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	0a09
authors	Akin, O., Dave, B. and Pithavadian, S.
year	1987
title	Problem Structuring in Architectural Design
source	February, 1987. [4], 15 p. : ill. includes bibliography
summary	The purpose of this research is to describe in operational terms the process of problem structuring while solving spatial problems in architectural design. The designer's behavior is described in terms of problem structuring, when problem parameters are established or transformed, and in terms of problem solving when these parameters are satisfied in a design solution. As opposed to problem solving, the structuring of problems is an under-studied but crucial aspect of complex tasks such as design. This work is based on observations derived from verbal protocol studies. To consider various levels of skill, the research subjects range from professional architects to novice designers. Subjects are given space planning problems which require them to develop solutions in accordance with individually established constraints and criteria, the majority of which are not explicit stated in the problem description. Based on the results of the protocol analysis, a framework is developed which explains how information processing characteristics, problem structure and different levels of expertise interact to influence the designer behavior
keywords	architecture, design process, problem solving, protocol analysis, problem definition
series	CADline
email
last changed	2003/05/17 10:09

_id	eb5f
authors	Al-Sallal, Khaled A. and Degelman, Larry 0.
year	1994
title	A Hypermedia Model for Supporting Energy Design in Buildings
source	Reconnecting [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-03-9] Washington University (Saint Louis / USA) 1994, pp. 39-49
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1994.039
summary	Several studies have discussed the limitations of the available CAAD tools and have proposed solutions [Brown and Novitski 1987, Brown 1990, Degelman and Kim 1988, Schuman et al 1988]. The lack of integration between the different tasks that these programs address and the design process is a major problem. Schuman et al [1988] argued that in architectural design many issues must be considered simultaneously before the synthesis of a final product can take place. Studies by Brown and Novitski [1987] and Brown [1990] discussed the difficulties involved with integrating technical considerations in the creative architectural process. One aspect of the problem is the neglect of technical factors during the initial phase of the design that, as the authors argued, results from changing the work environment and the laborious nature of the design process. Many of the current programs require the user to input a great deal of numerical values that are needed for the energy analysis. Although there are some programs that attempt to assist the user by setting default values, these programs distract the user with their extensive arrays of data. The appropriate design tool is the one that helps the user to easily view the principal components of the building design and specify their behaviors and interactions. Data abstraction and information parsimony are the key concepts in developing a successful design tool. Three different approaches for developing an appropriate CAAD tool were found in the literature. Although there are several similarities among them, each is unique in solving certain aspects of the problem. Brown and Novitski [1987] emphasize the learning factor of the tool as well as its highly graphical user interface. Degelman and Kim [1988] emphasize knowledge acquisition and the provision of simulation modules. The Windows and Daylighting Group of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) emphasizes the dynamic structuring of information, the intelligent linking of data, the integrity of the different issues of design and the design process, and the extensive use of images [Schuman et al 19881, these attributes incidentally define the word hypermedia. The LBL model, which uses hypermedia, seems to be the more promising direction for this type of research. However, there is still a need to establish a new model that integrates all aspects of the problem. The areas in which the present research departs from the LBL model can be listed as follows: it acknowledges the necessity of regarding the user as the center of the CAAD tool design, it develops a model that is based on one of the high level theories of human-computer interaction, and it develops a prototype tool that conforms to the model.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	ascaad2006_paper20
id	ascaad2006_paper20
authors	Chougui, Ali
year	2006
title	The Digital Design Process: reflections on architectural design positions on complexity and CAAD
source	Computing in Architecture / Re-Thinking the Discourse: The Second International Conference of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2006), 25-27 April 2006, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
summary	These instructions are intended to guide contributors to the Second Architecture is presently engaged in an impatient search for solutions to critical questions about the nature and the identity of the discipline, and digital technology is a key agent for prevailing innovations in architectural design. The problem of complexity underlies all design problems. With the advent of CAD however, Architect’s ability to truly represent complexity has increased considerably. Another source that provides information about dealing with complexity is architectural theory. As Rowe (1987) states, architectural theory constitutes “a corpus of principles that are agreed upon and therefore worthy of emulation”. Architectural theory often is a mixed reflection on the nature of architectural design, design processes, made in descriptive and prescriptive terms (see Kruft 1985). Complexity is obviously not a new issue in architectural theory. Since it is an inherent characteristic of design problems, it has been dealt with in many different ways throughout history. Contemporary architects incorporate the computer in their design process. They produce architecture that is generated by the use of particle systems, simulation software, animation software, but also the more standard modelling tools. The architects reflect on the impact of the computer in their theories, and display changes in style by using information modelling techniques that have become versatile enough to encompass the complexity of information in the architectural design process. In this way, architectural style and theory can provide directions to further develop CAD. Most notable is the acceptance of complexity as a given fact, not as a phenomenon to oppose in systems of organization, but as a structuring principle to begin with. No matter what information modelling paradigm is used, complex and huge amounts of information need to be processed by designers. A key aspect in the combination of CAD, complexity, and architectural design is the role of the design representation. The way the design is presented and perceived during the design process is instrumental to understanding the design task. More architects are trying to reformulate this working of the representation. The intention of this paper is to present and discuss the current state of the art in architectural design positions on complexity and CAAD, and to reflect in particular on the role of digital design representations in this discussion. We also try to investigate how complexity can be dealt with, by looking at architects, in particular their styles and theories. The way architects use digital media and graphic representations can be informative how units of information can be formed and used in the design process. A case study is a concrete architect’s design processes such as Peter Eisenman Rem Koolhaas, van Berkel, Lynn, and Franke gehry, who embrace complexity and make it a focus point in their design, Rather than viewing it as problematic issue, by using computer as an indispensable instrument in their approaches.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2007/04/08 19:47

