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	cf5c
authors	Carpenter, B.
year	1992
title	The logic of typed feature structures with applications to unificationgrammars, logic programs and constraint resolution
source	Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science, Cambridge University Press
summary	This book develops the theory of typed feature structures, a new form of data structure that generalizes both the first-order terms of logic programs and feature-structures of unification-based grammars to include inheritance, typing, inequality, cycles and intensionality. It presents a synthesis of many existing ideas into a uniform framework, which serves as a logical foundation for grammars, logic programming and constraint-based reasoning systems. Throughout the text, a logical perspective is adopted that employs an attribute-value description language along with complete equational axiomatizations of the various systems of feature structures. Efficiency concerns are discussed and complexity and representability results are provided. The application of feature structures to phrase structure grammars is described and completeness results are shown for standard evaluation strategies. Definite clause logic programs are treated as a special case of phrase structure grammars. Constraint systems are introduced and an enumeration technique is given for solving arbitrary attribute-value logic constraints. This book with its innovative approach to data structures will be essential reading for researchers in computational linguistics, logic programming and knowledge representation. Its self-contained presentation makes it flexible enough to serve as both a research tool and a textbook.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_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	cc2f
authors	Jog, Bharati
year	1992
title	Evaluation of Designs for Energy Performance Using A Knowledge-Based System
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 293-304 : ill. includes a bibliography
summary	Principles of knowledge-based (or expert) systems have been applied in different knowledge-rich domains such as geology, medicine, and very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI). There have been some efforts to develop expert systems for evaluation and prediction of architectural designs in this decade. This paper presents a prototype system, Energy Expert, which quickly computes the approximate yearly energy performance of a building design, analyzes the energy performance, and gives advice on possible ways of improving the design. These modifications are intended to make the building more energy efficient and help cut down on heating and cooling costs. The system is designed for the schematic design phase of an architectural project. Also discussed briefly is the reasoning behind developing such a system for the schematic design rather than the final design phase
keywords	expert systems, energy, evaluation, performance, knowledge base, architecture, reasoning, programming, prediction
series	CADline
last changed	1999/02/12 15:08

