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	ddss9426
id	ddss9426
authors	Duijvestein, Kees
year	1994
title	Integrated Design and Sustainable Building
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	In the international student-project "European Environmental Campus 91 TU Delft Dordrecht" 20 students from 13 European countries worked in september 1991, during three weeks on "EcologicalSketches for the Island of Dordrecht". They worked on four different scales: the region isle of Dordt / the district Stadspolders / the neighbourhood I the house and the block. The environmentaltheme's Energy, Water, Traffic & Noise, Landscape & Soil were together with spatial analyses combined with the different scales. This combination was organised following the scheme mentioned below. The characters stand for the students. During the first period they worked in research groups, during the last period more in design groups. For instance: student L works in the beginning with the students B, G and Q in the research group water. In the last period sheworks with K, M, N and 0 in the design group Neighbourhood. Those students worked earlier in the other research-groups and contribute now in the design-group their thematic environmental knowledge. The results were presented to the Dordrecht council, officials and press. In the next project in september and october 1993 we started earlier with the design groups. Ten Dutch and ten "Erasmus" students worked for six weeks on proposals for the Vinex location Wateringenthe Hague. Each morning they worked in the research groups each afternoon in the design groups. The research groups used the EcoDesign Tools, small applications in Excel on Apple Macintoshto quantify the environmental pressure.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9218
id	ddss9218
authors	Hensen, J.L.M.
year	1993
title	Design support via simulation of building and plant thermal interaction
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	Design decision support related to building energy consumption and/or indoor climate should be based on an integral approach to the environment, the building, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, and the occupants. The tools to achieve this are now available in the form of computer simulation systems which treat the building and plant as an integrated dynamic system. Although its potentials reach beyond the area of Computer Aided Building Design, the paper describes building and plant energy simulation within the context of CABD, design decision support and design evaluation. Currently, computer simulation is only used indirectly as a design decision support mechanism; that is, its power is not delivered very efficiently to the design profession. This paper suggests some future research directions. These are aimed at providing a mechanism to overcome this problem by developing an intelligent front end' which bridges the gap between sophisticated computer simulation tools and the design profession.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9208
id	ddss9208
authors	Lucardie, G.L.
year	1993
title	A functional approach to realizing decision support systems in technical regulation management for design and construction
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture (Proceedings of a conference held in Mierlo, the Netherlands in July 1992), ISBN 0-7923-2444-7
summary	Technical building standards defining the quality of buildings, building products, building materials and building processes aim to provide acceptable levels of safety, health, usefulness and energy consumption. However, the logical consistency between these goals and the set of regulations produced to achieve them is often hard to identify. Not only the large quantities of highly complex and frequently changing building regulations to be met, but also the variety of user demands and the steadily increasing technical information on (new) materials, products and buildings have produced a very complex set of knowledge and data that should be taken into account when handling technical building regulations. Integrating knowledge technology and database technology is an important step towards managing the complexity of technical regulations. Generally, two strategies can be followed to integrate knowledge and database technology. The main emphasis of the first strategy is on transferring data structures and processing techniques from one field of research to another. The second approach is concerned exclusively with the semantic structure of what is contained in the data-based or knowledge-based system. The aim of this paper is to show that the second or knowledge-level approach, in particular the theory of functional classifications, is more fundamental and more fruitful. It permits a goal-directed rationalized strategy towards analysis, use and application of regulations. Therefore, it enables the reconstruction of (deep) models of regulations, objects and of users accounting for the flexibility and dynamics that are responsible for the complexity of technical regulations. Finally, at the systems level, the theory supports an effective development of a new class of rational Decision Support Systems (DSS), which should reduce the complexity of technical regulations and restore the logical consistency between the goals of technical regulations and the technical regulations themselves.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	457b
authors	Petric, Jelena and Maver, Tom
year	1993
title	CAD in the Design Studio
source	[eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Eindhoven (The Netherlands) 11-13 November 1993
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1993.x.r4w
summary	This paper summarised a multi-media presentation which was authored without tuition by a 4th year student of the Department of Architecture & Building Science in the University of Strathclyde - Lindsay Johnston. In it she gives a detailed account of a 12 week project to design a Primary School relying very heavily on computer aided design support. It was a requirement of the brief that the design produced by the student should come within the (severe) cost, area and energy consumption constraints set out in the brief.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	fc80
authors	Ubbelohde, S. and Humann, C.