_id	ae05
authors	Akin, Omer
year	1987
title	Expertise of the Architect
source	November, 1987. [13] p. unevenly numbered : ill. includes bibliography
summary	One of the areas where the expertise of the seasoned architect comes out is in the initial structuring of design problems. During problem structuring the parameters and processes used in design are defined. Experienced architects modify these parameters both in global and local levels as a function of the success of their research process. Experienced architects also rely on 'scenarios' acquired through pervious experiences with similar problems to initialize their problem structures or to redefined them
keywords	design, architecture, methods
series	CADline
email
last changed	2003/05/17 10:09

_id	e861
authors	Burnham, G.T.
year	1987
title	Microcomputer-Based Expert System for the Design of Operational Military Airfields
source	Department of Architectural Science, University of Sydney
summary	This thesis develops a number of prototypical expert systems on a microcomputer to assist the military designer or engineer with facets of military operational airfield design. An existing expert system shell BUILD written in PROLOG-1 was altered to provide a more permanent record of the results of the system execution. The individual knowledge base includes production rules which conform to the BUILD syntax requirements. A number of additional clauses related to the knowledge base are written in PROLOG-1. The expert system consists of some 200 rules and an additional 36 clauses. The rules contain knowledge on soil characteristics pertinent to airfields, factors involved in calculating lengths of runways and factors for determining the effort involved in construction. The knowledge for the expert systems was gathered from a combination of civilian and military literature sources, the author's own experience, and discussions with military and air force personnel currently engaged in the design, planning and construction of these facilities. Development of these prototypical expert systems demonstrates the feasibility of implementing expert systems on microcomputers in this domain. Furthermore, it demonstrates their possible application to military engineering design particularly where the design process relies on a large amount of tabulated data and heuristic knowledge. It is this type of knowledge that is often used by the military engineer to find a timely problem solution when provided with a range of options. [Unpublished. -- CADLINE has abstract only.]
keywords	Applications, Military Engineering, Expert Systems, Design, Planning
series	thesis:MSc
last changed	2002/12/14 19:15

