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	683a
authors	Do, Ellen Yi-Luen and Gross, Mark D.
year	1995
title	Shape Based Reminding as an Aid to Creative Design
source	Sixth International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 9971-62-423-0] Singapore, 24-26 September 1995, pp. 79-89
summary	This paper describes "Drawing Analogies", a shape based reminding program that uses freehand sketches to index and retrieve visual references for creative designing. Architects often employ reference images from books, magazines, and other visual collections to find forms they can adopt and adapt into their designs. We give examples of how designers use drawing and analogies and describe our approach to finding similar drawings. We argue that a graphical reminding scheme based on sketching can help designers find interesting references from various domains.
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2004/10/04 07:49

_id	4809
authors	Do, Ellen Yi-Luen
year	1995
title	Drawing Analogies: Finding Visual References By Sketching
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1995.035
source	Computing in Design - Enabling, Capturing and Sharing Ideas [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-04-7] University of Washington (Seattle, Washington / USA) October 19-22, 1995, pp. 35-52
summary	In creative and conceptual designing, architects often look to books, magazines, and other collections of images to find forms they can adopt and adapt in designs. On line visual collections are becoming available but typically they are indexed only with descriptive key words. We argue that in addition to key word indexing, which supports retrieval of images based on design concepts or issues, a more directly visual, graphical reminding scheme based on sketches can help designers recall interesting references from various domains. We describe Drawing Analogies, a shape based reminding program that uses hand drawn sketches to index and query visual databases.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	a56e
authors	Do, Ellen Yi-Luen
year	1995
title	What's in a Diagram That a Computer Should Understand?
source	Sixth International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 9971-62-423-0] Singapore, 24-26 September 1995, pp. 469-480
summary	This paper reports on an experiment to test the feasibility of using a diagramming tool to access an architectural knowledge base. Our hypothesis is that designers only use a small set of conventional elements to make diagrams of architectural concepts. If this is true, then a scheme for retrieving information from computer knowledge bases using diagrams would work. Therefore we asked designers to make diagrams from texts, to interpret diagrams into texts, to pair diagrams and texts, and to comment on existing pairs from the case base. We found from the experiment that common features are shared between different designerís diagrams and texts.
keywords	Architectural Diagrams, Graphic Interface, Knowledge Bases
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2004/10/04 07:49

_id	c19c
authors	Beliveau, Y.J.
year	1996
title	What can real-time positioning do for construction?
source	Automation in Construction 5 (2) (1996) pp. 79-89
summary	New technologies are now available that can rapidly measure three-dimensional coordinates of objects. The integration of these fast 3-D Real-time Position Measurement (D-RtPM) devices and CAD (3D-RtPM/CAD) technologies can be viewed as a better tool for surveyors or as a means to change the most fundamental concepts of the construction industry. 3D-RtPM/CAD is a better surveying tool; however, 3D-RtPM/CAD as the basis for fundamental change within the construction industry is the issue.There are several potential technologies that can provide real-time position measurement. This paper will limit presentation to two of these. The first is based on recent developments in Global Positioning Systems. The second is a new laser-based product, OdysseyTM (Odyssey is a trademark of Spatial Positioning Systems, Inc.). Odyssey received the NOVA award in March, 1995 because of its recognized performance enhancement to the construction industry. These positioning systems provide the capability for equipment and crafts people to view the project from a graphical representation in which they see their position interactively updated. Potential benefits to the construction industry are presented. The research needed achieving maximum benefits of these systems is also presented.
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 21:22

_id	ecaade2022_398
id	ecaade2022_398
authors	Dzurilla, Dalibor and Achten, Henri
year	2022
title	What’s Happening to Architectural Sketching? - Interviewing architects about transformation from traditional to digital architectural sketching as a communicational tool with clients
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2022.1.389
source	Pak, B, Wurzer, G and Stouffs, R (eds.), Co-creating the Future: Inclusion in and through Design - Proceedings of the 40th Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe 2022) - Volume 1, Ghent, 13-16 September 2022, pp. 389–398
summary	The paper discusses 23 interviewed architects in practice about the role of traditional and digital sketching (human-computer interaction) in communication with the client. They were selected from 1995 to 2018 (the interval of graduation) from three different countries: the Czech Republic (CR), Slovakia (SR), Netherland (NR). To realize three blending areas that impact the approach to sketching: (I) Traditional hand and physical model studies (1995-2003). (II)Transition form - designing by hand and PC (2004–2017). (III) Mainly digital and remote forms of designing (2018–now). Interviews helped transform 31 “parameters of tools use” from the previous theoretical framework narrowed down into six main areas: (1) Implementation; (2)Affordability; (3)Timesaving; (4) Drawing support; (5) Representativeness; (6) Transportability. Paper discusses findings from interviewees: (A) Implementation issues are above time and price. (B) Strongly different understanding of what digital sketching is. From drawing in Google Slides by mouse to sketching in Metaverse. (C) Substantial reduction of traditional sketching (down to a total of 3% of the time) at the expense of growing responsibilities. (D) 80% of respondents do not recommend sketching in front of the client. Also, other interesting findings are further described in the discussion.
