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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	ddss9215
id	ddss9215
authors	Mortola, E. and Giangrande, A.
year	1993
title	A trichotomic segmentation procedure to evaluate projects in architecture
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	This paper illustrates a model used to construct the evaluation module for An Interface for Designing (AID), a system to aid architectural design. The model can be used at the end of every cycle of analysis-synthesis-evaluation in the intermediate phases of design development. With the aid of the model it is possible to evaluate the quality of a project in overall terms to establish whether the project is acceptable, whether it should be elaborated ex-novo, or whether it is necessary to begin a new cycle to improve it. In this last case, it is also possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the possible actions and strategies for improvement. The model is based on a procedure of trichotomic segmentation, developed with MCDA (Multi-Criteria Decision Aid), which uses the outranking relation to compare the project with some evaluation profiles taken as projects of reference. An application of the model in the teaching field will also be described.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	cef3
authors	Bridges, Alan H.
year	1992
title	Computing and Problem Based Learning at Delft University of Technology Faculty of Architecture
source	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 289-294
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.289
summary	Delft University of Technology, founded in 1842, is the oldest and largest technical university in the Netherlands. It provides education for more than 13,000 students in fifteen main subject areas. The Faculty of Architecture, Housing, Urban Design and Planning is one of the largest faculties of the DUT with some 2000 students and over 500 staff members. The course of study takes four academic years: a first year (Propaedeuse) and a further three years (Doctoraal) leading to the "ingenieur" qualification. The basic course material is delivered in the first two years and is taken by all students. The third and fourth years consist of a smaller number of compulsory subjects in each of the department's specialist areas together with a wide range of option choices. The five main subject areas the students may choose from for their specialisation are Architecture, Building and Project Management, Building Technology, Urban Design and Planning, and Housing. The curriculum of the Faculty has been radically revised over the last two years and is now based on the concept of "Problem-Based Learning". The subject matter taught is divided thematically into specific issues that are taught in six week blocks. The vehicles for these blocks are specially selected and adapted case studies prepared by teams of staff members. These provide a focus for integrating specialist subjects around a studio based design theme. In the case of second year this studio is largely computer-based: many drawings are produced by computer and several specially written computer applications are used in association with the specialist inputs. This paper describes the "block structure" used in second year, giving examples of the special computer programs used, but also raises a number of broader educational issues. Introduction of the block system arose as a method of curriculum integration in response to difficulties emerging from the independent functioning of strong discipline areas in the traditional work groups. The need for a greater level of selfdirected learning was recognised as opposed to the "passive information model" of student learning in which the students are seen as empty vessels to be filled with knowledge - which they are then usually unable to apply in design related contexts in the studio. Furthermore, the value of electives had been questioned: whilst enabling some diversity of choice, they may also be seen as diverting attention and resources from the real problems of teaching architecture.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	avocaad_2001_20
id	avocaad_2001_20
authors	Shen-Kai Tang
year	2001
title	Toward a procedure of computer simulation in the restoration of historical architecture
source	AVOCAAD - ADDED VALUE OF COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Nys Koenraad, Provoost Tom, Verbeke Johan, Verleye Johan (Eds.), (2001) Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst - Departement Architectuur Sint-Lucas, Campus Brussel, ISBN 80-76101-05-1
summary	In the field of architectural design, “visualization¨ generally refers to some media, communicating and representing the idea of designers, such as ordinary drafts, maps, perspectives, photos and physical models, etc. (Rahman, 1992; Susan, 2000). The main reason why we adopt visualization is that it enables us to understand clearly and to control complicated procedures (Gombrich, 1990). Secondly, the way we get design knowledge is more from the published visualized images and less from personal experiences (Evans, 1989). Thus the importance of the representation of visualization is manifested.Due to the developments of computer technology in recent years, various computer aided design system are invented and used in a great amount, such as image processing, computer graphic, computer modeling/rendering, animation, multimedia, virtual reality and collaboration, etc. (Lawson, 1995; Liu, 1996). The conventional media are greatly replaced by computer media, and the visualization is further brought into the computerized stage. The procedure of visual impact analysis and assessment (VIAA), addressed by Rahman (1992), is renewed and amended for the intervention of computer (Liu, 2000). Based on the procedures above, a great amount of applied researches are proceeded. Therefore it is evident that the computer visualization is helpful to the discussion and evaluation during the design process (Hall, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998; Liu, 1997; Sasada, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998). In