_id	a7c1
authors	Galle, Per
year	1987
title	A Basic Problem Definition Language for Automated Floor Plan Design
source	113 p. 1987. DIKU Research Report No. 87/4
summary	CADLINE has abstract only. Algorithms for automated floor plan design need a machine- readable description of properties of the desired floor plans. In this report BPDL ('Basic Problem Definition Language'), a rudimentary language for stating such descriptions, is developed. The development is based on a discussion of pragmatic aspects of possible features of the language. The resulting language is described by formal definitions of syntax and semantics, accompanied by informal explanations. Finally, experiments with a floor plan design algorithm that supports BPDL are reported and it is concluded that even a rudimentary language like BPDL can describe relatively non- trivial floor plan layouts, provided a set of geometrical primitives, attributes and relations that make up the language are carefully chosen. Further research along the lines of BPDL is suggested, and the importance of a systematic approach to development of future specification languages for architectural design is stressed
keywords	architecture, floor plans, design, attributes, relations, semantics, algorithms, synthesis, planning, languages
series	CADline
last changed	1999/02/12 15:08

_id	2ac0
authors	Galle, Per
year	1987
title	A Formalized Concept of Sketching in Automated Floor Plan Design
source	177 p. 1987. DIKO Research Report No.87/3
summary	CADLINE has abstract only. Automated floor plan design, though originally motivated by the difficulties encountered by architects manually designing building layouts, raise several questions that may be of relevance to related application areas as well. e.g. design of electronic circuitry. One such question is, 'how do we come from a given set of constraints on size and placement of rooms (components) to a set of floor plans (circuit layouts) that satisfy these constraints?' In manual architectural design, sketches are used as an intermediate step. The present work is a study of a number of formalizations of the sketch concept which have been or could be used in computer- generation of architectural floor plans. A particular type of sketch, called the 'delta-derivative', is suggested and developed. The delta-derivative of a desired solution plan is an approximation of that solution plan and usually several other similar or 'equivalent' solutions. The idea is to generate sketches ('abstract' plans) before solutions ('concrete' plans), because they are simpler to compute, weeding out sketches that are not 'promising', and trying to refine the remaining sketches into solutions proper, thus limiting the amount of combinatorial search. Several abstraction levels of sketches may be used in this process. However, constraints as specified by the user of an automated design system are assumed to apply to the solutions; therefore a major theoretical problem which is addressed in the report is the derivation of sketch-level constraints that define which sketches to be generated. A comprehensive floor plan design system based on these ideas has been implemented, and empirical results are reported which confirms certain predicted advantages of delta-derivatives but also shows that the sketch-level constraints based on the developed theory are too weak if used alone; they allow generation of too many sketches which cannot possibly be refined into solutions. The report finally conjectures a solution to this problem
keywords	CAD, planning, architecture, floor plans, design, combinatorics, programming, abstraction
series	CADline
last changed	1999/02/12 15:08

