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CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design
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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	ddssar0206
id	ddssar0206
authors	Bax, M.F.Th. and Trum, H.M.G.J.
year	2002
title	Faculties of Architecture
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Sixth Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part one: Architecture Proceedings Avegoor, the Netherlands), 2002
summary	In order to be inscribed in the European Architect’s register the study program leading to the diploma ‘Architect’ has to meet the criteria of the EC Architect’s Directive (1985). The criteria are enumerated in 11 principles of Article 3 of the Directive. The Advisory Committee, established by the European Council got the task to examine such diplomas in the case some doubts are raised by other Member States. To carry out this task a matrix was designed, as an independent interpreting framework that mediates between the principles of Article 3 and the actual study program of a faculty. Such a tool was needed because of inconsistencies in the list of principles, differences between linguistic versions ofthe Directive, and quantification problems with time, devoted to the principles in the study programs. The core of the matrix, its headings, is a categorisation of the principles on a higher level of abstractionin the form of a taxonomy of domains and corresponding concepts. Filling in the matrix means that each study element of the study programs is analysed according to their content in terms of domains; thesummation of study time devoted to the various domains results in a so-called ‘profile of a faculty’. Judgement of that profile takes place by committee of peers. The domains of the taxonomy are intrinsically the same as the concepts and categories, needed for the description of an architectural design object: the faculties of architecture. This correspondence relates the taxonomy to the field of design theory and philosophy. The taxonomy is an application of Domain theory. This theory,developed by the authors since 1977, takes as a view that the architectural object only can be described fully as an integration of all types of domains. The theory supports the idea of a participatory andinterdisciplinary approach to design, which proved to be awarding both from a scientific and a social point of view. All types of domains have in common that they are measured in three dimensions: form, function and process, connecting the material aspects of the object with its social and proceduralaspects. In the taxonomy the function dimension is emphasised. It will be argued in the paper that the taxonomy is a categorisation following the pragmatistic philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce. It will bedemonstrated as well that the taxonomy is easy to handle by giving examples of its application in various countries in the last 5 years. The taxonomy proved to be an adequate tool for judgement ofstudy programs and their subsequent improvement, as constituted by the faculties of a Faculty of Architecture. The matrix is described as the result of theoretical reflection and practical application of a matrix, already in use since 1995. The major improvement of the matrix is its direct connection with Peirce’s universal categories and the self-explanatory character of its structure. The connection with Peirce’s categories gave the matrix a more universal character, which enables application in other fieldswhere the term ‘architecture’ is used as a metaphor for artefacts.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	e420
authors	Colajanni, B., Pellitteri, G. and Giacchino, V.
year	1995
title	An Hypertext in Building Rehabilitation: A Case Study in Palermo
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. 29-36
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.029
summary	Hypertext is an ideal tool to teach building design inasmuch as it allows both teacher driven and student self driven learning. It allows to link every type of informations (texts, sounds, images, films) with associative mechanisms much like those utilized by our brain. Hypertextes buikt up for teaching purposen can be usefully employed in professional occurrencies. An example is shown dealing with the rehabilitation of the Fiumetorto Palace in the historical centre of Palermo. It manages in a simple but efficient way the many complex interconnections between analysis of the state of decay, history, town planning rules and technology focusing all the information on the rehabilitation task.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_4.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	0b16
authors	Mortola, E., Giangrande, A., Mirabelli, P. and Fortuzzi, A.Fortuzzi
year	1997
title	The Self-sustainable Community Laboratories of Rome
source	Challenges of the Future [15th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-3-0] Vienna (Austria) 17-20 September 1997
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1997.x.v1q
summary	The experience of the Laboratories is not new for Rome. In 1993 the Historical Heritage Office of the Municipality came to an agreement with the Dioguardi Co. to found the Laboratory of Ghetto - the ancient Jewish quarter - with the following objectives: to offer space and tools to analyse public and private proposals for buildings restoration; to collect, elaborate and diffuse data and information about the neighbourhood; to involve inhabitants and train some of them in renewal and restoration activities through the creation of a "pilot yard". The data gathered in the Laboratory were elaborated and used to produce an hypertext which could be consulted by inhabitants. A section of this hypertext showed all the restoration projects, public and private ones (Sivo 1995).
keywords	Design Methods, Hypertext, Interactive Design, Multimediacommunity laboratories, development, planning, projects; traffic calmin
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/ecaade/proc/mortola/mortgfm.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	1bb0
authors	Russell, S. and Norvig, P.
