ceiling plane provides a plenum space for FCUs, conduits, cable trays and fire protection system piping, while providing access for maintenance. 

Ontology

The ontology was aimed at enhancing planning of these planes during the early design stages by integrating functional and spatial planning while managing the interfaces between them. To this extent, the ontology focuses on the system decomposition, system scheduling, functional and spatial planning which are summarized as:

1. The system is decomposed as a low weight steel framework-including, drywall and acoustic material. The framework is further decomposed as main channels, furring channels and hangers and the spacing limits are included to allow planning decisions.
2. The interface of the services on the ceiling plane are spatially planned with respect to functionality, aesthetics (in terms of available plenum space) and properties of the system.
3. System properties to be achieved are summarized as acoustic, fire resistance, seismic  resistance, moisture  resistance, thermal resistance and load bearing capacity. These properties and the specified values as per building regulations are also included to facilitate efficient design and planning. On the sub-system level, the properties of drywall such as low VOC and low formaldehyde content is also specified to reduce environmental burden.
4. Scheduling and efficient planning of these based on the complexity of the services on the plane is included so that the services and framework can be planned simultaneously to further avoid any conflicts of the services with the framework. 

In addition to this, the ontology also includes two design options of the ceiling system which specifies the minimum and maximum values of the spacing of framework and properties to be achieved by the system in order to aid in the planning and design process. The finished ontology model can be downloaded here: SuspendedDrywallCeiling-Ontology

Parametric model

The parametric model of the suspended ceiling system (SuspendedDrywallCeiling-Dynamo) was modeled to aid in system design with respect to  the several design challenges such as coordination of the services on the plane while maintaining structural integrity of the framework, minimization of drywall wastage and maintaining a sufficient plenum space. The aim of the model was to generate a robust design, based on the evaluation of multiple alternatives and their conformance to the high performance criteria set to counteract the design challenges faced. The interface of the services and the system were studied to the extent that the multi-disciplinary optimization of the ceiling system was achieved through parameterization within design standards.

The dynamo model parametrizes the structural framework including main channels, furring channels and hangers as well as the services such as HVAC, sprinklers and light points. The spacing of these services were parameterized within limits such that they are placed on the center of the framework , so as to minimize the cutting of the channels, and they are spatially placed such that the air diffusers can counteract the thermal dissipation from the light points. Furthermore, the optimal plenum space is decided upon based on the available room height and the drywall orientation on the framework is optimized while reducing material wastage. The model is aimed to provide a platform for further additions of services on the plane like smoke detectors, wifi points and to orient these based on the room features like desk position. A further context is to integrate these ceiling systems with larger systems like buildings which is the scope of the combined model.