_id	448b
authors	Gerzso, Miguel J.
year	1987
title	On the Reasons for Designing an Object Based Language Called TM
source	1987. 7 p. : ill. includes bibliography
summary	One of the most basic problems in attempting to use computers for architectural applications has been the generation of design alternatives. In order to approach this problem, it is claimed in the paper that in reality it is two basic problems: a methodological problem and a data and procedural representation problem. Diagrammatic Production Rules (DPR's), developed previously by the author, have been proposed for dealing with methodological problem and TM, an object based language, is proposed in the paper for dealing with the data and procedural representation problem. An example of a DPR and a 'program' in TM are included to illustrate the relationship between the two
keywords	languages, representation, OOPS, CAD, applications, programming, architecture, synthesis, design
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	e60d
authors	Gross, Mark D., Ervin, Stephen M. and Anderson, James (et al)
year	1987
title	Designing with Constraints
source	John Wiley & Sons, 1987. pp. 53-83. includes bibliography
summary	The constraint model of designing provides a means of demonstrating and exploring the computability of design. Designing is understood as a process of incrementally defining an initially ill-defined question, and concurrently proposing and testing possible answers. That is, not finding THE solution to A problem, but finding A solution to THE problem. Articulating (including inventing and modifying) the question, and exploring possible alternative answers (or designs), are two fundamental activities which can be supported by computers and the constraint model. The authors discuss the use of constraints to explicate design questions, circumscribe feasible regions and specify proposed solutions, and examine the processes of search and scrutiny within a region. Naming, solving history-keeping, block-structuring, identifying and resolving conflicts are among tasks identified that can be rendered to a computer. Questions of knowledge representation and inference making with ambiguity and imprecision are discussed. Examples of the application of the constraint model to design problems in architecture and site planning are illustrated by brief scenarios
keywords	constraints, design process, search, knowledge
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_id	e524
authors	Miranda, Valerian and Degelman, Larry 0.
year	1987
title	An Experimental Computer-Aided Design Studio
source	Integrating Computers into the Architectural Curriculum [ACADIA Conference Proceedings] Raleigh (North Carolina / USA) 1987, pp. 19-28
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1987.019
summary	A pilot experiment was conducted in the use of microcomputers and Computer Aided Design (CAD) software for architectural design education. The CAD workstations were incorporated into two consecutive semesters of the third year design studio and consisted of TANDY 3000 HD (tm) microcomputers with 20 megabyte hard disks, digitizer tablets, digitizer mice, enhanced graphics capabilities, dot-matrix printers and multi-pen plotters. Software packages included the Personal Architect (tm), VersaCAD (tm), DataCAD (tm), word processing software etc. Student to machine ratio of 4 to 1 was maintained and the use of the equipment was made available to students for approximately 20 hours per day. Design assignments neither emphasized nor required the use of CAD techniques, as the experiment was designed to measure the students' acceptance of and adaptation to the use of CAD tools. The objective was to "teach" design in the traditional sense of a design studio, while making the computer an integral part of the setting in which the student learned designing and problem solving. Measurements were made of (1) time for the "fundamentals" learning curve, (2) time for a "basic competence" learning curve, (3) hours utilized by categories of type of use, (4) hours utilized by equipment and software type, and (5) progress in design ability as evaluated by the traditional jury review methods.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

_id	ecaaderis2023_45
id	ecaaderis2023_45
authors	Morton, David, Ahmed, Tarek MF and Humphery, Richard
year	2023
title	BIM and Teaching in Architecture: Current thinking and approaches
source	De Luca, F, Lykouras, I and Wurzer, G (eds.), Proceedings of the 9th eCAADe Regional International Symposium, TalTech, 15 - 16 June 2023, pp. 105–115
summary	Increasing use of BIM has represented a continuing shift in traditional assumptions on how we navigate the design process. BIM is affording the student the ability to gain a greater understanding of their design ideas via the exploration of scale, spatial organisation and structure, amongst many other design layers, in increasing levels of detail, at the same point in the design process. Architectural education is at a delayed tipping point where architectural students are increasingly looking towards BIM to streamline their design process drawn by the production of realistic visualisation, but with a lack of knowledge and skill in its application. With a lack of guidance and understanding around the application of BIM, the use of BIM in this manner overlooks the potential of BIM to construct and test virtual simulations of proposed schemes, to support design enquiry. A historical concern for the pedagogy constructed around the students’ design process is the application of methods and techniques that support the progression through the design process, (Ambrose, 2014; dash mei & Safari, 2018). This study examines the design process of architectural students and the interaction between analogue and digital methods used in design. These primary modes of communication, offer the opportunity to query the roles and rules of traditional architectural conventions around ‘problem finding’ and ‘problem solving’, challenging the ‘traditional’ design process examined by pioneers like Bruner (1966) and Schon (1987). These approaches are distilled from the findings of the study and presented as guidance to those teaching in architectural aBIMemia to align pedagogic goals to methods of abstraction in this new era of design education reconsidering digital methods in design.
keywords	BIM, BIM, Design Process, Architecture, Learning
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2024/02/05 14:28

