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	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	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	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	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	244d
authors	Monedero, J., Casaus, A. and Coll, J.
year	1992
title	From Barcelona. Chronicle and Provisional Evaluation of a New Course on Architectural Solid Modelling by Computerized Means
source	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 351-362
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.351
summary	The first step made at the ETSAB in the computer field goes back to 1965, when professors Margarit and Buxade acquired an IBM computer, an electromechanical machine which used perforated cards and which was used to produce an innovative method of structural calculation. This method was incorporated in the academic courses and, at that time, this repeated question "should students learn programming?" was readily answered: the exercises required some knowledge of Fortran and every student needed this knowledge to do the exercises. This method, well known in Europe at that time, also provided a service for professional practice and marked the beginning of what is now the CC (Centro de Calculo) of our school. In 1980 the School bought a PDP1134, a computer which had 256 Kb of RAM, two disks of 5 Mb and one of lO Mb, and a multiplexor of 8 lines. Some time later the general politics of the UPC changed their course and this was related to the purchase of a VAX which is still the base of the CC and carries most of the administrative burden of the school. 1985 has probably been the first year in which we can talk of a general policy of the school directed towards computers. A report has been made that year, which includes an inquest adressed to the six Departments of the School (Graphic Expression, Projects, Structures, Construction, Composition and Urbanism) and that contains interesting data. According to the report, there were four departments which used computers in their current courses, while the two others (Projects and Composition) did not use them at all. The main user was the Department of Structures while the incidence of the remaining three was rather sporadic. The kind of problems detected in this report are very typical: lack of resources for hardware and software and for maintenance of the few computers that the school had at that moment; a demand (posed by the students) greatly exceeding the supply (computers and teachers). The main problem appeared to be the lack of computer graphic devices and proper software.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

_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	8a27
authors	Bentley, Jon L. and Carruthers, Wendy
year	1980
title	Algorithms for Testing the Inclusion of Points in Polygons
source	Allertorn Conference on Communication, Control and Computing (18th : 1980). (10) p. includes bibliography
summary	Determining whether a given point lies inside or outside a simple polygon is an important problem in many applications, including computer vision systems and computer-assisted political redistricting systems. In this paper the authors give algorithms for inclusion problems that are efficient for polygons that are 'close to convex' in a certain precise sense. An empirical study of polygons that arise in several applications shows that typical polygons are indeed 'close to convex,' and a program implementing the algorithm shows that is extremely efficient on point sets of practical sizes
keywords	point inclusion, polygons, algorithms, computational geometry
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	acadia07_164
id	acadia07_164
authors	Diniz, Nancy; Turner, Alasdair
year	2007
title	Towards a Living Architecture
source	Expanding Bodies: Art • Cities• Environment [Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture / ISBN 978-0-9780978-6-8] Halifax (Nova Scotia) 1-7 October 2007, 164-173
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2007.164
summary	Interaction is the latest currency in architecture, as responsive components are now reacting to the inhabitant of the space. These components are designed and installed by the architect with a view to the phenomenology of space, where the experience of the environment is previewed and pre-constructed before it is translated into the conception of the space. However, this traditional approach to new technology leaves no scope for the architecture to be alive in and of itself, and thus the installed piece quickly becomes just that—an installation: isolated and uncontained by its environment. In this paper, we argue that a way to approach a responsive architecture is to design for a piece that is truly living, and in order to propose a living architecture first we need to understand what the architecture of a living system is. This paper suggests a conceptual framework based on the theory of Autopoiesis in order to create a “self-producing” system through an experiment entitled, “The Life of a Wall” (Maturana and Varela 1980). The wall has a responsive membrane controlled by a genetic algorithm that reconfigures its behaviour and learns to adapt itself continually to the evolutionary properties of the environment, thus becoming a situated, living piece.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	ddss2006-hb-187
id	DDSS2006-HB-187
authors	Lidia Diappi and Paola Bolchi
year	2006
title	Gentrification Waves in the Inner-City of Milan - A multi agent / cellular automata model based on Smith's Rent Gap theory
source	Van Leeuwen, J.P. and H.J.P. Timmermans (eds.) 2006, Innovations in Design & Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning, Dordrecht: Springer, ISBN-10: 1-4020-5059-3, ISBN-13: 978-1-4020-5059-6, p. 187-201
summary	The aim of this paper is to investigate the gentrification process by applying an urban spatial model of gentrification, based on Smith's (1979; 1987; 1996) Rent Gap theory. The rich sociological literature on the topic mainly assumes gentrification to be a cultural phenomenon, namely the result of a demand pressure of the suburban middle and upper class, willing to return to the city (Ley, 1980; Lipton, 1977, May, 1996). Little attempt has been made to investigate and build a sound economic explanation on the causes of the process. The Rent Gap theory (RGT) of Neil Smith still represents an important contribution in this direction. At the heart of Smith's argument there is the assumption that gentrification takes place because capitals return to the inner city, creating opportunities for residential relocation and profit. This paper illustrates a dynamic model of Smith's theory through a multi-agent/ cellular automata system approach (Batty, 2005) developed on a Netlogo platform. A set of behavioural rules for each agent involved (homeowner, landlord, tenant and developer, and the passive 'dwelling' agent with their rent and level of decay) are formalised. The simulations show the surge of neighbouring degradation or renovation and population turn over, starting with different initial states of decay and estate rent values. Consistent with a Self Organized Criticality approach, the model shows that non linear interactions at local level may produce different configurations of the system at macro level. This paper represents a further development of a previous version of the model (Diappi, Bolchi, 2005). The model proposed here includes some more realistic factors inspired by the features of housing market dynamics in the city of Milan. It includes the shape of the potential rent according to city form and functions, the subdivision in areal submarkets according to the current rents, and their maintenance levels. The model has a more realistic visualisation of the city and its form, and is able to show the different dynamics of the emergent neighbourhoods in the last ten years in Milan.
keywords	Multi agent systems, Housing market, Gentrification, Emergent systems
series	DDSS
last changed	2006/08/29 12:55