_id	e7c8
authors	Kalisperis, Loukas N., Steinman, Mitch and Summers, Luis H.
year	1992
title	Design Knowledge, Environmental Complexity in Nonorthogonal Space
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 273-291 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	Mechanization and industrialization of society has resulted in most people spending the greater part of their lives in enclosed environments. Optimal design of indoor artificial climates is therefore of increasing importance. Wherever artificial climates are created for human occupation, the aim is that the environment be designed so that individuals are in thermal comfort. Current design methodologies for radiant panel heating systems do not adequately account for the complexities of human thermal comfort, because they monitor air temperature alone and do not account for thermal neutrality in complex enclosures. Thermal comfort for a person is defined as that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment. Thermal comfort is dependent on Mean Radiant Temperature and Operative Temperature among other factors. In designing artificial climates for human occupancy the interaction of the human with the heated surfaces as well the surface-to-surface heat exchange must be accounted for. Early work in the area provided an elaborate and difficult method for calculating radiant heat exchange for simplistic and orthogonal enclosures. A new improved method developed by the authors for designing radiant panel heating systems based on human thermal comfort and mean radiant temperature is presented. Through automation and elaboration this method overcomes the limitations of the early work. The design procedure accounts for human thermal comfort in nonorthogonal as well as orthogonal spaces based on mean radiant temperature prediction. The limitation of simplistic orthogonal geometries has been overcome with the introduction of the MRT-Correction method and inclined surface-to-person shape factor methodology. The new design method increases the accuracy of calculation and prediction of human thermal comfort and will allow designers to simulate complex enclosures utilizing the latest design knowledge of radiant heat exchange to increase human thermal comfort
keywords	applications, architecture, building, energy, systems, design, knowledge
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_id	ddss9208
id	ddss9208
authors	Lucardie, G.L.
year	1993
title	A functional approach to realizing decision support systems in technical regulation management for design and construction
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	Technical building standards defining the quality of buildings, building products, building materials and building processes aim to provide acceptable levels of safety, health, usefulness and energy consumption. However, the logical consistency between these goals and the set of regulations produced to achieve them is often hard to identify. Not only the large quantities of highly complex and frequently changing building regulations to be met, but also the variety of user demands and the steadily increasing technical information on (new) materials, products and buildings have produced a very complex set of knowledge and data that should be taken into account when handling technical building regulations. Integrating knowledge technology and database technology is an important step towards managing the complexity of technical regulations. Generally, two strategies can be followed to integrate knowledge and database technology. The main emphasis of the first strategy is on transferring data structures and processing techniques from one field of research to another. The second approach is concerned exclusively with the semantic structure of what is contained in the data-based or knowledge-based system. The aim of this paper is to show that the second or knowledge-level approach, in particular the theory of functional classifications, is more fundamental and more fruitful. It permits a goal-directed rationalized strategy towards analysis, use and application of regulations. Therefore, it enables the reconstruction of (deep) models of regulations, objects and of users accounting for the flexibility and dynamics that are responsible for the complexity of technical regulations. Finally, at the systems level, the theory supports an effective development of a new class of rational Decision Support Systems (DSS), which should reduce the complexity of technical regulations and restore the logical consistency between the goals of technical regulations and the technical regulations themselves.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	cb5a
authors	Oxman, Rivka E.
year	1992
title	Multiple Operative and Interactive Modes in Knowledge-Based Design Systems
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 125-143 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	A conceptual basis for the development of an expert system which is capable of integrating various modes of generation and evaluation in design is presented. This approach is based upon two sets of reasoning processes in the design system. The first enables a mapping between design requirements and solution descriptions in a generative mode of design; and the second enables a mapping between solution descriptions and performance evaluation in an evaluative and predictive mode. This concept supports a formal framework necessary for a knowledge-based design system to operate in a design partnership relation with the designer. Another fundamental concept in expert systems for design, dual direction interpretation between graphic and textual modes, is presented and elaborated. This encoding of knowledge behind the geometrical representation can be achieved in knowledge- based design systems by the development of a 'semantic interpreter' which supports a dual direction mapping process employing a geometrical knowledge, typological knowledge and evaluative knowledge. An implemented expert system for design, PREDIKT, demonstrates these concepts in the domain of kitchen design. It provides the user with a choice of alternative modes of interaction, such as: a 'design critic' for the evaluation of a design, a 'design generator' for the generation of a design, or a 'design critic-generator' for the completion of partial solutions
keywords	architecture, knowledge base, design, systems, expert systems
series	CADline
email
last changed	2003/06/02 10:24

_id	ascaad2022_043
id	ascaad2022_043
authors	Awan, Abeeha; Prokop, Simon; Vele, Jiri; Dounas, Theodor; Lombardi, Davide; Agkathidis, Asterios; Kurilla, Lukas
year	2022
title	Qualitative Knowledge Graph for the Evaluation of Metaverse(s) - Is the Metaverse Hype or a Promising New Field for Architects?
source	Hybrid Spaces of the Metaverse - Architecture in the Age of the Metaverse: Opportunities and Potentials [10th ASCAAD Conference Proceedings] Debbieh (Lebanon) [Virtual Conference] 12-13 October 2022, pp. 99-116
summary	With the advancement of augmented and virtual reality technologies both in scale as well as accessibility, the Metaverse (Stephenson, 1992, Hughes, 2022) has emerged as a new digital space with potential for the application of architectural creativity and design. With blockchain integration, the concept of the Metaverse shows promise in creating a “decentralised” space for design and creativity with rewards for its participants. As a platform that incorporates these technological components, does the Metaverse have utility for architectural design? Is there something truly novel in what the Metaverse brings to architectural computing, and architectural design? The paper constructs a qualitative knowledge graph that can be used for the evaluation of various kinds of Metaverses in and for architectural design. We use Design Science Research methods to develop the knowledge graph and its evaluative capacity, stemming from our experience with two Metaverses, Decentraland and Cryptovoxels. The paper concludes with a discussion of knowledge and practice gaps that are evident, framing the opportunities that architects might have in the future in terms of developing Metaverse(s).
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2024/02/16 13:24

