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	ddss9214
id	ddss9214
authors	Friedman, A.
year	1993
title	A decision-making process for choice of a flexible internal partition option in multi-unit housing using decision theory techniques
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	Recent demographic changes have increased the heterogeneity of user groups in the North American housing market. Smaller households (e.g. elderly, single parent) have non-traditional spatial requirements that cannot be accommodated within the conventional house layout. This has created renewed interest in Demountable/Flexible internal partition systems. However, the process by which designers decide which project or user groups are most suited for the use of these systems is quite often complex, non-linear, uncertain and dynamic, since the decisions involve natural processes and human values that are apparently random. The anonymity of users when mass housing projects are conceptualized, and the uncertainty as to the alternative to be selected by the user, given his/her constantly changing needs, are some contributing factors to this effect. Decision Theory techniques, not commonly used by architects, can facilitate the decision-making process through a systematic evaluation of alternatives by means of quantitative methods in order to reduce uncertainty in probabilistic events or in cases when data is insufficient. The author used Decision Theory in the selection of flexible partition systems. The study involved a multi-unit, privately initiated housing project in Montreal, Canada, where real site conditions and costs were used. In this paper, the author outlines the fundamentals of Decision Theory and demonstrates the use of Expected Monetary Value and Weighted Objective Analysis methods and their outcomes in the design of a Montreal housing project. The study showed that Decision Theory can be used as an effective tool in housing design once the designer knows how to collect basic data.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	4203
authors	Fraser, Michael
year	1993
title	Boundary Representation in Practice
source	Education and Practice: The Critical Interface [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-02-0] Texas (Texas / USA) 1993, pp. 173-185
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1993.173
summary	There is an essential contradiction between the making of buildings or built environments in a threedimensional modeler and the graphic control of this process. Three-dimensional modeling is a constructive activity, in which solids are assembled as they would be in an actual structure; it benefits the designer. Presentation and documentation, on the other hand, are prescriptive activities that direct some of the construction and all the visualization and criticism of the proposal; they benefit the user and builder. A building while being designed can be visualized and criticized from its solid model, and the model can take a variety of forms depending on its part): computer-based, drawn in orthographic or perspective projection, constructed of cardboard or wood, or described narratively by means of text, programmatic data, performance model or animation. However, practicing architecture is the process of recording and communicating the decision making process and the contractual obligations that result. In actual practice, in contrast to the designer directed ideal, more participants are brought in sooner at the beginning of a project and with more publicity, which in turn means keeping more, not fewer, records. As the profession evolves, records of the string of design decisions will become more automated, more carefully structured and more retrievable. More buildings will be "tracked" and exposed to review in this way because public environmental sensitivity will improve. The communication between a single designer and his own thoughts will become less and less important.
series	ACADIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

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

_id	2979
authors	Henry, D. and Furness, T.A.
year	1993
title	Spatial Perception in Virtual Environments: Evaluating an Architectural Application
source	IEEE Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium, 1993, Seattle
summary	Over the last several years, professionals from many different fields have come to the Human Interface Technology Laboratory (H.I.T.L) to discover and learn about virtual environments. In general, they are impressed by their experiences and express the tremendous potential the tool has in their respective fields. But the potentials are always projected far in the future, and the tool remains just a concept. This is justifiable because the quality of the visual experience is so much less than what people are used to seeing; high definition television, breathtaking special cinematographic effects and photorealistic computer renderings. Instead, the models in virtual environments are very simple looking; they are made of small spaces, filled with simple or abstract looking objects of little color distinctions as seen through displays of noticeably low resolution and at an update rate which leaves much to be desired. Clearly, for most applications, the requirements of precision have not been met yet with virtual interfaces as they exist today. However, there are a few domains where the relatively low level of the technology could be perfectly appropriate. In general, these are applications which require that the information be presented in symbolic or representational form. Having studied architecture, I knew that there are moments during the early part of the design process when conceptual decisions are made which require precisely the simple and representative nature available in existing virtual environments.
series	journal paper
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	6637
authors	Ward, D., Brown, A.G.P. and Horton, F.F.
