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	cc19
authors	Glennie, William L.
year	1994
title	Europe '94 - A Visitor's Report on the State of CAAD in Education
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1994.x.s5h
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. 262
summary	During May, June and July of this year, I had the pleasure of visiting twelve institutions across Europe where computers are being used in the teaching of Architecture. There are as many different approaches to the incorporation of computers in the curriculum as there are places, and they all have some degree of success. My greatest surprise was the large size of these Schools, even in relatively small countries. Dealing with a huge number of students makes any kind of mandatory computer instruction almost impossible. In spite of all difficulties, enthusiasm and willingness to work directly with students was the single most important characteristic in the faculty and staff who are having the greatest success. Support staff dedicated to the maintenance of equipment and software were provided at most of the institutions. For those who do not have this benefit it is critical to relieve the teaching and research faculty of the need for these time-consuming tasks. Formal research activities are not essential to effective education. The process of setting up such efforts is again a distraction from the more important job of teaching. If research projects grow naturally out of the curriculum, they may be pursued without impeding instruction. Most serious of all, there is a substantial lack of communication and cooperation among these schools, and by implication, among all of the other schools in Europe. The mechanism of annual conferences held by ECAADE is insufficient to exchange information and interests. There were several occasions when I mentioned work that was being carried out at one place that would match very nicely with efforts at another. However, it is clearly impossible for any one school to spearhead this kind of collection and coordination of activities. The only appropriate organisation for this kind of exchange would be a centralised service initiated and maintained by the European Community. It is very important that such a body does not attempt to limit or direct the work of individual schools, rather simply serves as a clearinghouse through which the various groups can benefit from each other's work, to the mutual benefit of all.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	0df3
authors	Dam, Hanke van
year	1994
title	PLAN EVALUATION BY SIMULATION
source	Beyond Tools for Architecture [Proceedings of the 5th European Full-scale Modeling Association Conference / ISBN 90-6754-375-6] Wageningen (The Netherlands) 6-9 September 1994, pp. 15-22
summary	The full-scale model in Wageningen was developed some 35 years ago and has been in use ever since. In a recent brochure about our mock-up system you will find four applications of our model: education, research, consultancy and information. In this paper some information about these four subjects will be presented in the sequence just mentioned. First some general information will be given about the system and about the methodological aspects of the use of our model, named 'the Structural Space Planning Method'.
keywords	Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
type	normal paper
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa
last changed	2004/05/04 11:01

_id	ddss9424
id	ddss9424
authors	Dave, Bharat and Schmitt, Gerhard
year	1994
title	Information Systems for Spatial Data
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	This paper describes a continuing research project aimed at the development of a prototype information system to represent and manipulate models of urban settlements. This inter-disciplinaryproject involves researchers and teachers in the fields of urban design, photogrammetry and CAD. Based upon the requirements identified by the urban design team, the photogrammetry teamused aerial imagery to produce accurate digital models of various features of urban settlements. The models comprise natural features like terrain data, water and vegetation systems, and man made features like transportation networks, land parcels, and built-up volumes. These data are represented in the three dimensions, and they are further linked with nongraphic attributes stored in an external database schemata. The architecture of the system under development has been described previously. In this paper, we focus on the generation of thematic abstractions. The working hypothesis for our current work is that (i) to enable reliable decision-making in urbandesign contexts, we require digital models that are complete and accurate at a certain degree of resolution, and (ii) during various stages in the decision-making, we need useful abstractionswhich encode only the salient information and no more. In more specific terms, we are interested in finding computational means to automatically generate schematic generalizations of data that succinctly represent some information without recomputing or displaying all the vectrs and other details. In this papar we present some of the strategies that we employ to support such operations in our system and also present graphic examples that demonstrate the potential andlimitations of our approach.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9427
id	ddss9427
authors	Engelen, Guy and White, Roger
year	1994
