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 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 c5d7
authors Kuffer, Monika
year 2003
title Monitoring the Dynamics of Informal Settlements in Dar Es Salaam by Remote Sensing: Exploring the Use of Spot, Ers and Small Format Aerial Photography
source CORP 2003, Vienna University of Technology, 25.2.-28.2.2003 [Proceedings on CD-Rom]
summary Dar es Salaam is exemplary for cities in the developing world facing an enormous population growth. In the last decades, unplanned settlements have tremendously expanded, causing that around 70 percent of the urban dwellers are living now-a-days in these areas. Tools for monitoring such tremendous growth are relatively weak in developing countries, thus an effective satellite based monitoring system can provide a useful instrument for monitoring the dynamics of urban development. An investigation to asses the ability of extracting reliable information on the expansion and consolidation levels (density) of urban development of the city of Dar es Salaam from SPOT-HRV and ERS-SAR images is described. The use of SPOT and ERS should provide data that is complementary to data derived from the most recent aerial photography and from digital topographic maps. In a series of experiments various classification and fusion techniques are applied to the SPOT-HRV and ERS-SAR data to extract information on building density that is comparable to that obtained from the 1992 data. Ultimately, building density is estimated by linear and non-linear regression models on the basis of an one ha kernel and further aggregation is made to the level of informal settlements for a final analysis. In order to assess the reliability, use is made of several sample areas that are relatively stable over the study period, as well as, of data derived from small format aerial photography. The experiments show a high correlation between the density data derived from the satellite images and the test areas.
series other
email
last changed 2003/03/11 20:39