year	1994
title	A Design Assistant for Environmental Optimisation of Buildings
source	The Virtual Studio [Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design / ISBN 0-9523687-0-6] Glasgow (Scotland) 7-10 September 1994, pp. 247
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1994.x.u0s
summary	The dual function of the Environmental Design Assistant which we have developed is to act firstly as a teaching aid and secondly as a design aid. In terms of it's role as a design assistant it is similar in nature to the application described by Papamichael, K, in Novitski, B. J. (1993). However, the work described here forms part of an overall strategy to develop a user friendly design assistant across the spectrum of Architectural design disciplines: this is one particular strand of the project. One aim embodied in the development of the environmental design assistant has been the pragmatic one of the production and refining of a tool to perform environmental assessments of buildings in accordance with the British recommendations made in BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Energy Assessment Method). In this respect the assistant allows for the consequences of design decisions to be readily assessed and then for those decisions to be modified. The Assistant has undergone a series of refinements to make it more user-friendly, efficient and appropriate as an Architectural design aid; and this has been the second aim of the project. The project has acted as a vehicle for the application of design principles applied to the presentation, information structuring and navigation associated with Hypermedia and Multimedia products. We are applying the kind of good design principles which have been summarised well by Schulmeister, R. (1994). These principles include Ariadne's Thread (paths for navigation), Lost in Hyperspace (backward navigation), More-than-browsing (interaction) and Tutoring (providing feedback to the user). Adoption of such principles is, we believe, essential in order to realise the potential of Hypermedia tools. The principal development tool for the work has been SuperCard. This has been used in conjunction with a range of other software including ArchiCad and Intellidraw and a range of image grabbing devices.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	e9f1
authors	Alaimo, G., Pellitteri, G. and Scianna, A.
year	1993
title	A Tool for Typological Analysis
source	[eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Eindhoven (The Netherlands) 11-13 November 1993
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1993.x.q0g
summary	Any design problem is faced drawing from the architect's knowledge both case knowledge and general knowledge. One type of the latter is abstracted from a multiplicity of cases of which the common features are recognised in such a way as to single out a prototype representing in the best way a class of architectural objects. If applied to a set of residential buildings and to the flats in them the analysis is typological and it is one of the fundamental ways of acquiring general knowledge to be used to face design problems. The tool we present is aimed at such a type of analysis and is based on the idea that it possible to acquire qualitative knowledge through the statistical analysis of measurable characteristics of the examined architectural objects. It has been tested by applying it to the typological analysis of a set of flats of illegal buildings in Sicily. The procedure is organised in two main phases. The first one consists in a series of elaborations performed during the reading of architectural organism; the second one consists in a series of statistical analyses on the results (characteristic variables) of the first.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	20c1
authors	Alavalkama, Ilkka
year	1993
title	Technical Aspects of the Urban Simulator in Tampere University of Technology
source	Endoscopy as a Tool in Architecture [Proceedings of the 1st European Architectural Endoscopy Association Conference / ISBN 951-722-069-3] Tampere (Finland), 25-28 August 1993, pp. 35-46
summary	The colour video recording Urban Simulator in TUT was built very early compared with the development of video systems. A contract for planning the simulator electronics, mechanics and camera systems was made in january 1978 with two TUT students: Jani Granholm (computer science and engineering) and Ilkka Alavalkama (machine design and automation). Ease of control and maintenance were asked by side of ”human movement inside coloured small-scale architectural models”. From the beginning, all components of the system were carefully tested and chosen from various alternatives. Financial resources were quite limited, which lead to a long building process and to self-planned and produced mechanical and electronical elements. Some optical systems were constructed by using elements from various manufacturers.
keywords	Architectural Endoscopy
series	EAEA
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/eaea/
last changed	2005/09/09 10:43

_id	3653
authors	Alshawi, M. and Budeiri, M.J.
year	1993
title	An Integrated approach for 3D simulation of construction sequence
source	The Int. Journal of Construction IT 1(2), pp. 35-46
summary	In order to eliminate design-related problems and to ease planning difficulties, a new integrated approach is required to manage and present design and construction information. This paper examines the feasibility of integrating design and construction scheduling information produced by 'industry standard' software. It describes the structure of a prototype which has been developed to generate a 3D simulation model for the construction sequence by integrating a CAD package with a project planning software. This study aims at establishing an integrated approach to communicate construction planning graphically to users (designers or construction managers) prior to construction in order to enhance the efficiency of the design/construction process.
