Cumincad : CUMINCAD Papers : Search Results

CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design
supported by the sibling associations ACADIA, CAADRIA, eCAADe, SIGraDi, ASCAAD and CAAD futures

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_id	b190
authors	Goldberg, Adele and Robson, David
year	1983
title	Smalltalk-80: The language and its implementation
source	New York, NY: Addison Wesley Co
summary	Smalltalk-80 is the classic standard Smalltalk language as described in Smalltalk-80: The Language and Its Implementation by Goldberg and Robson. This book is commonly called "the Blue Book". Squeak implements the dialect of Smalltalk described in this book, but has a different implementation. Overview of the Smalltalk Language Smalltalk is a general purpose, high level programming language. It was the first original "pure" object oriented language, but not the first to use the object oriented concept, which is credited to Simula 67. The explosive growth of Object Oriented Programming (OOP) technologies began in the early 1980's, with Smalltalk's introduction. Behind it was the idea that the individual human user should be the most important component of any computing system, and that programming should be a natural extension of thinking, and also a dynamic and evolutionary process consistent with the model of human learning activity. In Smalltalk, these ideas are embodied in a framework for human-computer communication. In a sense, Smalltalk is yet another language like C and Pascal, and programs can be written in Smalltalk that have the look and feel of such conventional languages. The difference lies * in the amount of code that can be reduced, * less cryptic syntax, * and code that is easier to handle for application maintenance and enhancement. But Smalltalk's most powerful feature is easy code reuse. Smalltalk makes reuse of programs, routines, and subroutines (methods) far easier. Though procedural languages allow reuse too, it is harder to do, and much easier to cheat. It is no surprise that Smalltalk is relatively easy to learn, mainly due to its simple syntax and semantics, as well as few concepts. Objects, classes, messages, and methods form the basis of programming in Smalltalk. The general methodology to use Smalltalk The notion of human-computer interface also results in Smalltalk promoting the development of safer systems. Errors in Smalltalk may be viewed as objects telling users that confusion exists as to how to perform a desired function.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	8629
authors	Barzilay, Amos
year	1980
title	Human Problem Solving on Master Mind
source	Carnegie Mellon University
summary	The purpose of this work is to analyze the task of playing Master Mind and to examine subjects behaviors on solving that task. The methods and the ideas that are used in the work are the same found in the references for other tasks. The author wants to show that those ideas and methods can be used for that specific task as well. In other words, subjects behave in such a domain as an information processing system. [includes bibliography]
keywords	Psychology, Problem Solving
series	CADline
last changed	1999/02/15 15:10

_id	0189
authors	Brodlie, K.W. (editor)
year	1980
title	Mathematical Methods in Computer Graphics and Design
source	xi, 147 p. : ill. New York: Academic Press, 1980. includes subject index
summary	Based on the proceeding of the conference on mathematical methods in computer graphics and design, organized by the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications and held at the university of Leicester on september 28th, 1978
keywords	algorithms, geometric modeling, techniques, computer graphics, mathematics
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	e2a9
authors	Carpenter, Loren
year	1980
title	Computer Rendering of Fractal Curves and Surfaces
source	Computer Graphics: SIGGRAPH Proceedings, Vol 14, no 3 (supplement), July 1980, pp 9-
summary	Fractals are a class of highly irregular shapes that have myriad counterparts in the real world, such as islands, river networks, turbulence, and snowflakes. Classic fractals include Brownian paths, Cantor sets, and plane-filling curves. Nearly all fractal sets are of fractional dimension and all are nowhere differentiable. Previously published procedures for calculating fractal curves employ shear displacement processes, modified Markov processes, and inverse Fourier transforms. They are either very expensive or very complex and do not easily generalize to surfaces. This paper presents a family of simple methods for generating and displaying a wide class of fractal curves and surfaces. In so doing, it introduces the concept of statistical subdivision in which a geometric entity is split into smaller entities while preserving certain statistical properties.