keywords	Architectural Sketch, Digital Sketch, Effective Visual Communication
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2024/04/22 07:10

_id	93ca
authors	Sudweeks, F. and Rafaeli, S.
year	1995
title	How do you get a hundred strangers to agree: Computer mediated communication and collaboration
source	T. M. Harrison and T. D. Stephen (Eds.), Computer Networking and Scholarly Communication in the Twenty-First-Century University. New York: SUNY Press
summary	This chapter is an introspective account of the formation and implementation experiences of a large international group of researchers who are using computer-mediated communication to study computer-mediated communication. We describe the genesis and ongoing development of the study, focusing on issues of consensus formation as guidelines were sought on the ethical implications of the study, and the integrity and autonomy of scientific enquiry. We critically examine the notions of global village, social presence, conversation as a universal ideal, and interactivity in a computer-mediated collaborative environment.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	00ae
id	00ae
authors	Ataman, Osman
year	1995
title	Building A Computer Aid for Teaching Architectural Design Concepts
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1995.187
source	Computing in Design - Enabling, Capturing and Sharing Ideas [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-04-7] University of Washington (Seattle, Washington / USA) October 19-22, 1995, pp. 187-208
summary	Building an aid for teaching architectural design concepts is the process of elaborating topics, defining problems and suggesting to the students strategies for solving those problems. I believe students in Environment and Behavior (E&B) courses at Georgia Tech can benefit greatly from a computer based educational tool designed to provide them with experiences they currently do not possess. In particular, little time in the course (outside lectures) is devoted to applying concepts taught in the course to the studio projects. The tool I am proposing provides students with an opportunity to critique architectural environments (both simple examples and previous projects) using a single concept, "affordances". This paper describes my current progress toward realizing the goal of designing a tool that will help the students to understand particular concepts and to integrate them into their designs. It is my claim that an integrative and interactive approach - creating a learning environment and making both the students and the environment mutually supportive- is fundamentally more powerful than traditional educational methods.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	e100
authors	Bermudez, Julio and King, Kevin
year	1995
title	Architecture in Digital Space: Actual and Potential Markets
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1995.405
source	Computing in Design - Enabling, Capturing and Sharing Ideas [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-04-7] University of Washington (Seattle, Washington / USA) October 19-22, 1995, pp. 405-423
summary	As both the skepticism and 'hype' surrounding electronic environments vanish under the weight of ever increasing power, knowledge, and use of information technologies, the architectural profession must prepare for significant expansion of its professional services. To address the issue, this paper offers a survey of the professional services architects and designers do and may provide in digital space, and who the potential clients are. The survey was conducted by interviews with software developers, gaming companies, programmers, investigators, practicing architects, faculty, etc. It also included reviews of actual software products and literary research of conference proceedings, journals, books and newspapers (i.e. articles, classified ads, etc.). The actual and potential markets include gaming and entertainment developments, art installations, educational applications, and research. These markets provide architects the opportunity to participate in the design of 3D gaming environments, educational software, architecture for public experience and entertainment, data representation, cyberspace and virtual reality studies, and other digital services which will be required for this new world. We will demonstrate that although the rapidly growing digital market may be seen by some to be non-architectural and thus irrelevant to our profession, it actually represents great opportunities for growth and development. Digital environments will not replace the built environment as a major architectural market, but they will significantly complement it, thus strengthening the entire architectural profession.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	0459
authors	Brown, G.Z., Kline, J. and Sekigitchi, T.
year	1995
title	Infrared Professor - Design Phase
source	Sixth International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 9971-62-423-0] Singapore, 24-26 September 1995, pp. 103-112
summary	This paper describes diagnostic and advising modules that are being added to existing energy analysis software. The diagnostic module helps users understand whatís causing their building to have certain energy use characteristics by juxtaposing performance data with climate and building use data. The advisor is a rule-based expert system which tells the user what to do to improve the energy performance of their building design.