title	A Strategic Planning and Policy Decision Support Tool for Urban Regions
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	In this paper we present a Decision Support System developed to assist urban designers, planners and policy makers to explore and evaluate possible urban layouts and their growth patterns. Thecore of the system consists of a modelling shell allowing the user to specify cellular automata based models of urban and regional systems. These models capture the effect of local spatial processes in which the use, or desired use of each parcel or cell of land is determined partly by institutional and environmental factors, and partly by the activities present in its neighbourhood. Since each cell affects every other cell within its neighbourhood, a complex dynamic emerges. Unlike conventional cellular automata, the models are defined with a large neighbourhood --over a hundred cells-- a relatively large number of states --more than a dozen in some applications-- representing socio-economic and natural land-uses. The approach permits the straightforward integration of detailed physical, environmental, and institutional constraints, as well as including the effects of the transportation and communication infrastructure. These models thus permit a very detailed representation of evolving spatial systems. The current version of the system represents urban areas as consisting of up to 10.000 interacting zones, each roughly the size of an individual city block. These models are easy to build and apply, yet empirical tests show that they produce realistic simulations of urban land use dynamics. Consequently, they are well suited to form the heart of the DSS, which provides the user with a number of tools for exploration,analysis and evaluation of alternative futures of the system as they result from policy interventions that are imposed by means of what-if experiments and scenario analysis. For example, the DSS isable to identify areas in which pressure for change in land use restrictions may become critical under particular development strategies. In the DSS, the modelling shell is coupled to a simple,custom-built GIS. In the stand-alone application of the DSS, this stores the detailed geographical qualities of the area being modelled, and allows basic overlay manipulations. It also displays theresults of the model while the simulation proceeds. Alternatively, the GIS can serve as aninterface to more elaborate, commercial GIS systems.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9434
id	ddss9434
authors	Grant, M.
year	1994
title	Urban Gis - The Application of the Information Technologies to Urban Management
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	Many cities in the UK and indeed throughout the developed world are characterised by the all too familiar symptoms of urban blight caused by insensitive intervention in the environment. The common denominator within this class of problem is the lack of a coordinated, integrated approach to the planning, design and maintenance of our cities. The cycle of development and redevelopment calls for input from a diverse range of disciplines relating to architecture, civilengineering, transport engineering, and the management of city utilities. This lack of a common up datable information base renders access to a global view of the city difficult, if not impossible.This problem has provided the motivation to move towards an integrated philosophy regarding information collection, collation and dissemination. The impetus is provided primarily through theincreasing complexity of urban management but also through central governments policy to progress towards decentralisation of services. Fiscal pressure to increase efficiency, lower manpower resources and arrive at speedier judgements all point to an increasing reliance on the information technologies. Current work at ABACUS within Strathclyde University addresses research whose objective is to identify, and then prototype, a relevant urban information system. It is proposed that by attributing a geometrical framework with those physical quantities thatare relevant to the formal and functional evaluation of the urban environment, the means of evaluating the qualities and quantities of the buildings aswell as the social and economic prospects may be realised.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9441
id	ddss9441
authors	Hammond, Barbara
year	1994
title	Computer Aided Urban Design
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	The product of the Urban Design process in the public sector in the UK is usually a briefing document of some kind which communicates design ideas in outline both to the lay public and to private developers. The problem with briefing effectively is that outline expression of ideas does not provide a strong basis for negotiation with developers; the temptation therefore is to work up one proposal in detail and to present it as the only option. This type of prescriptive briefing may be successful in situations where the public body has control over the land, the economy is buoyant and the site has a simple context. Its problems are that it is labour intensive, so some areas are covered in detail, others not at all; it is seen as restrictive by developers, so may create a climate of conflict rather than certainty; it is not responsive to change; it covers specific sites thoroughly but does not deal well with large, complex areas; on large sites it tends towards a homogeneous environment