addition to the process of architectural design, the computer visualization is also applied to the subject of construction, which is repeatedly amended and corrected by the images of computer simulation (Liu, 2000). Potier (2000) probes into the contextual research and restoration of historical architecture by the technology of computer simulation before the practical restoration is constructed. In this way he established a communicative mode among archeologists, architects via computer media.In the research of restoration and preservation of historical architecture in Taiwan, many scholars have been devoted into the studies of historical contextual criticism (Shi, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995; Fu, 1995, 1997; Chiu, 2000). Clues that accompany the historical contextual criticism (such as oral information, writings, photographs, pictures, etc.) help to explore the construction and the procedure of restoration (Hung, 1995), and serve as an aid to the studies of the usage and durability of the materials in the restoration of historical architecture (Dasser, 1990; Wang, 1998). Many clues are lost, because historical architecture is often age-old (Hung, 1995). Under the circumstance, restoration of historical architecture can only be proceeded by restricted pictures, written data and oral information (Shi, 1989). Therefore, computer simulation is employed by scholars to simulate the condition of historical architecture with restricted information after restoration (Potier, 2000). Yet this is only the early stage of computer-aid restoration. The focus of the paper aims at exploring that whether visual simulation of computer can help to investigate the practice of restoration and the estimation and evaluation after restoration.By exploring the restoration of historical architecture (taking the Gigi Train Station destroyed by the earthquake in last September as the operating example), this study aims to establish a complete work on computer visualization, including the concept of restoration, the practice of restoration, and the estimation and evaluation of restoration.This research is to simulate the process of restoration by computer simulation based on visualized media (restricted pictures, restricted written data and restricted oral information) and the specialized experience of historical architects (Potier, 2000). During the process of practicing, communicates with craftsmen repeatedly with some simulated alternatives, and makes the result as the foundation of evaluating and adjusting the simulating process and outcome. In this way we address a suitable and complete process of computer visualization for historical architecture.The significance of this paper is that we are able to control every detail more exactly, and then prevent possible problems during the process of restoration of historical architecture.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	064b
authors	Ward, D., Horton, F.F. and Brown, A.G.P.
year	1992
title	An Environmental Design Assistant
source	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 427-434
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.427
summary	One of the problems facing students of architecture and those teaching of architecture is that the body of information which needs to be bourne in mind when designing is continually increasing. One area where there has been a rapid recent growth in interest and consequent legislation is in environmental or "green" matters. As an example recent legislation has been introduced in an effort to standardise the procedures for assessing building, and in particular their energy consumption. This paper reports on the development of a Hypermedia based tool to aid the process of the Environmental design of buildings with the objective of producing a computer-based aid which encourages understanding and innovation rather than leading the. user through a mechanical process of form filling. We conclude with comments on the effectiveness of the tool as a design aid and propose future developments for the work on computer-based Environmental Assessment.
keywords	Environmental Impact, Environmental Assessment, Expert Systems, HyperCard
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

_id	3ff5
authors	Abbo, I.A., La Scalea, L., Otero, E. and Castaneda, L.
year	1992
title	Full-Scale Simulations as Tool for Developing Spatial Design Ability
source	Proceedings of the 4rd European Full-Scale Modelling Conference / Lausanne (Switzerland) 9-12 September 1992, Part C, pp. 7-10
summary	Spatial Design Ability has been defined as the capability to anticipate effects (psychological impressions on potential observers or users) produced by mental manipulation of elements of architectural or urban spaces. This ability, of great importance in choosing the appropriate option during the design process, is not specifically developed in schools of architecture and is partially obtained as a by-product of drawing, designing or architectural criticism. We use our Laboratory as a tool to present spaces to people so that they can evaluate them. By means of a series of exercises, students confront their anticipations with the psychological impressions produced in other people. For this occasion, we present an experience in which students had to propose a space for an exhibition hag in which architectural projects (student thesis) were to be shown. Following the Spatial Design Ability Development Model which we have been using for several years, students first get acquainted with the use of evaluation instruments for psychological impressions as well as with research methodology. In this case, due to the short period available, we reduced research to investigate the effects produced by the manipulation of only 2 independents variables: students manipulated first the form of the roof, walls and interiors elements, secondly, color and texture of those elements. They evaluated spatial quality, character and the other psychological impressions that manipulations produced in people. They used three dimensional scale models 1/10 and 1/1.
