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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	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	b914
authors	Asanowicz, Aleksander and Asanowicz, Katarzyna
year	1995
title	Designing, CAD and CAD
source	CAD Space [Proceedings of the III International Conference Computer in Architectural Design] Bialystock 27-29 April 1995, pp. 181-192
summary	The general aim of our discussion is to analyze what has been changed in design process according to introducing the computers technology. For the better understanding of the design process evolution, we should precisely define start point - the traditional design process.Let's treat it as an iteration game between a designer and user. If we assume that the designing base is a reductive strategy, we can define six stages of it: 1.) To define a need; 2.) To formulate a task; 3.) To synthesize a design proposals; 4.) To analyze and optimize; 5.) To make a presentation. // The last stage - the presentation of designing proposals is the main factor of using computers in design process and creating definition of CAD as Computer Aided Drafting. According to this interpretation CAD has included four groups of activities: A.) Geometrical modelling; B.) Analysis; C.) Revision and estimation of design proposals; D.) Technical drawing preparing. // Unfortunately it has no connections with another meaning of CAD - Computer Aided Design because concerns every stage of design process except of creation of architectural form. On the other hand, computer enables us to improve the design process by permanent perception of designing forms and dynamic control over the transforming structure. Nowadays thanks to full-function sketching workstation and software like Fractal Design Painter a computer can be useful from the moment when the first line is drawing. It is possible, that the new generation of CAD software - CAD with Personality which connects computer models with picture transformation will enable CAD to be Computer Aided Design.
series	plCAD
email
last changed	2000/01/24 10:08

_id	8dfc
authors	Jakimowicz, Adam and Kadysz, Andrzej
year	1995
title	Architecture of Many Media (Architecture is Many Media)
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.395
source	Multimedia and Architectural Disciplines [Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe / ISBN 0-9523687-1-4] Palermo (Italy) 16-18 November 1995, pp. 395-400
summary	Basis issues concerning media need redefining, because new media should not be perceived and approached according to traditional conventions. Present understanding of a medium as a mean of linear transmission, with the primary role of sender is no more sufficient, is too simple. The possibility of mutual and multidirectional communication in the real time makes the distinction between sender and receiver not so clear. The roles are effacing, but actions, processes are not. When receiver becomes sender, the process of receiving is always distinct from sending. The importance of the process, the attention must move towards a temporal process of transmitting of the receiving. When the process changes, the message (even when ´only´ its form) changes, receiving changes because it is an active action. This paper is the collection of ideas for discussion.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_47.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	30ec
authors	Coates, Paul and Hall, Miles Robin
year	1995
title	The Use of CAAD to Generate Urban Form
source	Sixth International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 9971-62-423-0] Singapore, 24-26 September 1995, pp. 599-616
summary	The paper describes a computer modelling process suitable for the generation of townscape elements using a statistical simulation based on aesthetic theory in mathematics. This approach is also used to analyse existing urban settings and thereby allow comparison with the generated output of the model indicating close agreement between the model and attractive historical townscape. This agreement depends closely upon the size of the unit chosen for measurement of the existing townscape thereby determining how the output from the model should be scaled for construction. An independent low-level designing ability appears inherent in the model and there is a discussion as to how this might be further developed.
keywords	Emergent Form, Generative Model, Power Laws, Townscape, Vernacular Style
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2003/05/16 20:58

_id	a84e
authors	De Grassi, Mario and Giretti, Alberto
year	1995
title	Applying Formal Methods to Multimedia Design Aid
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.283
source	Multimedia and Architectural Disciplines [Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe / ISBN 0-9523687-1-4] Palermo (Italy) 16-18 November 1995, pp. 283-296
summary	In the last decade we assisted at an evolution of computer aided design systems from drafting, calculation and simulation utilities toward systems able to support the conceptual phase of the design process. Systems supporting conceptual design use knowledge about the design domain and assume a will defined model of the design activity. Their computational framework is usually built by means of a set of representational schemata which lack a formal semantics. This aspect causes a limitation on the applicability of their computational framework to different domains. In this paper we propose a formal knowledge representation language, that has been defined in order to represent the structural relationships of domain knowledge. On the basis of language structure we propose a number of inferences tailored to case-based conceptual design aiding. Finally we apply the representational framework to the implementation of a computational architecture for conceptual design aiding that integrates multimedia representation of design cases with symbolic information processing. The architecture combines a knowledge representation server and a multimedia server. The knowledge representation server processes both domain knowledge and design experiences according to the Case Based Reasoning paradigm. The multimedia server produces the required case representation.