whereas the nature of towns and cities is pluralistic and heterogeneous; it confines the Urban Designer to site specific work rather than allowing concentration on the whole urban system. Urban Designers at the London Docklands Development Corporation felt that CAD might present some answers to these problems in facilitating an iterative, interactive briefing process which could respond quickly to change; whereby varying options for development could be investigated fully but quickly and resource-efficiently; which could be used to communicate design ideas effectively to non-professionals; which could help to make negotiation with developers more effective, less confrontational; which could deal with large, complex sites effectively. The idea was that a piece of city could be modeled on the computer and an urban design study would then be carried out on it which would test varying options for development, resulting in an outline, but three dimensional, model for an area which could be used in three ways: as a briefing tool, as part of a marketing exercise and as a tool to aid effective negotiation and consultation at the planning stage. A pilot project was carried out on a set of development sites at East India Dock and, following the success of this, a full study was carried at Surrey Quays Centre. The paper describes these projects and discusses both their products and their effect on the developmentprocess as aids in decision making.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	480c
authors	Hornyánszky Dalholm, Elisabeth and Rydberg Mitchell, Birgitta
year	1994
title	Full-Scale Modelling - A Tool with Many Forms and Applications
source	Beyond Tools for Architecture [Proceedings of the 5th European Full-scale Modeling Association Conference / ISBN 90-6754-375-6] Wageningen (The Netherlands) 6-9 September 1994, pp. 59-70
summary	The significance of the full-scale mock-up as a tool depends, among other things, on the type and finish of the mock-up, the purpose of its use and the user. The qualities of the tool effect the way it can be used. By working with a new group of users, architecture students, and by supplementing our building system with blocks we now have gained new experience. In the first part of this paper we present the projects that we carried out in teaching, partly inspired by the collaboration with EFA-members. In the second part, we try to compare this experience with our previous work with lay-people. Since the outcome of full-scale modelling means different things to these two categories of users, it affects their relationship to the mock-up. A consequence of this is that the mock-up has to fulfil various demands and it is important to be aware of these and adjust the mock-up and the full-scale modelling procedure according to them.
keywords	Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
email
last changed	2003/08/25 10:12

_id	401c
authors	Hornyánszky Dalholm, Elisabeth and Rydberg Mitchell, Birgitta
year	1994
title	FULL-SCALE MODELLING - A TOOL WITH MANY FORMS AND APPLICATIONS
source	Beyond Tools for Architecture [Proceedings of the 5th European Full-scale Modeling Association Conference / ISBN 90-6754-375-6] Wageningen (The Netherlands) 6-9 September 1994, pp. 83-94
summary	The significance of the full-scale mock-up as a tool depends, among other things, on the type and finish of the mock-up, the purpose of its use and the user. The qualities of the tool effect the way it can be used. By working with a new group of users, architecture students, and by supplementing our building system with blocks we now have gained new experience. In the first part of this paper we present the projects that we carried out in teaching, partly inspired by the collaboration with EFA-members. In the second part, we try to compare this experience with our previous work with lay-people. Since the outcome of full-scale modelling means different things to these two categories of users, it affects their relationship to the mock-up. A consequence of this is that the mock-up has to fulfil various demands and it is important to be aware of these and adjust the mock-up and the full-scale modelling procedure according to them.
keywords	Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
type	normal paper
email
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa
last changed	2004/05/04 11:01

_id	ddss9450
id	ddss9450
authors	Kohsaka, Hiroyuki
year	1994
title	Spatial Decision Support System for Retail Activity
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	This presentation proposes an architecture of Spatial Support System (SDSS) for retail activity. This SDSS is made up of four key modules: data, monitoring, spatial analysis/modelling, and map and report generators. In the data module, spatial shopping data are gathered from Point of Sales (POS) Systems as well as trade area surveys. Two examples will be presented to collect spatial shopping data. One is from an ordinal trade area survey and the other is from point IC cards. The monitoring module can represent retail trade areas as three-dimensional surfaces as well as contour maps by using a colour graphics display after a cartographic analysis which consists of gridding and interpolation of these data. As an application example of monitoring module, retail trade area for a store or a shopping street will be shown as a three-dimensional surface. In addition, themonitoring module can describe a retail structure consisting of the trade area of several retail stores to analyze the spatial competition of them. In the spatial analysis/modelling module, optimization methods search for an optimal location of a new store and an impact analysis assesses the locational impacts of the store upon the existing stores. An optimal location of new supermarket will be solved as an example for this module.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9453
