Cumincad : CUMINCAD Papers : Search Results

CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design
supported by the sibling associations ACADIA, CAADRIA, eCAADe, SIGraDi, ASCAAD and CAAD futures

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_id	3905
authors	Duffy, T.M. and Cunningham, D.J.
year	1996
title	Constructivism: Implications for the design and delivery of instruction
source	D.H. Jonassen, (Ed) Handbook of research for educational communications and technology, N.Y; Macmillan Library reference USA
summary	This will be a seminar that examines Constructivist theory as it applies to our thinking about instruction. Many folks think of constructivism as a method of instruction -- it is not. It is a framework for thinking about learning or what it means to come to know. As such, it is a framework for understanding (interpreting) any learning environment as well as a framework for designing instruction. The seminar will be organized around weekly readings. We will examine the alternative constructivist theories, e.g., socio-cultural constructivism and cognitive constructivism, and the pragmatism of Richard Rorty. However, rather than focusing on the differences between these frameworks, our emphasis will be on the implications of the broader, common framework for the design of instruction. Hence we will spend most of the semester discussing strategies for designing and delivering instruction, e.g., the work of Bransford, Collins, Pea, Jonassen, Spiro, Fosnot, Senge, and Schank. We will consider both business and schooling environments for learning -- there is significant work in both domains. There will be particular emphasis of the use of technology in instruction. We will look at the communication, information, and context providing roles of technology as contrasted to the traditional approach of using technology to deliver instruction (to teach). We will also pay particular attention to problem based learning as one instructional model. In PBL there is particular emphasis on the role of the facilitator as a learning coach (process orientation) as opposed to a content provider. There is also a particular emphasis on supporting the development of abductive reasoning skills so that the learner develops the ability to be an effective problem solver in the content domain. The major paper/project for the course will be the design of instruction to train individuals to be learning coaches in a problem based learning or goal based scenario learning environment. That is, how do you support teachers in adapting the role of learning coach (which, of course, requires us to understand what it means to be a learning coach). Design teams will be formed with the teams all working on this same design problem. A comprehensive prototype of the learning environment is required as well as a paper provide the theoretical framework and rationale for the design strategy. While not required, I would expect that computer technology will play a significant role in the design of your learning environment. With that in mind, let me note that it is not required that the prototype be delivered on the computer, i.e., I am not requiring programming skills but rather design skills and so "storyboards" is all that is required.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	70b1
authors	Emdanat, S.S., Vakalo, E.0. and Malkawi, A.M.
year	1996
title	A Conceptual Framework for Integrating Morphological and Thermal Analysis in the Generation of Orthogonal Architectural Designs
source	Proceedings of the 84th ACSA Meeting; Boston, pp. 117-131
summary	Digital networks are gaining importance as environments for learning and creative collaboration. Technical achievements, software enhancements, and a growing number of applicable principles make it possible to compile complex environments that satisfy many aspects necessary for creative collaboration. This paper focuses on three issues: the architecture of collaborative environments, communication in these environments and the processes inherent to creative collaboration. The information architecture of digital environments looks different from physical architecture, mainly because the material that it is made out of is information and not stone, wood or metal and the goal is to provide appropriate paths and views to information. Nonetheless, many analogies can be drawn between information architecture and physical architecture, including the need for useability, aesthetics, and consistency. To communicate is important for creative collaboration. Digital networks request and enable new strategies for communicating. Regarding the collaborative creative process we have been able to detect principles and features that enhance this process, but there are still many unanswered questions. For example, the environment can enable and improve the frequency of surprise and coincidence, two factors that often play decisive roles in the creative processes but cannot be planned for in advance. Freedom and transparency within the environment are other important factors that foster creative collaboration. The following findings are based on numerous courses, which we have taught using networked environments and some associated, research projects that helped to verify their applicability for architectural practice.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	eb87
authors	Bhavnani, S.K.