_id 10b7
authors Aukstakalnis, Steve and Blatner, David
year 1992
title Silicon Mirage: The Art and Science of Virtual Reality
source Peachpit Press
summary An introduction to virtual reality covers every aspect of the revolutionary new technology and its many possible applications, from computer games to air traffic control. Original. National ad/promo.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id 60e7
authors Bailey, Rohan
year 2000
title The Intelligent Sketch: Developing a Conceptual Model for a Digital Design Assistant
source Eternity, Infinity and Virtuality in Architecture [Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture / 1-880250-09-8] Washington D.C. 19-22 October 2000, pp. 137-145
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2000.137
summary The computer is a relatively new tool in the practice of Architecture. Since its introduction, there has been a desire amongst designers to use this new tool quite early in the design process. However, contrary to this desire, most Architects today use pen and paper in the very early stages of design to sketch. Architects solve problems by thinking visually. One of the most important tools that the Architect has at his disposal in the design process is the hand sketch. This iterative way of testing ideas and informing the design process with images fundamentally directs and aids the architect’s decision making. It has been said (Schön and Wiggins 1992) that sketching is about the reflective conversation designers have with images and ideas conveyed by the act of drawing. It is highly dependent on feedback. This “conversation” is an area worthy of investigation. Understanding this “conversation” is significant to understanding how we might apply the computer to enhance the designer’s ability to capture, manipulate and reflect on ideas during conceptual design. This paper discusses sketching and its relation to design thinking. It explores the conversations that designers engage in with the media they use. This is done through the explanation of a protocol analysis method. Protocol analysis used in the field of psychology, has been used extensively by Eastman et al (starting in the early 70s) as a method to elicit information about design thinking. In the pilot experiment described in this paper, two persons are used. One plays the role of the “hand” while the other is the “mind”- the two elements that are involved in the design “conversation”. This variation on classical protocol analysis sets out to discover how “intelligent” the hand should be to enhance design by reflection. The paper describes the procedures entailed in the pilot experiment and the resulting data. The paper then concludes by discussing future intentions for research and the far reaching possibilities for use of the computer in architectural studio teaching (as teaching aids) as well as a digital design assistant in conceptual design.
keywords CAAD, Sketching, Protocol Analysis, Design Thinking, Design Education
series ACADIA
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_id a6d8
authors Baletic, Bojan
year 1992
title Information Codes of Mutant Forms
source CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 173-186
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.173
summary If we assume that the statements from this quote are true, than we have to ask ourselves the question: "Should we teach architecture as we do?" This paper describes our experience in developing a knowledge base using a neural network system to serve as a "intelligent assistant" to students and other practicing architects in the conceptual phase of their work on housing design. Our approach concentrated on rising the awareness of the designer about the problem, not by building rules to guide him to a solution, but by questioning the categories and typologies by which he classifies and understands a problem. This we achieve through examples containing mutant forms, imperfect rules, gray zones between black and white, that carry the seeds of new solutions.
series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_id 328d
authors Bassanino, May Nahab and Brown, Andre
year 1999
title Computer Generated Architectural Images: A Comparative Study
source Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 552-556
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.552
summary This work is part of a long term research programme (Brown and Horton, 1992; Brown and Nahab, 1996; Bassanino, 1999) in which tests and studies have been carried out on various groups of people to investigate their reaction to, and interpretation of different forms of architectural representation. In the work described here a range of architectural schemes were presented using particular representational techniques and media. An experiment was then undertaken on two different groups; architects and lay people. They were presented with a number of schemes displayed using the various techniques and media. The responses are summarised and some comments are made on the effect of computers on perceiving architecture and on communicating architectural ideas arising from an analysis of the responses.
keywords Subject, Image Type, Presentation Technique, Medium, SD Scales, Factors
series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_id ecaadesigradi2019_449
id ecaadesigradi2019_449
authors Becerra Santacruz, Axel
year 2019
title The Architecture of ScarCity Game - The craft and the digital as an alternative design process
source Sousa, JP, Xavier, JP and Castro Henriques, G (eds.), Architecture in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution - Proceedings of the 37th eCAADe and 23rd SIGraDi Conference - Volume 3, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, 11-13 September 2019, pp. 45-52
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2019.3.045
summary The Architecture of ScarCity Game is a board game used as a pedagogical tool that challenges architecture students by involving them in a series of experimental design sessions to understand the design process of scarcity and the actual relation between the craft and the digital. This means "pragmatic delivery processes and material constraints, where the exchange between the artisan of handmade, representing local skills and technology of the digitally conceived is explored" (Huang 2013). The game focuses on understanding the different variables of the crafted design process of traditional communities under conditions of scarcity (Michel and Bevan 1992). This requires first analyzing the spatial environmental model of interaction, available human and natural resources, and the dynamic relationship of these variables in a digital era. In the first stage (Pre-Agency), the game set the concept of the craft by limiting students design exploration from a minimum possible perspective developing locally available resources and techniques. The key elements of the design process of traditional knowledge communities have to be identified (Preez 1984). In other words, this stage is driven by limited resources + chance + contingency. In the second stage (Post-Agency) students taking the architects´ role within this communities, have to speculate and explore the interface between the craft (local knowledge and low technological tools), and the digital represented by computation data, new technologies available and construction. This means the introduction of strategy + opportunity + chance as part of the design process. In this sense, the game has a life beyond its mechanics. This other life challenges the participants to exploit the possibilities of breaking the actual boundaries of design. The result is a tool to challenge conventional methods of teaching and leaning controlling a prescribed design process. It confronts the rules that professionals in this field take for granted. The game simulates a 'fake' reality by exploring in different ways with surveyed information. As a result, participants do not have anything 'real' to lose. Instead, they have all the freedom to innovate and be creative.
keywords Global south, scarcity, low tech, digital-craft, design process and innovation by challenge.
series eCAADeSIGraDi
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_id e039
authors Bertin, Vito
year 1992
title Structural Transformations (Basic Architectural Unit 6)
source CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 413-426
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.413
summary While the teaching of the phenomenon of form as well as space is normally seen within an environment of free experimentation and personal expression, other directions prove to be worth of pursuit. The proposed paper represents such an exploration. The generation of controlled complexity and structural transformations have been the title of the project which forms the base of this paper. In it, the potential for creative development of the student was explored in such a way, that as in the sciences a process can be reproduced or an exploration utilized in further experimentation. The cube as a well proven B.A.U. or basic architectural unit has again been used in our work. Even a simple object like a cube has many properties. As properties are never pure, but always related to other properties, and looking at a single property as a specific value of a variable, it is possible to link a whole field of objects. These links provide a network of paths through which exploration and development is possible. The paper represents a first step in a direction which we think will compliment the already established basic design program.