id	ddss9453
authors	Krafta, Romulo
year	1994
title	Urban Configuration, Attraction And Morphology
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	Spatial Interaction (SI), based on the principle of attraction, has set up a powerful way of looking at the behaviour of urban systems. Within-place activities generate and/or attract trips, due to their inner fragmentary nature; several activities articulate a system of locations and flows which is supposed to be regulated by concentration of those activities and distance between them'. SI has been criticized for having a poor theory and little regard to spatial specifics. In general terms, planners and large-scale urban scientists have been more comfortable with it than designers and urban morphologists, whose questions about space configuration are awkwardly dealt with in such a framework. Recently, Space Syntax (SS) has been suggested as an alternative to describe possible roles of space in the urban system. Its theory looks very complex - a deep cultural, anthropological connection between man and space, an atavistic impulse driving the shaping of space. Teklenburg et al have shown, however, that it is, in fact, very simple and not far from the rude assumptions of SI: a matter of distance and orientation3. Hence, what does look new is just its way of describing orientation, through the axiallity of public space. Axial lines retain the fundamental issue of connectivity; so they describe space more efficiently than the traditional zones or links used in SI models. SI says little about configuration, SS says little about interaction between spaces and activities, and both say nothing about morphology, or the configurational development of urban systems. An alternative approach is suggested: (i) urban spatial configurati-on (urban grid and built form) strongly conditions activity location and flows, in the short term. In this way, a convenient description of such a configuration should denounce its potential to housing activities and generate flows. This required description should take the grid axiallity as a measure of connectivity and orientation, as in SS, as well as the built form as a measure of attraction, as in SI; (ii) activity location and flows strongly conditions urban spatial configuration change, in the long run. Location and flow patterns create values that are expressed by an increasing conflict between rising land values and declining building values. As a result, configuration is taken as a particular state of a morphology whose transformation rules are an economic expression of spatiality. Flows are cause and effect in the lagged process of mutual transformation which shapes the urban space.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	a743
authors	Laing, L. and Kraria, H.
year	1994
title	CAD as an Interface for Integrated Collaborative Design
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1994.x.w5h
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, p. 235
summary	In the traditional approach to building design, the designer (usually the architect) produces a design (often quite detailed)in blueprint before handing this to the next member of the design team (engineer) to superimpose the structure, services etc. Often this proves so impractical that the initial proposal has to be referred back to the architect for revision, and the process repeated - and this cycle may be repeated many times. Such routines arise in building design because designers find collaboration among themselves difficult to control, the task of design integration ultimately falling upon the construction manager or the contractor. This is the most common cause of problems arising during the execution of the project on site, causing a delays in the construction process, and building failures which might only be detected after occupancy. As a test-bed for addressing this problem, a system of coordinated files is proposed for use by design-students (with a working knowledge of AutoCAD) during a design project. The aim is to related data (CAD information) across all students working on the same project but developing different aspects. Participating students will be drawn from a range of design specialisms. Each member accessing the same information while developing different aspects (e.g. structure, services, and cost modelling). This goes beyond the conventional use of 'XREF' (cross-referenced drawings) and involves each member accessing and working with the same dataset - e.g. using different layers, co-ordination is easier and the data better integrated - there is thereby a reduction of the amount of repetition as the need to redraw information is eliminated. References or an initial data-set is set up by the tutor and available for reference at any stage of design project. The technological aspects to support collaborative work (and in particular the interaction process in design) is the main thrust of the undergraduate degree in Building Design Engineering at the University of Strathclyde.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	4f13
authors	Ronchi, Alfredo M.