_id	67c9
authors	Lipski, Witold Jr. and Preparata, Franco P.
year	1980
title	Finding the Contour of a Union of Iso-Oriented Rectangles
source	Journal of Algorithms. Academic Press Inc., January, 1980. pp. 235-246 : some ill. a short bibliography
summary	In this paper the following geometric problem is considered. Let R1,...,Rm be rectangles on the plane with sides parallel to the coordinate axes. An algorithm is described for finding the contour of F = R1, U...U Rm, in O(m log m+p log(2m2/p)) time, where p is the number of edges in the contour. This is O(m2) in the general case, and o(m log m) when F is without holes (then p < 8m - 4); both of these performances are optimal
keywords	rectangles, geometry, computational geometry, algorithms
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_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	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	c153
authors	Ullman, Jeffrey D.
year	1980
title	Principles of Database Systems
source	379 p. : ill. Potomac, Maryland: Computer Science Press, 1980. includes bibliography: p.360-371 and index. -- (Computer Software Engineering Series)
summary	A large part is a description of relations, their algebra and calculus, and the query languages that have been designed using these concepts. There are explanations of how the theory can be used to design good systems. A description of the optimization of queries in relation-based query languages is provided, and a chapter is devoted to the recently developed protocols for guaranteeing consistency in databases that are operated on by many processes concurrently
keywords	database, systems, theory, relational database, education, techniques
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	ddss9860
id	ddss9860
authors	Vakalo, E-G. and Fahmy, A.
year	1998
title	A Theoretical Framework for the Analysis and Derivation of Orthogonal Building Plans and Sections
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Fourth Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning Maastricht, the Netherlands), ISBN 90-6814-081-7, July 26-29, 1998
summary	Architects are generally perceived as “Formgivers with an extraordinary gift” (Ackerman, 1980:12). Implicit in this statement is the belief that the operations that architects employ to compose their designs are the product of a creative faculty that is beyond the reach of rational discourse, and thereby cannot be subjected to logical investigation. This view is detrimental to the advancement of knowledge about architectural composition and adversely affects both practice and education in architecture. More specifically, it prevents the architectural community from acquiring of a more refined conception about how architects derive their designs. In contrast to this view, this study demonstrates that architectural form-making is amenable to logical analysis. In specific, this is to be done through a theoretical and computational framework that describe and explain the tasks involved in the making of orthogonal building plans and sections. In addition to illustrating the susceptibility of architectural form-making to logical analysis, the frameworks proposed in this study overcome the limitations of previously established theories thatdeal with architectural form-making. These can be divided into two categories: normative and positive theories.Normative theories include architectural treatises and manifestos. A major limitation of normativetheories is that they have limited explanatory power. Their concern is with promoting a specific aesthetic ideology and prescribing rules that can be used to derive compositions that conform to it. Therefore, they cannot be used to explain form-making in general. Positive frameworks, such asshape grammar, rely on rules to describe derivation and analysis processes. Nevertheless, they do not provide a comprehensive description of the tasks involved in architectural form-making. This causes the relation between the rules and compositional tasks to be ambiguous. It also affects adversely the ability of these frameworks to provide architects with a complete understanding of the role of compositional rules in derivation or analysis processes.
series	DDSS
type	normal paper
last changed	2010/05/16 09:11