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	e952
authors	Carrara, Gianfranco and Paoluzzi, Alberto
year	1980
title	A Systems Approach to Building Program Planning
source	computer Aided Building Design Laboratory Research Report. 80 p. : ill. Rome, Italy: December, 1980. CABD LAB RR. 80-02. includes bibliography
summary	In this paper problems of design performance and of building program planning are considered from the view point of the general system theory. After having formalized the concept of requirement, performance and performance specification, it is shown that a set of building objects (spaces and constructive elements) foreseeable within a program is a semilattice, and that therefore the ordering of constructive elements and spaces corresponds to an ordering of relations among feasible 'behaviors.' A set of feasible behaviors is then presented as an abstract system, eventually discussing some assumptions on which to base an input-state-output representation of it
keywords	theory, methods, problem solving, architecture, design, knowledge
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	0a4c
authors	Holt, R.C. and Hume, J.N.P.
year	1980
title	Programming Standard PASCAL
source	x, 381 p. Reston, Verginia: Reston Publishing Company, Inc., 1980. includes index
summary	A comprehensive look at data structures, records, files, pointers and more, for effective programming using PASCAL. A practical guide book from an introduction level through advanced coverage of numerical methods, assembly language programming and compiler construction
keywords	PASCAL, programming, languages, education
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	2006_252
id	2006_252
authors	Penttilä, Hannu
year	2006
title	Managing the Changes within the Architectural Practice - The Effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
source	Communicating Space(s) [24th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9541183-5-9] Volos (Greece) 6-9 September 2006, pp. 252-260
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2006.252
summary	The architectural working environment has changed during the last 30 years more than ever before. Most of the changes have been related with information and communication technologies (ICT). Architectural working methods and tools have changed profoundly, when CAD has replaced more traditional methods and tools. Communicative working environment and document management within design & construction has also been changed to digital, meaning email and project webs. Completing a traditional architectural profile of the 20th centrury, a drawer-designer, contemporary communicating and managing skills plus mastering ICT are needed today to operate modern architectural practise properly. The objective of this study is to create a change-oriented understanding of the contemporary architectural profession concentrating on architectural information management. The first phase, a literature study, will be followed by interviews and case-studies, to examine three hypothetically different periods of time: a) 1980-85 the era before CAD, the last days of hand-drawing, b) 1993-98 the era of digital drawing, the expansion of architectural CAD, c) 2000-05 the rise of integrated and pervasive web-supported digital design. The study will propose new aspects to be included in the modern architectural profile, namingly project coordination, collaborative team-work, design information integration and profound digital content management.
keywords	architectural profession; design practice; architectural ICT; change management
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 08:00

_id	48db
authors	Proctor, George
year	2001
title	CADD Curriculum - The Issue of Visual Acuity
source	Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 192-200
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.192
summary	Design educators attempt to train the eyes and minds of students to see and comprehend the world around them with the intention of preparing those students to become good designers, critical thinkers and ultimately responsible architects. Over the last eight years we have been developing the digital media curriculum of our architecture program with these fundamental values. We have built digital media use and instruction on the foundation of our program which has historically been based in physical model making. Digital modeling has gradually replaced the capacity of physical models as an analytical and thinking tool, and as a communication and presentation device. The first year of our program provides a foundation and introduction to 2d and 3d design and composition, the second year explores larger buildings and history, the third year explores building systems and structure through design studies of public buildings, fourth year explores urbanism, theory and technology through topic studios and, during the fifth year students complete a capstone project. Digital media and CADD have and are being synchronized with the existing NAAB accredited regimen while also allowing for alternative career options for students. Given our location in the Los Angeles region, many students with a strong background in digital media have gone on to jobs in video game design and the movie industry. Clearly there is much a student of architecture must learn to attain a level of professional competency. A capacity to think visually is one of those skills and is arguably a skill that distinguishes members of the visual arts (including Architecture) from other disciplines. From a web search of information posted by the American Academy of Opthamology, Visual Acuity is defined as an ability to discriminate fine details when looking at something and is often measured with the Snellen Eye Chart (the 20/20 eye test). In the context of this paper visual acuity refers to a subject’s capacity to discriminate useful abstractions in a visual field for the purposes of Visual Thinking- problem solving through seeing (Arnheim, 1969, Laseau 1980, Hoffman 1998). The growing use of digital media and the expanding ability to assemble design ideas and images through point-and-click methods makes the cultivation and development of visual skills all the more important to today’s crop of young architects. The advent of digital media also brings into question the traditional, static 2d methods used to build visual skills in a design education instead of promoting active 3d methods for teaching, learning and developing visual skills. Interactive digital movies provide an excellent platform for promoting visual acuity, and correlating the innate mechanisms of visual perception with the abstractions and notational systems used in professional discourse. In the context of this paper, pedagogy for building visual acuity is being considered with regard to perception of the real world, for example the visual survey of an environment, a site or a street scene and how that visual survey works in conjunction with practice.