series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:52

_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 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 caadria2004_k-1
id caadria2004_k-1
authors Kalay, Yehuda E.
year 2004
title CONTEXTUALIZATION AND EMBODIMENT IN CYBERSPACE
source CAADRIA 2004 [Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 89-7141-648-3] Seoul Korea 28-30 April 2004, pp. 5-14
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2004.005
summary The introduction of VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) in 1994, and other similar web-enabled dynamic modeling software (such as SGI’s Open Inventor and WebSpace), have created a rush to develop on-line 3D virtual environments, with purposes ranging from art, to entertainment, to shopping, to culture and education. Some developers took their cues from the science fiction literature of Gibson (1984), Stephenson (1992), and others. Many were web-extensions to single-player video games. But most were created as a direct extension to our new-found ability to digitally model 3D spaces and to endow them with interactive control and pseudo-inhabitation. Surprisingly, this technologically-driven stampede paid little attention to the core principles of place-making and presence, derived from architecture and cognitive science, respectively: two principles that could and should inform the essence of the virtual place experience and help steer its development. Why are the principles of place-making and presence important for the development of virtual environments? Why not simply be content with our ability to create realistically-looking 3D worlds that we can visit remotely? What could we possibly learn about making these worlds better, had we understood the essence of place and presence? To answer these questions we cannot look at place-making (both physical and virtual) from a 3D space-making point of view alone, because places are not an end unto themselves. Rather, places must be considered a locus of contextualization and embodiment that ground human activities and give them meaning. In doing so, places acquire a meaning of their own, which facilitates, improves, and enriches many aspects of our lives. They provide us with a means to interpret the activities of others and to direct our own actions. Such meaning is comprised of the social and cultural conceptions and behaviors imprinted on the environment by the presence and activities of its inhabitants, who in turn, ‘read’ by them through their own corporeal embodiment of the same environment. This transactional relationship between the physical aspects of an environment, its social/cultural context, and our own embodiment of it, combine to create what is known as a sense of place: the psychological, physical, social, and cultural framework that helps us interpret the world around us, and directs our own behavior in it. In turn, it is our own (as well as others’) presence in that environment that gives it meaning, and shapes its social/cultural character. By understanding the essence of place-ness in general, and in cyberspace in particular, we can create virtual places that can better support Internet-based activities, and make them equal to, in some cases even better than their physical counterparts. One of the activities that stands to benefit most from understanding the concept of cyber-places is learning—an interpersonal activity that requires the co-presence of others (a teacher and/or fellow learners), who can point out the difference between what matters and what does not, and produce an emotional involvement that helps students learn. Thus, while many administrators and educators rush to develop webbased remote learning sites, to leverage the economic advantages of one-tomany learning modalities, these sites deprive learners of the contextualization and embodiment inherent in brick-and-mortar learning institutions, and which are needed to support the activity of learning. Can these qualities be achieved in virtual learning environments? If so, how? These are some of the questions this talk will try to answer by presenting a virtual place-making methodology and its experimental implementation, intended to create a sense of place through contextualization and embodiment in virtual learning environments.
series CAADRIA
type normal paper
last changed 2022/06/07 07:52

_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 e8f0
authors Mackey, David L.
year 1992
title Mission Possible: Computer Aided Design for Everyone
source Mission - Method - Madness [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-01-2] 1992, pp. 65-73
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1992.065
summary A pragmatic model for the building of an electronic architectural design curriculum which will offer students and faculty the opportunity to fully integrate information age technologies into the educational experience is becoming increasingly desirable.

The majority of architectural programs teach technology topics through content specific courses which appear as an educational sequence within the curriculum. These technology topics have traditionally included structural design, environmental systems, and construction materials and methods. Likewise, that course model has been broadly applied to the teaching of computer aided design, which is identified as a technology topic. Computer technology has resulted in a proliferation of courses which similarly introduce the student to computer graphic and design systems through a traditional course structure.