keywords	Full-scale Modeling, Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
email
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa
last changed	2003/08/25 10:12

_id	735a
authors	Anh, Tran Hoai
year	1992
title	FULL-SCALE EXPERIMENT ON KITCHEN FUNCTION IN HANOI
source	Proceedings of the 4rd European Full-Scale Modelling Conference / Lausanne (Switzerland) 9-12 September 1992, Part A, pp. 19-30
summary	This study is a part of a licentiate thesis on "Functional kitchen for the Vietnamese cooking way"at the Department of Architecture and Development studies, Lund University. The issues it is dealing with are: (1) Inadequacy of kitchen design in the apartment buildings in Hanoi, where the kitchen is often designed as a mere cooking place - other parts of the food making process are not given any attention. (2) Lack of standard dimensional and planning criteria for functional kitchen which can serve as bases for kitchen design. // The thesis aims at finding out indicators on functional spatial requirements for kitchen, which can serve as guide-line for designing functional kitchen for Hanoi. One of the main propositions in the thesis is that functional kitchens for Hanoi should be organised to permit the culinary activities done according to the Vietnamese urban culinary practice. This is based on the concept that the culinary activity is an expression Of culture, thus the practice of preparing meal in the present context of the urban households in Hanoi has an established pattern, method which demand a suitable area and arrangement in the kitchen. This pattern and cooking method should make up the functional requirement for kitchen in Hanoi, and be taken in to account if functional kitchen designing is to be achieved. In the context of the space-limited apartment building of Hanoi, special focus is given to find out indicators on the minimum functional spatial requirements of the kitchen works.
keywords	Full-scale Modeling, Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
type	normal paper
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa
last changed	2004/05/04 15:29

_id	ddss9219
id	ddss9219
authors	Bourdakis, V. and Fellows, R.F.
year	1993
title	A model appraising the performance of structural systems used in sports hall and swimming pool buildings in greece
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	The selection of the best performing structural system (among steel, timber laminated, concrete, fabric tents) for medium span (30-50m) sports halls and swimming pools in Greece formed the impetus for this research. Decision-making concerning selection of the structural system is difficult in this sector of construction, as was explained in the "Long Span Structures" conference (November 1990, Athens. Greece). From the literature it has been found that most building appraisals end up at the level of data analysis and draw conclusions on the individual aspects they investigate. These approaches usually focus on a fraction of the problem, examining it very deeply and theoretically. Their drawback is loss of comprehensiveness and ability to draw conclusions on an overall level and consequently being applicable to the existing conditions. Research on an inclusive level is sparse. In this particular research project, an inclusive appraisal approach was adopted, leading to the identification of three main variables: resources, human-user-satisfaction, and technical. Consequently, this led to a combination of purely quantitative and qualitative data. Case studies were conducted on existing buildings in order to assess the actual performance of the various alternative structural systems. This paper presents the procedure followed for the identification of the research variables and the focus on the development of the model of quantification. The latter is of vital importance if the problem of incompatibility of data is to be solved, overall relation of findings is to be achieved and holistic conclusions are to be drawn.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	caadria2010_042
id	caadria2010_042
authors	Celento, David
year	2010
title	Open-source, parametric architecture to propagate hyper-dense, sustainable urban communities: parametric urban dwellings for the experience economy
source	Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / Hong Kong 7-10 April 2010, pp. 443-452
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2010.443
summary	Rapid developments in societal, technological, and natural systems suggest profound changes ahead if research in panarchical systems (Holling, 2001) is to be believed. Panarchy suggests that systems, both natural and man-made, rise to the point of vulnerability then fail due to disruptive forces in a process of ‘creative destruction.’ This sequence allows for radical, and often unpredictable, renewal. Pressing sustainability concerns, burgeoning urban growth, and emergent ‘green manufacturing’ laws, suggest that future urban dwellings are headed toward Gladwell’s ‘tipping point’ (2002). Hyper-dense, sustainable, urban communities that employ open-source standards, parametric software, and web-based configurators are the new frontier for venerable visions. Open-source standards will permit the design, manufacture, and sale of highly diverse, inter-operable components to create compact urban living environments that are technologically sophisticated, sustainable, and mobile. These mass-customised dwellings, akin to branded consumer goods, will address previous shortcomings for prefabricated, mobile dwellings by stimulating consumer desire in ways that extend the arguments of both Joseph Pine (1992) and Anna Klingman (2007). Arguments presented by authors Makimoto and Manners (1997) – which assert that the adoption of digital and mobile technologies will create large-scale societal shifts – will be extended with several solutions proposed.
keywords	Mass customisation; urban dwellings; open source standards; parametric design; sustainability
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	ddss9209
id	ddss9209
authors	De Gelder, J.T. and Lucardie, G.L.