_id	aa78
authors	Bayazit, Nigan
year	1992
title	Requirements of an Expert System for Design Studios
source	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 187-194
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.187
summary	The goal of this paper is to study problems of the transition from traditional architectural studio teaching to CAAD studio teaching which requires a CAAD expert system as studio tutor, and to study the behavior of the student in this new environment. The differences between the traditional and computerized studio teaching and the experiences in this field are explained referring to the requirements for designing time in relation to the expertise of the student in the application of a CAD program. Learning styles and the process of design in computerized and non-computerized studio teaching are discussed. Design studio requirements of the students in traditional studio environment while doing design works are clarified depending on the results of an empirical study which explained the relations between the tutor and the student while they were doing studio critiques. Main complaints of the students raised in the empirical study were the lack of data in the specific design problem area, difficulties of realization of ideas and thoughts, not knowing the starting point of design, having no information about the references to be used for the specific design task, having difficulties in the application of presentation techniques. In the concluding parts of the paper are discussed the different styles of teaching and their relation to the CAAD environment, the transformation of the instructional programs for the new design environment, the future expectations from the CAAD programs, properties of the new teaching environment and the roles of the expert systems in design studio education.
keywords	CAAD Education, Expert System, Architectural Design Studio, Knowledge Acquisition
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_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	4bd2
authors	Carrara, G., Kalay, Y.E. and Novembri, G.
year	1992
title	A Computational Framework for Supporting Creative Architectural Design
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 17-34 : ill. includes Bibliography
summary	Design can be considered a process leading to the definition of a physical form that achieves a certain predefined set of performance criteria. The process comprises three distinct operations: (1) Definition of the desired set of performance criteria (design goals); (2) generation of alternative design solutions; (3) evaluation of the expected performances of alternative design solutions, and comparing them to the predefined criteria. Difficulties arise in performing each one of the three operations, and in combining them into a purposeful unified process. Computational techniques were developed to assist each of the three operations. A comprehensive and successful computational design assistant will have to recognize the limitations of current computational techniques, and incorporate a symbiosis between the machine and the human designer. This symbiosis comprises allocating design tasks between the designer and the computer in a manner that is most appropriate for the task at hand. The task allocation must, therefore, be done dynamically, responding to the changing circumstances of the design process. This report proposes a framework for such a symbiotic partnership, which comprises four major components: (1) User interface and design process control; (2) design goals; (3) evaluators; (4) database
keywords	architecture, knowledge base, systems, design process, control
series	CADline
email
last changed	2003/06/02 14:41

_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	4857
authors	Escola Tecnica Superior D'arquitectura de Barcelona (Ed.)
year	1992
title	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect?
source	eCAADe Conference Proceedings / Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, 551 p.
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992
summary	The involvement of computer graphic systems in the transmission of knowledge in the areas of urban planning and architectural design will bring a significant change to the didactic programs and methods of those schools which have decided to adopt these new instruments. Workshops of urban planning and architectural design will have to modify their structures, and teaching teams will have to revise their current programs. Some european schools and faculties of architecture have taken steps in this direction. Others are willing to join them. This process is only delayed by the scarcity of material resources, and by the slowness with which a sufficient number of teachers are adopting these methods. ECAADE has set out to analyze the state of this issue during its next conference, and it will be discussed from various points of view. From this confrontation of ideas will come, surely, the guidelines for progress in the years to come. The different sessions will be grouped together following these four themes: (A.) Multimedia and Course Work / State of the art of the synthesis of graphical and textual information favored by new available multimedia computer programs. Their repercussions on academic programs. (B.) The New Design Studio / Physical characteristics, data concentration and accessibility of a computerized studio can be better approached in a computerized workshop. (C.) How to manage the new education system / Problems and possibilities raised, from the practical and organizational points of view, of architectural education by the introduction of computers in the classrooms. (D.) CAAI. Formal versus informal structure / How will the traditional teaching structure be affected by the incidence of these new systems in which the access to knowledge and information can be obtained in a random way and guided by personal and subjective criteria.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:49