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/05/15 21:45

_id	a927
authors	Amirante, Isabella and Bosco, Antonio
year	1995
title	Hypertext Between Research and Teaching: An Experience in a Didactic Building Technology Laboratory
source	Multimedia and Architectural Disciplines [Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe / ISBN 0-9523687-1-4] Palermo (Italy) 16-18 November 1995, pp. 3-12
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.003
summary	IPER (hypertext for the knowledge of building patrimony) is the result of a research developed with C.N.R. (National Research Institute). The aim of IPER is to provide the knowledge, the description and the management of one or more historical buildings for public or private institutions. IPER allowed us to improve our methodology of building analysis, covering various disciplinary fields, in two different systems. (1.) the first one, synthetic and suitable for a group of historical buildings, (2.) the second one, complex and particularly made for monumental buildings. // This experience is related to the new regulation of teaching architecture in Italy made in 1993. The main novelty is the introduction of the laboratories with the contemporary presence of two or three teachers of different disciplines, working together with the students on the same project with different approaches. This opportunity allowed us to introduce the "knowledge engineer" as a teacher in the laboratory of building technology. IPER is given to the students with the aim of experimenting and solving the theoretical and practical difficulties that students of different years may encounter in the knowledge and representation of buildings and in the organisation of all the data from the case study.
series	eCAADe
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_1.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	0ab2
authors	Amor, R., Hosking, J., Groves, L. and Donn, M.
year	1993
title	Design Tool Integration: Model Flexibility for the Building Profession
source	Proceedings of Building Systems Automation - Integration, University of Wisconsin-Madison
summary	The development of ICAtect, as discussed in the Building Systems Automation and Integration Symposium of 1991, provides a way of integrating simulation tools through a common building model. However, ICAtect is only a small step towards the ultimate goal of total integration and automation of the building design process. In this paper we investigate the next steps on the path toward integration. We examine how models structured to capture the physical attributes of the building, as required by simulation tools, can be used to converse with knowledge-based systems. We consider the types of mappings that occur in the often different views of a building held by these two classes of design tools. This leads us to examine the need for multiple views of a common building model. We then extend our analysis from the views required by simulation and knowledge-based systems, to those required by different segments of the building profession (e.g. architects, engineers, developers, etc.) to converse with such an integrated system. This indicates a need to provide a flexible method of accessing data in the common building model to facilitate use by different building professionals with varying specialities and levels of expertise.
series	journal paper
email
last changed	2003/05/15 21:22

_id	2ff9
id	2ff9
authors	Ataman, Osman
year	1993
title	Knowledge-based Stair Design
source	Education and Practice: The Critical Interface [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-02-0] Texas (Texas / USA) 1993, pp. 163-171
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1993.163
summary	The application of computer--based technique to support architectural design has often concentrated on matters of representation. Typically, this means computer-aided drafting, and less frequently, computer-aided modeling and visualization. The promise of new computer-based tools to support the process of design has thus far failed to produce any significant tool that has had a widespread impact on the architectural profession. Most developments remain in university based research labs where they are used as teaching instruments in CAD courses or less often in design studios. While there are many reasons for this lack of dissemination, including a reluctance on the part of the architectural profession itself, the primary obstacles deal with difficulties in explicating design knowledge, representing this knowledge in a manner that can be used for design, and providing an intuitive and effective user interface, allowing the designer to easily use the tool for its intended purpose. This study describes a system that has been developed to address a number of these issues. Based on research findings from the field of Artificial Intelligence which expounds on the need for multiple techniques to represent any complex area of knowledge, we have selected a particular approach that focuses on multiple techniques for design representation. We review this approach in depth by considering its many facets necessary when implementing a knowledge-based system. We then partially test the viability of this approach through a small case study, implementing a knowledge-based system for designing stairs. While this effort only deals with a small part of the total design process, it does explore a number of significant issues facing the development of computer-based design assistants, and suggests several techniques for addressing these concerns.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	50ce
authors	Baker, R.