keywords	Advisor, Architectural Design, Buildings, Energy, Expert System
series	CAAD Futures
last changed	1999/08/03 17:16

_id	a9ff
authors	Chiou, Shang Chia and Krishnamurti, Ramesh
year	1997
title	A Grammar of Taiwanese Temples
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.1997.297
source	CAADRIA ‘97 [Proceedings of the Second Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 957-575-057-8] Taiwan 17-19 April 1997, pp. 297-311
summary	Many different types of traditional Chinese buildings share quite similar architectural forms. This paper extends a shape grammar for Taiwanese vernacular dwellings (Chiou and Krishnamurti, 1995 a, b, c; 1996) to the traditional temple designs. Our grammar was derived from considerations of the traditional processes of design and construction of Taiwanese vernacular dwellings and from cultural influences. The processes for temple design and construction were similar; consequently, a temple grammar can be derived from this grammar. In this paper, we do so by augmenting the latter with additional rules that take into consideration specific changes to the spatial form that distinguish the traditional temples.
series	CAADRIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	44f6
authors	Colajanni, Benedetto and Pellitteri, Giuseppe (Eds.)
year	1995
title	Multimedia and Architectural Disciplines [Conference Proceedings]
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995
source	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, 436 p.
summary	The rapid development of the potentialities of multimedia imposes a reflection about its use in teaching architecture. Multimedia is multifaceted and each facet deserves a particular attention inasmuch as it can change the traditional approach to learning. A direct experience of an architectural work can be simulated with a impact far stronger than an experience trough photographs, drawings and books can do. But, as every positive fact can have in certain cases also some negative consequences. the intensity of the participation to an experience structured by someone else can leave less space to a personal approach to the object of the presentation. The same problem is posed if we consider the structure of an hypertext. The essence of the hypertext lies in the net of relationships between very different kinds of documents that it is able to manage in order to express the complexity of its theme. But who has to create the net, the teacher choosing the relationship that he thinks important or the learner to build a personal image of the hypertext matter. It is an old question about the two faces of teaching: transmitting knowledge or giving the learner the instruments to build by oneself his store of knowledge. Easy and trivial answer that both approaches can be useful. The accomplishment of a multimedial sequence of average complexity requires at present a lot of time. Hence, to be convenient, it is to be used many times, then by many students. The effectiveness of the tool partly depends on the rapidity with which it can be constructed. Speeding it up would allow to use this kind of tools with the same easiness than mare traditional means of representation. Besides those general considerations a check is to do on the peculiarities, if any, of the use of multimedia in the different disciplines of the formative curriculum of an architect. This is theme of our thirteenth conference. The programme has been articulated into sessions, dealing separately with history teaching, design teaching and research. Of course the sessions dealing with design are more numerous than the other, since design is the axis of teaching architecture. The presented paper cover a large arc of arguments, dealing with many facets of the proposed themes with plenty of examples and documentation on practical experiences. constituting a corpus of great usefulness for any operator in the field of architectural teaching.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Home.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:49

_id	819d
authors	Eiteljorg, H.
year	1988
title	Computing Assisted Drafting and Design: new technologies for old problems
source	Center for the study of architecture, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
summary	In past issues of the Newsletter, George Tressel and I have written about virtual reality and renderings. We have each discussed particular problems with the technology, and both of us mentioned how compelling computer visualizations can be. In my article ("Virtual Reality and Rendering," February, 1995, Vol. 7, no. 4), I indicated my concerns about the quality of the scholarship and the level of detail used in making renderings or virtual worlds. Mr. Tressel (in "Visualizing the Ancient World," November, 1996, Vol. IX, no. 3) wrote about the need to distinguish between real and hypothetical parts of a visualization, the need to differentiate materials, and the difficulties involved in creating the visualizations (some of which were included in the Newsletter in black-and-white and on the Web in color). I am returning to this topic now, in part because the quality of the images available to us is improving so fast and in part because it seems now that neither Mr. Tressel nor I treated all the issues raised by the use of high-quality visualizations. The quality may be illustrated by new images of the older propylon that were created by Mr. Tressel (Figs. 1 - 3); these images are significantly more realistic than the earlier ones, but they do not represent the ultimate in quality, since they were created on a personal computer.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	c6b2
authors	Fenves, S.J., Garrett, J.H., Kiliccote, H., Law, K.H. and Reed, K.A.