keywords	Curriculum, Seeing, Abstracting, Notation
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 08:00

_id	08ba
authors	Requicha, Aristides A.G.
year	1980
title	Representations for Rigid Solids : Theory, Methods, and Systems
source	Computing Surveys December, 1980. vol. 12: pp. 437-464 : ill. includes bibliography.
summary	Computer-based systems for modeling the geometry of rigid solid objects are becoming increasingly important in mechanical and civil engineering, architecture, computer graphics, computer vision, and other fields that deal with spatial phenomena. At the heart of such systems are symbol structures (representations) designating 'abstract solids' (subsets of Euclidean space) that model physical solids. Representations are the sources of data for procedures which compute useful properties of objects. The variety and uses of systems embodying representations of solids are growing rapidly, but so are the difficulties in assessing current designs, specifying the characteristics that future systems should exhibit, and designing systems to meet such specifications. This paper resolves many of these difficulties by providing a coherent view, based on sound theoretical principles, of what is presently known about the representation of solids. The paper is divided into three parts. The first introduces a simple mathematical framework for characterizing certain important aspects of representations, for example, their semantic (geometric) integrity. The second part uses the framework to describe and compare all of the major known schemes for representing solids. The third part briefly surveys extant geometric modeling systems and then applies the concepts developed in the paper to the high-level design of a multiple- representation geometric modeling system which exhibits a level of reliability and versatility superior to that of systems currently used in industrial computer-aided design and manufacturing
keywords	CAD, CAM, computational geometry, geometric modeling, representation,CSG, B-rep
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	c380
authors	Saaty, Thomas L. and Beltran, Miguel H.
year	1980
title	Architectural Design by the Analytic Hierarchy Process
source	Design Methods and Theories. 1980? vol. 14: pp. 124-134 : ill. and tables. include some bibliographical notes
summary	The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is explained and applied in another article in the same journal, is used to illustrate the architectural design of a house for a family of three. The plan of the house was develop to satisfy the family's needs by considering the size of the lot, the size and shape of the different architectural spaces, their priorities, and their overall contiguity. The salient feature of this paper is to show how closely the final plan, shape, size, geometric design and location relate to our mental criteria and personal needs, from the identification of the needs to the final plan. This approach also permits one to treat all these needs and their relation to the environment in a coherent framework
keywords	architecture, design, methods
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	acadia19_392
id	acadia19_392
authors	Steinfeld, Kyle
year	2019
title	GAN Loci
source	ACADIA 19:UBIQUITY AND AUTONOMY [Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) ISBN 978-0-578-59179-7] (The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, Austin, Texas 21-26 October, 2019) pp. 392-403
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2019.392
summary	This project applies techniques in machine learning, specifically generative adversarial networks (or GANs), to produce synthetic images intended to capture the predominant visual properties of urban places. We propose that imaging cities in this manner represents the first computational approach to documenting the Genius Loci of a city (Norberg-Schulz, 1980), which is understood to include those forms, textures, colors, and qualities of light that exemplify a particular urban location and that set it apart from similar places. Presented here are methods for the collection of urban image data, for the necessary processing and formatting of this data, and for the training of two known computational statistical models (StyleGAN (Karras et al., 2018) and Pix2Pix (Isola et al., 2016)) that identify visual patterns distinct to a given site and that reproduce these patterns to generate new images. These methods have been applied to image nine distinct urban contexts across six cities in the US and Europe, the results of which are presented here. While the product of this work is not a tool for the design of cities or building forms, but rather a method for the synthetic imaging of existing places, we nevertheless seek to situate the work in terms of computer-assisted design (CAD). In this regard, the project is demonstrative of a new approach to CAD tools. In contrast with existing tools that seek to capture the explicit intention of their user (Aish, Glynn, Sheil 2017), in applying computational statistical methods to the production of images that speak to the implicit qualities that constitute a place, this project demonstrates the unique advantages offered by such methods in capturing and expressing the tacit.