series	eCAADe
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_34.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	0128
authors	Engeli, M., Kurmann, D. and Schmitt, G.
year	1995
title	A New Design Studio: Intelligent Objects and Personal Agents
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1995.155
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. 155-170
summary	As design processes and products are constantly increasing in complexity, new tools are being developed for the designer to cope with the growing demands. In this paper we describe our research towards a design environment, within which different aspects of design can be combined, elaborated and controlled. New hardware equipment will be combined with recent developments in graphics and artificial intelligence programming to develop appropriate computer based tools and find possible new design techniques. The core of the new design studio comprises intelligent objects in a virtual reality environment that exhibit different behaviours drawn from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial Life (AL) principles, a part already realised in a tool called 'Sculptor'. The tasks of the architect will focus on preferencing and initiating good tendencies in the development of the design. A first set of software agents, assistants that support the architect in viewing, experiencing and judging the design has also been conceptualised for this virtual design environment. The goal is to create an optimised environment for the designer, where the complexity of the design task can be reduced thanks to the support made available from the machine.
keywords	Architectural Design, Design Process, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Personal Agents
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	c681
authors	Gero, J.S. and Kazakov, V.
year	1995
title	Evolving building blocks for design using genetic engineering: A formal approach
source	J.S. Gero and F. Sudweeks (eds), Advances in Formal Design Methods for CAD , IFIP-University of Sydney, Sydney, pp. 29-48
summary	This paper presents a formal approach to the evolution of a representation for use in a design process. The approach adopted is based on concepts associated with genetic engineering. An initial set of genes representing elementary building blocks is evolved into a set of complex genes representing targeted building blocks. These targeted building blocks have been evolved because they are more likely to produce designs which exhibit desired characteristics than the commencing elementary building blocks. The targeted building blocks can then be used in a design process. The paper presents a formal evolutionary model of design representations based on genetic algorithms and uses pattern recognition techniques to execute aspects of the genetic engineering. The paper describes how the state space of possible designs changes over time and illustrates the model with an example from the domain of two-dimensional layouts. It concludes with a discussion of style in design.
series	other
email
last changed	2003/04/06 07:29

_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	980c
authors	Gougoudilis, Vasileios
year	1995
title	Hyperwalls or an Application of a Non-deterministic Rule-based System in Interactive Architectural Modelling
source	Sixth International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 9971-62-423-0] Singapore, 24-26 September 1995, pp. 173-179
summary	This paper presents the architectural modeling as a process of augmenting spatial information; a chain of actions that leads from a sketched idea to the elaborated model. A symbolic constraint solver tool is connected to traditional CAD techniques, as well as to a data representation scheme efficient for architectural elements. The orchestration of the available and added tools allows the designer to ìedit ideasî fast, keeping in mind that different design profiles require adaptive tools to support the varying methodologies. Until the moment that automated design will be both possible and desirable, machines can really shorten the time needed to visualize design ideas in the sense of a handy but non-decisive ìcalculatorî. The discussion is built around illustrated examples from the implemented constraint based modeler.