year	1996
title	How Architects Draw with Computers: A Cognitive Analysis of Real-World CAD Interactions
source	Carnegie Mellon University, School of Architecture and School of Computer Science
summary	New media throughout history have passed through a period of transition during which users and technologists took many years to understand and exploit the medium's potential. CAD appears to be passing through a similar period of transition; despite huge investments by vendors and users, CAD productivity remains difficult to achieve. To investigate if history can provide any insights into this problem, this thesis begins with an examination of well-known examples from history. The analysis revealed that, over time, users had developed efficient strategies which were based on powers and limitations of tools; delegation strategies exploited powers provided by tools, and circumvention strategies attempted to overcome their limitations. These insights on efficient strategies were used to investigate the CAD productivity problem based on four research questions: 1. How do architects currently use CAD systems to produce drawings? 2. What are the effects of current CAD usage on product and performance? 3. What are the possible causes of current CAD usage? 4. What are the capabilities of the CAD medium and how can they be used efficiently? The above four questions were addressed through the qualitative, quantitative, and cognitive analysis of data collected during an ethnographic study of architects working in their natural environment. The qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed that users missed many opportunities to use strategies that delegated iteration to the computer. The cognitive analysis revealed that missed opportunities to use such delegation strategies caused an increase in execution time, and an increase in errors many of which went undetected leading to the production of inaccurate drawings. These analyses pointed to plausible cognitive and contextual explanations for the inefficient use of CAD systems, and to a framework to identify and teach efficient CAD strategies. The above results were found to be neither unique to the CAD domain, nor to the office where the data were collected. The generality of these results motivated the identification of seven claims towards a general theory to explain and identify efficient strategies for a wide range of devices. This thesis contributes to the field of architecture by providing a detailed analysis of real-world CAD usage, and an approach to improve the performance of CAD users. The thesis also contributes to the field of human-computer interaction by demonstrating the generality of these results and by laying the framework for a general theory of efficient strategies which could be used to improve the performance of users of current and future computer applications.
series	thesis:PhD
email
last changed	2003/04/15 13:36

_id	eb51
authors	Coyne, Richard
year	1996
title	CAAD, Curriculum and Controversy
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 121-130
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.121
summary	This paper brings some of the debate within educational theory to bear on CAAD teaching, outlining the contributions of conservatism, critical theory, radical hermeneutics and pragmatism. The paper concludes by recommending that CAAD teaching move away from conservative concepts of teaching, design and technology to integrate it into the studio. In a highly illuminating book on education theory, Shaun Gallagher (1991) outlines four current views on education that correspond to four major positions in contemporary social theory and philosophy. I will extend these categories to a consideration of attitudes to information technology, and the teaching of computing in architecture. These four positions are conservatism, critical theory, radical hermeneutics, and pragmatism. I will show how certain issues cluster around them, how each position provides the focus of various discursive practices, or intellectual conversations in contemporary thinking, and how information technology is caught up in those conversations. These four positions are not "cognitive styles," but vigorously argued domains of debate involving writers such as Gadamer, Habermas and Derrida about the theory of interpretation. The field of interpretation is known as hermeneutics, which is concerned less with epistemology and knowledge than with understanding. Interpretation theory applies to reading texts, interpreting the law, and appreciating art, but also to the application of any practical task, such as making art, drawing, defining and solving problems, and design (Coyne and Snodgrass, 1995). Hermeneutics provides a coherent focus for considering many contemporary issues and many domains of practice. I outline what these positions in education mean in terms of CAAD (computer-aided architectural design) in the curriculum.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.caad.ac.uk/~richard
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	911c
authors	Darken, Rudolph P.