_id	404e
authors	Oksala , T.
year	1988
title	Logical Models for Rule-based CAAD
source	CAAD futures ‘87 [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-444-42916-6] Eindhoven (The Netherlands), 20-22 May 1987, pp. 107-116
summary	The aim of this paper is to present the basic results of a theoretic approach to represent architectural individual forms in CAD systems. From the point of view of design methodology and problem solving these descriptions might be conceived' as parts of possible environments satisfying the laws of some design theory in logical sense. This paper describes results in a series of logical studies towards rule and knowledge based systems for design automation. The effective use of programming languages and computers as design aids in architecture presupposes certain capabilities to articulate built environment logically. The use of graphic languages in the description of environmental items e.g. buildings might be theoretically mastered by formal production systems including linguistic, geometric, and spatio-material generation. The combination of the power of formal mechanisms and logical individual calculus offers suitable framework to generate arbitrary e.g. free spatial compositions as types or unique solutions. In this frame it is natural to represent in a coherent way very complex hierarchical parsing of buildings in explicit form as needed in computer implementations. In order to simulate real design work the individual configurations of possible built forms should be designed to satisfy known rules. In the preliminary stage partial solutions to design problems may be discussed in mathematical terms using frameworks like lattices, graphs, or group theoretical considerations of structural, functional, and visual organization of buildings. The capability to produce mathematically sophisticated geometric structures allows us to generalize the approach further. The theoretical design knowhow in architecture can be partly translated in to some logic and represented in a knowledge base. These rules are used as selection criteria for geometric design candidates in the sense of logical model theory and mathematical optimization. The economy of the system can be developed by using suitable conduct mechanisms familiar e.g. from logic programming. The semantics of logic offers a frame to consider computer assisted and formal generation in design. A number of semantic and pragmatic problems, however, remain to be solved. In any case conceptual analyses based on logic are applicable in order to rationally reconstruct architectural goals contributing to the quality of environmental design, which should be the main goal in the development of design systems in near future.
series	CAAD Futures
last changed	1999/04/03 17:58

_id	bbeb
authors	Pena, W., Parshall, S. and Kelly, K.
year	1987
title	Problem Seeking: An architectural programming primer
source	3d ed. Washinton, D. C. AIA Press
summary	Architectural programming is a team effort that requires close cooperation between architects and their clients. Problem Seeking, Fourth Edition lays out a five-step procedure that teams can follow when programming any building or series of buildings, from a small house to a hospital complex. This simple yet comprehensive process encompasses the entire range of factors that influence the design of buildings. This new edition of the only programming guide appropriate for both architect and client features new ways of thinking about programming, new strategies for effective group action, and new settings in which to explore programming concepts. Supplemented with more than 120 helpful illustrations and diagrams, this indispensable resource provides updated technical information and faster, easier access to explanations, examples, and tools.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	0cb8
authors	Yessios, Chris I.
year	1987
title	A Fractal Studio
source	Integrating Computers into the Architectural Curriculum [ACADIA Conference Proceedings] Raleigh (North Carolina / USA) 1987, pp. 169-182
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1987.169
summary	The experience of using computer aided architectural design tools in a second year graduate studio is presented. These tools had to be developed as the search for design solutions evolved. The computer has been used for the exploration and generation of architectural forms and very little as a drafting/rendering machine. The generative algorithms were based on fractal geometries, arabesque ornamentations, DNA/RNA biological processes' etc. The design problem was a Biological Research Complex. The whole experience raised some interesting pedagogical questions, which are also discussed.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:57