year	1995
title	Computer representations of design standards and building codes: a U.S. perspective
source	The Int. Journal of Construction IT3(1), pp.13-34
summary	Standards representation and processing in the United States has had a long and interesting history of development. The work in the past has focused primarily on representing a standard, evaluating the intrinsic properties of that represented standard, and evaluating designs for conformance to that standard. To date, for a variety of reasons, standards writing organizations and computer-aided design software vendors have not adopted much of the results of this research. The failure of the approach so far in the U.S. can be traced to two distinct areas. One major cluster of causes is methodological: the initial concepts were not backed up by usable, persistent computer tools; and the initial application and model were not representative. The second cluster of causes of failure is professional, and has a lot to do with the dynamics of interaction of individuals and organizations. Future research must address the inadequacies of the current representations and create models that are able to represent all, or almost all, of the different types of provisions in any given standard; investigate and deliver a much richer set of processing functionality's, such as more support for use of design standards in earlier phases of design; support the treatment of multiple, heterogeneous standards available from distributed sources; and determine what type of support is needed to go from the textual versions of design standards to the formal models that can support sophisticated computation.
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/05/15 21:45

_id	2068
authors	Frazer, John
year	1995
title	AN EVOLUTIONARY ARCHITECTURE
source	London: Architectural Association
summary	In "An Evolutionary Architecture", John Frazer presents an overview of his work for the past 30 years. Attempting to develop a theoretical basis for architecture using analogies with nature's processes of evolution and morphogenesis. Frazer's vision of the future of architecture is to construct organic buildings. Thermodynamically open systems which are more environmentally aware and sustainable physically, sociologically and economically. The range of topics which Frazer discusses is a good illustration of the breadth and depth of the evolutionary design problem. Environmental Modelling One of the first topics dealt with is the importance of environmental modelling within the design process. Frazer shows how environmental modelling is often misused or misinterpreted by architects with particular reference to solar modelling. From the discussion given it would seem that simplifications of the environmental models is the prime culprit resulting in misinterpretation and misuse. The simplifications are understandable given the amount of information needed for accurate modelling. By simplifying the model of the environmental conditions the architect is able to make informed judgments within reasonable amounts of time and effort. Unfortunately the simplications result in errors which compound and cause the resulting structures to fall short of their anticipated performance. Frazer obviously believes that the computer can be a great aid in the harnessing of environmental modelling data, providing that the same simplifying assumptions are not made and that better models and interfaces are possible. Physical Modelling Physical modelling has played an important role in Frazer's research. Leading to the construction of several novel machine readable interactive models, ranging from lego-like building blocks to beermat cellular automata and wall partitioning systems. Ultimately this line of research has led to the Universal Constructor and the Universal Interactor. The Universal Constructor The Universal Constructor features on the cover of the book. It consists of a base plug-board, called the "landscape", on top of which "smart" blocks, or cells, can be stacked vertically. The cells are individually identified and can communicate with neighbours above and below. Cells communicate with users through a bank of LEDs displaying the current state of the cell. The whole structure is machine readable and so can be interpreted by a computer. The computer can interpret the states of the cells as either colour or geometrical transformations allowing a wide range of possible interpretations. The user interacts with the computer display through direct manipulation of the cells. The computer can communicate and even direct the actions of the user through feedback with the cells to display various states. The direct manipulation of the cells encourages experimentation by the user and demonstrates basic concepts of the system. The Universal Interactor The Universal Interactor is a whole series of experimental projects investigating novel input and output devices. All of the devices speak a common binary language and so can communicate through a mediating central hub. The result is that input, from say a body-suit, can be used to drive the out of a sound system or vice versa. The Universal Interactor opens up many possibilities for expression when using a CAD system that may at first seem very strange.However, some of these feedback systems may prove superior in the hands of skilled technicians than more standard devices. Imagine how a musician might be able to devise structures by playing melodies which express the character. Of course the interpretation of input in this form poses a difficult problem which will take a great deal of research to achieve. The Universal Interactor has been used to provide environmental feedback to affect the development of evolving genetic codes. The feedback given by the Universal Interactor has been used to guide selection of individuals from a population. Adaptive Computing Frazer completes his introduction to the range of tools used in his research by giving a brief tour of adaptive computing techniques. Covering topics including cellular automata, genetic algorithms, classifier systems and artificial evolution. Cellular Automata As previously mentioned Frazer has done some work using cellular automata in both physical and simulated environments. Frazer discusses how surprisingly complex behaviour can result