year	1993
title	Designing the Future: The Computer Transformation of Reality
source	Thames and Hudson, Hong Kong
summary	A coffee table book on computer applications? Well, yes, because it does deal largely with matters of graphic design in architecture, fashion and textiles, painting, and photography; but it also has items which might be of interest in its sections on digital publication, typography, and electronic communication in general. It also seeks to discuss the way in which these applications may force us to change the way we think. Robin Baker writes in an unfortunately stiff and abstract manner about the impact computer programmes have had on the world of art and design, but the graphic images and extended picture captions help to keep the reader awake - even though the main text sometimes disappears for two or three double page spreads on end. There are also smatterings of pretentious art-world-speak about 'solving certain spatial problems' (in the design of curtain fabrics or teapots) and the introduction (inevitable?) of new jargon: 'shape grammar'(a list of so-called shape 'rules'), 'repurposing' (putting somebody else's work to new use) and 'genetic algorithms' (sculptural designs based on re-processed organic shapes - most of which look like stomach tumours). In his favour, Baker very generously credits students and commercial designers who have produced the effects he describes and illustrates so well. For writers, he sketches in the possibilities of Hypertext and Hypermedia and points to the future of Hyper publishing which he (and Rupert Murdoch)believes will be with us before the end of the century. He seems to have a good oversight of what is possible and practicable - though one wonders how up-to-date the view is when his book may have begun its life anything up to three years ago. He usefully points out that much new technology exists in or drags along with it the forms of earlier periods - so that in an age of electronic communication we still have printed books as a dominant cultural form. Maybe this is as it should be - but Baker makes a persuasive case for the claim that All This is Going to Change.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	cf2011_p170
id	cf2011_p170
authors	Barros, Mário; Duarte José, Chaparro Bruno
year	2011
title	Thonet Chairs Design Grammar: a Step Towards the Mass Customization of Furniture
source	Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2011 [Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures / ISBN 9782874561429] Liege (Belgium) 4-8 July 2011, pp. 181-200.
summary	The paper presents the first phase of research currently under development that is focused on encoding Thonet design style into a generative design system using a shape grammar. The ultimate goal of the work is the design and production of customizable chairs using computer assisted tools, establishing a feasible practical model of the paradigm of mass customization (Davis, 1987). The current research step encompasses the following three steps: (1) codification of the rules describing Thonet design style into a shape grammar; (2) implementing the grammar into a computer tool as parametric design; and (3) rapid prototyping of customized chair designs within the style. Future phases will address the transformation of the Thonet’s grammar to create a new style and the production of real chair designs in this style using computer aided manufacturing. Beginning in the 1830’s, Austrian furniture designer Michael Thonet began experimenting with forming steam beech, in order to produce lighter furniture using fewer components, when compared with the standards of the time. Using the same construction principles and standardized elements, Thonet produced different chairs designs with a strong formal resemblance, creating his own design language. The kit assembly principle, the reduced number of elements, industrial efficiency, and the modular approach to furniture design as a system of interchangeable elements that may be used to assemble different objects enable him to become a pioneer of mass production (Noblet, 1993). The most paradigmatic example of the described vision of furniture design is the chair No. 14 produced in 1858, composed of six structural elements. Due to its simplicity, lightness, ability to be stored in flat and cubic packaging for individual of collective transportation, respectively, No. 14 became one of the most sold chairs worldwide, and it is still in production nowadays. Iconic examples of mass production are formally studied to provide insights to mass customization studies. The study of the shape grammar for the generation of Thonet chairs aimed to ensure rules that would make possible the reproduction of the selected corpus, as well as allow for the generation of new chairs within the developed grammar. Due to the wide variety of Thonet chairs, six chairs were randomly chosen to infer the grammar and then this was fine tuned by checking whether it could account for the generation of other designs not in the original corpus. Shape grammars (Stiny and Gips, 1972) have been used with sucesss both in the analysis as in the synthesis of designs at different scales, from product design to building and urban design. In particular, the use of shape grammars has been efficient in the characterization of objects’ styles and in the generation of new designs within the analyzed style, and it makes design rules amenable to computers implementation (Duarte, 2005). The literature includes one other example of a grammar for chair design by Knight (1980). In the second step of the current research phase, the outlined shape grammar was implemented into a computer program, to assist the designer in conceiving and producing customized chairs using a digital design process. This implementation was developed in Catia by converting the grammar into an equivalent parametric design model. In the third phase, physical models of existing and new chair designs were produced using rapid prototyping. The paper describes the grammar, its computer implementation as a parametric model, and the rapid prototyping of physical models. The generative potential of the proposed digital process is discussed in the context of enabling the mass customization of furniture. The role of the furniture designer in the new paradigm and ideas for further work also are discussed.