keywords	Non-Deterministic, Rule-Based System, Architectural Modelling
series	CAAD Futures
last changed	1999/08/03 17:16

_id	d7f7
authors	Jeng, Hoang-Ell
year	1995
title	A Dialogical Model for Participatory Design; A Computational Approach to Group Planning
source	Delft University of Technology
summary	In participatory design, design concepts are generated collectively through discussion, dialogical interactions, in which the interchange of normative and supporting factual descriptions builds a collective design discourse. The goal of this research is to develop a method for participatory design to support this collective, face-to-face design problem-solving, in order to increase the acceptability of the design product. Since the mid-1960s, there has been an important movement towards increasing the participation of citizens in determining their built environment. At first, the movement was associated with social-political ideologies and rhetoric. By the end of the 1970s, participatory design had become an accepted component of professional practice. The objectives of the movement became more pragmatically and more modestly focused on exchanging practical information, resolving conflicts, and supplementing design. Today, participatory design is in a new phase. Traditional participatory design methods are seen as insufficient to fulfill an increasing demand for dialogue. The point of departure of the study is the assumption that new information technologies can satisfy this demand. The method includes: (1) a group-reasoning model, (2) a dialogical system and (3) a framework for participation-based design guidelines. The group-reasoning model formulates the process of knowledge acquisition, the learning and sharing of belief systems, the generation of design alternatives and design evaluations--by which reasoning takes place dialogically. The dialogical system provides a clear description of how the information should be processed, what aspects should be paid attention to, what results can be anticipated, and when and how to control the process. The framework for participation-based design guidelines guides and structures the design process. It facilitates a reconstruction of the implicit cognitive structure which underlines dialogue and is generated through the discussion of a group.
series	thesis:PhD
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	cc90
authors	Kolarevic, Branko
year	1998
title	CAD@HKU
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.016
source	ACADIA Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 16-17
summary	Since 1993, we have experimented with Virtual Design Studios (VDS) as an on-going research project that investigates the combination of current computer-aided design (CAD), computer networks (Internet), and computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) techniques to bring together studentsat geographically distributed locations to work in a virtual atelier. In 1993 the theme of the first joint VDS project was in-fill housing for the traditional Chinese walled village of Kat Hing Wai in the New Territories north of Hong Kong, and our partners included MIT and Harvard in Boston (USA), UBC in Vancouver (Canada), and Washington University in St. Louis (USA). In 1994 we were joined by Cornell (USA) and Escola Tecnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona (Spain) to re-design Li Long housing in Shanghai, and 1995 added the Warsaw Institute of Technology (Poland) for the ACSA/Dupont competition to design a Center for Cultural and Religious Studies in Japan. The 1996 topic was an international competition to design a monument located in Hong Kong to commemorate the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Communication was via e-mail, the WorldWide Web with limited attempts at VRML, and network video. Several teaching and research experiments conducted through these projects have demonstrated the viability and potential of using electronic, telecommunications, and videoconferencing technologies in collaborative design processes. Results of these VDS have been presented at conferences worldwide, explained in journal papers and published in Virtual Design Studio, edited by J. Wojtowicz, published by HKU Press.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:51

_id	cc8b
authors	Koutamanis, Alexander
year	1995
title	Background Information Systems
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.231
source	Multimedia and Architectural Disciplines [Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe / ISBN 0-9523687-1-4] Palermo (Italy) 16-18 November 1995, pp. 231-242
summary	Information systems increasingly appear as core elements of computer-aided architectural design environments. They provide the input and accommodate the output of automated and interactive procedures. The paper proposes the development of architectural information systems as an unobstrusive multimedia infrastructure in the background of specialized programs used for performing specific design t.asks. Background multimedia systems facilitate communication between specialized programs by means of their compound representations. These combine different types of information and provide an overview of the overall system and of the processes implemented in it.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_29.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:51

_id	7dab
authors	Martens, B., Linzer, H. and Voigt, A.
year	1995
title	Organization of a New European Research Platform
source	CAD Space [Proceedings of the III International Conference Computer in Architectural Design] Bialystock 27-29 April 1995, pp. 233-238
summary	Man and space result in an intense interaction. On the one hand specific features influence human perception, on the other hand man impresses on space, changing and shaping it. Scientific research within the field of regional planning and architecture, particularly concerning the relation and interaction field ,Man and Space", represents the main focus of the Institute for Spatial Interaction and Simulation (ISIS)". By means of visualization and modelling the quality of communication is enhanced. Simulation of space processes with special attention as to applied methods, media and techniques consequently falls within the activities of the institute.