from the simple local rules executed by cellular automata. Cellular automata are also capable of computation, in fact able to perform any computation possible by a finite state machine. Note that this does not mean that cellular automata are capable of any general computation as this would require the construction of a Turing machine which is beyond the capabilities of a finite state machine. Genetic Algorithms Genetic algorithms were first presented by Holland and since have become a important tool for many researchers in various areas.Originally developed for problem-solving and optimization problems with clearly stated criteria and goals. Frazer fails to mention one of the most important differences between genetic algorithms and other adaptive problem-solving techniques, ie. neural networks. Genetic algorithms have the advantage that criteria can be clearly stated and controlled within the fitness function. The learning by example which neural networks rely upon does not afford this level of control over what is to be learned. Classifier Systems Holland went on to develop genetic algorithms into classifier systems. Classifier systems are more focussed upon the problem of learning appropriate responses to stimuli, than searching for solutions to problems. Classifier systems receive information from the environment and respond according to rules, or classifiers. Successful classifiers are rewarded, creating a reinforcement learning environment. Obviously, the mapping between classifier systems and the cybernetic view of organisms sensing, processing and responding to environmental stimuli is strong. It would seem that a central process similar to a classifier system would be appropriate at the core of an organic building. Learning appropriate responses to environmental conditions over time. Artificial Evolution Artificial evolution traces it's roots back to the Biomorph program which was described by Dawkins in his book "The Blind Watchmaker". Essentially, artificial evolution requires that a user supplements the standard fitness function in genetic algorithms to guide evolution. The user may provide selection pressures which are unquantifiable in a stated problem and thus provide a means for dealing ill-defined criteria. Frazer notes that solving problems with ill-defined criteria using artificial evolution seriously limits the scope of problems that can be tackled. The reliance upon user interaction in artificial evolution reduces the practical size of populations and the duration of evolutionary runs. Coding Schemes Frazer goes on to discuss the encoding of architectural designs and their subsequent evolution. Introducing two major systems, the Reptile system and the Universal State Space Modeller. Blueprint vs. Recipe Frazer points out the inadequacies of using standard "blueprint" design techniques in developing organic structures. Using a "recipe" to describe the process of constructing a building is presented as an alternative. Recipes for construction are discussed with reference to the analogous process description given by DNA to construct an organism. The Reptile System The Reptile System is an ingenious construction set capable of producing a wide range of structures using just two simple components. Frazer saw the advantages of this system for rule-based and evolutionary systems in the compactness of structure descriptions. Compactness was essential for the early computational work when computer memory and storage space was scarce. However, compact representations such as those described form very rugged fitness landscapes which are not well suited to evolutionary search techniques. Structures are created from an initial "seed" or minimal construction, for example a compact spherical structure. The seed is then manipulated using a series of processes or transformations, for example stretching, shearing or bending. The structure would grow according to the transformations applied to it. Obviously, the transformations could be a predetermined sequence of actions which would always yield the same final structure given the same initial seed. Alternatively, the series of transformations applied could be environmentally sensitive resulting in forms which were also sensitive to their location. The idea of taking a geometrical form as a seed and transforming it using a series of processes to create complex structures is similar in many ways to the early work of Latham creating large morphological charts. Latham went on to develop his ideas into the "Mutator" system which he used to create organic artworks. Generalising the Reptile System Frazer has proposed a generalised version of the Reptile System to tackle more realistic building problems. Generating the seed or minimal configuration from design requirements automatically. From this starting point (or set of starting points) solutions could be evolved using artificial evolution. Quantifiable and specific aspects of the design brief define the formal criteria which are used as a standard fitness function. Non-quantifiable criteria, including aesthetic judgments, are evaluated by the user. The proposed system would be able to learn successful strategies for satisfying both formal and user criteria. In doing so the system would become a personalised tool of the designer. A personal assistant which would be able to anticipate aesthetic judgements and other criteria by employing previously successful strategies. Ultimately, this is a similar concept to Negroponte's "Architecture Machine" which he proposed would be computer system so personalised so as to be almost unusable by other people. The Universal State Space Modeller The Universal State Space Modeller is the basis of Frazer's current work. It is a system which can be used to model any structure, hence the universal claim in it's title. The datastructure underlying the modeller is a state space of scaleless logical points, called motes. Motes are arranged in a close-packing sphere arrangement, which makes each one equidistant from it's twelve neighbours. Any point can be broken down into a self-similar tetrahedral structure of logical points. Giving the state space a fractal nature which allows modelling at many different levels at once. Each mote can be thought of as analogous to a cell in a biological organism. Every mote carries