year	1995
title	Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach
source	Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
summary	Humankind has given itself the scientific name homo sapiens--man the wise--because our mental capacities are so important to our everyday lives and our sense of self. The field of artificial intelligence, or AI, attempts to understand intelligent entities. Thus, one reason to study it is to learn more about ourselves. But unlike philosophy and psychology, which are also concerned with AI strives to build intelligent entities as well as understand them. Another reason to study AI is that these constructed intelligent entities are interesting and useful in their own right. AI has produced many significant and impressive products even at this early stage in its development. Although no one can predict the future in detail, it is clear that computers with human-level intelligence (or better) would have a huge impact on our everyday lives and on the future course of civilization. AI addresses one of the ultimate puzzles. How is it possible for a slow, tiny brain{brain}, whether biological or electronic, to perceive, understand, predict, and manipulate a world far larger and more complicated than itself? How do we go about making something with those properties? These are hard questions, but unlike the search for faster-than-light travel or an antigravity device, the researcher in AI has solid evidence that the quest is possible. All the researcher has to do is look in the mirror to see an example of an intelligent system. AI is one of the newest disciplines. It was formally initiated in 1956, when the name was coined, although at that point work had been under way for about five years. Along with modern genetics, it is regularly cited as the ``field I would most like to be in'' by scientists in other disciplines. A student in physics might reasonably feel that all the good ideas have already been taken by Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and the rest, and that it takes many years of study before one can contribute new ideas. AI, on the other hand, still has openings for a full-time Einstein. The study of intelligence is also one of the oldest disciplines. For over 2000 years, philosophers have tried to understand how seeing, learning, remembering, and reasoning could, or should, be done. The advent of usable computers in the early 1950s turned the learned but armchair speculation concerning these mental faculties into a real experimental and theoretical discipline. Many felt that the new ``Electronic Super-Brains'' had unlimited potential for intelligence. ``Faster Than Einstein'' was a typical headline. But as well as providing a vehicle for creating artificially intelligent entities, the computer provides a tool for testing theories of intelligence, and many theories failed to withstand the test--a case of ``out of the armchair, into the fire.'' AI has turned out to be more difficult than many at first imagined, and modern ideas are much richer, more subtle, and more interesting as a result. AI currently encompasses a huge variety of subfields, from general-purpose areas such as perception and logical reasoning, to specific tasks such as playing chess, proving mathematical theorems, writing poetry{poetry}, and diagnosing diseases. Often, scientists in other fields move gradually into artificial intelligence, where they find the tools and vocabulary to systematize and automate the intellectual tasks on which they have been working all their lives. Similarly, workers in AI can choose to apply their methods to any area of human intellectual endeavor. In this sense, it is truly a universal field.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	09c6
authors	Silva, Neander F.
year	1995
title	The Use of Hybrid Technology in the construction of an Evolving Knowledge-Base Design System
source	Sixth International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 9971-62-423-0] Singapore, 24-26 September 1995, pp. 589-598
summary	This paper focus in one vital aspect of design computing: the knowledge-base extension and maintenance. It describes a hybrid approach where a rudimentary evolving knowledge-base design system is proposed. It draws inspiration from three areas of artificial intelligence: knowledge-base systems, connectionist models, and case-based reasoning. Its main contributions are: an incremental self-adjustment able to minimise substantially the dependency on knowledge engineer intervention, and an interactive support to innovation.
keywords	Precedents, Connectionism, Knowledge-Bases Maintenance, Innovative Design
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2003/05/16 20:58

_id	4d18
authors	Turkle, S.
year	1995
title	Life on the Screen: identity in the age of the Internet
source	New York: Simon & Shuster
summary	Sherry Turkle is rapidly becoming the sociologist of the Internet, and that's beginning to seem like a good thing. While her first outing, The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit, made groundless assertions and seemed to be carried along more by her affection for certain theories than by a careful look at our current situation, Life on the Screen is a balanced and nuanced look at some of the ways that cyberculture helps us comment upon real life (what the cybercrowd sometimes calls RL). Instead of giving in to any one theory on construction of identity, Turkle looks at the way various netizens have used the Internet, and especially MUDs (Multi-User Dimensions), to learn more about the possibilities available in apprehending the world. One of the most interesting sections deals with gender, a topic prone to rash and partisan pronouncements. Taking as her motto William James's maxim "Philosophy is the art of imagining alternatives," Turkle shows how playing with gender in cyberspace can shape a person's real-life understanding of gender. Especially telling are the examples of the man who finds it easier to be assertive when playing a woman, because he believes male assertiveness is now frowned upon while female assertiveness is considered hip, and the woman who has the opposite response, believing that it is easier to be aggressive when she plays a male, because as a woman she would be considered "bitchy." Without taking sides, Turkle points out how both have expanded their emotional range. Other topics, such as artificial life, receive an equally calm and sage response, and the first-person accounts from many Internet users provide compelling reading and good source material for readers to draw their own conclusions.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	6a3a
authors	Ekholm, A., Fridqvist, S. and Af Klercker, J.