year	1996
title	Wayfinding in Large-Scale Virtual Worlds
source	George Washington University
summary	As important as navigation is to human performance in virtual worlds, it is an often overlooked problem in the design process. This dissertation reports an experiment intended to show that real-world wayfinding and environmental design principles are effective in designing virtual worlds which support skilled wayfinding behavior. The design principles are adapted from both the cognitive psychology literature and urban and architectural design methodologies. There are two categories of design principles; those that guide the organizational structure of the environment, and those that guide the use and presentation of maps. The study measures subject performance on a complex searching task in a number of virtual worlds with differing environmental cues. The environments are extremely large and consist of open sea, land, and ships which are used as targets for search tasks. The worlds are augmented with either a radial grid, a map, both, or neither. For each trial, the subject's viewpoint position and orientation was sampled approximately once per second. A verbal protocol with accompanying video was used to elicit information about the search strategies employed. A map drawing exercise followed each trial in order to gain insight to the subject's spatial knowledge (i.e. cognitive map) of the environment. The results show that subjects in the treatment without any additional cues were often disoriented and had extreme difficulty completing the task. The grid was shown to provide superior directional information but both treatments using the map were superior overall due to the geocentric perspective provided. Behaviors associated with each treatment indicate that the cues had a strong effect on both search performance and search strategy. The results suggest that users of large-scale virtual worlds require structure in order to effectively navigate. Augmentations such as direction indicators, maps, and path restriction can all greatly improve both wayfinding performance and overall user satisfaction.
series	thesis:PhD
email
more	http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~sibert/darken/publications/Dissertation_95/thesis.html
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	89ca
authors	Garcia, Renato
year	1996
title	Sound Structure: Using Data Sonification to Enhance Building Structures CAI
source	CAADRIA ‘96 [Proceedings of The First Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 9627-75-703-9] Hong Kong (Hong Kong) 25-27 April 1996, pp. 109-117
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.1996.109
summary	Although sound is now extensively used to enrich multimedia applications in the form of simple audio signals, earcons, musical passages and speech, it has unfortunately been under-utilized as a means of data representation. Sound, having many characteristics which enable it to convey multi-dimensional information, provides a broad channel for dynamically presenting data in a learning environment. This paper looks into how teaching concepts of building structures to students of architecture and engineering through computers and multimedia can be enhanced by enlisting the use of appropriate sound parameters. Sound is useful in presenting redundant or supplementary information such as in portraying building structural response to static and dynamic external loading. This process of audiolization, which refers to the use of sounds to present data, can alleviate much of the cognitive load that usually burdens visual displays and has been used to some degree of success in various studies on scientific representation. Where appropriate, audiolization can be synchronized to more established visualization processes to provide more effective multi-modal multimedia systems for the study of building structures.
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	8ee5
authors	Koutamanis, A., Mitossi, V.
year	1996
title	SIMULATION FOR ANALYSIS: REQUIREMENTS FROM ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
source	Full-Scale Modeling in the Age of Virtual Reality [6th EFA-Conference Proceedings]
summary	Computerization has been a positive factor in the evolution of both kinds of analysis with respect to cost, availability and efficiency. Knowledge-based systems offer an appropriate implementation environment for normative analysis which can be more reliable and economical than evaluation by human experts. Perhaps more significant is the potential of interactive computer simulation where designs can be examined intuitively in full detail and at the same time by quantitative models. The advantages of this coupling are evident in the achievements of scientific visualization. Another advantage of computational systems is that the analysis can be linked to the design representation, thereby adding feedback to the conventional visualization of designs in drawing and modeling systems. Such connections are essential for the development of design guidance systems capable of reflecting consequences of partial inadequacies or changes to other aspects in a transparent and meaningful network of design constraints. The possibilities of computer simulation also extend to issues inadequately covered by normative analysis and in particular to dynamic aspects of design such as human movement and circulation. The paper reports on a framework for addressing two related problems, (a) the simulation of fire escape from buildings and (b) the simulation of human movement on stairs. In both cases we propose that current evaluation techniques and the underlying design norms are too abstract to offer a measure of design success, as testified by the number of fatal accidents in fires and on stairs. In addition, fire escape and stair climbing are characterized by great variability with respect to both the form of the possible designs and the profiles of potential users. This suggests that testing prototypical forms by typical users and publishing the results as new, improved norms is not a realistic proposition for ensuring a global solution. Instead, we should test every design individually, within its own context. The development of an affordable, readily available system for the analysis and evaluation of aspects such as fire escape and stair safety can be based on the combination of the technologies of virtual reality and motion capture. Testing of a design by a number of test people in an immersion space provides not only intuitive evaluations by actual users but also quantitative data on the cognitive and proprioceptive behaviour of the test people. These data can be compiled into profiles of virtual humans for further testing of the same or related designs.