a copy of the architectural genetic code in the same way that each cell within a organism carries a copy of it's DNA. The genetic code of a mote is stored as a sequence of binary "morons" which are grouped together into spatial configurations which are interpreted as the state of the mote. The developmental process begins with a seed. The seed develops through cellular duplication according to the rules of the genetic code. In the beginning the seed develops mainly in response to the internal genetic code, but as the development progresses the environment plays a greater role. Cells communicate by passing messages to their immediate twelve neighbours. However, it can send messages directed at remote cells, without knowledge of it's spatial relationship. During the development cells take on specialised functions, including environmental sensors or producers of raw materials. The resulting system is process driven, without presupposing the existence of a construction set to use. The datastructure can be interpreted in many ways to derive various phenotypes. The resulting structure is a by-product of the cellular activity during development and in response to the environment. As such the resulting structures have much in common with living organisms which are also the emergent result or by-product of local cellular activity. Primordial Architectural Soups To conclude, Frazer presents some of the most recent work done, evolving fundamental structures using limited raw materials, an initial seed and massive feedback. Frazer proposes to go further and do away with the need for initial seed and start with a primordial soup of basic architectural concepts. The research is attempting to evolve the starting conditions and evolutionary processes without any preconditions. Is there enough time to evolve a complex system from the basic building blocks which Frazer proposes? The computational complexity of the task being embarked upon is not discussed. There is an implicit assumption that the "superb tactics" of natural selection are enough to cut through the complexity of the task. However, Kauffman has shown how self-organisation plays a major role in the early development of replicating systems which we may call alive. Natural selection requires a solid basis upon which it can act. Is the primordial soup which Frazer proposes of the correct constitution to support self-organisation? Kauffman suggests that one of the most important attributes of a primordial soup to be capable of self-organisation is the need for a complex network of catalysts and the controlling mechanisms to stop the reactions from going supracritical. Can such a network be provided of primitive architectural concepts? What does it mean to have a catalyst in this domain? Conclusion Frazer shows some interesting work both in the areas of evolutionary design and self-organising systems. It is obvious from his work that he sympathizes with the opinions put forward by Kauffman that the order found in living organisms comes from both external evolutionary pressure and internal self-organisation. His final remarks underly this by paraphrasing the words of Kauffman, that life is always to found on the edge of chaos. By the "edge of chaos" Kauffman is referring to the area within the ordered regime of a system close to the "phase transition" to chaotic behaviour. Unfortunately, Frazer does not demonstrate that the systems he has presented have the necessary qualities to derive useful order at the edge of chaos. He does not demonstrate, as Kauffman does repeatedly, that there exists a "phase transition" between ordered and chaotic regimes of his systems. He also does not make any studies of the relationship of useful forms generated by his work to phase transition regions of his systems should they exist. If we are to find an organic architecture, in more than name alone, it is surely to reside close to the phase transition of the construction system of which is it built. Only there, if we are to believe Kauffman, are we to find useful order together with environmentally sensitive and thermodynamically open systems which can approach the utility of living organisms.
series	other
type	normal paper
last changed	2004/05/22 14:12

_id	a8f0
authors	Goel, V.
year	1995
title	Sketches of thought
source	MA: MIT Press, Cambridge
summary	Much of the cognitive lies beyond articulate, discursive thought, beyond the reach of current computational notions. In Sketches of Thought, Vinod Goel argues that the cognitive computational conception of the world requires our thought processes to be precise, rigid, discrete, and unambiguous; yet there are dense, ambiguous, and amorphous symbol systems, like sketching, painting, and poetry, found in the arts and much of everyday discourse that have an important, nontrivial place in cognition. Goel maintains that while on occasion our thoughts do conform to the current computational theory of mind, they often are -- indeed must be - vague, fluid, ambiguous, and amorphous. He argues that if cognitive science takes the classical computational story seriously, it must deny or ignore these processes, or at least relegate them to the realm of the nonmental. As a cognitive scientist with a design background, Goel is in a unique position to challenge cognitive science on its own territory. He introduces design problem solving as a domain of cognition that illustrates these inarticulate, nondiscursive thought processes at work through the symbol system of sketching. He argues not that such thoughts must remain noncomputational but that our current notions of computation and representation are not rich enough to capture them. Along the way, Goel makes a number of significant and controversial interim points. He shows that there is a principled distinction between design and nondesign problems, that there are standard stages in the solution of design problems, that these stages correlate with the use of different types of external symbol systems; that these symbol systems are usefully individuated in Nelson Goodman's syntactic and semantic terms, and that different cognitive processes are facilitated by different types of symbol systems.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	maver_090
id	maver_090
authors	Harrison C., Grant, M., Granat, M., Maver, T. and Conway, B.
