This book provides a synthesis of recent developments in Axiomatic Design theory and its application in large complex systems. Introductory chapters provide concise tutorial materials for graduate students and new practitioners, presenting the fundamentals of Axiomatic Design and relating its key concepts to those of model-based systems engineering. A mathematical exposition of design axioms is also provided. The main body of the book, which represents a concentrated treatment of several applications, is divided into three parts covering work on: complex products; buildings; and manufacturing systems. The book shows how design work in these areas can benefit from the scientific and systematic underpinning provided by Axiomatic Design, and in so doing effectively combines the state of the art in design research with practice. All contributions were written by an international group of leading proponents of Axiomatic Design. The book concludes with a call to action motivating further research into the engineering design of large complex systems.

This book provides a synthesis of recent developments in Axiomatic Design theory and its application in large complex systems. Introductory chapters provide concise tutorial materials for graduate students and new practitioners, presenting the fundamentals of Axiomatic Design and relating its key concepts to those of model-based systems engineering. A mathematical exposition of design axioms is also provided. The main body of the book, which represents a concentrated treatment of several applications, is divided into three parts covering work on: complex products; buildings; and manufacturing systems. The book shows how design work in these areas can benefit from the scientific and systematic underpinning provided by Axiomatic Design, and in so doing effectively combines the state of the art in design research with practice. All contributions were written by an international group of leading proponents of Axiomatic Design. The book concludes with a call to action motivating further research into the engineering design of large complex systems.

Nam P. Suh focussed his axiomatic design theories on methods to understand and deal with complexity. Suh is a well-respected designer and researcher in the fields of manufacturing and composite materials. He is best known for his systems that aim to speed up and simplify the process of design for manufacturing. The 'axioms' in axiomatic design refer to a process to help engineers reduce design specifications down to their simplest components, so that the engineers can produce the simplest possible solution to a problem. Complexity, besides being a key area of burgeoning research in disciplines interested in complex systems and chaos theory (like computer science and physics), is a complicating factor in engineering design that many engineers find difficult to overcome. Suh's multidisciplinary exploration of complex systems is meant to eliminate much of the confusion and allow engineers to accommodate complexity within simple, elegant design solutions.

This book presents the principles of design and constitutes an exposition of the design axioms and their applications. The work is based on extensive experience at MIT's Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity, where axiomatics is a major programme. It aims to bring a scientific approach to the decision making process related to manufacture - an approach which facilitates rational design of processes, products, and optimization of manufacturing systems.