Inevitably, competition for priority arises within the curriculum, introducing the potential risk that otherwise valuable courses and/or course content will be replaced by the "'newer" technology, and providing fertile ground for faculty and administrative resistance to computerization as traditional courses are pushed aside or seem threatened.

An alternative view is that computer technology is not a "topic", but rather the medium for creating a design (and studio) environment for informed decision making.... deciding what it is we should build. Such a viewpoint urges the development of a curricular structure, through which the impact of computer technology may be understood as that medium for design decision making, as the initial step in addressing the current and future needs of architectural education.

One example of such a program currently in place at the College of Architecture and Planning, Ball State University takes an approach which overlays, like a transparent tissue, the computer aided design content (or a computer emphasis) onto the primary curriculum.

With the exception of a general introductory course at the freshman level, computer instruction and content issues may be addressed effectively within existing studio courses. The level of operational and conceptual proficiency achieved by the student, within an electronic design studio, makes the electronic design environment selfsustaining and maintainable across the entire curriculum. The ability to broadly apply computer aided design to the educational experience can be independent of the availability of many specialized computer aided design faculty.

series ACADIA
last changed 2022/06/07 07:59

_id 83ea
authors Monreal, Amadeo and De la Puente, Josep M.
year 1992
title Alternatives to Syntactic Paradigms in CAAD: Using Random Numbers in Layout Generation and Spatial Modeling.
source CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 497-510
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.497
summary The paper provides instances of graphic techniques using random numbers in layout generation and spatial modelling. Leaving aside more elaborate methods based on shape grammars and syntactically oriented schemes, direct graphic procedures useful in computer aided architectural design are discussed. Drawings presented show how aleatory input can influence the appearance of computer generated forms.
series eCAADe
last changed 2022/06/07 07:58

_id 054b
authors Peitgen, H.-O., Jürgens, H. and Saupe, D.
year 1992
title Fractals for the Classroom. Part 1: Introduction to Fractals and Chaos
source Springer Verlag, New York
summary Fractals for the Classroom breaks new ground as it brings an exciting branch of mathematics into the classroom. The book is a collection of independent chapters on the major concepts related to the science and mathematics of fractals. Written at the mathematical level of an advanced secondary student, Fractals for the Classroom includes many fascinating insights for the classroom teacher and integrates illustrations from a wide variety of applications with an enjoyable text to help bring the concepts alive and make them understandable to the average reader. This book will have a tremendous impact upon teachers, students, and the mathematics education of the general public. With the forthcoming companion materials, including four books on strategic classroom activities and lessons with interactive computer software, this package will be unparalleled.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id ddss9210
id ddss9210
authors Poortman, E.R.
year 1993
title Ratios for cost control
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 design of buildings takes place in phases representing a development from rough to precision planning. Estimates are made in order to test whether the result is still within the budget set by the client or developer. In this way, the decisions taken during the design phase can be quantified and expressed in monetary terms. To prevent blaming the wrong person when an overrun is discovered, the cost control process has to be improved. For that purpose, two new procedures have been developed: (i) a new translation activity; and (ii) ratios by which quantities can be characterized. 'Translation is the opposite of estimation. A monetary budget is converted -'translated' - into quantities, reflecting the desired quality of the building materials. The financial constraints of the client are thus converted into quantities - the building components used by the designers. Characteristic quantity figures play an important role in this activity. In working out an estimate, the form factor (i.e., the ratio between two characteristic values of a building component) has to be determined. The unit cost is then tested against that ratio. The introduction of the 'translation' activity and the use of characteristic quantity figures and form factors enhance existing estimation methods. By implementing these procedures, cost control becomes considerably more reliable.
series DDSS
last changed 2003/08/07 16:36