year	2000
title	Development of a Wheelchair Virtual
source	3rd International Conference on Disability, VR and Associated Technologies, Sardinia, (Ed. P Sharkey) ICDVRAT2000, 1-8
summary	In the UK the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 aims to end discrimination against disabled people. Importantly the Act gives the disabled community new employment and access rights. Central to these rights will be an obligation for employers and organisations to provide premises which do not disadvantage disabled people. Many disabled people rely on wheelchairs for mobility. However, many buildings do not provide conditions suited to wheelchair users. This project aims to provide instrumentation allowing wheelchair navigation within virtual buildings. The provision of such instrumentation assists architects in identifying the needs of wheelchair users at the design stage. Central to this project is the need to provide a platform which can accommodate a range of wheelchair types, that will map intended wheelchair motion into a virtual world and that has the capacity to provide feedback to the user reflecting changes in floor surface characteristics and slope. The project represents a collaborative effort between architects, bioengineers and user groups and will be comprised of stages related to platform design, construction, interfacing, testing and user evaluation.
series	other
email
last changed	2003/09/03 15:01

_id	sigradi2004_493
id	sigradi2004_493
authors	Jean-Pierre Chupin
year	2004
title	The "tectonic bug" (The fall of the body in cyberspace)
source	SIGraDi 2004 - [Proceedings of the 8th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics] Porte Alegre - Brasil 10-12 november 2004
summary	Architects have been opening up onto cyberspace for more than a decade now. In terms of disciplinary issues, at stake is our ability to inhabit this new space as .designers. and not just as spectators. In the mid 90s, two theories engaged in a major confrontation. The first valued the virtual dimension of architectural space (W. J. Mitchell, City of Bits, 1995), the other valued the tectonic dimension and its constructive poiesis (K. Frampton, Studies in Tectonic Culture, 1995). Although divergent in their view of architecture.s role in the future of our technological societies, both theories revealed aspects of our relationship to the contemporary body that were, and today remain, inseparable. Where Mitchell.s book clearly intends to establish cyberspace as a new playground for architects, giving convincing examples of the programmatic mutations of modern spatiality, Kenneth Frampton.s work, Studies in Tectonic Culture, reexamines the constructive culture underlying the modern conception of space. Neither a simple history text nor a collection of technical poetry, this latter work is a manifesto developing a set of materialist ethics for the discipline of architecture. This "rappel à lordre" to resist the increasing dematerialization of architecture closes tentatively with Le Corbusier.s classic metaphor of the acrobat: The architect, he said, must not look for truth in extremes. Rather, he must struggle constantly to maintain balance. .Nobody asked him to do this. Nobody owes him any thanks. He lives in the extraordinary world of the acrobat.. Following Le Corbusier.s advice, and in consideration of current and recurrent tensions between the virtual and the tectonic, what can we say today of such a delicate equilibrium?
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:53

_id	f4d7
authors	Madrazo, L.
year	1995
title	The Concept of Type in Architecture: An Inquiry into the Nature of Architectural Form
source	Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich
summary	The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the meaning of the concept of Type in the field of architectural theory. Even though the use of the term type by architectural theorists is a relatively recent phenomenon, which can be traced back to Quatremère de Quincy in the early nineteenth century, the idea of Type, as opposed to the explicit use of this term by theorists, has pervaded much of architectural theory ever since Vitruvius. In fact, many theorists have been concerned with issues which convey a notion of Type, like the origins of architectural form, the systematization of architectural knowledge and the understanding of the process of creativity. A basic premise of this work is that to understand the true significance of the idea of Type in architecture, it is necessary to overcome certain traditional views that have associated Type with the work of specific authors at a given time like, for example, Quatremère de Quincy and Semper in the nineteenth century, or Rossi in the twentieth. Only a comprehensive study of the most relevant ideas formulated in the field of architectural theory -beginning with Vitruvius and finishing with contemporary design methodologists- can reveal the essential meaning, or meanings, of Type. This work attempts to provide such a comprehensive study. To derive the fundamental meanings of the concept of Type from the body of the architectural tradition, it has been necessary to proceed, simultaneously, along two different lines: one diachronic, the other synchronic. From a diachronic point of view, the aim has been to trace the evolution of the theories of Type from one author to another, for example from Laugier to Quatremère de Quincy. From a synchronic point of view, the goal has been to disclose the common ideas that lie behind theories formulated at different times, for instance, between Vitruvius' theory of the origins of architectural form and the artistic theory developed after the advent of Gestalt psychology. In recent times, the term type has been used by architectural writers as synonymous with typology. Unfortunately, establishing this identity between type and typology has served to undermine some of the essential meanings conveyed by Type. In the overall context of the architectural tradition, the idea of Type has much deeper implications than those that are confined to the classification and study of building forms. Type embraces transcendental issues of aesthetic, epistemological and metaphysical character; issues that have to do with the most generic problem of Form. Certainly, the essential meaning of Type is intimately related with the more transcendental problem of Form. To explore the relation between the idea of Type and the historical evolution of architectural form, has also been the purpose of this research. As this work attempts to show, the variety of meanings that Type has adopted through history are inseparably connected to the evolution undergone by architectural form. For that reason, this work, although primarily a study of the concept of Type, it is, at the same time, an investigation on the nature of architectural form.