year	1993
title	Knowledge and data modelling in cad/cam applications
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	Modelling knowledge and data in CAD/CAM applications is complex because different goals and contexts have to be taken into account. This complexity makes particular demands upon representation formalisms. Today many modelling tools are based on record structures. By analyzing the requirements for a product model of a portal structure in steel, this paper shows that in many situations record structures are not well suited as a representation formalism for storing knowledge and data in CAD/CAM applications. This is illustrated by performing a knowledge-level analysis of the knowledge and data generated in the design and manufacturing process of a portal structure in steel.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	e412
authors	Fargas, Josep and Papazian, Pegor
year	1992
title	Modeling Regulations and Intentions for Urban Development: The Role of Computer Simulation in the Urban Design Studio
source	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 201-212
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.201
summary	In this paper we present a strategy for modeling urban development in order to study the role of urban regulations and policies in the transformation of cities. We also suggest a methodology for using computer models as experimental tools in the urban design studio in order to make explicit the factors involved in shaping cities, and for the automatic visualization of projected development. The structure of the proposed model is based on different modules which represent, on the one hand, the rules regulating the physical growth of a city and, on the other hand, heuristics corresponding to different interests such as Real Estate Developers, City Hall Planners, Advocacy and Community Groups, and so on. Here we present a case study dealing with the Boston Redevelopment Authority zoning code for the Midtown Cultural District of Boston. We introduce a computer program which develops the district, adopting a particular point of view regarding urban regulation. We then generalize the notion of this type of computer modeling and simulation, and draw some conclusions about its possible uses in the teaching and practice of design.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	e51d
authors	Fazio, P., Bedard, C. and Gowri, K.
year	1992
title	Constraints for Generating Building Envelope Design Alternatives
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 145-155 : charts. includes bibliography
summary	The building envelope design process involves selecting materials and constructional types for envelope components. Many different materials need to be combined together for wall and roof assemblies to meet the various performance requirements such as thermal efficiency, cost, acoustic and fire resistances. The number of performance attributes to be considered in the design process is large. Lack of information, time limitations and the large number of feasible design alternatives generally force the designer to rely on past experience and practical judgement to make rapid design decisions. Current work at the Centre for Buildings Studies focuses on the development of knowledge-based synthesis and evaluation techniques for reducing the problems of information handling and decision making in building envelope design. The generation of design alternatives is viewed as a search process that identifies feasible combinations of building envelope components satisfying a set of performance requirements, material compatibility, practicality of design, etc. This paper discusses knowledge acquisition and representation issues involved in the definition of constraints to guide the generation of feasible combinations of envelope components
keywords	envelope, knowledge base, knowledge acquisition, representation, performance, design, structures, architecture, evaluation
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 14:41

_id	83f7
authors	Fenves, Stephen J., Flemming, Ulrich and Hendrickson, Craig (et al)
year	1992
title	Performance Evaluation in an Integrated Software Environment for Building Design and Construction Planning
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 159-169 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	In this paper the authors describe the role of performance evaluation in the Integrated Software Environment for Building Design and Construction Planning (IBDE), which is a testbed for examining integration issues in the same domain. Various processes in IBDE deal with the spatial configuration, structural design, and construction planning of high-rise office buildings. Performance evaluations occur within these processes based on different representation schemes and control mechanisms for the handling of performance knowledge. Within this multiprocess environment, opportunities also exist for performance evaluation across disciplines through design critics
keywords	evaluation, performance, integration, systems, building, design, construction, architecture, planning, structures, representation, control
series	CADline
email
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_id	68c8
authors	Flemming, U., Coyne, R. and Fenves, S. (et al.)
year	1994
title	SEED: A Software Environment to Support the Early Phases in Building Design
source	Proceeding of IKM '94, Weimar, Germany, pp. 5-10
summary	The SEED project intends to develop a software environment that supports the early phases in building design (Flemming et al., 1993). The goal is to provide support, in principle, for the preliminary design of buildings in all aspects that can gain from computer support. This includes using the computer not only for analysis and evaluation, but also more actively for the generation of designs, or more accurately, for the rapid generation of design representations. A major motivation for the development of SEED is to bring the results of two multi-generational research efforts focusing on `generative' design systems closer to practice: 1. LOOS/ABLOOS, a generative system for the synthesis of layouts of rectangles (Flemming et al., 1988; Flemming, 1989; Coyne and Flemming, 1990; Coyne, 1991); 2. GENESIS, a rule-based system that supports the generation of assemblies of 3-dimensional solids (Heisserman, 1991; Heisserman and Woodbury, 1993). The rapid generation of design representations can take advantage of special opportunities when it deals with a recurring building type, that is, a building type dealt with frequently by the users of the system. Design firms - from housing manufacturers to government agencies - accumulate considerable experience with recurring building types. But current CAD systems capture this experience and support its reuse only marginally. SEED intends to provide systematic support for the storing and retrieval of past solutions and their adaptation to similar problem situations. This motivation aligns aspects of SEED closely with current work in Artificial Intelligence that focuses on case-based design (see, for example, Kolodner, 1991; Domeshek and Kolodner, 1992; Hua et al., 1992).
