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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Hits 1 to 20 of 258

_id 53da
authors Carlson, Christopher
year 1993
title Grammatical programming : an algebraic approach to the description of design spaces
source Carnegie Mellon University
summary The intuitiveness of spatial grammars makes them an attractive method of describing spaces of design. But grammars suffer from several inadequacies that limit their usefulness in design practice: (1) they cannot describe spaces of parametric, constrained designs, (2) they provide no control mechanisms for sequencing sets of rules, (3) they provide no 'subroutines' for dealing with complexity, and (4) they do not accommodate transformation mechanisms other than the rewrite rule. All of these inadequacies my [sic] be remedied by embedding grammars in a larger framework of nondeterministic functional programming, a paradigm we call 'grammatical programming.' In grammatical programs, rewrite rules are obtained from arbitrary nondeterministic functions by means of a 'rewrite closure' operator. Both rules and the designs they operate upon may be parametric and have attached constraints, permitting grammatical programs to describe spaces of parametric, constrained designs. Rewrite rules, and more generally, nondeterministic functions, are combined into compound functions by means of the operators of a control algebra, which provides functional composition, union, iteration, and a type of negation called 'failure.' The resulting modularity permits design space descriptions to be constructed, tested, and debugged piecewise, and to draw upon libraries of standard, debugged grammatical components. We begin this dissertation with an informal introduction to grammatical programming. We then give a formal, implementation-independent semantics of grammatical programs similar to the semantics of stratified logic programs. We discuss the implementation of a prototype compiler/interpreter and present case studies of the use of the prototype in describing spaces of rectangular dissections and a style of early Gothic traceries. We conclude with a discussion of lessons learned from the case studies and an agenda of further research necessary to make grammatical programming a useful tool in design practice.
series thesis:PhD
last changed 2003/02/12 22:37

_id 4abb
authors Carlson, Christopher
year 1993
title Describing Spaces of Rectangular Dissections via Grammatical Programming
source CAAD Futures ‘93 [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-444-89922-7] (Pittsburgh / USA), 1993, pp. 143-158
summary For the description of design spaces, grammatical programs offer several advantages over conventional grammars: (1) they integrate rewrite rules with more general non-deterministic functions, (2) they permit a range of programming styles from purely declarative to purely procedural, (3) they can describe spaces Of constrained, parametric designs, and (4) they permit design space descriptions to be developed modularly. We demonstrate these features of grammatical programming by way of a simple example that generates spaces of rectangular dissections.
keywords Generative Systems, Grammars, Design Spaces, Functional Logic Programming
series CAAD Futures
last changed 1999/04/07 12:03

_id ddss9217
id ddss9217
authors Kim, Y.S. and Brawne, M.
year 1993
title An approach to evaluating exhibition spaces in art galleries
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 There are certain building types in which movement of people is the most significant evaluation factor. Among these are art galleries and museums. Unlike other building types, which are often explicated by investigating the relationship between people and people, and between people and the built environment, art galleries and museums are a building type in which the social relationship between people hardly exists and peoples movement through space, that is, the functional relationship between people and space, is one of the most significant factors for their description. The typical museum experience is through direct, sequential, and visual contact with static objects on display as the visitor moves. Therefore, the movement pattern of the visitors must exert a significant influence on achieving the specific goal of a museum. There is a critical need for predicting the consequences of particular spatial configurations with respect to visitors movement. In this sense, it is the intention of this paper to find out the relationship between the spatial configuration of exhibition space and the visitors' movement pattern.
series DDSS
last changed 2003/08/07 16:36

_id cad5
authors Coyne, R.F., Flemming, U., Piela, P. and Woodbury, R.
year 1993
title Behavior Modeling in Design System Development
source CAAD Futures ‘93 [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-444-89922-7] (Pittsburgh / USA), 1993, pp. 335-354
summary We describe the development approach for a software environment to support the early phases in building design called SEED. The combination of capabilities offered by SEED to designers is novel and includes the integrated handling of solution prototypes. We give the reasons for using an object-oriented software engineering approach in the development of the system, which starts with a comprehensive behavioral model of the system from the user's perspective based on actors and use cases. We illustrate results from the first development phase and sketch the next phases. At the time of the CAAD Futures '93 conference, we will be able to report our experience in developing a first system prototype and to demonstrate the prototype.
keywords Object-Oriented Software Engineering, Integrated Design Systems, Architectural Programming, Schematic Layout Design
series CAAD Futures
email
last changed 2003/02/26 17:24