series	ACADIA
type	normal paper
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	cf2011_p170
id	cf2011_p170
authors	Barros, Mário; Duarte José, Chaparro Bruno
year	2011
title	Thonet Chairs Design Grammar: a Step Towards the Mass Customization of Furniture
source	Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2011 [Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures / ISBN 9782874561429] Liege (Belgium) 4-8 July 2011, pp. 181-200.
summary	The paper presents the first phase of research currently under development that is focused on encoding Thonet design style into a generative design system using a shape grammar. The ultimate goal of the work is the design and production of customizable chairs using computer assisted tools, establishing a feasible practical model of the paradigm of mass customization (Davis, 1987). The current research step encompasses the following three steps: (1) codification of the rules describing Thonet design style into a shape grammar; (2) implementing the grammar into a computer tool as parametric design; and (3) rapid prototyping of customized chair designs within the style. Future phases will address the transformation of the Thonet’s grammar to create a new style and the production of real chair designs in this style using computer aided manufacturing. Beginning in the 1830’s, Austrian furniture designer Michael Thonet began experimenting with forming steam beech, in order to produce lighter furniture using fewer components, when compared with the standards of the time. Using the same construction principles and standardized elements, Thonet produced different chairs designs with a strong formal resemblance, creating his own design language. The kit assembly principle, the reduced number of elements, industrial efficiency, and the modular approach to furniture design as a system of interchangeable elements that may be used to assemble different objects enable him to become a pioneer of mass production (Noblet, 1993). The most paradigmatic example of the described vision of furniture design is the chair No. 14 produced in 1858, composed of six structural elements. Due to its simplicity, lightness, ability to be stored in flat and cubic packaging for individual of collective transportation, respectively, No. 14 became one of the most sold chairs worldwide, and it is still in production nowadays. Iconic examples of mass production are formally studied to provide insights to mass customization studies. The study of the shape grammar for the generation of Thonet chairs aimed to ensure rules that would make possible the reproduction of the selected corpus, as well as allow for the generation of new chairs within the developed grammar. Due to the wide variety of Thonet chairs, six chairs were randomly chosen to infer the grammar and then this was fine tuned by checking whether it could account for the generation of other designs not in the original corpus. Shape grammars (Stiny and Gips, 1972) have been used with sucesss both in the analysis as in the synthesis of designs at different scales, from product design to building and urban design. In particular, the use of shape grammars has been efficient in the characterization of objects’ styles and in the generation of new designs within the analyzed style, and it makes design rules amenable to computers implementation (Duarte, 2005). The literature includes one other example of a grammar for chair design by Knight (1980). In the second step of the current research phase, the outlined shape grammar was implemented into a computer program, to assist the designer in conceiving and producing customized chairs using a digital design process. This implementation was developed in Catia by converting the grammar into an equivalent parametric design model. In the third phase, physical models of existing and new chair designs were produced using rapid prototyping. The paper describes the grammar, its computer implementation as a parametric model, and the rapid prototyping of physical models. The generative potential of the proposed digital process is discussed in the context of enabling the mass customization of furniture. The role of the furniture designer in the new paradigm and ideas for further work also are discussed.
keywords	Thonet; furniture design; chair; digital design process; parametric design; shape grammar
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2012/02/11 19:21

_id	e825
authors	Baybars, Ilker and Eastman, Charles M.