series	other
email
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	7ce5
authors	Gal, Shahaf
year	1992
title	Computers and Design Activities: Their Mediating Role in Engineering Education
source	Sociomedia, ed. Edward Barret. MIT Press
summary	Sociomedia: With all the new words used to describe electronic communication (multimedia, hypertext, cyberspace, etc.), do we need another one? Edward Barrett thinks we do; hence, he coins the term "sociomedia." It is meant to displace a computing economy in which technicity is hypostasized over sociality. Sociomedia, a compilation of twenty-five articles on the theory, design and practice of educational multimedia and hypermedia, attempts to re-value the communicational face of computing. Value, of course, is "ultimately a social construct." As such, it has everything to do with knowledge, power, education and technology. The projects discussed in this book represent the leading edge of electronic knowledge production in academia (not to mention major funding) and are determining the future of educational media. For these reasons, Sociomedia warrants close inspection. Barrett's introduction sets the tone. For him, designing computer media involves hardwiring a mechanism for the social construction of knowledge (1). He links computing to a process of social and communicative interactivity for constructing and desseminating knowledge. Through a mechanistic mapping of the university as hypercontext (a huge network that includes classrooms as well as services and offices), Barrett models intellectual work in such a way as to avoid "limiting definitions of human nature or human development." Education, then, can remain "where it should be--in the human domain (public and private) of sharing ideas and information through the medium of language." By leaving education in a virtual realm (where we can continue to disagree about its meaning and execution), it remains viral, mutating and contaminating in an intellectually healthy way. He concludes that his mechanistic model, by means of its reductionist approach, preserves value (7). This "value" is the social construction of knowledge. While I support the social orientation of Barrett's argument, discussions of value are related to power. I am not referring to the traditional teacher-student power structure that is supposedly dismantled through cooperative and constructivist learning strategies. The power to be reckoned with in the educational arena is foundational, that which (pre)determines value and the circulation of knowledge. "Since each of you reading this paragraph has a different perspective on the meaning of 'education' or 'learning,' and on the processes involved in 'getting an education,' think of the hybris in trying to capture education in a programmable function, in a displayable object, in a 'teaching machine'" (7). Actually, we must think about that hybris because it is, precisely, what informs teaching machines. Moreover, the basic epistemological premises that give rise to such productions are too often assumed. In the case of instructional design, the episteme of cognitive sciences are often taken for granted. It is ironic that many of the "postmodernists" who support electronic hypertextuality seem to have missed Jacques Derrida's and Michel Foucault's "deconstructions" of the epistemology underpinning cognitive sciences (if not of epistemology itself). Perhaps it is the glitz of the technology that blinds some users (qua developers) to the belief systems operating beneath the surface. Barrett is not guilty of reactionary thinking or politics; he is, in fact, quite in line with much American deconstructive and postmodern thinking. The problem arises in that he leaves open the definitions of "education," "learning" and "getting an education." One cannot engage in the production of new knowledge without orienting its design, production and dissemination, and without negotiating with others' orientations, especially where largescale funding is involved. Notions of human nature and development are structural, even infrastructural, whatever the medium of the teaching machine. Although he addresses some dynamics of power, money and politics when he talks about the recession and its effects on the conference, they are readily visible dynamics of power (3-4). Where does the critical factor of value determination, of power, of who gets what and why, get mapped onto a mechanistic model of learning institutions? Perhaps a mapping of contributors' institutions, of the funding sources for the projects showcased and for participation in the conference, and of the disciplines receiving funding for these sorts of projects would help visualize the configurations of power operative in the rising field of educational multimedia. Questions of power and money notwithstanding, Barrett's introduction sets the social and textual thematics for the collection of essays. His stress on interactivity, on communal knowledge production, on the society of texts, and on media producers and users is carried foward through the other essays, two of which I will discuss. Section I of the book, "Perspectives...," highlights the foundations, uses and possible consequences of multimedia and hypertextuality. The second essay in this section, "Is There a Class in This Text?," plays on the robust exchange surrounding Stanley Fish's book, Is There a Text in This Class?, which presents an attack on authority in reading. The author, John Slatin, has introduced electronic hypertextuality and interaction into his courses. His article maps the transformations in "the content and nature of work, and the workplace itself"-- which, in this case, is not industry but an English poetry class (25). Slatin discovered an increase of productive and cooperative learning in his electronically- mediated classroom. For him, creating knowledge in the electronic classroom involves interaction between students, instructors and course materials through the medium of interactive written discourse. These interactions lead to a new and persistent understanding of the course materials and of the participants' relation to the materials and to one another. The work of the course is to build relationships that, in my view, constitute not only the meaning of individual poems, but poetry itself. The class carries out its work in the continual and usually interactive production of text (31). While I applaud his strategies which dismantle traditional hierarchical structures in academia, the evidence does not convince me that the students know enough to ask important questions or to form a self-directing, learning community. Stanley Fish has not relinquished professing, though he, too, espouses the indeterminancy of the sign. By the fourth week of his course, Slatin's input is, by his own reckoning, reduced to 4% (39). In the transcript of the "controversial" Week 6 exchange on Gertrude Stein--the