series	thesis:PhD
email
last changed	2003/05/10 05:42

_id	9577
authors	Matalasov, Michail E.
year	1995
title	About Videocomputer Technologies at the Moscow Architectural Institute
source	CAD Space [Proceedings of the III International Conference Computer in Architectural Design] Bialystock 27-29 April 1995, pp. 303-308
summary	Historically mock-up projecting turned out to be one of the bases of architectural education in the Moscow Architectural Institute. In spite of the fact, that technical progress did not pass over this Institute, introducing elements of computer techniques into the process of education, traditional methods do still prevail. In some sense it is a positive phenomenon, which does not allow this Institute to become ,one of the many typical ones", though in the epoch of global scientific and technical progress here this situation is forced. Under the economic conditions, established in this country, it is impossible to ensure such computer equipment, which would make the process of teaching students up-to-date methods of computer-aided design possible and really general, and make frontal employment of computers for solving complex design problems quite real. Now we can speak only about selective - optional teaching students mastering computer methods on the modern level. At the same time it was noted repeatedly, that essential defects are common to the traditional designing, especially when it concerns education; these defects are connected with a great degree of abstracting the model of the projected object (by the way this concerns also computer models), realized in the form of a small-scale mock-up. This is due to the representation of the projected object separated from the real environment as well as difference in the scales of the observer and the observed object. Mistakes in perception and appreciation caused in this way affect the efficiency of training disastrously. Luckily the available variety of sufficiently simple and cheap technical devices allows to overcome the mentioned defects to a considerable degree and combining these devices with personal computers makes it possible to enlarge their possibilities considerably. And at the same time due to the specific character of the employment it becomes unnecessary to have a lot of computers and the employed technologies turn out to be more "friendly" to the architect practically not demanding him to have complicated special knowledge. We mean special videocomputer technologies ("multimedia"), including the employment of periscope devices (environmental simulator or "telemaketoscope").
series	plCAD
last changed	2000/01/24 10:08

_id	ecaadesigradi2019_102
id	ecaadesigradi2019_102
authors	Passsaro, Andres Martin, Henriques, Gonçalo Castro, Sans?o, Adriana and Tebaldi, Isadora
year	2019
title	Tornado Pavilion - Simplexity, almost nothing, but human expanded abilities
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2019.1.305
source	Sousa, JP, Xavier, JP and Castro Henriques, G (eds.), Architecture in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution - Proceedings of the 37th eCAADe and 23rd SIGraDi Conference - Volume 1, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, 11-13 September 2019, pp. 305-314
summary	In the context of the fourth industrial revolution, not all regions have the same access to technology for project development. These technological limitations do not necessarily result in worst projects and, on the contrary, can stimulate creativity and human intervention to overcome these shortcomings. We report here the design of a small pavilion with scarce budget and an ambitious goal to qualify a space through tactical urbanism. We develop the project in a multidisciplinary partnership between academy and industry, designing, manufacturing and assembling Tornado Pavilion, a complex structure using combined HIGH-LOW technologies, combining visual programming with analog manufacture and assembly. The design strategy uses SIMPLEXITY with ruled surfaces strategy to achieve a complex geometry. Due to the lack of automated mechanical cutting or assembly, we used human expanded abilities for the construction; instead of a swarm of robots, we had a motivated and synchronized swarm of students. The pavilion became a reference for local population that adopted it. This process thus shows that less or almost nothing (Sola-Morales 1995), need not to be boring (Venturi 1966) but less can be much more (Kolarevic 2017).
keywords	Simplexity; CAD-CAM; Ruled Surfaces; expanded abilities; pavilion
series	eCAADeSIGraDi
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:59

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