keywords	Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
type	normal paper
email
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa/
last changed	2004/05/04 14:40

_id	ecaade2020_366
id	ecaade2020_366
authors	Temizel, Ensar
year	2020
title	The Cybernetic Relevance of Architecture:An Essay on Gordon Pask's Evolving Discourse on Architecture
source	Werner, L and Koering, D (eds.), Anthropologic: Architecture and Fabrication in the cognitive age - Proceedings of the 38th eCAADe Conference - Volume 1, TU Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 16-18 September 2020, pp. 471-480
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2020.1.471
summary	Gordon Pask, as one of the leading figures in the field of cybernetics, had an extensive impact on architecture through his lifelong connections with architectural circles in the UK and the USA from the early 1960s until his death in 1996. He is mostly known to architects by his collaboration with Cedric Price on a number of occasions; however, his affiliation with architecture include several other instances that involved designing architectural projects, teaching in architectural schools, writing on architectural issues and more. This paper aims to review these instances to scrutinize how his discourse on architecture unfolded in time by addressing his evolving understanding concerning the relationship between architecture and cybernetics. In doing so, the paper examines key aspects of his own work in relation to key instances of his relationship with architecture.
keywords	Cybernetics; Architecture; Design; Gordon Pask; Conversation Theory; Human-Machine Interaction
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

_id	c204
authors	Aleksander Asanowicz
year	1996
title	Teaching and Learning - Full Brainwash
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 51-54
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.051
summary	We often speak of changes in design process due to an application of computers. But in my opinion we more often rather speak of lack of changes. Lets hope that some day we will be able to witness full integrity and compatibility of design process and tools applied in it. Quite possible such an integrity may occur in the cyberspace. Nevertheless before that could happen some changes within the teaching methods at faculties of architecture, where despite great numbers of computer equipment used, the students are still being taught as in the XIX century. In terms of achieved results it proves ineffective because application of chalk and blackboard only will always loose to new media, which allow visual perception of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Our civilisation is the iconographic one. And that is why teaching methods are about to change. An application of computer as simply a slide projector seems to be way too expensive. New media demands new process and new process demands new media. Lets hope that could be achieved in cyberspace as being a combination of: classic ways of teaching, hypertext, multimedia, virtual reality and a new teaching methodology (as used in Berlitz English School - full brainwash). At our faculty several years ago we experimentally undertook and applied an Integrated Design Teaching Method. A student during design process of an object simultaneously learnt all aspects and functions of the object being designing i.e.: its structure, piping and wiring, material cost and even historic evolution of its form and function. Unfortunately that concept was too extravagant as for the seventies in our reality. At present due to wide implementation of new media and tools in design process we come to consider reimplementation of IDTM again.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	a06c
authors	Batie, David L.
year	1996
title	The Incorporation of Construction History into Architectural History: The HISTCON Interactive Computer Program
source	Design Computation: Collaboration, Reasoning, Pedagogy [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-05-5] Tucson (Arizona / USA) October 31 - November 2, 1996, pp. 235-243
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1996.235
summary	Current teaching methods for architectural history seldom embrace building technology as an essential component of study. Accepting the premise that architectural history is a fundamental component to the overall architectural learning environment, it is argued that the study of construction history will further enhance student knowledge. This hypothesis created an opportunity to investigate how the study of construction history could be incorporated to strengthen present teaching methods. Strategies for teaching architectural history were analyzed with the determination that an incorporation of educational instructional design applications using object-oriented programming and hypermedia provided the optimal solution. This evaluation led to the development of the HISTCON interactive, multimedia educational computer program. Used initially to teach 19th Century iron and steel construction history, the composition of the program provides the mechanism to test the significance of construction history in the study of architectural history. Future development of the program will provide a method to illustrate construction history throughout the history of architecture. The study of architectural history, using a construction oriented methodology, is shown to be positively correlated to increased understanding of architectural components relevant to architectural history and building construction.