series	plCAD
email
last changed	2001/02/11 19:42

_id	23bd
authors	Oloufa, A.A. and Ikeda, M.
year	1995
title	An automated environment for soils- and terrain-dependent applications
source	Automation in Construction 4 (2) (1995) pp. 139-146
summary	This paper explains the development of an integrated information environment that is designed specifically for applications dependent on information related to soil types and terrain of the project site. This covers a wide variety of applications such as shallow and deep foundations, trenching, earthmoving and tunneling. The design of this environment takes into consideration the typical requirements of the project team with an emphasis on integrating requirements for both design and construction. The environment reported here is comprised of three main modules, a relational database for the storage and display of soil borelog information, a geographic information system that displays the geographical locations of soil studies, and a module that is used to develop a three-dimensional profile of the soil layers between any number of borelogs. The user may also develop cross sections of soil layers in any direction. This paper reports on the hardware and software used and concludes with a discussion of future extensions to the system.
keywords	Soil Database; GIS; Three-dimensional Soil Layers; Visualization; Integrated Environment; Terrain-Depen-dent Applications
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 14:42

_id	87f9
authors	Ronchi, Alfredo M.
year	1995
title	An Hypermedial Object Oriented Approach to Computer Aided Architectural Design
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.375
source	Multimedia and Architectural Disciplines [Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe / ISBN 0-9523687-1-4] Palermo (Italy) 16-18 November 1995, pp. 375-388
summary	This paper presents a new approach to hypermedial computer aided architectural design environments. The concept is to create a whole CAAD hypermedia environment based on object oriented approach. This was probably a dream in the past but new technologies make this possible. To introduce the subject let us think to a system based on an object oriented environment, with hypermedia capabilities and dynamic creation of data structures, all these things may be managed by a single application using OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) technology provided by MS Windows. Some years ago we were waiting for a universal browser able to manage all kind of data and formats such as text, images, movies and sounds. Let us think to an object oriented file system, we can store all objects and save relations amongst them, then we can use a browsing or quering template to read and retrieve data. Three cases of study developed by Diset are discussed in this paper: HyperMedia Design Kit, De Architectura and On Line Architectural Sites Projects.
series	eCAADe
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_45.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	7670
authors	Sawicki, Bogumil
year	1995
title	Ray Tracing – New Chances, Possibilities and Limitations in AutoCAD
source	CAD Space [Proceedings of the III International Conference Computer in Architectural Design] Bialystock 27-29 April 1995, pp. 121-136
summary	Realistic image synthesis is nowadays widely used in engineering applications. Some of these applications, such as architectural, interior, lighting and industrial design demand accurate visualization of non-existent scenes as they would look to us, when built in reality. This can only be archived by using physically based models of light interaction with surfaces, and simulating propagation of light through an environment. Ray tracing is one of the most powerful techniques used in computer graphics, which can produce such very realistic images. Ray tracing algorithm follows the paths of light rays backwards from observer into the scene. It is very time consuming process and as such one could not be developed until proper computers appeared, In recent years the technological improvements in computer industry brought more powerful machines with bigger storage capacities and better graphic devices. Owing to increasing these hardware capabilities successful implementation of ray tracing in different CAD software became possible also on PC machines. Ray tracing in AutoCAD r.12 - the most popular CAD package in the world - is the best of that example. AccuRender and AutoVision are an AutoCAD Development System (ADS) applications that use ray tracing to create photorealistic images from 3D AutoCAD models. These ,internal"' applications let users generate synthetic images of threedimensional models and scenes entirely within AutoCAD space and show effects directly on main AutoCAD screen. Ray tracing algorithm accurately calculates and displays shadows, transparency, diffusion, reflection, and refraction from surface qualities of user-defined materials. The