_id af70
authors Coates, Paul and Yakeley, Megan
year 1993
title Function Follows Form: A Description of the Work and Educational Objectives of the MSc in Computing & Design at the University of East London School of Architecture
source [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Eindhoven (The Netherlands) 11-13 November 1993
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1993.x.o2g
summary This paper demonstrates the approach to Architectural education that has been developed over the last 3 years on the MSc Computing & Design course at the University of East London. Although the course deals exclusively in computer based topics, the main concern is primarily with developing a design methodology and a way of teaching design method, more particularly an algorithmic description of form. Rule based design, emergent form and bottom up approaches to design have become fashionable to the point of ubiquity in the last 5 years, but we like to think that only at UEL have these concerns been linked to a consistent view of design.
series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:50

_id eaea2005_000
id eaea2005_000
authors Dechène, Sigrun und Manfred Walz (Eds.)
year 2006
title Motion, E-Motion and Urban Space
source Proceedings of the 7th European Architectural Endoscopy Association Conference / ISBN-10: 3-00-019070-8 - ISBN-13: 978-3-00-019070-4, 260 p.
summary Simulating the development and the image of architecture and urban design means to show how the environment of the future and the living conditions could develop. At the same time it is part of our task to explain our work to local people and to the public and to passion skills in methods, instruments and knowledge in planning to the next generation of architects, planners and last but not least to discuss and to renew them once more for ourselves. Our aim was also to reflect what we have done since starting the look through the key-hole of endoscopy. Meanwhile this look has been completed since the beginnings in 1993 much more by computer and monitor. It is not the question to take the endoscope or the computer as a methodical and instrumental approach. Nowadays we normally decide to take the endoscope and the computer. In preparing the conference and the workshop we thought that this should now also be the moment not only to inform each other and the participants on methods, tools and best practices in simulating and designing the environment but also to focus on the social and human consequences of perception, movement and use the present urban spaces and the urban space in future. So we proposed the theme “MOTION, E-MOTION and URBAN SPACE” and we invited a scientific expert in experimental psychology to give us some serious reflections and one or another hint on our research themes and methods. The contributions and discussions in the conference showed that the proposal has not only been accepted but has also been completed and enriched especially concerning the theme urban space, it’s processes of usage and it‘s atmosphere. Also in the themes of endoscopy and the research on modelling urban spaces and architecture, meanwhile nearly “traditional” ones, remarkable results were presented and discussed. A very important point of contributions and the following discussions was how to present our subjects to the interested public and to improve our own internal exchange. An object could be to enforce the research tasks in researching together even more.
series EAEA
email
more http://info.tuwien.ac.at/eaea
last changed 2008/04/29 20:46

_id 2864
authors Isakovic, Tatiana and Fischinger, Matej
year 1993
title Making Reinforced Concrete Cross-sections Design Easy and Understandable
source [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Eindhoven (The Netherlands) 11-13 November 1993
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1993.x.d3r
summary Modern computing facilities provide an alternative graphical approach to the design of cross-sections. A description of this process might be "strength evaluation", since, for any chosen cross-section, concrete strength, and reinforcement size, location, and yield strength, the flexural resistance (capacity) is defined by the bending moment-axial force interaction diagram. The factored forces are then plotted into the diagram and, by comparing the capacity and demand on the computer screen, the designer can decide about the suitability of the chosen cross-section. If necessary, the cross-sectional properties can be changed easily. There are several advantages of this design approach. The design procedure is fast, clear and economical. For example, all loading combinations for all the columns of the frame in Fig. 1 can be checked simultaneously. The procedure is the same for various shapes of cross-sections and it enables simple reinforcement optimization as well as the typization of cross-sections. For example, only two types of cross-sections can satisfy the design requirements for all the columns in the mentioned frame.
series eCAADe
last changed 2022/06/07 07:50