year	1994
title	A Brief History of CAAD in Italy
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1994.x.f3n
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, p. 227
summary	Twenty years of revolution, from the middle '70 to the middle '90. Many things have changed since the origins of computer graphics and computer aided design in architecture. We started teaching drafting on terminals which connected to mini computers, complex procedures or sets of graphics libraries working with keywords, vectors and storage screens. The next step was devoted to the discovery of workstations in the early '80's, where the user sat face on to the whole power of a multitasking system. At that time to use up to 16 time sharing processes running on the same work station seemed to have no practical use at all. Fortunately someone (ie Xerox PARC laboratories) at the same time started to develop the so-called GUI. Graphical user interface started a revolution in human/machine interface (ie Smalltalk). The desktop metaphor, the use of multiple windows and dialogues joined with icons and pop up menus let the user manage more applications and, even more important, created a standard in application/user interface (CUA). In the meantime focus had moved from hardware to software, systems being chosen from the software running. The true revolution we have seen starting from that base and involving an ever increasing number of users was the birth of PC based applications for CAAD. Generally speaking nowadays there are three main technologies concerning teaching: communication, multimedia and virtual reality. The first is the real base for future revolution. In the recent past we have started to learn how to manage information by computers. Now we can start to communicate and share information all over the world in real time. The new age opened by fax, followed by personal communication systems and networks is the entry point for a real revolution. We can work in the virtual office, meet in virtual space and cooperate in workgroups. ATM and ISDN based teleconferencing will provide a real working tool for many. The ever increasing number of e-mail addresses and network connections is carrying us towards the so called 'global village'. The future merger between personal digital assistant and personal communication will be fascinating. Multi & HyperMedia technology is, like a part of VR, a powerful way to share and transfer information in a structured form. We do not need to put things in a serial form removing links because we can transfer knowledge as is. Another interesting and fundamental aspect typical of VR applications is the capability to change cognitive processes from secondary (symbolic - reconstructive) to primary (perceptive - motory). In this way we can learn by direct experience, by experiment as opposed to reading books. All these things will affect not only ways of working but also ways of studying and teaching. Digital communications, multimedia and VR will help students, multimedia titles will provide different kinds of information directly at home using text, images, video clips and sounds. Obviously all those things will not substitute human relationship as a multimedia title does not compete against a book but it helps.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	9e13
authors	Seward, D.W., Scott, J.N., Dixon, R., Findlay, J.D. and Kinniburgh, H.
year	1997
title	The automation of piling rig positioning using satellite GPS
source	Automation in Construction 6 (3) (1997) pp. 229-240
summary	The paper is divided in two parts. Part one describes the Stent Automatic Pile Positioning and Recording system (SAPPAR) which was launched in November 1994. The system utilises a Trimble satellite global positioning system (GPS) to assist rig drivers in accurately positioning the rig over a pile position without the need for setting out. Advantages of the system include: cost savings by removing the need for site survey staff; faster set-up times over pile positions; increased accuracy - the system can reliably position the rig to within ± 25 mm; removal of problems resulting from damage to setting out pins; constant monitoring of pile position; and Links to CAD for data input and as-built drawings. Part two describes a further development of the system in collaboration with Lancaster University and Casagrande, the Italian rig manufacturer. The aim of the research is to fully automate the final positioning process. This represents one of the first uses of GPS for real-time automation. The system hardware components include: ultra-compact PC104 processor cards for a compact and robust embedded system; minimum sensing on the rig to minimise cost and maximise robustness; and limit sensors to facilitate on-board safety. The control algorithms were developed on a fifth-scale model in the laboratory using an innovative and new approach to the design of model based control systems. The importance of careful consideration of safety issues is stressed and conclusions are drawn based on the early findings from preliminary field trials.
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 21:23

_id	9779
authors	Smeltzer, G.T.A., Mantelers, J.M.M. and Roelen, W.A.H.