keywords	Thonet; furniture design; chair; digital design process; parametric design; shape grammar
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2012/02/11 19:21

_id	0c88
authors	Bedell, John R. and Kohler, Niklaus
year	1993
title	A Hierarchical Model for Building Applications
source	CAAD Futures ‘93 [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-444-89922-7] (Pittsburgh / USA), 1993, pp. 423-435
summary	Advanced computer-aided architectural applications must model buildings as multi-level compositions supporting distinct points of view. Hierarchies of encapsulated, autonomous elements can be derived from ISO-STEP's General AEC Reference Model and configured for various applications. For analysis of life-cycle costs, we define a Pyramid of evaluable production steps leading to the final building; for optimization of renovation task schedules, a topological model of access paths and traffic flow. These separate viewpoints can be embedded in a single unifying structure permitting the communication and propagation of changes among its specialized aspects.
keywords	Design Model, Decision Support System, Object-Oriented Data Model, Building Product Model, STEP-GARM
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	0ffe
authors	Bhat, R.R., Gauchel, J. and Van Wyk, S.
year	1993
title	Communication in Cooperative Building Design
source	CAAD Futures ‘93 [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-444-89922-7] (Pittsburgh / USA), 1993, pp. 481-493
summary	This paper addresses communication issues, which are crucial in any implementation of distributed design environments. Communication needs are specified and implemented in a prototype based on a modular knowledge-based approach for simulation of a distributed multi-user system. The results of these simulations are reported, which show communication to be scalable as the numbers of applications and the size of the design increases. Finally, the implications of the results on real distributed systems are discussed.
keywords	Building Design, Distributed Design Environments, Cooperative Design, Communication
series	CAAD Futures
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	ee23
authors	Bille, Pia
year	1994
title	A Study of Color
source	The Virtual Studio [Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design / ISBN 0-9523687-0-6] Glasgow (Scotland) 7-10 September 1994, pp. 185-190
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1994.185
summary	Color courses are traditionally based on exercises carried out with either water color or colored paper. Use of the computer as a tool for teaching color theory and analyzing color in architecture was the topic of a course given at the School of Architecture and Planning at the State University of New York at Buffalo, USA where I was an exchange faculty in the academic year 1993/94. The course was structured into 3 topics: color theory, color perception and application of color.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	4687
authors	Boekholt, J.T.
year	1993
title	Evaluation First Year Design Projects
source	[eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Eindhoven (The Netherlands) 11-13 November 1993
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1993.x.u8b
summary	During the first year students are taught that it is important to learn to evaluate their projects themselves. Therefore a checklist is introduced and explained over the year which can be used by the students to formulate their criteria, evaluation scales and weighting factors. The main aspects that are evaluated are utility, structural and manufacturing aspects. Only little attention during the first year is given to legal and economical aspects. Main goal is to develop a systematic and integrated approach towards the evaluation of design projects. The evaluation of the student is compared with the judgement of the teacher. Final marks are given by the teacher.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	6858
authors	Bosselmann, Peter and Gilson, Kevin
year	1993
title	Visualizing Urban Form
source	Endoscopy as a Tool in Architecture [Proceedings of the 1st European Architectural Endoscopy Association Conference / ISBN 951-722-069-3] Tampere (Finland), 25-28 August 1993, pp. 9-30
summary	This article is about the use of visual simulation by urban designers. We explore briefly the history of simulation from its origins in the 1960s in the United States, explain guidelines for its application in urban design and planning projects, and discuss in greater detail how new simulation techniques might be integrated into design instruction and practice.
keywords	Architectural Endoscopy
series	EAEA
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/eaea/
last changed	2005/09/09 10:43

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

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