_id f485
authors Kolarevic, Branko Radomir
year 1993
title Geometric Relations as a Framework For Design Conceptualization
source Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
summary This study introduces geometric relations as a framework for design conceptualiza-tion-its key premise is that nothing is more fundamental in design than formation and discovery of relationships. The study attempts to establish a formal model for the development of a dynamic computer based graphic environment for design conceptualization that can recognize, record and maintain geometric design relations, merge "depictive" and "propositional", explicit and implicit in design, and provide a qualitatively different way to explore shape, dimension, and geometric organization. The study presents an approach to this task of formalization, and explores some of the fundamental issues pertinent to the subject, such as computability and applicability to the task of designing. Specifically, the study explores a relational description of shapes based on the concept of regulating or construction lines as an explicit formulation of a strategy to form generation and creative discovery, and proposes a lexicon of geometric relations to serve as a basis for composition. It hypothesizes that the construction lines can become much more useful and interesting when they are used not just as a rigid skeleton, but to regulate the behavior of a drawing and to maintain its essential structure as its parts are manipulated. As a consequence, designers could structure the behavior of the object being designed under future transformations; drawings could become seman-tically charged and could be manipulated in a semantically sophisticated fashion. The first chapter places the issue in the broader context by arguing that designers form implicit relational models of their designs. This contention is supported by introducing some of the relevant literature on mental imagery. Second chapter introduces design relations and in particular geometric relations, as a focal point of this study. A dynamic computer -based graphic context for design conceptualization is presented and evalu-ated in the next two chapters and conclusions are drawn. In the third chapter, the model's computability is demonstrated and evaluated through ReDRAW, a limited implementation of a relations based graphic system. In the fourth chapter, the model's applicability in design conceptualization is discussed and supported by examples.
series thesis:PhD
email
more http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/academic/asp/ddes/thesis_titles.html
last changed 2003/02/12 22:37

_id 1d5a
authors Schnabel, M.A., Kvan, T., Kruijff, E. and Donath, D.
year 2001
title The First Virtual Environment Design Studio
source Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 394-400
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.394
summary Since 1993 schools of architecture all over the world conduct in various forms of Virtual Design Studio (VDS). They have become an established part of teaching design within the digital realm. They vary in task and structure, are purely text-based or include various forms of interactive, synchronous or asynchronous collaboration. However, ‘virtual’ always refers to the method of communication and exchange of design and ideas. Students have never designed within immersive virtuality. This paper describes the first successful attempt to conduct a Joint Design Studio, which uses Virtual Environment (VE) as tool of design and communication between the remote partners. This first VeDS focused on how architectural students make use of this particular different approach to design within immersive three-dimensional VEs. For example, the students created 3D-immersive design proposals, explored dependencies to textual description of initial intentions and communicated between local and remote team-partners in immersive VE as well as textbased communication-channels. The paper subsequently describes the VeDS, its set-up, realization and outcome. We discuss frameworks and factors influencing how architectural students communicate their proposals in immersive VeDS, and how this new approach of design studio enables new forms of design expressions.
keywords Immersive Virtual Reality, Collaborative Design, Joint Design Studio, Preliminary Design
series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:57

_id 705c
authors Schnabel, Marc Aurel and Kvan, Thomas
year 2001
title Implementing The First Virtual Environment Design Studio
source Architectural Education for the Asian Century, Proceedings of the 1st ACAE Conference on Architectural Education, Milton Tan, editor, Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture, National University of Singapore, pp. 157-166
summary Since 1993 schools of architecture all over the world conduct in various forms of Virtual Design Studio (VDS). They have become an established part of teaching design within the digital realm. They vary in task and structure; are purely text-based or include various forms of interactive; synchronous or asynchronous collaboration. However; ‘virtual’ always refers to the method of communication and exchange of design and ideas. Students have never designed within immersive virtuality. This paper describes the first successful attempt to conduct a Joint Design Studio; which uses Virtual Environment (VE) as tool of design and communication between the remote partners. This first VeDS focused on how architectural students make use of this particular different approach to design within immersive three-dimensional VEs. For example; the students created 3D-immersive design proposals; explored dependencies to textual description of initial intentions and communicated between local and remote team-partners in immersive VE as well as text-based communication-channels. The paper subsequently describes the VeDS; its set-up; realization and outcome. We discuss frameworks and factors influencing how architectural students communicate their proposals in immersive VeDS; and how this new approach of design studio enables new forms of design expressions.
keywords Virtual Environment; Remote Collaboration; Design Evaluation; Spatial Understanding
series other
email
last changed 2002/11/15 18:29

