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 avocaad_2001_16
id avocaad_2001_16
authors Yu-Ying Chang, Yu-Tung Liu, Chien-Hui Wong
year 2001
title Some Phenomena of Spatial Characteristics of Cyberspace
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 "Space," which has long been an important concept in architecture (Bloomer & Moore, 1977; Mitchell, 1995, 1999), has attracted interest of researchers from various academic disciplines in recent years (Agnew, 1993; Benko & Strohmayer, 1996; Chang, 1999; Foucault, 1982; Gould, 1998). Researchers from disciplines such as anthropology, geography, sociology, philosophy, and linguistics regard it as the basis of the discussion of various theories in social sciences and humanities (Chen, 1999). On the other hand, since the invention of Internet, Internet users have been experiencing a new and magic "world." According to the definitions in traditional architecture theories, "space" is generated whenever people define a finite void by some physical elements (Zevi, 1985). However, although Internet is a virtual, immense, invisible and intangible world, navigating in it, we can still sense the very presence of ourselves and others in a wonderland. This sense could be testified by our naming of Internet as Cyberspace -- an exotic kind of space. Therefore, as people nowadays rely more and more on the Internet in their daily life, and as more and more architectural scholars and designers begin to invest their efforts in the design of virtual places online (e.g., Maher, 1999; Li & Maher, 2000), we cannot help but ask whether there are indeed sensible spaces in Internet. And if yes, these spaces exist in terms of what forms and created by what ways?To join the current interdisciplinary discussion on the issue of space, and to obtain new definition as well as insightful understanding of "space", this study explores the spatial phenomena in Internet. We hope that our findings would ultimately be also useful for contemporary architectural designers and scholars in their designs in the real world.As a preliminary exploration, the main objective of this study is to discover the elements involved in the creation/construction of Internet spaces and to examine the relationship between human participants and Internet spaces. In addition, this study also attempts to investigate whether participants from different academic disciplines define or experience Internet spaces in different ways, and to find what spatial elements of Internet they emphasize the most.In order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the spatial phenomena in Internet and to overcome the subjectivity of the members of the research team, the research design of this study was divided into two stages. At the first stage, we conducted literature review to study existing theories of space (which are based on observations and investigations of the physical world). At the second stage of this study, we recruited 8 Internet regular users to approach this topic from different point of views, and to see whether people with different academic training would define and experience Internet spaces differently.The results of this study reveal that the relationship between human participants and Internet spaces is different from that between human participants and physical spaces. In the physical world, physical elements of space must be established first; it then begins to be regarded as a place after interaction between/among human participants or interaction between human participants and the physical environment. In contrast, in Internet, a sense of place is first created through human interactions (or activities), Internet participants then begin to sense the existence of a space. Therefore, it seems that, among the many spatial elements of Internet we found, "interaction/reciprocity" Ñ either between/among human participants or between human participants and the computer interface Ð seems to be the most crucial element.In addition, another interesting result of this study is that verbal (linguistic) elements could provoke a sense of space in a degree higher than 2D visual representation and no less than 3D visual simulations. Nevertheless, verbal and 3D visual elements seem to work in different ways in terms of cognitive behaviors: Verbal elements provoke visual imagery and other sensory perceptions by "imagining" and then excite personal experiences of space; visual elements, on the other hand, provoke and excite visual experiences of space directly by "mapping".Finally, it was found that participants with different academic training did experience and define space differently. For example, when experiencing and analyzing Internet spaces, architecture designers, the creators of the physical world, emphasize the design of circulation and orientation, while participants with linguistics training focus more on subtle language usage. Visual designers tend to analyze the graphical elements of virtual spaces based on traditional painting theories; industrial designers, on the other hand, tend to treat these spaces as industrial products, emphasizing concept of user-center and the control of the computer interface.The findings of this study seem to add new information to our understanding of virtual space. It would be interesting for future studies to investigate how this information influences architectural designers in their real-world practices in this digital age. In addition, to obtain a fuller picture of Internet space, further research is needed to study the same issue by examining more Internet participants who have no formal linguistics and graphical training.
series AVOCAAD
email
last changed 2005/09/09 10:48