accurate modelling of light lets produce sophisticated effects and high-quality images, which these ray tracers always generates at 24-bit pixel depth,"providing 16,7 million colours. That results can be quite impressive for some architects and are almost acceptable for others but that coloured virtual world, which is presented by ray tracing in AutoCAD space in such convincing way, is still not exactly the same as the real world. Main limitations of realism are due to the nature of ray tracing method Classical ray tracing technique takes into account the effects of light reflection from neighbouring surfaces but, leaves out of account the ambient and global illumination arising out of complex interreflections in an environment. So models generated by ray tracing belong to an "ideal" world where real materials and environment can't find their right place. We complain about that fact and say that ray tracing shows us "too specular world", but (...) (...) there is anything better on the horizon? It should be concluded, that typical abilities of today's graphics software and hardware are far from exploited. As was observed in literature there have been various works carried along with the explicit intention of overcoming all these ray tracing limitations, These researches seem to be very promising and let us hope that their results will be seen in CAD applications soon. As it happens with modelling, perhaps the answer will come from a variety of techniques that can be combined together with ray tracing depending on the case we are dealing with. Therefore from the point of view of an architects that try to keep alive some interest on the nature of materials and their interaction with form, "ray tracing" seems to be right path of research and development that we can still a long way follow, From the point of view of the school, a critical assimilation of "ray tracing" processes is required and one that might help to determinate exactly their distortions and to indicate the correct way of its development and right place in CAAD education. I trust that ray tracing will become standard not only in AutoCAD but in all architectural space modelling CAD applications and will be established as a powerful and real tool for experimental researches in architectural design process. Will be the technological progress so significant in the nearest future as it is anticipated?
series	plCAD
last changed	2000/01/24 10:08

_id	99a3
authors	Schaaf, Joerg W. and Voss, Angi
year	1995
title	Retrieval of Similar Layouts in FABEL using AspecT
source	Sixth International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 9971-62-423-0] Singapore, 24-26 September 1995, pp. 617-626
summary	In the FABEL project several approaches have been developed and published for retrieving similar cases in the domain of architectural design. In this paper we want to focus on a short description and foremost on integration of these approaches. We will introduce the most important approaches. As a first step towards integration, we suggest decomposing them into their main parts: representation of cases, similarity function and retrieval component. Using the first two parts each approach in a new search algorithm operating on a generic data structure, we built a shell called AspecT for an easy integration. We are positive that one can never have fully considered all aspects of a design. Therefore, we describe an open framework to define new aspects and to apply them depending on the context. Unfortunately, openness brings some difficulties along with it. One can not predict the importance of an aspect, until the situation assessment of the query is completed. In other words, it is impossible to define a static distribution of aspect weights that fits for all purposes. As a consequence, one can not predefine a static structure on the case base to speed tip retrieval processes. Dealing with this problem, we developed and published a special search algorithm that passes through a multidimensional case base, finding the best fitting cases within a short amount of time. This algorithm does not need any predefined structure on the case base except aspect specific relations between cases. Creativity of inventing new aspects of cases should not be hindered but one can ask whether or not a certain aspect are worth being regarded in searching for useful cases. The shell AspecT offers a tool to evaluate aspects. At first, formal criteria influence the initial weights of aspects but later on, the contribution of an aspect to find user accepted cases, determines the survival fitness of an aspect. The rule for living or dying is simple. Seldom used aspects disappear, whereas others become stronger. A short description regarding this work is given in last part.
keywords	Case-Based Reasoning, Retrieval, Integration of Similarity Concepts, Architectural Design
series	CAAD Futures
last changed	1999/08/03 17:16

_id	47c1
authors	Selles Cantos, P. and Mas Llorens, V.