year	1994
title	The Application of Virtual Reality Systems in Architectural Design Processes
source	BIT Note Publication 95/1, Building Information Technology, Eindhoven
summary	This publication describes the development and the application of a Virtual Reality system for the architectural design process. It is based on the results of research into Virtual Reality technology and in particular into the possibilities of a natural interface between a designer and a design system. This description is also based on the development of a laboratory set up for a "full immersive" and a "partially immersive" Virtual Reality application. This application offers a designer the possibility of modifying and assessing a 3D design model in "Virtual Reality" and is used in the course of several case studies. One of these case studies was the making of a presentation of a house design to possibly interested parties. The other case study was the use of Virtual Reality in the course of a design process. Finally this publication includes the description of some future and anticipated developments. The research problem is mainly posed by the questions regarding the ways in which the design process changes under the influence of amongst other factors the Virtual Reality technology. Other questions concern the ways in which the interface between a designer and a design system can be made as natural as possible, the way in which a design model can behave as autonomous as possible, and the way in which a representation can be made as realistic as possible. With regard to these the starting points were respectively the use of sensors, the definition of behaviour characteristics and the use of illumination simulations.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	ddss9486
id	ddss9486
authors	Smeltzer, Geert
year	1994
title	The Application of Virtual Reality Systems in Architectural Design Processes
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	This paper describes the application of virtual reality systems in architectural design processes. It is based upon research on virtual reality technology to develop a more natural interface between men and design systems. It is also based upon the development of an integrated laboratory set-up for an immersive and a desk-top virtual reality system. This set-up should offer possibilities to manipulate 3D design models and to simulate the lighting situation in real time. Finally it is based upon an application of virtual reality technology for a design presentation. The research problem was determined by the question in which way the design process changes under the influence of technology. Other research questions, autonomous as possible, were how natural an interface can be using sensors, how a design model can be using real world features and how a representation can be as realistic as possible, using lighting simulations. The development problem was determined by the fact that the laboratory set-up had to be developed in co-operation with a hardware and a software vendor. This led to the development of two set-ups: one immersive virtual reality system and one desk top system. Another problem for the development of the set-up was that the project had to result in the presentation and demonstration of virtual reality technol-ogy that was not yet generally available to a larger group of organisations or enterprises. The first case study involved the development of a virtual reality presentation of a housing project in the Netherlands. The presentation was meant for people who were interested in the houses and was announced as a virtual open house. A potential buyer could walk through the model and move furniture around. The problem addressed concerned the relationship between the level of detail of the model, the speed of representation and the ease of interface system's. The second case study concerned the use of a virtual reality interface, model and representation for the evaluation of visibility and safety aspects of another housing project. At first this application was meant for the designers and their client. Based upon their evaluation of the design, several design improvements were made. Afterwards, this application was used for internal demonstrations. The application for the evaluation and the demonstrations were developed for an immersive virtual reality system and for a desk top system. The problem addressed was first of all a design problem and secondly a technical problem. This technical problem was related to the difference between the two virtual reality systems in terms of consequences for those applications. In the near future the research project, called the Asterisk project, will also examine and develop the possibilities of the simultaneous use of the system by more than one user, possibly on different locations. This means a development from single user single site to a multi user, a multiple site virtual reality systems. This project will also evaluate the feasibility of the application of virtual reality technology during an architectural design process. This research project will be followed by the development of a prototype of a virtual architecture system demonstrations of this system and an introduction to the market.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	ddss9506
id	ddss9506
authors	Yaakup, A., Johar, F. and Dahlan, N.A.
year	1994
title	A Decision Support System for Local Authorities in Malaysia
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	Given the dynamic nature of urban development, if is particularly important to have a well conceived planning management activity which can serve as the eyes and ears of a large planning process, up-to-date and reliable. It provides monitoring and the surveillance of compliance with planning regulations and it serves as an easy warning system with regard to sources of shortfalls in the process of urban planning. Information is therefore needed at the local authority level to facilitate administrative procedures, policy planning and plan implementation. Also, the advent of corporate planning and the continued squeeze on local authority expenditure require local authorities to examine critically whether rational decisions are made. Against this background, this paper examines the functions of a local authority particularly in the context of planning and urban management. These and the types of data which support them provide the fundamental framework upon which a model of geographic data entities and their relationship is developed. Ultimately, it will be reasonable to assume that a local authority will have developed a GIS providing a complete local authority coverage of up-to-date and accurate information at the parcel base. Consequently, it will be used to assist planning decisions taking into account among other things, the current scenario of the proposed development, physical constraints and future impacts. Further, a customized menu driven user interface is developed to allow planners and decision makers to view and analyze the planning scenarios interactively before deciding on the final plan. The paper concludes with a discussion on problems encountered in the project namely data availability and organizational issues.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	dda4
