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

PDF papers
References

Hits 1 to 20 of 188

_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

_id 0e89
authors Bradford, J.W., Cheng, N. and Kvan, Thomas
year 1994
title Virtual Design Studios
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. 163-167
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1994.163
summary Beginning in 1993, small groups of students of architectural design at different institutions around the world participated in collaborative design projects using a variety of tools, including CAD, Internet and teleconferencing. This programme, known as the "Virtual Design Studio" (VDS), allows students to work collectively with colleagues from different cultures and climates who are thousands of kilometres and in different time zones. Most recently, in February 1994, four institutions in N. America, one in Europe, and one in S E Asia participated in VDS’94. This paper explains the operation of the VDS and explores the future of the VDS as a potential tool for architectural design education. In particular, we review what we have learned in employing computer tools to extend the teaching in design studios into a "virtual" experience.
series eCAADe
type normal paper
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_id c207
authors Branzell, Arne
year 1993
title The Studio CTH-A and the Searching Picture
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. 129-140
summary What happens during an architect’s search for the best solution? How does he (or she) begin, which tools are chosen, what happens when he comes to a standstill? The activities – sketching, discussions with other people, making models, taking walks to think, visits to the library, etc? What is an ordinary procedure and what is more specific? Do the tools have an impact on the final solution chosen? What happens during periods of no activity? Are they important? In which fields of activities are signs of the searching process to be found? In other words — what is the process of creative thinking for architects? Mikael Hedin and myself at Design Methods, Chalmers University of Technology, have started research into architects’ problem-solving. We have finished a pilot study on a very experienced architect working traditionally, without Cad (”The Bo Cederlöf Case”). We have started preliminary discussions with our second ”Case”, an architect in another situation, who has been working for many years with Cad equipment (Gert Wingårdh). For our next case, we will study a third situation – two or more architects who share the responsibility for the solution and where the searching is a consequence of a dialogue between equal partners. At present, we are preparing a report on theories in and methods for Searching and Creativity. I will give you some results of our work up till now, in the form of ten hypotheses on the searching process. Finally, I would like to present those fields of activity where we have so far found signs of searching. Our approach, in comparison with earlier investigations into searching (the most respected being Arnheim’s study on Picasso’s completion of the Guernica) is to collect and observe signs of searching during the process, not afterwards. We are, to use a metaphor, following in the footsteps of the hunter, recording the path he chooses, what marks he makes, what tools, implements and equipment he uses. For practising architects: a better understanding of what is going on and encouragement to try new ways of searching, for architectural students: better preparation and training for problem solving. It all began while we compared the different objects in our collection of sketches at the Chalmers STUDIO for Visualisation and Communication. (For some years, we have been gathering sketches by Alvar Aalto, Jorn Utzon, Ralph Erskine, Erik and Tore Ahlsén, Lewerenz, Nyrén, Lindroos, Wingårdh and others in a permanent exhibition). We observed similarities in these sketches which allowed us to frame ten hypotheses about the searching process.

keywords Architectural Endoscopy
series EAEA
email
more http://info.tuwien.ac.at/eaea/
last changed 2005/09/09 10:43

_id c372
authors Calvert, T., Bruderlin, A., Mah, S., Schiphorst, T. and Welman, C.
year 1993
title The Evolution of an Interface for Choreographers Evolving Design
source Proceedings of ACM INTERCHI'93 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 1993 pp. 115-122
summary This paper describes the evolution of the interface to Life Forms, a compositional tool for the creation of dance choreography, and highlights some of the important lessons we have learned during a six year design and implementation period. The lessons learned can be grouped into two categories: 1) Process, and 2) Architecture of the Interface. Our goal in developing a tool for choreography has been to provide computer-based creative design support for the conception and development of dance. The evolution was driven by feedback from the choreographers and users who were members of the development team, combined with our knowledge of current thinking on design and composition. Although the interface evolved in a relatively unconstrained way, the resulting system has many of the features that theoretical discussion in human interface design has projected as necessary. The Life Forms interface has evolved incrementally with one major discontinuity where adoption of a new compositional primitive required a completely new version. The choreography and composition of a dance is a complex synthesis task which has much in common with design. Thus, the lessons learned here are applicable to the development of interfaces to such applications as computer aided design.
keywords Composition; Design; User Interface; Dance; Complexity; Choreography; Human Animation
series other
last changed 2002/07/07 16:01

_id a336
authors Calvo, Charles M.
year 1993
title SOME EPISTEMOLOGICAL CONCERNS REGARDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND KNOWLEDGE-BASED APPROACHES TO ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN - A RENEWED AGENDA
source Education and Practice: The Critical Interface [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-02-0] Texas (Texas / USA) 1993, pp. 155-162
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1993.155
summary It has been noted that designers - when confronted with computers - have, by and large, refused to accept the introduction of apparently new design methodologies, and it has been speculated that this is the result of a failure of those methodologies to address the cognitive processes which take place in the course of designing. This position is somewhat suspect in that such innovations as computer-aided drafting -which also fail to recognize these processes have been widely accepted. It is perhaps more likely that the lack of acceptance results from a perception on the part of designers that the new methodologies either do not reflect some or all of those concerns that designers consider fundamental to design, or that they actively interfere with the designer's ability to accomplish what he/she sees as the goals of design. Given that the application of artificial intelligence and related work to architecture is still in its infancy, all of this suggests the need for a reassessment of the role of computing in design in order to clarify and strengthen those roles deemed appropriate.

Two approaches to the integration of artificial intelligence and knowledge-based systems into architectural design practice are currently dominant. One attempts to create systems which can on their own produce designs, the other provides intelligent support for those doing design. It was, in part, the recognition of limitations in the ability of traditional CAD systems and building modelers to reflect what designers actually do that led to explorations into the idea of intelligent assistants. Development of such assistants was aided by research into the act and process of design through protocol and other studies. Although some work is currently being done in the development of artificial intelligence and knowledge based applications in architecture, and work continues to be done on the study of design methodologies, the bulk of available information in each of these areas remains in the realm of design disciplines related to but outside of architecture and do not reflect the explicit role of architectural design in the embodiment and expression of culture.

The relationship of intelligence to culture has resulted in some skepticism regarding the ultimate capacity of neural nets and symbolically programmed computers in general. Significant work has been done questioning the rational tradition in computer development for its failure to address phenomena which are not easily subject to scientific analysis. Further skepticism regarding the role of artificial intelligence and knowledge-based or expert systems in architectural design has been emerging recently. Such criticism tends to focus on two issues: the nature of drawing as an activity which involves both the generation and interpretation of graphic artifacts, and the nature of the human designer as an active agent in the design process.

series ACADIA
type normal paper
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_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

For more results click below:

this is page 0show page 1show page 2show page 3show page 4show page 5... show page 9HOMELOGIN (you are user _anon_963486 from group guest) CUMINCAD Papers Powered by SciX Open Publishing Services 1.002