_id aab6
authors Bermudez, Julio
year 1995
title Designing Architectural Experiences: Using Computers to Construct Temporal 3D Narratives
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1995.139
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. 139-149
summary Computers are launching us into a representational revolution that fundamentally challenges the way we have hitherto conceived and practiced architecture. This paper will explore one of its fronts: the simulation of architectural experiences. Today's off-the-shelf softwares (e.g. 3D modeling, animations, multimedia) allow us for first time in history to depict and thus approach architectural design and criticism truly experientially. What is so appealing about this is the possibility of shifting our attention from the object to the experience of the object and in so doing reconceptualizing architectural design as the design of architectural experiences. Carrying forward such a phenomenological proposition requires us to know (1) how to work with non-traditional and 'quasi-immersive' (or subject-centered) representational systems, and (2) how to construct temporal assemblages of experiential events that unfold not unlike 'architectural stories'. As our discipline lacks enough knowledge on this area, importing models from other fields appears as an appropriate starting point. In this sense, the narrative arts (especially those involved with the temporal representation of audio-visual narratives) offer us the best insights. For example, principles of cinema and storytelling give us an excellent guidance for designing architectural experiences that have a structuring theme (parti), a plot (order), unfolding episodes (rhythm), and special events (details). Approaching architecture as a temporal 3D narrative does transform the design process and, consequently, its results. For instance, (1) phenomenological issues enter the decision making process in an equal footing to functional, technological, or compositional considerations; (2) orthographic representations become secondary sources of information, mostly used for later accurate dimensioning or geometrization; (3) multi-sensory qualities beyond sight are seriously considered (particularly sound, texture, and kinesthetic); etc.
series ACADIA
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:52

_id d7eb
authors Bharwani, Seraj
year 1996
title The MIT Design Studio of the Future: Virtual Design Review Video Program
source Proceedings of ACM CSCW'96 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work 1996 p.10
summary The MIT Design Studio of the Future is an interdisciplinary effort to focus on geographically distributed electronic design and work group collaboration issues. The physical elements of this virtual studio comprise networked computer and videoconferencing connections among electronic design studios at MIT in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Mechanical Engineering, the Lab for Computer Science, and the Rapid Prototyping Lab, with WAN and other electronic connections to industry partners and sponsors to take advantage of non-local expertise and to introduce real design and construction and manufacturing problems into the equation. This prototype collaborative design network is known as StudioNet. The project is looking at aspects of the design process to determine how advanced technologies impact the process. The first experiment within the electronic studio setting was the "virtual design review", wherein jurors for the final design review were located in geographically distributed sites. The video captures the results of that project, as does a paper recently published in the journal Architectural Research Quarterly (Cambridge, UK; Vol. 1, No. 2; Dec. 1995).
series other
last changed 2002/07/07 16:01

_id 6378
authors Burry, M., Prentice, R. and Wood, P.
year 1995
title Walking Before Running: A Prelude to Multimedia Construction Information
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.257
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. 257-266
summary An inherent problem with creating a multimedia application is generating the mass of information needed in order for it to be comprehensively useful. This is especially true when the subject is building construction for which any informative resource must cover the whole range of the material within its scope from the outset rather than merely be a sampler. Construction studies involve a large and diverse range of ´generic´ or ´model solutions´ which, in an ideal learning situation, are placed in context with historical and contemporary examples to aid a sense of critical evaluation. An obstacle, then, against creating resources dealing with detailed design is the risk that if it is not completed in its entirely there is no useful outcome. This paper also describes the problems and solutions involved in treating this material as data in a generic format so that its future usefulness is not compromised by current needs. It also outlines the programmes written to streamline an otherwise unwieldy process and deal with the inevitable non-conforming output from the participants.
series eCAADe
more http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_31.htm
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_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 2a99
authors Keul, A. and Martens, B.
year 1996
title SIMULATION - HOW DOES IT SHAPE THE MESSAGE?
source The Future of Endoscopy [Proceedings of the 2nd European Architectural Endoscopy Association Conference / ISBN 3-85437-114-4], pp. 47-54
summary Architectural simulation techniques - CAD, video montage, endoscopy, full-scale or smaller models, stereoscopy, holography etc. - are common visualizations in planning. A subjective theory of planners says "experts are able to distinguish between 'pure design' in their heads and visualized design details and contexts like color, texture, material, brightness, eye level or perspective." If this is right, simulation details should be compensated mentally by trained people, but act as distractors to the lay mind.

Environmental psychologists specializing in architectural psychology offer "user needs' assessments" and "post occupancy evaluations" to facilitate communication between users and experts. To compare the efficiency of building descriptions, building walkthroughs, regular plans, simulation, and direct, long-time exposition, evaluation has to be evaluated.