year	1995
title	Digital Modelling Tools at the Design Studio: Methodology
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.061
source	Multimedia and Architectural Disciplines [Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe / ISBN 0-9523687-1-4] Palermo (Italy) 16-18 November 1995, pp. 61-70
summary	This research work is being financed by the "Instituto de Ciencias de la Educacion, I. CE., Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, U.P.V. and currently taking place at the "Taller2 de Proyectos Arquitectdnicos." We have placed CAD systems on drafting tables, so students can learn to apply different media and tools, both digital and traditional, in their design processes. To integrate CAD systems into the design studio we have developed a methodology upon which to relate the "Mechanics of the digital tool," with the often elusive and seldom explicit, "Mechanics of designing". We see architectural design as a process that can benefit from the use of computer systems through modelling (representation), and rendering (static or dynamic visualization). Digital modelling tools are powerful instruments to simulate and visualize (perceive) formal and spatial arrangements, under certain conditions of superficial appearance and light. Geometry composition, texture, light projection, rendering and animation, are the keys to understanding a digital modelling system as an extension of our design process. We introduce and explain each one of these categories, as it applies to architectural design and to three dimensional CAD systems. We present samples of student work following this method.
series	eCAADe
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_8.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	avocaad_2001_20
id	avocaad_2001_20
authors	Shen-Kai Tang
year	2001
title	Toward a procedure of computer simulation in the restoration of historical architecture
source	AVOCAAD - ADDED VALUE OF COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Nys Koenraad, Provoost Tom, Verbeke Johan, Verleye Johan (Eds.), (2001) Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst - Departement Architectuur Sint-Lucas, Campus Brussel, ISBN 80-76101-05-1
summary	In the field of architectural design, “visualization¨ generally refers to some media, communicating and representing the idea of designers, such as ordinary drafts, maps, perspectives, photos and physical models, etc. (Rahman, 1992; Susan, 2000). The main reason why we adopt visualization is that it enables us to understand clearly and to control complicated procedures (Gombrich, 1990). Secondly, the way we get design knowledge is more from the published visualized images and less from personal experiences (Evans, 1989). Thus the importance of the representation of visualization is manifested.Due to the developments of computer technology in recent years, various computer aided design system are invented and used in a great amount, such as image processing, computer graphic, computer modeling/rendering, animation, multimedia, virtual reality and collaboration, etc. (Lawson, 1995; Liu, 1996). The conventional media are greatly replaced by computer media, and the visualization is further brought into the computerized stage. The procedure of visual impact analysis and assessment (VIAA), addressed by Rahman (1992), is renewed and amended for the intervention of computer (Liu, 2000). Based on the procedures above, a great amount of applied researches are proceeded. Therefore it is evident that the computer visualization is helpful to the discussion and evaluation during the design process (Hall, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998; Liu, 1997; Sasada, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998). In addition to the process of architectural design, the computer visualization is also applied to the subject of construction, which is repeatedly amended and corrected by the images of computer simulation (Liu, 2000). Potier (2000) probes into the contextual research and restoration of historical architecture by the technology of computer simulation before the practical restoration is constructed. In this way he established a communicative mode among archeologists, architects via computer media.In the research of restoration and preservation of historical architecture in Taiwan, many scholars have been devoted into the studies of historical contextual criticism (Shi, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995; Fu, 1995, 1997; Chiu, 2000). Clues that accompany the historical contextual criticism (such as oral information, writings, photographs, pictures, etc.) help to explore the construction and the procedure of restoration (Hung, 1995), and serve as an aid to the studies of the usage and durability of the materials in the restoration of historical architecture (Dasser, 1990; Wang, 1998). Many clues are lost, because historical architecture is often age-old (Hung, 1995). Under the circumstance, restoration of historical architecture can only be proceeded by restricted pictures, written data and oral information (Shi, 1989). Therefore, computer simulation is employed by scholars to simulate the condition of historical architecture with restricted information after restoration (Potier, 2000). Yet this is only the early stage of computer-aid restoration. The focus of the paper aims at exploring that whether visual simulation of computer can help to investigate the practice of restoration and the estimation and evaluation after restoration.By exploring the restoration of historical architecture (taking the Gigi Train Station destroyed by the earthquake in last September as the operating example), this study aims to establish a complete work on computer visualization, including the concept of restoration, the practice of restoration, and the estimation and evaluation of restoration.This research is to simulate the process of restoration by computer simulation based on visualized media (restricted pictures, restricted written data and restricted oral information) and the specialized experience of historical architects (Potier, 2000). During the process of practicing, communicates with craftsmen repeatedly with some simulated alternatives, and makes the result as the foundation of evaluating and adjusting the simulating process and outcome. In this way we address a suitable and complete process of computer visualization for historical architecture.The significance of this paper is that we are able to control every detail more exactly, and then prevent possible problems during the process of restoration of historical architecture.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	cf2011_p024
id	cf2011_p024
authors	Tidafi, Temy; Charbonneau Nathalie, Khalili-Araghi Salman
year	2011
title	Backtracking Decisions within a Design Process: a Way of Enhancing the Designer's Thought Process and Creativity
source	Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2011 [Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures / ISBN 9782874561429] Liege (Belgium) 4-8 July 2011, pp. 573-587.