_id	e7a8
authors	Emde, H.
year	1988
title	Geometrical Fundamentals for Design and Visualization of Spatial Objects
source	CAAD futures ‘87 [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-444-42916-6] Eindhoven (The Netherlands), 20-22 May 1987, pp. 171-178
summary	Every architectural object is a 3-dimensional entity of the human environment, haptically tangible and optically visible. During the architectural process of planning every object should be designed as a body and should be visualized in pictures. Thus the parts of construction get an order in space and the steps of construction get an order in time. The ideal planning object is a simulated anticipation of the real building object, which is to be performed later on. The possibility to relate the planning object immediately to the building object relies on the fact that they both have the same "geometry" This means: both can be described in the same geometric manner. Creating and visualizing spatial objects is based on geometrical fundamentals. Theoretical knowledge and practical control of these fundamentals is essential for the faultless construction and the realistic presentation of architectural objects. Therefore they have to be taught and learned thoroughly in the course of an architectural education. Geometrical design includes the forming of object- models (geometry of body boundaries), the structuring of object-hierarchies (geometry of body combinations) and the colouring of objects. Geometrical visualization includes controlling the processes of motion, of the bodies (when moving objects) and of the center of observation (when moving subjects) as well as the representation of 3-dimensional objects in 2- dimensional pictures and sequences of pictures. All these activities of architects are instances of geometrical information processing. They can be performed with the aid of computers. As for the computer this requires suitable hardware and software, as for the architect it requires suitable knowledge and capabilities to be able to talk about and to recall the perceivable objects and processes of the design with logic abstracts (language of geometry). In contrast to logical, numerical and textual informations the geometric informations concerning spatial objects are of much higher complexity. Usually these complexes of information are absorbed, processed and transmitted by the architect in a perceptive manner. The computer support in the field of geometry assumes that the processing of perceptions of the human consciousness can be converted by the computer as a framework of logical relations. Computer aided construction and representation require both suited devices for haptical and optical communication and suitable programs in particular.
series	CAAD Futures
last changed	1999/04/03 17:58

_id	4d3b
authors	Archea, John
year	1987
title	Puzzle-Making : What Architects Do When No One is Looking
source	New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1987. pp. 37-52. includes bibliography
summary	The thesis of this paper is that architects work in a manner that is antithetical to problem-solving because they cannot explicate desired effects prior to their realization through the design process. In an attempt to clarify architecture's uncommon mode of action the author suggests that instead of specifying what they are trying to accomplish prior to their attempts to accomplish it as problem-solver do, architects treat design as a search for the most appropriate effects that can be attained in a unique context. They seek sets of combinatorial rules that will result in an internally consistent fit between a kit of parts and the effects that are achieved when those parts are assembled in a certain way
keywords	puzzle making, problem solving, architecture, design process
series	CADline
last changed	1999/02/12 15:07

_id	68cb
authors	Fenves, Stephen J. and Baker, Nelson C.
year	1987
title	Spatial and Functional Representation Language for Structural Design
source	21 p. : ill. Pittsburgh: Engineering Design Research Center, CMU, December, 1987. includes bibliography
summary	Knowledge-based systems for structural design developed to date have used simple geometric representations which have not provided adequate spatial reasoning. Shape grammars are suggested as a representation for a knowledge-based system capable of performing spatial and functional reasoning. The representation needs to serve all disciplines involved in the design process, where different semantics of each discipline are associated with the same spatial information about design objects. The representation is demonstrated in the building design environment, where possible structural systems can be generated dependent upon the building's spatial layout
keywords	representation, shape grammars, structures, design, problem solving, planning, civil engineering, architecture
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_id	630c
authors	Harel, David
year	1987
title	Algorithmics: the Spirit of Computing
source	x, 425 p. : ill. Reading, Mass.: Addison Wesley Pub. Co., 1987. include bibliography: p. 357-403 and index
summary	The preliminary chapters discuss the concept of an algorithmic problem and the algorithm that solves it. Discussions of the structure of algorithms, the data they manipulate and the languages in which they are programmed. Part two of the book turns to some general methods and paradigms for algorithmic design. Part three of the book is devoted to the inherent limitations of effectively executable algorithms and hence of the computers that implement them
keywords	algorithms, programming
series	CADline
last changed	1999/02/12 15:08