most disliked poet they were discussing at the time (40)--we see the blind leading the blind. One student parodies Stein for three lines and sums up his input with "I like it." Another, finds Stein's poetry "almost completey [sic] lacking in emotion or any artistic merit" (emphasis added). On what grounds has this student become an arbiter of "artistic merit"? Another student, after admitting being "lost" during the Wallace Steven discussion, talks of having more "respect for Stevens' work than Stein's" and adds that Stein's poetry lacks "conceptual significance[, s]omething which people of varied opinion can intelligently discuss without feeling like total dimwits...." This student has progressed from admitted incomprehension of Stevens' work to imposing her (groundless) respect for his work over Stein's. Then, she exposes her real dislike for Stein's poetry: that she (the student) missed the "conceptual significance" and hence cannot, being a person "of varied opinion," intelligently discuss it "without feeling like [a] total dimwit." Slatin's comment is frightening: "...by this point in the semester students have come to feel increasingly free to challenge the instructor" (41). The students that I have cited are neither thinking critically nor are their preconceptions challenged by student-governed interaction. Thanks to the class format, one student feels self-righteous in her ignorance, and empowered to censure. I believe strongly in student empowerment in the classroom, but only once students have accrued enough knowledge to make informed judgments. Admittedly, Slatin's essay presents only partial data (there are six hundred pages of course transcripts!); still, I wonder how much valuable knowledge and metaknowledge was gained by the students. I also question the extent to which authority and professorial dictature were addressed in this course format. The power structures that make it possible for a college to require such a course, and the choice of texts and pedagogy, were not "on the table." The traditional professorial position may have been displaced, but what took its place?--the authority of consensus with its unidentifiable strong arm, and the faceless reign of software design? Despite Slatin's claim that the students learned about the learning process, there is no evidence (in the article) that the students considered where their attitudes came from, how consensus operates in the construction of knowledge, how power is established and what relationship they have to bureaucratic insitutions. How do we, as teaching professionals, negotiate a balance between an enlightened despotism in education and student-created knowledge? Slatin, and other authors in this book, bring this fundamental question to the fore. There is no definitive answer because the factors involved are ultimately social, and hence, always shifting and reconfiguring. Slatin ends his article with the caveat that computerization can bring about greater estrangement between students, faculty and administration through greater regimentation and control. Of course, it can also "distribute authority and power more widely" (50). Power or authority without a specific face, however, is not necessarily good or just. Shahaf Gal's "Computers and Design Activities: Their Mediating Role in Engineering Education" is found in the second half of the volume, and does not allow for a theory/praxis dichotomy. Gal recounts a brief history of engineering education up to the introduction of Growltiger (GT), a computer-assisted learning aid for design. He demonstrates GT's potential to impact the learning of engineering design by tracking its use by four students in a bridge-building contest. What his text demonstrates clearly is that computers are "inscribing and imaging devices" that add another viewpoint to an on-going dialogue between student, teacher, earlier coursework, and other teaching/learning tools. The less proficient students made a serious error by relying too heavily on the technology, or treating it as a "blueprint provider." They "interacted with GT in a way that trusted the data to represent reality. They did not see their interaction with GT as a negotiation between two knowledge systems" (495). Students who were more thoroughly informed in engineering discourses knew to use the technology as one voice among others--they knew enough not simply to accept the input of the computer as authoritative. The less-advanced students learned a valuable lesson from the competition itself: the fact that their designs were not able to hold up under pressure (literally) brought the fact of their insufficient knowledge crashing down on them (and their bridges). They also had, post factum, several other designs to study, especially the winning one. Although competition and comparison are not good pedagogical strategies for everyone (in this case the competitors had volunteered), at some point what we think we know has to be challenged within the society of discourses to which it belongs. Students need critique in order to learn to push their learning into auto-critique. This is what is lacking in Slatin's discussion and in the writings of other avatars of constructivist, collaborative and computer-mediated pedagogies. Obviously there are differences between instrumental types of knowledge acquisition and discoursive knowledge accumulation. Indeed, I do not promote the teaching of reading, thinking and writing as "skills" per se (then again, Gal's teaching of design is quite discursive, if not dialogic). Nevertheless, the "soft" sciences might benefit from "bridge-building" competitions or the re-institution of some forms of agonia. Not everything agonistic is inhuman agony--the joy of confronting or creating a sound argument supported by defensible evidence, for example. Students need to know that soundbites are not sound arguments despite predictions that electronic writing will be aphoristic rather than periodic. Just because writing and learning can be conceived of hypertextually does not mean that rigor goes the way of the dinosaur. Rigor and hypertextuality are not mutually incompatible. Nor is rigorous thinking and hard intellectual work unpleasurable, although American anti-intellectualism, especially in the mass media, would make it so. At a time when the spurious dogmatics of a Rush Limbaugh and Holocaust revisionist historians circulate "aphoristically" in cyberspace, and at a time when knowledge is becoming increasingly textualized, the role of critical thinking in education will ultimately determine the value(s) of socially constructed knowledge. This volume affords the reader an opportunity to reconsider knowledge, power, and new communications technologies with respect to social dynamics and power relationships.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	ddss9207
id	ddss9207
authors	Gauchel, J., Hovestadt, L., van Wyk, S. and Bhat, R.R.