authors	Yezioro, Abraham
year	1994
title	Form and Performance in Intelligent CAAD Systems for Early Stages in Solar Design Building
source	Technion, Faculty of Architecture and Town Planing, Haifa
summary	Great care should be taken at the initial design stages to determine the principles and solution schemes for climate and energy-conscious buildings. The present study deals with supporting the designer's efforts at the early stages to lay down the appropriate principles for a conceptual and geometric design of energy-preserving buildings, which are also thermally comfortable and adapted to local climatic conditions. For years, especially during the last decade, important data concerning climate-conscious construction has been compiled, but the information has not been utilized by designers, due to its inaccessibility. It is significant, though, that solutions based on this knowledge could be found and assessed at the preliminary design steps. A correct climate-conscious design conceived at the initial stages may guarantee that during later phases of the project's development no problems calling for essential and drastic changes in the basic design will crop up. The meaning of such changes at later stages may require sometimes a redesigning of the entire project. It is vital, therefore, to understand at the pre-conceptual phase, what are the correct climatic-solar design strategies which satisfy the requirements of the local conditions, and enable the attainment of thermal comfort conditions, while consuming the least possible energy. The present study proposes a computer-aided passive solar design system (PASYS) which enables the handling of entire designing process, and its general, conceptual aspects, as well as the preliminary designing steps and their particular, practical aspects. The system is based both on a knowledge base which stores the existing information concerning solar-climatic construction in the form of rules of thumb, and on precise procedural models which enable finding solutions suited to the local climatic conditions. The proposed system is an intelligent CAAD system which equips the designer who is aware of the constraints of climate and energy, with a tool to achieve a better design. PASYS was developed as a universal system to deal with the various activities involved in the initial – pre-conceptual and conceptual - design stages. The system supports the following design activities of each stage of this kind: analysis, synthesis, documentation, assessment and decision making. It is capable of analyzing given conditions, thus helping the designer understand which are the significant preliminary design stages that have a bearing on thermal comfort conditions in a given climate. The system is also capable of proposing solutions corresponding with the particular design phase, and assess their adequacy. These solutions take into account the constraints determined both by the designer and by the system itself, owing to the knowledge base it contains. The system can also document the various solutions that have been found and selected, so that may be further developed at later stages. This documentation is carried out by a graphic interface, developed as part of the system, as well as by an interface devised for existing CAD software. This study highlights the interaction between form and performance. The system is able to assess the performance of a proposed design by considering a given geometry (form), or viceversa, it is able to recommend a solution that can deliver desired and required performances. The study comprises three parts: (a.) Development of the conceptual model of a knowledge based design process. (b.) Further development of the initial stages of the afore mentioned process, including the pre-conceptual and conceptual stages. (c.) Demonstration of the mode of work with the PASYS system. // The first part of the study deals with the definition of the design process, the definition of the various design steps and their characteristics, and the definition of the activities involved in each design step. This part of the work also presents the kinds of knowledge bases affecting the design process, and shows how this knowledge is an inseparable part of the design process. The second part deals with the development of the initial design stages - the pre-conceptual and the conceptual - which are based on knowledge. This part also contains compiled knowledge that is relevant to the design stage, and a knowledge storage and retrieval method that was developed so as to make the knowledge available and accessible on demand. This part further presents precise procedural methods, developed to find solutions adapted to the specific given conditions, and to precisely assess the performance of the proposed solution. A case in point is the module of the SHADING system which enables a precise assessment of the mutual shading of buildings, and an examination of the exposure of the southern elevation to the sun, which is necessary in order to determine the effective solar absorption area in a proposed project in given environment conditions. The third part of the study demonstrates the solar-climatic design process put into action and supported by the system that was developed. This system enables the designer, even at the preliminary design stages, to determine which properties relating to local climatic conditions he will introduce into the building. This important, seemingly natural act, is usually performed during more advanced stages, when it might generate significant changes in the design, at a juncture when changes are hard to make. A PASYS-aided design environment ensures that from the beginning of the designing process, the project will be designed correctly and efficiently as far as energy is concerned.
keywords	Knowledge Base; Design Process; Form; Performance; CAAD Systems
series	thesis:PhD
email
last changed	2003/03/03 11:58

_id	c5a9
authors	Batty, M. and Longley, P.