summary	This paper proposes a way computer sciences could contribute to stimulate the designer‚Äôs reflexive thought. We explore the possibility of making use of backtracking devices in order to formalize the designer‚Äôs thought process. Design, as a process of creating an object, cannot be represented by means of a linear timeline. Accordingly, the backtracking processes we are discussing here are not based on a linear model but rather on a non-linear structure. Beyond the notion of undoing and redoing commands within CAD packages, the backtracking process is seen as a way to explore and record several alternate options. The branches of the non-linear model can be seen as pathways made of sequential decisions. The designer creates and explores these pathways while making tentative moves towards an architectural solution. Within the design process, backtracking enables the designer to establish and act on a network of interrelated decisions. This notion is fundamental. It is quite obvious that information, in order to be meaningful, must occupy a specific place within an informational network. A data, separated from its context, is devoid of interest. By the same token, a decision takes on significance solely in combination with other decisions. In this paper, we examine what kinds of decisions are involved within a design process, how they are connected, and what could be the best ways to formalize the relationships. Our goal is to experiment ways that could enable the designer and his/her collaborators to get a clearer mental picture of the network of decisions aforementioned. The non-linear model can be seen as a graph structure. The user moves wherever he/she wants through the branches of the structure to establish the network of decisions or to get reacquainted with a previous design process. As a matter of fact, it can act in both ways: to reassess or to confirm a decision. On the one hand, the designer can go back to previous states, reconsider past choices, and eventually modify them. On the other hand, he/she can move forward and revisit a given sequence of decisions, so as to recapture the essence of a previous design process. It goes without saying that knowledge regarding the design process is constructed by the designer from his/her own experiences. Since the designer‚Äôs perception evolves as time goes by, the network of decisions constitutes a model that is continuously questioned and restructured. The designer does not elaborate solely an architectural object, but also an evolving model formalizing the way he/she achieved his/her aim. As Le Moigne (1995) pointed out, the model itself produces knowledge; afterwards, the designer can examine it so as to get a clearer mental picture of his/her own cognitive processes. Furthermore, it can be used by his/her collaborators in order to understand which thread of ideas led the designer to a given visual result, and eventually resume or reorient the design process. In addition to reflecting on the ideological implications inherent to this questioning, we take into account the feasibility of such a research project. From a more technical point of view, in this paper we will describe how we plane to take up the challenge of elaborating a digital environment enabling backtracking processes within graph structures. Furthermore, we will explain how we plane to test the first trial version of the new environment with potential users so as to observe how they respond to it. These experiments will be conducted in order to verify to what extend the methods we are proposing are able to i) enhance the designer‚Äôs creativity and ii) increase our understanding of designer‚Äôs thought process.
keywords	backtracking, design process, digital environments, problem space, network of decisions, graph structure.
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2012/02/11 19:21

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