year	1995
title	BAS.CAAD - Building and User Activity Systems Modelling for Computer-Aided Architectural Design
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. 217-230
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1995.217
summary	In the early stages of the building design process not only building and site but also user activities and experiences are formed. This paper presents a development programme for CAAD where conceptual models of some fundamental characteristics of building, site and user organisation will be developed and implemented in a prototype CAAD-programme. The models are based both on empirical studies and an ontological Framework which is also used for organising the basic object structure of the prototype CAD program. The architectural design process has several characteristics which a CAAD-programme must support, e.g incremental determination of properties, change of scale and shift of focus. The research investigates how the design object and the user interface can be formed to serve this working method. One important field is to study the usefulness of the user organisation model for the brief and building management stages. The programming work for the prototypes is done with Smalltalk on Macintosh computers. The tests of the prototype includes spatial co-ordination of the three systems.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://dpce.ing.unipa.it/Webshare/Wwwroot/ecaade95/Pag_28.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	b04c
authors	Goerger, S., Darken, R., Boyd, M., Gagnon, T., Liles, S., Sullivan, J. and Lawson, J.
year	1996
title	Spatial Knowledge Acquisition from Maps and Virtual Environments in Complex Architectural Space
source	Proc. 16 th Applied Behavioral Sciences Symposium, 22-23 April, U.S. Airforce Academy, Colorado Springs, CO., 1996, 6-10
summary	It has often been suggested that due to its inherent spatial nature, a virtual environment (VE) might be a powerful tool for spatial knowledge acquisition of a real environment, as opposed to the use of maps or some other two-dimensional, symbolic medium. While interesting from a psychological point of view, a study of the use of a VE in lieu of a map seems nonsensical from a practical point of view. Why would the use of a VE preclude the use of a map? The more interesting investigation would be of the value added of the VE when used with a map. If the VE could be shown to substantially improve navigation performance, then there might be a case for its use as a training tool. If not, then we have to assume that maps continue to be the best spatial knowledge acquisition tool available. An experiment was conducted at the Naval Postgraduate School to determine if the use of an interactive, three-dimensional virtual environment would enhance spatial knowledge acquisition of a complex architectural space when used in conjunction with floor plan diagrams. There has been significant interest in this research area of late. Witmer, Bailey, and Knerr (1995) showed that a VE was useful in acquiring route knowledge of a complex building. Route knowledge is defined as the procedural knowledge required to successfully traverse paths between distant locations (Golledge, 1991). Configurational (or survey) knowledge is the highest level of spatial knowledge and represents a map-like internal encoding of the environment (Thorndyke, 1980). The Witmer study could not confirm if configurational knowledge was being acquired. Also, no comparison was made to a map-only condition, which we felt is the most obvious alternative. Comparisons were made only to a real world condition and a symbolic condition where the route is presented verbally.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_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	1278
authors	Tufte, E.R.
year	1995
title	Envisioning Information
source	Graphic Press USA
summary	Edward Tufte's new book, Envisioning Information, is a stunning display of the classics of information design, combined with close analysis of design strategies that produce excellence in information displays. Six-color printing is used throughout, and, for the chapter on color and information, twelve-color printing. Photography, color reproduction techniques, typography, paper, printing, and binding, are all of the highest quality. Envisioning Information shows maps, charts, scientific visualizations, diagrams, statistical graphics and tables, stereo photographs, guidebooks, courtroom exhibits, computer screens, timetables, a pop-up, and many other wonderful displays of information. The book, with more than 400 illustrations, provides practical advice about how to explain complex material by visual means, and uses extraordinary examples to illustrate the fundamental principles of information display. Envisioning Information deals with all types of information displays, covering a far broader scope of material than Tufte's classic book on statistical graphics, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

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