_id 1992
authors Russell, Peter
year 2002
title Using Higher Level Programming in Interdisciplinary teams as a means of training for Concurrent Engineering
source Connecting the Real and the Virtual - design e-ducation [20th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9541183-0-8] Warsaw (Poland) 18-20 September 2002, pp. 14-19
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2002.014
summary The paper explains a didactical method for training students that has been run three times to date. The premise of the course is to combine students from different faculties into interdisciplinary teams. These teams then have a complex problem to resolve within an extremely short time span. In light of recent works from Joy and Kurzweil, the theme Robotics was chosen as an exercise that is timely, interesting and related, but not central to the studies of the various faculties. In groups of 3 to 5, students from faculties of architecture, computer science and mechanical engineering are entrusted to design, build and program a robot which must successfully execute a prescribed set of actions in a competitive atmosphere. The entire course lasts ten days and culminates with the competitive evaluation. The robots must navigate a labyrinth, communicate with on another and be able to cover longer distances with some speed. In order to simplify the resources available to the students, the Lego Mindstorms Robotic syshed backgrounds instaed of synthetic ones. The combination of digitally produced (scanned) sperical images together with the use of HDR open a wide range of new implementation in the field of architecture, especially in combining synthetic elements in existing buildings, e.g. new interior elements in an existing historical museum).ural presentations in the medium of computer animation. These new forms of expression of design thoughts and ideas go beyond mere model making, and move more towards scenemaking and storytelling. The latter represents new methods of expression within computational environments for architects and designers.its boundaries. The project was conducted using the pedagogical framework of the netzentwurf.de; a relatively well established Internet based communication platform. This means that the studio was organised in the „traditional“ structure consisting of an initial 3 day workshop, a face to face midterm review, and a collective final review, held 3,5 months later in the Museum of Communication in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In teams of 3 (with each student from a different university and a tutor located at a fourth) the students worked over the Internet to produce collaborative design solutions. The groups ended up with designs that spanned a range of solutions between real and virtual architecture. Examples of the student’s work (which is all available online) as well as their working methods are described. It must be said that the energy invested in the studio by the organisers of the virtual campus (as well as the students who took part) was considerably higher than in normal design studios and the paper seeks to look critically at the effort in relation to the outcomes achieved. The range and depth of the student’s work was surprising to many in the project, especially considering the initial hurdles (both social and technological) that had to overcome. The self-referential nature of the theme, the method and the working environment encouraged the students to take a more philosg and programming a winning robot. These differences became apparent early in the sessions and each group had to find ways to communicate their ideas and to collectively develop them by building on the strengths of each team member.
series eCAADe
type normal paper
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:56

_id 831d
authors Seebohm, Thomas
year 1992
title Discoursing on Urban History Through Structured Typologies
source Mission - Method - Madness [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-01-2] 1992, pp. 157-175
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1992.157
summary How can urban history be studied with the aid of three-dimensional computer modeling? One way is to model known cities at various times in history, using historical records as sources of data. While such studies greatly enhance the understanding of the form and structure of specific cities at specific points in time, it is questionable whether such studies actually provide a true understanding of history. It can be argued that they do not because such studies only show a record of one of many possible courses of action at various moments in time. To gain a true understanding of urban history one has to place oneself back in historical time to consider all of the possible courses of action which were open in the light of the then current situation of the city, to act upon a possible course of action and to view the consequences in the physical form of the city. Only such an understanding of urban history can transcend the memory of the actual and hence the behavior of the possible. Moreover, only such an understanding can overcome the limitations of historical relativism, which contends that historical fact is of value only in historical context, with the realization, due to Benedetto Croce and echoed by Rudolf Bultmann, that the horizon of "'deeper understanding" lies in "'the actuality of decision"' (Seebohm and van Pelt 1990).

One cannot conduct such studies on real cities except, perhaps, as a point of departure at some specific point in time to provide an initial layout for a city knowing that future forms derived by the studies will diverge from that recorded in history. An entirely imaginary city is therefore chosen. Although the components of this city at the level of individual buildings are taken from known cities in history, this choice does not preclude alternative forms of the city. To some degree, building types are invariants and, as argued in the Appendix, so are the urban typologies into which they may be grouped. In this imaginary city students of urban history play the role of citizens or groups of citizens. As they defend their interests and make concessions, while interacting with each other in their respective roles, they determine the nature of the city as it evolves through the major periods of Western urban history in the form of threedimensional computer models.