year	1980
title	Enumerating Architectural Arrangements by Generating Their Underlying Graphs
source	Environment and Planning B. 1980. vol. 7: pp. 289- 310 : ill. includes bibliography. -- See also 'Enumerating Architectural Arrangements: Comment on a Recent Paper by Baybars and Eastman' by C.F. Earl
summary	One mathematical correspondence to the partitioning of the plane is a Weighted Plane Graph (WPG). This paper first focuses on the systematic generation of WPGs, in a fashion similar to crystal growth. During this process, the WPGs are represented by adjacency matrices. The authors, thus, present a method for embedding the WPG in the plane, given its adjacency matrix. These graphs can, then, be mapped into floor plans. The common practice here is the use of the `geometric dual' of a WPG. The authors propose, instead, the use of the `Pseudogeometric dual' of a WPG directly to translate (part of) a design brief into alternative spatial layouts. Also discussed is the ability to create courtyards and/or circulation spaces given a specific WPG, without increasing the size of the problem
keywords	enumeration, architecture, floor plans, graphs, design process, automation, algorithms, space allocation, CAD
series	CADline
email
last changed	2003/05/17 10:15

_id	cf2011_p127
id	cf2011_p127
authors	Benros, Deborah; Granadeiro Vasco, Duarte Jose, Knight Terry
year	2011
title	Integrated Design and Building System for the Provision of Customized Housing: the Case of Post-Earthquake Haiti
source	Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2011 [Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures / ISBN 9782874561429] Liege (Belgium) 4-8 July 2011, pp. 247-264.
summary	The paper proposes integrated design and building systems for the provision of sustainable customized housing. It advances previous work by applying a methodology to generate these systems from vernacular precedents. The methodology is based on the use of shape grammars to derive and encode a contemporary system from the precedents. The combined set of rules can be applied to generate housing solutions tailored to specific user and site contexts. The provision of housing to shelter the population affected by the 2010 Haiti earthquake illustrates the application of the methodology. A computer implementation is currently under development in C# using the BIM platform provided by Revit. The world experiences a sharp increase in population and a strong urbanization process. These phenomena call for the development of effective means to solve the resulting housing deficit. The response of the informal sector to the problem, which relies mainly on handcrafted processes, has resulted in an increase of urban slums in many of the big cities, which lack sanitary and spatial conditions. The formal sector has produced monotonous environments based on the idea of mass production that one size fits all, which fails to meet individual and cultural needs. We propose an alternative approach in which mass customization is used to produce planed environments that possess qualities found in historical settlements. Mass customization, a new paradigm emerging due to the technological developments of the last decades, combines the economy of scale of mass production and the aesthetics and functional qualities of customization. Mass customization of housing is defined as the provision of houses that respond to the context in which they are built. The conceptual model for the mass customization of housing used departs from the idea of a housing type, which is the combined result of three systems (Habraken, 1988) -- spatial, building system, and stylistic -- and it includes a design system, a production system, and a computer system (Duarte, 2001). In previous work, this conceptual model was tested by developing a computer system for existing design and building systems (Benr__s and Duarte, 2009). The current work advances it by developing new and original design, building, and computer systems for a particular context. The urgent need to build fast in the aftermath of catastrophes quite often overrides any cultural concerns. As a result, the shelters provided in such circumstances are indistinct and impersonal. However, taking individual and cultural aspects into account might lead to a better identification of the population with their new environment, thereby minimizing the rupture caused in their lives. As the methodology to develop new housing systems is based on the idea of architectural precedents, choosing existing vernacular housing as a precedent permits the incorporation of cultural aspects and facilitates an identification of people with the new housing. In the Haiti case study, we chose as a precedent a housetype called ‚Äúgingerbread houses‚Äù, which includes a wide range of houses from wealthy to very humble ones. Although the proposed design system was inspired by these houses, it was decided to adopt a contemporary take. The methodology to devise the new type was based on two ideas: precedents and transformations in design. In architecture, the use of precedents provides designers with typical solutions for particular problems and it constitutes a departing point for a new design. In our case, the precedent is an existing housetype. It has been shown (Duarte, 2001) that a particular housetype can be encoded by a shape grammar (Stiny, 1980) forming a design system. Studies in shape grammars have shown that the evolution of one style into another can be described as the transformation of one shape grammar into another (Knight, 1994). The used methodology departs takes off from these ideas and it comprises the following steps (Duarte, 2008): (1) Selection of precedents, (2) Derivation of an archetype; (3) Listing of rules; (4) Derivation of designs; (5) Cataloguing of solutions; (6) Derivation of tailored solution.