Computer visualizations and virtual realities grow more important, but studies on the effects of simulation techniques upon experts and users are rare. As a contribution to the field of architectural simulation, an expert - user comparison of CAD versus endoscopy/model simulations of a Vienna city project was realized in 1995. The Department for Spatial Simulation at the Vienna University of Technology provided diaslides of the planned city development at Aspern showing a) CAD and b) endoscopy photos of small-scale polystyrol models. In an experimental design, they were presented uncommented as images of "PROJECT A" versus "PROJECT B" to student groups of architects and non-architects at Vienna and Salzburg (n= 95) and assessed by semantic differentials. Two contradictory hypotheses were tested: 1. The "selective framing hypothesis" (SFH) as the subjective theory of planners, postulating different judgement effects (measured by item means of the semantic differential) through selective attention of the planners versus material- and context-bound perception of the untrained users. 2. The "general framing hypothesis" (GFH) postulates typical framing and distraction effects of all simulation techniques affecting experts as well as non-experts.

The experiment showed that -counter-intuitive to expert opinions- framing and distraction were prominent both for experts and lay people (= GFH). A position effect (assessment interaction of CAD and endoscopy) was present with experts and non-experts, too. With empirical evidence for "the medium is the message", a more cautious attitude has to be adopted towards simulation products as powerful framing (i.e. perception- and opinion-shaping) devices.

keywords Architectural Endoscopy, Real Environments
series EAEA
type normal paper
email
more http://info.tuwien.ac.at/eaea/
last changed 2005/09/09 10:43

_id 8402
authors Martens, Bob (Ed.)
year 1995
title The Future of Endoscopy
source [Proceedings of the 2nd European Architectural Endoscopy Association Conference / ISBN 3-85437-114-4] Vienna (Austria), 30 August - 1 September 1995, 144p.
summary The first EAEA-Conference took place at Tampere University of Technology (Finland, 1993) serving as an meeting point for specialists of endoscopy in architecture and displayed an approach to the potentials of endoscopy. The Vienna Conference in 1995 continued this direction and tried furthermore to serve as a platform for non-advanced users. EAEA '95 Vienna aimed at a critical investigation of today's endoscopic culture. The Aspern-Workshop represented the highlight of this conference. Prior to the conference nine universities had submitted endoscopic and computer-assisted space simulations for this urban expansion area north of the Vienna Danube. The outcome was not to be regarded as a “noble competition” between the various institutions participating, but rather to sound out the actual potential of various simulation techniques and their combinations for future use. The conference proceedings contain the papers presented at the meeting by 23 experts from 15 universities. The papers cover such areas as the technical features of endoscopy and environmental simulation, theories supporting the use of endoscopy, practical applications, and discussions on the future of endoscopy and environmental simulation in comparison with other means of architectural representation.
keywords Architectural Endoscopy
series EAEA
email
more http://info.tuwien.ac.at/eaea/
last changed 2005/09/09 10:43

_id 2e5a
authors Matsumoto, N. and Seta, S.
year 1997
title A history and application of visual simulation in which perceptual behaviour movement is measured.
source Architectural and Urban Simulation Techniques in Research and Education [3rd EAEA-Conference Proceedings]
summary For our research on perception and judgment, we have developed a new visual simulation system based on the previous system. Here, we report on the development history of our system and on the current research employing it. In 1975, the first visual simulation system was introduced, witch comprised a fiberscope and small-scale models. By manipulating the fiberscope's handles, the subject was able to view the models at eye level. When the pen-size CCD TV camera came out, we immediately embraced it, incorporating it into a computer controlled visual simulation system in 1988. It comprises four elements: operation input, drive control, model shooting, and presentation. This system was easy to operate, and the subject gained an omnidirectional, eye-level image as though walking through the model. In 1995, we began developing a new visual system. We wanted to relate the scale model image directly to perceptual behavior, to make natural background images, and to record human feelings in a non-verbal method. Restructuring the above four elements to meet our equirements and adding two more (background shooting and emotion spectrum analysis), we inally completed the new simulation system in 1996. We are employing this system in streetscape research. Using the emotion spectrum system, we are able to record brain waves. Quantifying the visual effects through these waves, we are analyzing the relation between visual effects and physical elements. Thus, we are presented with a new aspect to study: the relationship between brain waves and changes in the physical environment. We will be studying the relation of brain waves in our sequential analysis of the streetscape.
keywords Architectural Endoscopy, Endoscopy, Simulation, Visualisation, Visualization, Real Environments
series EAEA
email
more http://www.bk.tudelft.nl/media/eaea/eaea97.html
last changed 2005/09/09 10:43