My colleague R.J. van Pelt and I presented this approach to the study of urban history previously at ACADIA (Seebohm and van Pelt 1990). Yet we did not pay sufficient attention to the manner in which such urban models should be structured and how the efforts of the participants should be coordinated. In the following sections I therefore review what the requirements are for three-dimensional modeling to support studies in urban history as outlined both from the viewpoint of file structure of the models and other viewpoints which have bearing on this structure. Three alternative software schemes of progressively increasing complexity are then discussed with regard to their ability to satisfy these requirements. This comparative study of software alternatives and their corresponding file structures justifies the present choice of structure in relation to the simpler and better known generic alternatives which do not have the necessary flexibility for structuring the urban model. Such flexibility means, of course, that in the first instance the modeling software is more timeconsuming to learn than a simple point and click package in accord with the now established axiom that ease of learning software tools is inversely related to the functional power of the tools. (Smith 1987).

series ACADIA
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:56

_id avocaad_2001_17
id avocaad_2001_17
authors Ying-Hsiu Huang, Yu-Tung Liu, Cheng-Yuan Lin, Yi-Ting Cheng, Yu-Chen Chiu
year 2001
title The comparison of animation, virtual reality, and scenario scripting in design process
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 Design media is a fundamental tool, which can incubate concrete ideas from ambiguous concepts. Evolved from freehand sketches, physical models to computerized drafting, modeling (Dave, 2000), animations (Woo, et al., 1999), and virtual reality (Chiu, 1999; Klercker, 1999; Emdanat, 1999), different media are used to communicate to designers or users with different conceptual levels¡@during the design process. Extensively employed in design process, physical models help designers in managing forms and spaces more precisely and more freely (Millon, 1994; Liu, 1996).Computerized drafting, models, animations, and VR have gradually replaced conventional media, freehand sketches and physical models. Diversely used in the design process, computerized media allow designers to handle more divergent levels of space than conventional media do. The rapid emergence of computers in design process has ushered in efforts to the visual impact of this media, particularly (Rahman, 1992). He also emphasized the use of computerized media: modeling and animations. Moreover, based on Rahman's study, Bai and Liu (1998) applied a new design media¡Xvirtual reality, to the design process. In doing so, they proposed an evaluation process to examine the visual impact of this new media in the design process. That same investigation pointed towards the facilitative role of the computerized media in enhancing topical comprehension, concept realization, and development of ideas.Computer technology fosters the growth of emerging media. A new computerized media, scenario scripting (Sasada, 2000; Jozen, 2000), markedly enhances computer animations and, in doing so, positively impacts design processes. For the three latest media, i.e., computerized animation, virtual reality, and scenario scripting, the following question arises: What role does visual impact play in different design phases of these media. Moreover, what is the origin of such an impact? Furthermore, what are the similarities and variances of computing techniques, principles of interaction, and practical applications among these computerized media?This study investigates the similarities and variances among computing techniques, interacting principles, and their applications in the above three media. Different computerized media in the design process are also adopted to explore related phenomenon by using these three media in two projects. First, a renewal planning project of the old district of Hsinchu City is inspected, in which animations and scenario scripting are used. Second, the renewal project is compared with a progressive design project for the Hsinchu Digital Museum, as designed by Peter Eisenman. Finally, similarity and variance among these computerized media are discussed.This study also examines the visual impact of these three computerized media in the design process. In computerized animation, although other designers can realize the spatial concept in design, users cannot fully comprehend the concept. On the other hand, other media such as virtual reality and scenario scripting enable users to more directly comprehend what the designer's presentation.Future studies should more closely examine how these three media impact the design process. This study not only provides further insight into the fundamental characteristics of the three computerized media discussed herein, but also enables designers to adopt different media in the design stages. Both designers and users can more fully understand design-related concepts.
series AVOCAAD
email
last changed 2005/09/09 10:48

_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

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