year	1994
title	Fractal Cities - A Geometry of Form and Function
source	Academic Press, London
summary	Fractal Cities is a pioneering study of the development and use of fractal geometry for understanding and planning the physical form of cities, showing how this geometry enables cities to be simulated through computer graphics. It shows how cities evolve and grow in ways that at first sight appear irregular, but which, when understood in terms of fractals, illustrate an underlying order that reveals their complexity and diversity. The book contains sixteen pages of stunning computer graphics and explanations of how to construct them, as well as new insights into the complexity of social systems. The authors provide a gentle and intelligible introduction to fractal geometry as well as an exciting visual understanding of the form of cities, thus providing one of the best introductions to fractal geometry available for non-mathematicians and social scientists. Fractal Cities can be used as a text for courses on geographic information systems, urban geography, regional science and fractal geometry. Planners and architects will also find that there are many aspects of fractal geometry in this book relevant to their own interests. Furthermore, those involved in fractals and chaos, computer graphics, and systems theory will find important methods and examples that are germane to their work.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	ddss9413
id	ddss9413
authors	Branki, Cherif
year	1994
title	Communicative Acts in Cooperative Architectural Design Environments
source	Second Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture & Urban Planning (Vaals, the Netherlands), August 15-19, 1994
summary	The purpose of this paper is to present a scheme, that can be used to support the communication process in cooperative design. Computational aids for design have largely been for a designerworking by himself/herself. These aids have also been supplemented by the widespread use of artificial intelligence approaches. However, design is so complex, and very rarely acted upon by a single designer but many more working towards the same aim. This involves a new paradigm in which designers need to cooperate with each other using a computational medium. A protocol analysis in cooperative design has been carried out and technological support has been proposed.Cooperative design becomes an important paradigm for the next generation of intelligent computer aided design systems. It will be conducted in many forms among several designers and willrequire the support of advanced communication facilities beyond the "passive" transmission of data and messages. Technological advances in communication networks have opened up new ways for cooperative design interaction across several processes of cooperation among designers, designers and computer aided design systems, computer aided design systems and knowledge based systems, and knowledge based systems themselves. In cooperative design environments, aunit of communication among designers is the transfer of a message from one designer (a sender) to another (a receiver). The aim of such communication is to provide the receiver with some information or to have the receiver take certain actions. Inspired by the speech act theory, a branch of the philosophy of language and linguistics, such a unit is called a communicative act. By analogy to architectural design, a communicative act is a performing act in designers communication.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	diss_brewster
id	diss_brewster
authors	Brewster, S.A.
year	1994
title	Providing a Structured Method for Integrating Non-Speech Audio into Human-Computer Interfaces
source	Heslington, York: University of York
summary	This thesis provides a framework for integrating non-speech sound into human-computer interfaces. Previously there was no structured way of doing this, it was done in an ad hoc manner by individual designers. This led to ineffective uses of sound. In order to add sounds to improve usability two questions must be answered: What sounds should be used and where is it best to use them? With these answers a structured method for adding sound can be created. An investigation of earcons as a means of presenting information in sound was undertaken. A series of detailed experiments showed that earcons were effective, especially if musical timbres were used. Parallel earcons were also investigated (where two earcons are played simultaneously) and an experiment showed that they could increase sound presentation rates. From these results guidelines were drawn up for designers to use when creating usable earcons. These formed the first half of the structured method for integrating sound into interfaces. An informal analysis technique was designed to investigate interactions to identify situations where hidden information existed and where non-speech sound could be used to overcome the associated problems. Interactions were considered in terms of events, status and modes to find hidden information. This information was then categorised in terms of the feedback needed to present it. Several examples of the use of the technique were presented. This technique formed the second half of the structured method. The structured method was evaluated by testing sonically-enhanced scrollbars, buttons and windows. Experimental results showed that sound could improve usability by increasing performance, reducing time to recover from errors and reducing workload. There was also no increased annoyance due to the sound. Thus the structured method for integrating sound into interfaces was shown to be effective when applied to existing interface widgets.
series	thesis:PhD
email
more	http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~stephen/publications.shtml
last changed	2003/11/28 07:34

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