_id avocaad_2001_16
id avocaad_2001_16
authors Yu-Ying Chang, Yu-Tung Liu, Chien-Hui Wong
year 2001
title Some Phenomena of Spatial Characteristics of Cyberspace
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 "Space," which has long been an important concept in architecture (Bloomer & Moore, 1977; Mitchell, 1995, 1999), has attracted interest of researchers from various academic disciplines in recent years (Agnew, 1993; Benko & Strohmayer, 1996; Chang, 1999; Foucault, 1982; Gould, 1998). Researchers from disciplines such as anthropology, geography, sociology, philosophy, and linguistics regard it as the basis of the discussion of various theories in social sciences and humanities (Chen, 1999). On the other hand, since the invention of Internet, Internet users have been experiencing a new and magic "world." According to the definitions in traditional architecture theories, "space" is generated whenever people define a finite void by some physical elements (Zevi, 1985). However, although Internet is a virtual, immense, invisible and intangible world, navigating in it, we can still sense the very presence of ourselves and others in a wonderland. This sense could be testified by our naming of Internet as Cyberspace -- an exotic kind of space. Therefore, as people nowadays rely more and more on the Internet in their daily life, and as more and more architectural scholars and designers begin to invest their efforts in the design of virtual places online (e.g., Maher, 1999; Li & Maher, 2000), we cannot help but ask whether there are indeed sensible spaces in Internet. And if yes, these spaces exist in terms of what forms and created by what ways?To join the current interdisciplinary discussion on the issue of space, and to obtain new definition as well as insightful understanding of "space", this study explores the spatial phenomena in Internet. We hope that our findings would ultimately be also useful for contemporary architectural designers and scholars in their designs in the real world.As a preliminary exploration, the main objective of this study is to discover the elements involved in the creation/construction of Internet spaces and to examine the relationship between human participants and Internet spaces. In addition, this study also attempts to investigate whether participants from different academic disciplines define or experience Internet spaces in different ways, and to find what spatial elements of Internet they emphasize the most.In order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the spatial phenomena in Internet and to overcome the subjectivity of the members of the research team, the research design of this study was divided into two stages. At the first stage, we conducted literature review to study existing theories of space (which are based on observations and investigations of the physical world). At the second stage of this study, we recruited 8 Internet regular users to approach this topic from different point of views, and to see whether people with different academic training would define and experience Internet spaces differently.The results of this study reveal that the relationship between human participants and Internet spaces is different from that between human participants and physical spaces. In the physical world, physical elements of space must be established first; it then begins to be regarded as a place after interaction between/among human participants or interaction between human participants and the physical environment. In contrast, in Internet, a sense of place is first created through human interactions (or activities), Internet participants then begin to sense the existence of a space. Therefore, it seems that, among the many spatial elements of Internet we found, "interaction/reciprocity" Ñ either between/among human participants or between human participants and the computer interface Ð seems to be the most crucial element.In addition, another interesting result of this study is that verbal (linguistic) elements could provoke a sense of space in a degree higher than 2D visual representation and no less than 3D visual simulations. Nevertheless, verbal and 3D visual elements seem to work in different ways in terms of cognitive behaviors: Verbal elements provoke visual imagery and other sensory perceptions by "imagining" and then excite personal experiences of space; visual elements, on the other hand, provoke and excite visual experiences of space directly by "mapping".Finally, it was found that participants with different academic training did experience and define space differently. For example, when experiencing and analyzing Internet spaces, architecture designers, the creators of the physical world, emphasize the design of circulation and orientation, while participants with linguistics training focus more on subtle language usage. Visual designers tend to analyze the graphical elements of virtual spaces based on traditional painting theories; industrial designers, on the other hand, tend to treat these spaces as industrial products, emphasizing concept of user-center and the control of the computer interface.The findings of this study seem to add new information to our understanding of virtual space. It would be interesting for future studies to investigate how this information influences architectural designers in their real-world practices in this digital age. In addition, to obtain a fuller picture of Internet space, further research is needed to study the same issue by examining more Internet participants who have no formal linguistics and graphical training.
series AVOCAAD
email
last changed 2005/09/09 10:48