year	1993
title	Modular building models
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	The development and implementation of a modular building model appropriate for computer aided design is described. The limitations of a unified building model with regard to concurrence and complexity in design is discussed. Current research suggests that to model real-world complexity, one must trade centralized control for autonomy. In this paper we develop a modular approach to building modelling that is based on object-oriented autonomy and makes it possible to define these models in a distributed concurrent manner. Such a modular and autonomous implementation brings inherent uncertainty and conflict which cannot be determined a priori.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	acadia03_036
id	acadia03_036
authors	Gerzso, J. Michael
year	2003
title	On the Limitations of Shape Grammars: Comments on Aaron Fleisher’s Article “Grammatical Architecture?”
source	Connecting >> Crossroads of Digital Discourse [Proceedings of the 2003 Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design In Architecture / ISBN 1-880250-12-8] Indianapolis (Indiana) 24-27 October 2003, pp. 279-287
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2003.279
summary	Shape grammars were introduced by Gips and Stiny in 1972. Since then, there have been many articles and books written by them and their associates. In 1992, Aaron Fleisher, a professor at the School of Planning, MIT, wrote a critique of their work in an article titled “Grammatical Architecture?” published in the journal Environment and Planning B. According to him, Gips, Stiny and later Mitchell, propose a hypothesis that states that shape grammars are presumed to represent knowledge of architectural form, that grammars are “formable,” and that there is a visual correspondence to verbal grammar. The strong version of “the hypothesis requires that an architectural form be equivalent to a grammar.” Fleisher considers these hypotheses unsustainable, and argues his case by analyzing the differences between language, and architecture, and by dealing with the concepts of lexicons, syntax and semantics. He concludes by stating that architectural design is negotiated in two modalities: the verbal and the visual, and that equivalences are not at issue; they do not exist. If there is such thing as a language for design, it would provide the means to maintain a discussion of the consequences in one mode, of the state and conditions of the other. Fleisher’s observations serve as the basis of this paper, a tribute to him, and also an opportunity to present an outline to an alternate approach or hypothesis to shape grammars, which is “nonlinguistic” but “generative,” in the sense that it uses production rules. A basic aspect of this hypothesis is that the only similarity between syntactic rules in language and some rules in architecture is that they are recursive.
series	ACADIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:51

_id	eda3
authors	Goldschmidt, Gabriela
year	1992
title	Criteria for Design Evaluation : A Process-Oriented Paradigm
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 67-79. includes bibliography
summary	Architectural research of the last two or three decades has been largely devoted to design methodology. Systematic evaluations of design products and prescription of their desired qualities led to specifications for better designs and possible routines to achieve them. Computers have facilitated this task. The human designer, however, has largely resisted the use of innovative methods. In this paper the author claims that the reason for that lies in insufficient regard for innate cognitive aptitudes which are activated in the process of designing. A view of these aptitudes, based on patterns of links among design moves, is presented. It is proposed that process research is mandatory for further advancements in design research utility
keywords	cognition, design process, research, protocol analysis, architecture
series	CADline
last changed	1999/02/12 15:08

_id	ea96
authors	Hacfoort, Eek J. and Veldhuisen, Jan K.