_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 ascaad2006_paper2
id ascaad2006_paper2
authors Sharji, Elyna and Ahmed Rafi
year 2006
title The Significant Role of an Electronic Gallery to the Education Experience and Learning Environment
source Computing in Architecture / Re-Thinking the Discourse: The Second International Conference of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2006), 25-27 April 2006, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
summary Multimedia has brought new paradigms to education where users are able to use the technology to create compelling content that truly represents a new archetype in media experience. According to Burger (1995), the synergy of digital media is becoming a way of life where new paradigms for interactive audio-visual experiences of all communicative arts to date are mandatory. It potentially mixes technology and disciplines of architecture and art. Students can learn on their own pace and they can be tested in a non-linear way while interactivity allows the curious to easily explore related topics and concepts. Fundamental assumptions, theories and practices of conventional design paradigm are constantly being challenged by digital technology and this is the current scenario in architecture and art and design schools globally. Thus schools are enhancing the methods and improvising the technology of imparting knowledge to be in consistent with recent findings and knowledge. To be able to cater the use of digital media and information technology on architectural and art design education, four criteria are required, which are; the SPACE and place to accommodate the educational activities, the TOOLS that assist imparting of knowledge, the CONTENT of syllabus and information and the acceptance and culture of the receiving end users and HUMAN PERCEPTION. There is a need for the research of realization and activating the architectural space that has been equipped with multimedia tools and upgraded with recent technology to facilitate and support the community of learners and users. Spaces are now more interactive, multi functional, flexible and intelligent to suit the trend of computing in normal everyday life of the education sector, business and management, art and leisure, corporate and technological area. While the new concept of computing in education is still in the earlier phase, the conventional analogue paradigm still dominates the architectural design discourse which acts as a barrier to the development of digital designs and architectural education. A suitable approach is in need to bridge the gap between what theory has been explored and the practice of knowledge. A digital support environment with intelligent design and planning tools is envisioned to bridge the gap and to cater for the current scenario.
series ASCAAD
type normal paper
email
last changed 2021/07/16 10:34

_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’s reflexive thought. We explore the possibility of making use of backtracking devices in order to formalize the designer’s 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’s 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’s creativity and ii) increase our understanding of designer’s 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

_id acadia16_424
id acadia16_424
authors Twose, Simon; du Chatenier, Rosa
year 2016
title Experimental Material Research - Digital Chocolate
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2016.424
source ACADIA // 2016: POSTHUMAN FRONTIERS: Data, Designers, and Cognitive Machines [Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) ISBN 978-0-692-77095-5] Ann Arbor 27-29 October, 2016, pp. 424-431
summary This research investigates the aesthetics of a shared agency between humans, computation and physical material. ‘Chocolate’ is manipulated in physical and virtual space simultaneously to extract aesthetic conditions that are a sum of human and non-human relations. This is an attempt to further the knowledge of designing, giving physical and digital materials force in determining their own aesthetics. The research springs from work in speculative aesthetics, particularly N. Katherine Hayles’s OOI (object-oriented inquiry) and Graham Harman’s OOO (object-oriented ontology) and explores how these ideas impact contemporary computational architectural design. To study this, a simple material has been chosen, chocolate, and used as a vehicle to investigate the dynamics of physical and digital materials and their shared/differing ‘resistances to human manipulation’ (Pickering 1995). Digital chocolate is ‘melted’ through virtual heat, and the results printed and cast in real chocolate, to be further manipulated in real space. The resistances and feedback of physical and digital chocolate to human ‘prodding’ (Hayles 2014) are analyzed in terms of a material’s qualities and tendencies in digital space versus those in physical space. Observations from this process are used to speculate on an aesthetics where humans, computation and physical material are mutually agential. This research is a pilot for a larger study taking on more complex conditions, such as building and cities, with a view to broadening how aesthetics is understood in architectural design. The contribution of this research to the field of architectural computation is thus in areas of aesthetic speculation and human/non-human architectural authorship.
keywords object-oriented inquiry, speculative aesthetics, mutual agency, big data
series ACADIA
type paper
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:58