year	1998
title	Comparative Evaluation of Four Daylighting Software Programs
source	1998 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings Proceedings. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
summary	By the mid-1980's, a number of software packages were under development to predict daylighting performance in buildings, in particular illumination levels in daylighted spaces. An evaluation in 1988 by Ubbelohde et al. demonstrated that none of the software then available was capable of predicting the simplest of real daylighting designs. In the last ten years computer capabilities have evolved rapidly and we have four major packages widely available in the United States. This paper presents a comparative evaluation from the perspective of building and daylighting design practice. A contemporary building completed in 1993 was used as a base case for evaluation. We present the results from field measurements, software predictions and physical modeling as a basis for discussing the capabilities of the software packages in architectural design practice. We found the current software packages far more powerful and nuanced in their ability to predict daylight than previously. Some can accurately predict quantitative daylight performance under varying sky conditions and produce handsome and accurate visualizations of the space. The programs differ significantly, however, in their ease of use, modeling basis and the emphasis between quantitative predictions and visualization in the output.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_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	6c55
authors	Dosti, P., Linzer, H. Martens, B. and Voigt, A.
year	1993
title	Multimedia for Environmental Simulation - Framework of Research
source	[eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Eindhoven (The Netherlands) 11-13 November 1993
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1993.x.e4g
summary	Nature as complete entity having existed before us, having produced us, of which we are a part of and which reaches far beyond us and our knowledge stands both for productivity and product, for stones, earth, water, air, plants, animals, human beings, for energy as such. On account of his activity and his intellectual powers and faculties the human being represents the center of this interrelation comprising his vital space, being perceived by him either consciously or unconsciously, the structure and formation of which he changes, which in turn, however, significantly codetermines his behavior and also his development. Spatial effect analysis and spatial impact analysis take the cross- linked interrelations of nature into account and thus the correlated diverse interactions by means of integral representation, determine the direct and indirect as well as the immediate and mediate decisions as to space and furnish us with decision-conclusions by means of modifications. Based on the all-in-all outlook encompassing nature- mankind-space spatial impact also means in particular compatibility within systems giving due regard to the factor time. The following topics are treated within the framework of research: (1.) Elaboration of a methodical framework regarding research and development in the field of multimedia-implementation for environmental planning. (2.) Preparative work concerning implementation areas of multimedia focussing on urban & regional planning and architecture. (3.) Planning process and planning levels,furthermore in the fields of information and decision process and accompanying verification. (4.) Optimizing interaction of multimedia and environmental simulation. (5.) Definition of research- and development-requirements as far as subject-specific and EDP-technical aspects are concerned. (6.) Structurizing of projects regarding realization of framework of research.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.tuwien.ac.at/
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	c1b6
authors	Ries, R.
year	1999
title	Computational Analysis of the Environmental Impact of Building Designs
source	Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
summary	Concem for the environmental implications of human activities is becoming increasingly important to society. The concept of current development that does not compromise future generations! abilities to meet their needs is a goal for many communities and individuals (WCED 1987). These concerns require the evaluation and assessment of the potential environmental impact of human activities so that informed choices can be made. Building construction and operation activities are of significant importance in view of a) national and intemational economies, 6) resource consumption, c) human occupancy, and d) environmental impact. For example, in the United States the built environment represents an extensive investment, both as an annual expenditure and as an aggregate investment. In the mid-l980’s, up to 30% of new and remodeled buildings had indoor air quality related complaints. Buildings also consume approximately 35% of the primary energy in the U.S. every year, resulting in the release of 482 million metric tons of carbon in 1993.I Methods developed to assess the environmental impact of buildings and development patterns can and have taken multiple strategies. The most straightforward and simple methods use single factors, such as energy use or the mass of pollutant emissions as indicators of environmental performance. Other methods use categorization and weighting strategies. These gauge the effects of the emissions typically based on research studies and use a weighting or effect formulation to normalize, compare, and group emissions so that a scalar value can be assigned to a single or a set of emissions. These methods do not consider the characteristics of the context where the emissions occur.