_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	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	49bf
authors	Johnson, Robert E.
year	1992
title	Design Inquiry and Resource Allocation
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 51-65 : ill. tables. includes bibliography
summary	This paper proposes that the primary role of resource allocation in design is to assist design decision makers in ordering preferences and exploring trade-offs. Most existing cost evaluation paradigms focus on assessing costs after design decisions are made. This view unnecessarily restricts the active participation of economic knowledge in design decision-making. The approach described in this research suggests that the exploration and definition of values and references should be the major focus of economic analysis within the design process. A conceptual framework for this approach is presented along with several examples that illustrate the use of this framework. Computational approaches are suggested which play a central role in clarifying preference and exploring trade-offs during design
keywords	economics, architecture, building, construction, resource allocation, design, cost, evaluation
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	a2e6
authors	Liggett, R.S., Mitchell, W.J. and Tan, M.
year	1992
title	Multi-Level Analysis and Optimization of Design
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 2512-269 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	This paper discusses a knowledge-based computer-aided design system, that provides multi-level analysis capabilities, and that automatically propagates constraints on design variables from level to level. It also Supports formulation and solution of optimization problems at different levels, so that a solution can be approached by solving a sequence of appropriately constrained sub-optimization problems. Theory and implementation are discussed, and a detailed case study of application to the design of small house plans is provided
keywords	constraints, design, methods, knowledge base, CAD, systems, analysis, optimization, automation, user interface, shape grammars
series	CADline
email
last changed	2003/06/02 14:41