keywords	Mass customization, Housing, Building system, Sustainable construction, Life cycle energy consumption, Shape grammar
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2012/02/11 19:21

_id	c46e
authors	Fuchs, H., Kedem, Z.M. and Naylor, B.F.
year	1980
title	On Visible Surface Generation by a Priori Tree Structures
source	SIGGRAPH '80 Conference Proceedings. July, 1980. vol. 14 ; no. 3: pp. 124-133 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	This paper describes a new algorithm for solving the hidden surface (or line) problem, to more rapidly generate realistic images of 3-D scenes composed of polygons, and presents the development of theoretical foundations in the area as well as additional related algorithms. As in many applications the environment to be displayed consists of polygons many of whose relative geometric relations are static. It is attempted to capitalize on this by preprocessing the environment's database so as to decrease the run-time computations required to generate a scene. This preprocessing is based on generating a 'binary space partitioning' tree whose inorder traversal of visibility priority at run-time will produce a linear order, dependent upon the viewing position, on (parts of) the polygons, which can then be used to easily solve the hidden surface problem. In the application where the entire environment is static with only the viewing-position changing, as is common in simulation, the results presented will be sufficient to solve completely the hidden surface problem
keywords	hidden lines, hidden surfaces, algorithms, computer graphics, polygons
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 14:42

_id	c4b8
authors	Lane, Jeffrey M. and Riesenfeld, Richard F.
year	1980
title	A Theoretical Development for the Computer Generation and Display of Piecewise Polynomial Surfaces
source	IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence. January, 1980 Vol. PAM 1-2: pp. 35-46 : ill.
summary	includes a short bibliography. Two algorithms for parametric piecewise polynomial evaluation and generation are described. The mathematical development of these algorithms is shown to generalize to new algorithms for obtaining curve and surface intersections and for the computer display of parametric curves and surfaces
keywords	display, algorithms, intersection, CAD, computer graphics, B-splines, curved surfaces
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	c361
authors	Logan, Brian S.
year	1986
title	Representing the Structure of Design Problems
source	Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures [CAAD Futures Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-408-05300-3] Delft (The Netherlands), 18-19 September 1985, pp. 158-170
summary	In recent years several experimental CAD systems have emerged which, focus specifically on the structure of design problems rather than on solution generation or appraisal (Sussman and Steele, 1980; McCallum, 1982). However, the development of these systems has been hampered by the lack of an adequate theoretical basis. There is little or no argument as to what the statements comprising these models actually mean, or on the types of operations that should be provided. This chapter describes an attempt to develop a semantically adequate basis for a model of the structure of design problems and presents a representation of this model in formal logic.