year	1992
title	A Building Design and Evaluation System
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 195-211 : ill. table. includes bibliography
summary	Within the field of architectural design there is a growing awareness of imbalance among the professionalism, the experience, and the creativity of the designers' response to the up-to-date requirements of all parties interested in the design process. The building design and evaluating system COSMOS makes it possible for various participants to work within their own domain, so that separated but coordinated work can be done. This system is meant to organize the initial stage of the design process, where user-defined functions, geometry, type of construction, and building materials are decided. It offers a tool to design a building to calculate a number of effects and for managing the information necessary to evaluate the design decisions. The system is provided with data and sets of parameters for describing the conditions, along with their properties, of the main building functions of a selection of well-known building types. The architectural design is conceptualized as being a hierarchy of spatial units, ranking from building blocks down to specific rooms or spaces. The concept of zoning is used as a means of calculating and directly evaluating the structure of the design without working out the details. A distinction is made between internal and external calculations and evaluations during the initial design process. During design on screen, an estimation can be recorded of building costs, energy costs, acoustics, lighting, construction, and utility. Furthermore, the design can be exported to a design application program, in this case AutoCAD, to make and show drawings in more detail. Through the medium of a database, external calculation and evaluation of building costs, life-cycle costs, energy costs, interior climate, acoustics, lighting, construction, and utility are possible in much more advanced application programs
keywords	evaluation, applications, integration, architecture, design, construction, building, energy, cost, lighting, acoustics, performance
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	6cfd
authors	Harfmann, Anton C. and Majkowski, Bruce R.
year	1992
title	Component-Based Spatial Reasoning
source	Mission - Method - Madness [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-01-2] 1992, pp. 103-111
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1992.103
summary	The design process and ordering of individual components through which architecture is realized relies on the use of abstract "models" to represent a proposed design. The emergence and use of these abstract "models" for building representation has a long history and tradition in the field of architecture. Models have been made and continue to be made for the patron, occasionally the public, and as a guide for the builders. Models have also been described as a means to reflect on the design and to allow the design to be in dialogue with the creator. The term "model" in the above paragraph has been used in various ways and in this context is defined as any representation through which design intent is expressed. This includes accurate/ rational or abstract drawings (2- dimensional and 3-dimensional), physical models (realistic and abstract) and computer models (solid, void and virtual reality). The various models that fall within the categories above have been derived from the need to "view" the proposed design in various ways in order to support intuitive reasoning about the proposal and for evaluation purposes. For example, a 2-dimensional drawing of a floor plan is well suited to support reasoning about spatial relationships and circulation patterns while scaled 3-dimensional models facilitate reasoning about overall form, volume, light, massing etc. However, the common denominator of all architectural design projects (if the intent is to construct them in actual scale, physical form) are the discrete building elements from which the design will be constructed. It is proposed that a single computational model representing individual components supports all of the above "models" and facilitates "viewing"' the design according to the frame of reference of the viewer. Furthermore, it is the position of the authors that all reasoning stems from this rudimentary level of modeling individual components. The concept of component representation has been derived from the fact that a "real" building (made from individual components such as nuts, bolts and bar joists) can be "viewed" differently according to the frame of reference of the viewer. Each individual has the ability to infer and abstract from the assemblies of components a variety of different "models" ranging from a visceral, experiential understanding to a very technical, physical understanding. The component concept has already proven to be a valuable tool for reasoning about assemblies, interferences between components, tracing of load path and numerous other component related applications. In order to validate the component-based modeling concept this effort will focus on the development of spatial understanding from the component-based model. The discussions will, therefore, center about the representation of individual components and the development of spatial models and spatial reasoning from the component model. In order to frame the argument that spatial modeling and reasoning can be derived from the component representation, a review of the component-based modeling concept will precede the discussions of spatial issues.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:49

_id	abce
authors	Ishii, Hiroshi and Kobayashi, Minoru
year	1992
title	ClearBoard: A Seamless Medium for Shared Drawing and Conversation with Eye Contact Systems for Media-Supported Collaboration
source	Proceedings of ACM CHI'92 Conference on HumanFactors in Computing Systems 1992 pp. 525-532
summary	This paper introduces a novel shared drawing medium called ClearBoard. It realizes (1) a seamless shared drawing space and (2) eye contact to support realtime and remote collaboration by two users. We devised the key metaphor: "talking through and drawing on a transparent glass window" to design ClearBoard. A prototype of ClearBoard is implemented based on the "Drafter-Mirror" architecture. This paper first reviews previous work on shared drawing support to clarify the design goals. We then examine three metaphors that fulfill these goals. The design requirements and the two possible system architectures of ClearBoard are described. Finally, some findings gained through the experimental use of the prototype, including the feature of "gaze awareness", are discussed.
series	other
last changed	2002/07/07 16:01

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