_id	181b
authors	Liou, Shuenn-Ren
year	1992
title	A computer-based framework for analyzing and deriving the morphological structure of architectural designs
source	University of Michigan
summary	An approach to the acquisition and utilization of knowledge about the morphological structure of notable orthogonal building plans and other two-dimensional compositions is formulated and tested. This approach consists of two levels of abstraction within which the analysis and comparison of existing designs and the derivation of new designs can be undertaken systematically and efficiently. Specifically, the morphological structure of orthogonal building plans and other two-dimensional compositions is conceived as a language defined by shape grammar and architectural grammar corresponding to the geometric and spatial structures of the compositions. Lines constitute the shape grammar and walls and columns the architectural grammar. A computer program named ANADER is designed and implemented using the C++ object-oriented language to describe feasible compositions. It is argued that the gap between morphological analysis and synthesis is bridged partially because the proposed framework facilitates systematic comparisons of the morphological structures of two-dimensional orthogonal compositions and provides insight into the form-making process used to derive them. As an analytical system, the framework contributes to the generation of new and the assessment of existing morphological knowledge. Specifically, it is demonstrated that it is feasible to specify an existing architectural design by a set of universal rule schemata and the sequence of their application. As a generative system, the framework allows many of the tasks involved in the derivation of two-dimensional orthogonal compositions to be carried out. As well, it promotes the use of analytical results. In conclusion, it is argued that the proposed computer-based framework will provide the research and the educator with increasing opportunities for addressing persistent architectural questions in new ways. Of particular interest to this author are questions concerning the decision-making activities involved in form- and space-making as well as the description, classification, and derivation of architecutural form and space. It is suggested that, at least in reference to the cases examined, but probably also in reference to many other morphological classes, these and other related questions can be addressed systematically, efficiently, and fruitfully by using the proposed framework.
series	thesis:PhD
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	2c22
authors	O'Neill, Michael J.
year	1992
title	Neural Network Simulation as a Computer- Aided design Tool For Predicting Wayfinding Performance
source	New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. pp. 347-366 : ill. includes bibliography
summary	Complex public facilities such as libraries, hospitals, and governmental buildings often present problems to users who must find their way through them. Research shows that difficulty in wayfinding has costs in terms of time, money, public safety, and stress that results from being lost. While a wide range of architectural research supports the notion that ease of wayfinding should be a criterion for good design, architects have no method for evaluating how well their building designs will support the wayfinding task. People store and retrieve information about the layout of the built environment in a knowledge representation known as the cognitive map. People depend on the information stored in the cognitive map to find their way through buildings. Although there are numerous simulations of the cognitive map, the mechanisms of these models are not constrained by what is known about the neurophysiology of the brain. Rather, these models incorporate search mechanisms that act on semantically encoded information about the environment. In this paper the author describes the evaluation and application of an artificial neural network simulation of the cognitive map as a means of predicting wayfinding behavior in buildings. This simulation is called NAPS-PC (Network Activity Processing Simulator--PC version). This physiologically plausible model represents knowledge about the layout of the environment through a network of inter-connected processing elements. The performance of NAPS-PC was evaluated against actual human wayfinding performance. The study found that the simulation generated behavior that matched the performance of human participants. After the validation, NAPS-PC was modified so that it could read environmental information directly from AutoCAD (a popular micro-computer-based CAD software package) drawing files, and perform 'wayfinding' tasks based on that environmental information. This prototype tool, called AutoNet, is conceptualized as a means of allowing designers to predict the wayfinding performance of users in a building before it is actually built
keywords	simulation, cognition, neural networks, evaluation, floor plans, applications, wayfinding, layout, building
series	CADline
last changed	2003/06/02 13:58

_id	daff
authors	Richens, P.
year	1994
title	CAD Research at the Martin Centre
source	Automation in Construction, No. 3
summary	The Martin Centre CADLAB has recently been established to investigate software techniques that could be of practical importance to architects within the next five years. In common with most CAD researchers, we are interested in the earlier, conceptual, stages of design, where commercial CAD systems have had little impact. Our approach is not Knowledge-Based, but rather focuses on using the computer as a medium for design and communication. This leads to a concentration on apparently superficial aspects such as visual appearance, the dynamics of interaction, immediate feedback, plasticity. We try to avoid building-in theoretical attitudes, and to reduce the semantic content of our systems to a low level on the basis that flexibility and intelligence are inversely related; and that flexibility is more important. The CADLAB became operational in January 1992. First year work in three areas – building models, experiencing architecture, and making drawings – is discussed.
series	journal
email
more	http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/research/pubs/pdfs/rich94a.pdf
last changed	2000/03/05 19:05

_id	c804
authors	Richens, P.
year	1994
title	Does Knowledge really Help?
source	G. Carrara and Y.E. Kalay (Eds.), Knowledge-Based Computer-Aided Architectural Design, Elsevier
summary	The Martin Centre CADLAB has recently been established to investigate software techniques that could be of practical importance to architects within the next five years. In common with most CAD researchers, we are interested in the earlier, conceptual, stages of design, where commercial CAD systems have had little impact. Our approach is not Knowledge-Based, but rather focuses on using the computer as a medium for design and communication. This leads to a concentration on apparently superficial aspects such as visual appearance, the dynamics of interaction, immediate feedback, plasticity. We try to avoid building-in theoretical attitudes, and to reduce the semantic content of our systems to a low level on the basis that flexibility and intelligence are inversely related; and that flexibility is more important. The CADLAB became operational in January 1992. First year work in three areas – building models, experiencing architecture, and making drawings – is discussed.
series	other
more	http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/research/pubs/
last changed	2003/03/05 13:19

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