series	CAAD Futures
last changed	1999/04/03 17:58

_id	cdc2008_243
id	cdc2008_243
authors	Loukissas, Yanni
year	2008
title	Keepers of the Geometry: Architects in a Culture of Simulation
source	First International Conference on Critical Digital: What Matters(s)? - 18-19 April 2008, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge (USA), pp. 243-244
summary	“Why do we have to change? We’ve been building buildings for years without CATIA?” Roger Norfleet, a practicing architect in his thirties poses this question to Tim Quix, a generation older and an expert in CATIA, a computer-aided design tool developed by Dassault Systemes in the early 1980’s for use by aerospace engineers. It is 2005 and CATIA has just come into use at Paul Morris Associates, the thirty-person architecture firm where Norfleet works; he is struggling with what it will mean for him, for his firm, for his profession. Computer-aided design is about creativity, but also about jurisdiction, about who controls the design process. In Architecture: The Story of Practice, Architectural theorist Dana Cuff writes that each generation of architects is educated to understand what constitutes a creative act and who in the system of their profession is empowered to use it and at what time. Creativity is socially constructed and Norfleet is coming of age as an architect in a time of technological but also social transition. He must come to terms with the increasingly complex computeraided design tools that have changed both creativity and the rules by which it can operate. In today’s practices, architects use computer-aided design software to produce threedimensional geometric models. Sometimes they use off-the-shelf commercial software like CATIA, sometimes they customize this software through plug-ins and macros, sometimes they work with software that they have themselves programmed. And yet, conforming to Larson’s ideas that they claim the higher ground by identifying with art and not with science, contemporary architects do not often use the term “simulation.” Rather, they have held onto traditional terms such as “modeling” to describe the buzz of new activity with digital technology. But whether or not they use the term, simulation is creating new architectural identities and transforming relationships among a range of design collaborators: masters and apprentices, students and teachers, technical experts and virtuoso programmers. These days, constructing an identity as an architect requires that one define oneself in relation to simulation. Case studies, primarily from two architectural firms, illustrate the transformation of traditional relationships, in particular that of master and apprentice, and the emergence of new roles, including a new professional identity, “keeper of the geometry,” defined by the fusion of person and machine. Like any profession, architecture may be seen as a system in flux. However, with their new roles and relationships, architects are learning that the fight for professional jurisdiction is increasingly for jurisdiction over simulation. Computer-aided design is changing professional patterns of production in architecture, the very way in which professionals compete with each other by making new claims to knowledge. Even today, employees at Paul Morris squabble about the role that simulation software should play in the office. Among other things, they fight about the role it should play in promotion and firm hierarchy. They bicker about the selection of new simulation software, knowing that choosing software implies greater power for those who are expert in it. Architects and their collaborators are in a continual struggle to define the creative roles that can bring them professional acceptance and greater control over design. New technologies for computer-aided design do not change this reality, they become players in it.
email
last changed	2009/01/07 08:05

_id	e3c1
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and Fenves, Stephen J.
year	1980
title	Design Specification Representation and Analysis
source	Computing in Civil Engineering Conference Proceedings (2nd : 1980 : Baltimore, MD.). American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 102- 111. CADLINE has abstract only
summary	The conventional structures of decision tables, information networks, and outlines define the current methodology for the representation and use of design specifications. This paper explores the relationships at the interfaces between these three representational tools. New analysis strategies are presented that provide flexibility at the lower boundary of the information network by converting decision tables to subnetworks within the information network and by compressing multiple subtables into larger tables representing higher- level nodes in the network. Both generation and compression of the information network provide flexibility in organizing a specification. The ability to both generate and compress nodes and subnodes establishes a mean of representing all the relations among the data items of a specification and gives one more direct control over the level of detail of the information network. As a direct consequence of the ability to generate new nodes, new classifiers can be progressively attached to the nodes of the subnetwork, as well as to the nodes in the information network. As a result, specification requirements are more logically identified by the outline and requirements and data items which were previously hidden within decision table conditions and actions are now directly accessible from the outline. Conversely, items inconsequential to the outline can be compressed into nodes and removed from the outline. A computer program is presented that implements these network transformations. The program accurately represents the interface between the network and the decision table
keywords	civil engineering, decision making, representation, analysis
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	40ad
authors	Yessios, Chris I.
year	1980
title	Generation and Visualization of Architectural Forms with Tekton
source	1980? pp. 68-79 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	Tekton is an interactive computer aided architectural design software system. It incorporates graphic input and 3-D modeling capabilities, a potent notational system which is based on an algebra like linguistic model for the representation of transformation and spatial compositions, hidden face elimination, shadowing and texture rendering. The latter feature has been specifically designed for the visualization of architectural forms and materials, through renderings of a free hand drawing quality. They are derived by generative semi-random models, included in the system. The Tekton language allows for interactive unlimited editing and modification of previously generated compositions
keywords	CAD, architecture, modeling, computer graphics, rendering
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

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