_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	241c
authors	Boehm, Wolfgang
year	1980
title	Inserting New Knots into B-spline Curves
source	IPC Business Press. July, 1980. vol. 12: pp. 199-201 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	For some applications, further subdivision of a segment of a B-spline curve or B-spline surface is desirable. This paper provides an algorithm for this. The structure is similar to de Boor's algorithm for the calculation of a point on a curve. An application of the subdivision is illustrated
keywords	algorithms, B-splines, curves, curved surfaces
series	CADline
last changed	1999/02/12 15:07

_id	4580
authors	Borgerson, B. R. and Johnson, Robert H.
year	1980
title	Beyond CAD to Computer Aided Engineering
source	(8) p. : ill. Manufacturing Data Systems Incorporated, 1980? includes bibliography
summary	Current CAD systems significantly aid the drafting function and many provide some aid to selected design activities. For the development of mechanical systems, much more can be done. Future systems will aid the interactive engineering process of design, analysis, control, documentation, and manufacturing engineering. Computer based systems which address this broader spectrum of engineering activities are referred to as `Computer Aided Engineering,' or `CAE,' systems. CAE systems will use volumetric techniques to create and evaluate the individual components of a machine design in conjunction with data base management schemas to support the interrelationships of the components of machines. This paper focuses on computer assistance to the engineering of mechanical systems
keywords	mechanical engineering, CAE, solid modeling, objects
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	2ddb
authors	Davies, R.S.
year	1980
title	A Review of Computer Techniques for Representation of Geometry
source	1980? pp. 213-225 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	The primary role of the computer in the design process is to provide a means of recording the design, and subsequently of extracting information from the record. The choice of technique for recording geometry depends on the characteristics of the component and the nature of the information subsequently required about it. This paper reviews the principal techniques currently in use with particular emphasis on these two aspects
keywords	CAD, curves, representation, geometric modeling, techniques
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	d22c
authors	Eastman, C.M.
year	1980
title	System Facilities for CAD Databases
source	17th Design Automation Conference Proceedings
summary	In this paper, an attempt is made to lay out the special needs of design databases, as compared to the facilities provided in conventional database systems now commercially available. The paper starts from a point of commonality and focusses on the limitations and shortcomings commonly found in current database systems. It is impossible and unwise to make universal statements about DBMS capabilities. Instead, the goal is to identify those special features that, by their capability, provide distinctions beyond the general notions of speed and ratio of logical size to physical size.
series	journal paper
email
last changed	2003/05/15 21:22

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