_id c044
authors Heisserman, J. and Woodbury, R.
year 1993
title Generating languages of solid models
source Proceedings of Second ACM/IEEE Symposium on Solid Modeling and Applications, pp. 103-112
summary This paper explores the automatic generation of solid models based on a grammatical paradigm. It presents a formalism, boundary solid grammars, for this purpose. Boundary solid grammars allow complex geometric conditions and operations to be expressed using a logical reasoning mechanism, the construction of powerful rules, and the description of grammars for generation of solid models that is appropriate for a variety of design domains. The formalism is well suited to computer implementation, and we demonstrate a prototype interpreter.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:50

_id 8326
authors Diessenbacher, Claus and Rank, Ernst
year 1993
title Teaching Design with CAD?
source [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Eindhoven (The Netherlands) 11-13 November 1993
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1993.x.i1h
summary Abstract as well as functionally dependant design exercises are essential components of an architectural education at nearly every university. Their goal is to provide architect students with a feeling for proportions, colours, materials etc., and to teach and train them in threedimensional thinking. Pictures and concepts, developed by the designer are materialized by various technologies such as with pencil and paper in the traditional two-dimensional techniques or with clay, wood, paper etc. in three-dimensional modeling. Now the computer and the CAD-system join the palette of the designers available resources in presentation as both a two-dimensional and a three-dimensional medium. Although CAD is often considered and taught to be only a better drafting tool, the educational goal of our group at the University of Dortmund is to employ CAD as a design support medium. The prerequisites for work with the computer and the CAD system are provided in a compulsory two semester undergraduate subject. Basic programming, work with spreadsheets etc. are some exemplary themes provided in the form of lectures and practical exercises. A main emphasis of this instruction is the mastery of three-dimensional working technology with a comprehensive CAD-System. In cooperation of our computer science group and architecture chairs, seminars involving the use of CAD as a three-dimensional design tool, are offered as graduate courses. The seminars consist of loops of modeling and evaluating objects in a three-dimensional space. With this, the most possible realistic studies in colour, light and proportion take place exclusively on the computer.
series eCAADe
last changed 2022/06/07 07:50

_id e469
authors Johnson, Brian R.
year 1993
title The Graphics Application Paradigm: A Framework for User Understanding of CG/CAD Applications
source Education and Practice: The Critical Interface [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-02-0] Texas (Texas / USA) 1993, pp. 11-20
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1993.011
summary What do young architects need to know about computer graphics? What "immutable and eternal" models will allow them to perform their best as professional architects? At one time all computer users were computer programmers and the answer was thus rooted in programming expertise, but the era of personally developed software is largely past. An alternative more vocational approach would stress courses in the use of specific programs, but it is hard to imagine a more mutable "object of knowledge" than the practical details of computing in the late twentieth century. In fact, our students are deluged with information: commands, vocabulary, options, sales hyperbole, and "do this, it works" cookbooks. As educators, we face the challenge of identifying that which is "immutable and eternal", and presenting it to our students (and trying to focus their attention on it).
series ACADIA
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:52

_id 48ee
authors Paoluzzi, A., Pascucci, V. and Vicentino, M.
year 1993
title PLASM Functional Approach to Design: Representation of Geometry
source CAAD Futures ‘93 [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-444-89922-7] (Pittsburgh / USA), 1993, pp. 127-141
summary PLASM (the Programming Language for Solid Modeling) is a solid-modeling-oriented design language strongly inspired by the functional language FL. In a PLASM environment, every geometrical object is generated by evaluating a suitable language expression which produces a polyhedral solid model. The language adopts a dimension-independent approach to geometry representation and algorithms. The generated objects are always geometrically consistent since the validity of geometry is guaranteed at a syntactical level. In fact (a) each well-formed expression is obtained by proper composition of well-formed subexpressions; (b) the evaluation of a well-formed (and polyhedrally typed) expression produces a valid solid model. In this paper, the representation scheme used in the language is given and some language scripts are shown and discussed.
keywords Computer-Aided Architectural Design, Variational Geometry, Design Language, Geometric Design, Geometric Modeling, Functional Programming, Complexes, Polyhedra, Convex Cells
series CAAD Futures
last changed 1999/04/07 12:03

_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 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 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 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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