_id 27b5
authors Dießenbacher, Claus and Rank, Ernst
year 1995
title A Multimedia Archaeological Museum
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.013
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. 13-20
summary This paper will present a project, which was first initiated in 1994 as a graduate students seminar and is now being continued as a research project in a cooperation of computer scientists, architects and archaeologists. An ancient roman city (Colonia Ulpia Traiana near todays Xanten in Germany) has been reconstructed, using various levels of abstraction. On the coarsest level, a 3D-model of the whole city was established, distinguishing between different historical periods of the city. The second level picks places of special interest (temples, the forum, the amphitheater, the townbaths etc.) and reconstructs these buildings or groups of buildings. On the finest level important interior parts or functional details like the Hypocaustae in the town-baths are modelled. All reconstructions are oriented as close as possible to results from excavations or other available documents. All levels of the 3D-model have been visualized using photorealistic images and sequences of video animations. The 3D model is integrated into a multimedia environment, augmenting the visualization elements with plans of the city and individual buildings and with text documents. It is intended, that parts of the outlined system will be available at the site of the ancient city, where today a large public archaeological park is located.
series eCAADe
more http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_2.htm
last changed 2022/06/07 07:55

_id acadia21_100
id acadia21_100
authors Ghandi, Mona; Ismail, Mohamed; Blaisdell, Marcus
year 2021
title Parasympathy
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2021.100
source ACADIA 2021: Realignments: Toward Critical Computation [Proceedings of the 41st Annual Conference of the Association of Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) ISBN 979-8-986-08056-7]. Online and Global. 3-6 November 2021. edited by B. Bogosian, K. Dörfler, B. Farahi, J. Garcia del Castillo y López, J. Grant, V. Noel, S. Parascho, and J. Scott. 100-109.
summary Parasympathy is an interactive spatial experience operating as an extension of visitors’ minds. By integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI), wearable technologies, affective computing (Picard 1995; Picard 2003), and neuroscience, this project blurs the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres and empowers users’ brains to solicit positive changes from their spaces based on their real-time biophysical reactions and emotions.

The objective is to deploy these technologies in support of the wellbeing of the community especially when related to social matters such as inclusion and social justice in our built environment. Consequently, this project places the users’ emotions at the very center of its space by performing real-time responses to the emotional state of the individuals within the space.

series ACADIA
type project
email
last changed 2023/10/22 12:06

_id 8262
authors Monedero, Javier and Redondo, Ernest
year 1995
title Images to Save a River
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.409
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. 409-416
summary The paper presented is based on a work, developed by the authors, which concluded with an exhibition that was inaugurated in Barcelona on the 23th of april, 1995 and will proceed to other places the next year. The work consisted in the organization of an exhibition and the development and visual simulation of 14 projects aimed to promote ways to rescue the Besos river that crosses the north side of Barcelona and is probably one of the most degradated rivers of Europe. Our task was to select and suggest ways of acting on the landscape that could be easily understood and assimilated to a program that implied a complex and long term task. From the technical point of view the job implied particular aspects that are also discussed in the paper.

series eCAADe
email
more http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_49.htm
last changed 2022/06/07 07:58

_id 24
authors PayssÈ, M., Piperno, P., Grompone, J. and Somma, P.
year 1998
title ReconstrucciÛn Virtual de la Colonia del Sacramento de 1762 (Virtual Reconstruction of "Colonia del Sacramento" of 1762)
source II Seminario Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-97190-0-X] Mar del Plata (Argentina) 9-11 september 1998, pp. 192-197
summary Colonia del Sacramento (capital of Colonia department, in Uruguay) has been registered in the list of the Convention Heritage concerning the protection of worldwide cultural and natural heritage. The registration on this list (December 6th 1995) confirms the exceptional and universal value of a cultural or natural places which deserves protection for the whole humanity. The ancient Colonia del Sacramento founded in 1680 by Portugal, was a commercial and military site leading role of the historical controversy between Spain and Portugal. Main place of wars and treaties during a century, it keeps an urban design, unique in the area and valuable architectonical testimonies of different periods of this rich past, with a simple, popular profile. This work has been effected within the Clemente Estable Found 1996, which is promoted by National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICYT). Through virtual reality techniques, a three-dimensional model of Colonia del Sacramento city was built as it was in its period of prosperity (around 1762). For the achievement of this digital maquette, a great deal of written and graphic information was compiled and processed. This information was organized in an inventory way (with numerous readings and searches). The inventory and the digital maquette were joined in a multimedia application (CD-ROM) which allows potential users to move through virtual city and friendly and interactively consult images, graphics and texts.
series SIGRADI
email
last changed 2016/03/10 09:57

