Patent ID: 7496487

Claim:
A computer-implemented building design and modeling system comprising: a spatial database; an object-oriented parametric building modeler (“OOPBM”) system for defining parametric objects comprising ordinary elements and massing elements, the massing elements being capable of placing instances of other objects into the spatial database and subsequently passing data thereto and receiving data therefrom, each parametric object representing a construction component of at least a portion of a building being modeled and including an interface through which the parametric object communicates information with other parametric objects; and a user interface for user input of selected client requirements to specify a configuration of at least a portion of the parametric objects; wherein upon initiation of assembly of the building model, the parametric objects for the building model are created in the spatial database and customized based upon the client requirements entered via the user interface, and wherein the parametric objects communicate information via their interfaces.