_id	6683
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and Wang, TsoJen E.
year	1987
title	Spike : A Generic Design Standards Processing Expert System
source	Southampton, UK: Computational Mechanics Publications, pp. 241-257. Also published in : Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering International Conference Proceedings (2nd. : 1987 : Boston, MA.)
summary	Standards, codes, and specifications play an important role in the design of buildings, bridges, and other engineering systems. A design configuration must be checked against all standards to ensure that it is acceptable. This process of design conformance checking using standards is often very tedious. The successful automation of conformance checking is one of the components of a comprehensive computer-aided design system. In that past, standards were interpreted and converted into application programs written in procedural programming languages such as FORTRAN. This approach is extremely inflexible and often error-prone. To support a fully automated computer-aided design system, standards must be incorporated into the design process in a more generic and flexible manner. This paper investigates the feasibility of alternatively casting standards in a form suitable for processing in a knowledge-based expert system environment. The emergence of expert systems from artificial intelligence research has provided a technology that readily lends itself to the automation of design standards. Knowledge-based expert systems have become a powerful tool in tackling domains like design where some of the problem-solving knowledge is diverse and ill-structured. Using an expert system tool, a standard can be represented and processed independent of a CAD application program. Two prototype standards processing systems utilizing the production system approach have been constructed and are presented herein. Although the obvious direct translation casting the provisions of a standard as rules in a production system has its advantages, a more generic and flexible representation scheme is proposed herein. The approach advocated in this paper is to represent standards as databases of facts which can be readily and generically processed by an expert system. The database representation is derived from a unified view of standards obtained by using the standards modeling tools proposed by previous researchers in this field during the past decade. Building on this existing technology resulted in a knowledge- based standards processing architecture which is generic, modular, and flexible. An implementation of this architecture is presented and described
keywords	standards, civil engineering, expert systems
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	66e5
authors	Rasdorf, William J. and Wang, TsoJen E.
year	1987
title	Generic Design Standards Processing in a Knowledge-based expert system Environment
source	Design Process, National Science Foundation Workshop Proceedings. 1987. pp. 267-291. CADLINE has abstract only
summary	Standards, codes, and specifications play an important role in the design of buildings, bridges, and other engineering systems. A design configuration must be checked against all standards to ensure that it is acceptable. This process of design conformance checking using standards is often very tedious. The successful automation of conformance checking is one of the components of a comprehensive computer-aided design system. In the past, standards were interpreted and converted into application program written in procedural programming languages such as FORTRAN. This approach is extremely inflexible and often error prone. To support a fully automated computer-aided design system, standards must be incorporated into the design process in a more generic and flexible manner. This paper investigates the feasibility of alternatively casting standards in a form suitable for processing in a knowledge-based expert system environment. The emergence of expert systems from artificial intelligence research has provided a technology that readily lends itself to the automation of design standards. Knowledge-based expert systems have become a powerful tool in tackling domains like design where some of the problem-solving knowledge is diverse and ill-structured. Using an expert system tool, a standard can be represented and processed independent of a CAD application program. Two prototype standards processing systems utilizing the production system approach have been constructed and are presented herein. Although the obvious direct translation casting the provisions of a standard as rules in a production system has its advantages, a more generic and flexible representation scheme is proposed herein. The approach advocated in this paper is to represent standards as databases of facts which can be readily and generically processed by an expert system. The database representation is derived from a unified view of standards obtained by using the standards modeling tools proposed by previous researchers in this field during the past decade. Building on this existing technology resulted in a knowledge- based standards processing architecture which is generic, modular, and flexible. An implementation of this architecture is presented and described
keywords	knowledge base, standards, expert systems, civil engineering
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

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