_id a927
authors Amirante, Isabella and Bosco, Antonio
year 1995
title Hypertext Between Research and Teaching: An Experience in a Didactic Building Technology Laboratory
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.003
source Multimedia and Architectural Disciplines [Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Education in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe / ISBN 0-9523687-1-4] Palermo (Italy) 16-18 November 1995, pp. 3-12
summary IPER (hypertext for the knowledge of building patrimony) is the result of a research developed with C.N.R. (National Research Institute). The aim of IPER is to provide the knowledge, the description and the management of one or more historical buildings for public or private institutions. IPER allowed us to improve our methodology of building analysis, covering various disciplinary fields, in two different systems. (1.) the first one, synthetic and suitable for a group of historical buildings, (2.) the second one, complex and particularly made for monumental buildings. // This experience is related to the new regulation of teaching architecture in Italy made in 1993. The main novelty is the introduction of the laboratories with the contemporary presence of two or three teachers of different disciplines, working together with the students on the same project with different approaches. This opportunity allowed us to introduce the "knowledge engineer" as a teacher in the laboratory of building technology. IPER is given to the students with the aim of experimenting and solving the theoretical and practical difficulties that students of different years may encounter in the knowledge and representation of buildings and in the organisation of all the data from the case study.
series eCAADe
more http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_1.htm
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_id dfaf
authors Ataman, Osman
year 2000
title Some Experimental Results in the Assessment of Architectural Media
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2000.163
source Eternity, Infinity and Virtuality in Architecture [Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture / 1-880250-09-8] Washington D.C. 19-22 October 2000, pp. 163-171
summary The relationship between the media and architectural design can be an important factor and can influence the design outcome. However, the nature, direction and magnitude of this relationship are unknown. Consequently, there have been many speculative claims about this relationship and almost none of them are supported with empirical research studies. In order to investigate these claims and to provide a testable framework for their potential contributions to architectural education, this study aims to explore the effects of media on architectural design. During 1995-1997, a total of 90 students enrolling in First Year Design Studio and Introduction to Computing classes at Georgia Tech participated in the study. A set of quantitative measures was developed to assess the differences between the two media and the effects on the architectural design. The results suggested that media influenced certain aspects of students’ designs. It is concluded that there is a strong relationship between the media and architectural design. The type of media not only changes some quantifiable design parameters but also affects the quality of design.
series ACADIA
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:54

_id 30d7
authors Bartnicka, Malgorzata
year 1995
title Childishly Honest Associate of the Trickery
source CAD Space [Proceedings of the III International Conference Computer in Architectural Design] Bialystock 27-29 April 1995, pp. 209-219
summary Perspective is a method of presentation of 3- dimensional space on the 2-dimensional surface. It can only approximately express the complexity of the authentic perception of reality. During the centuries canons of presentation varied in different epochs. It is quite possible that conventions of presentation considered today as exact expressions of reality may seem for the future generations as untrue as the ancient Egypt paintings seem for us. Our mind plays the major role in all kinds of presentation. During the whole life we learn to perceive the surrounding reality. We have formed also ability to ,see" the perspective. The linear perspective is not so easy in perception without factors of colour and light. These factors play a very important role in perception of the distance. The perception of perspective is not always unmistakable. Introduction of light and shadow is one of the measures to limit the ambiguity. Objects shown in perspective with appropriately chosen colouring and light-and-shade effects reveal impression of the distance inside the flat picture. Illusions of perspective are most astonishing when one can assume deep-rooted expectations and suppositions of the addressee. The computer monitor, like the picture, has only one plane on which our project can be presented. The major feature of architecture programs is both the possibility of creating various architecture spaces and the possibility to examine how (in our opinion) the created space would affect the addressee. By means of computer programs we are able to generate drawings and objects of two kinds: first - being the ideal projection of reality (at least in the same measure as the photograph), and the second - being the total negation of perspective rules. By means of CAD programs enabling 3-dimensional job we can check how all sorts of perspective tricks and artifices affect our imagination. The program cooperates with us trying to cheat the imperfect sense of sight. The trickeries can be of various type, starting from play of lights, through the elements changing the perception of perspective, and terminating with objects totally negating the rules of sound construction of solids. The knowledge contained in these programs is an encyclopaedic recapitulation of all sorts of achievements in the field of perspective and application of colour and light effects. All that remains to the users is to exploit this tremendous variety of capabilities.
series plCAD
last changed 2000/01/24 10:08

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