series	thesis:MSc
email
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	26ec
authors	Van Grootel, Marc
year	1994
title	LAVA - A Virtual Studio on the Internet
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. 168-174
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1994.168
summary	The Lab for Architecture is an Internet based information service for Architecture. It was initiated by students of The University of Technology in Eindhoven in 1993. LAVA has three important objectives. 1) Providing pointers to interesting information about architecture. 2) Providing new information to the Internet, for example: student projects, discussions, faculty research and course material. 3) Exploring the possibilities of network-based media by initiating special projects, for example cooperationís between different Universities. The last part of this paper tries to indicate some of the possible influences network-based media can have on education.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

_id	60f3
authors	Wright, Robert M. and Hoinkes, Rodney M.
year	1993
title	Computational Issues in Urban Design: Developing a Strategy for Solar Impact Assessment
source	CAAD Futures ‘93 [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-444-89922-7] (Pittsburgh / USA), 1993, pp. 543-555
summary	A comprehensive method for identifying the impacts on solar access of large scale architectural projects still continues to be an important and controversial area in city planning and urban design. Previous research studies such as the Sun Wind and Pedestrian Comfort, a study of Toronto's Central Area, demonstrated approaches possible when dealing with solar issues related to urban design. Existing techniques for solar inventory, analysis and evaluation, while effective, are often dependent on single event analysis (shadow casting) or manual procedures that are time consuming and exceedingly complex especially when needed for day-to-day use by planners or architects involved in complex urban projects. The Centre for Landscape Research has undertaken as part of its research to develop a computational approach that would help city urban designers evaluate and represent the issues of solar access in an urban setting. This paper will outline a series of computational methods developed to utilize an existing municipal digital data base and to describe complex issues of solar access in terms of urban form and context. A technique will be described that quantitatively assesses the total solar potential of a site as compared to changes in solar access due to different urban design proposals. Two-, three- and four-dimensional representation techniques are developed to facilitate understanding of the analysis to users such as city officials, the public, developers, etc.
keywords	Solar Assessment, Urban Design, Open Space, Modeling Visualization
series	CAAD Futures
last changed	1999/04/07 12:03

_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	ae19
authors	Armstrong, Richard
year	1993
title	On The Technical Features Of The Endoscope - OES Modelscope as a Case in Point
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. 153-156
summary	The Olympus Optical Company of Japan was formed in 1919, with the introduction of the first generation single lens reflects camera, and soon after with the first microscope. Since that time, the organisation has developed and is now split into three main divisions: manufacturing and supplying cameras, microscopes and endoscopes. Other smaller specialist divisions exist suppling such products as dictaphones. Perhaps, rather surprisingly, the endoscope division is the largest part of the organisation. Through a world-wide organisation of four main business centers, Olympus Industrial, the name given to the industrial endoscope division, provides service and support to its customers. Each of the main business centers operates through agents and distributors. There are many different industries which gain the benefits of saved time and money provided by using endoscopes. To meet the needs of so many varied industries, there is a need to have a wide range of equipment. This includes light sources, to provide illumination, rigid borescopes, flexible fiberscopes, if views around corners are needed, and the new technology videoscopes. These instruments use the latest CCD technology with a small chip situated in the distal end of the scope, instead of fiberoptic image bundles used in fiberscopes.
keywords	Architectural Endoscopy
series	EAEA
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/eaea/
last changed	2005/09/09 10:43

_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

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