series	ACADIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	a04a
authors	Bhavnani, S.K. and John, B.E.
year	1996
title	Exploring the Unrealized Potential of Computer-Aided Drafting
source	Proceedings of CHI'96 (1996), 332-339
summary	Despite huge investments by vendors and users, CAD productivity remains disappointing. Our analysis of real- world CAD usage shows that even after many years of experience, users tend to use suboptimal strategies to perform complex CAD tasks. Additionally, some of these strategies have a marked resemblance to manual drafting techniques. Although this phenomenon has been previously reported, this paper explores explanations for its causes and persistence. We argue that the strategic knowledge to use CAD effectively is neither defined nor explicitly taught. In the absence of a well-formed strategy, users often develop a synthetic mental model of CAD containing a mixture of manual and CAD methods. As these suboptimal strategies do not necessarily prevent users from producing clean, accurate drawings, the inefficiencies tend to remain unrecognized and users have little motivation to develop better strategies. To reverse this situation we recommend that the strategic knowledge to use CAD effectively should be made explicit and provided early in training. We use our analysis to begin the process of making this strategic knowledge explicit. We conclude by discussing the ramifications of this research in training as well as in the development of future computer aids for drawing and design.
keywords	Task Decomposition; Learning
series	other
email
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	6063
authors	Cheng, Nancy Yen-Wen
year	1996
title	Teaching CAD as a Foreign Language
source	CAADRIA ‘96 [Proceedings of The First Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 9627-75-703-9] Hong Kong (Hong Kong) 25-27 April 1996, pp. 11-20
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.1996.011
summary	By looking at the well-developed discipline of language teaching, we can improve instruction of computer aided design communication. Language teaching not only breaks down a complex field into attainable steps, but also shows how learning strategies and attitudes can enhance mastery. Guiding students in learning approaches will equip them to deal with constantly changing technology. Even at an introductory level, awareness of the learning process can heighten learning. Thus, giving a conceptual framework and enhancing resource-finding, brainstorming and coping abilities will lead to threshold competence. Practicing these strategies on realistic projects hones the ability to connect concepts to actual situations. Both design or research projects exercise resource-usage, task management, crisis management, but specifically, collaboration exercises which engage the students with a real audience can provide strong motivation and link academic study to practical concerns. Ideas about teaching techniques are documented with examples from the University of Hong Kong.
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	8804
authors	QaQish, R. and Hanna, R.
year	1997
title	A World-wide Questionnaire Survey on the Use of Computers in Architectural Education
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.c8o
summary	The paper reports on a study which examines the impact on architectural education needs arising from the changes brought about by the implications of CAD teaching/learning (CAI/CAL). The findings reflect the views of fifty-one (51) architecture schools through a world-wide questionnaire survey conducted in mid 1996. The survey was structured to cover four continents represented by seven countries, namely the USA, UK, Israel, Australia, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands. Structurally the main findings of this study are summarised under five areas, namely: 1) General Information, 2) Program of Study (curriculum) and CAD course, 3) CAD Laboratories: Hardware, Software, 4) Departmental Current and Future Policies, 5) Multi-media and Virtual Reality. Principally, there were three main objectives for using the computers survey. Firstly, to accommodate a prevalent comprehension of CAD integration into the curriculum of architecture schools world wide. Secondly, to identify the main key factors that control the extent of association between CAD and architectural curriculum. Thirdly, to identify common trends of CAD teaching in Architecture schools world-wide and across the seven countries to establish whether there are any association between them. Several variables and factors that were found to have an impact on AE were examined, namely: the response rate, the conventional methods users and the CAD methods users amongst students, CAD course employment in the curriculum, age of CAD employment, the role of CAD in the curriculum, CAD training time in the Curriculum, CAD laboratories/Hardware & Software, computing staff and technicians, department policies, Multi-Media (MM) and Virtual-Reality (VR). The statistical analysis of the study revealed significant findings, one of which indicates that 35% of the total population of students at the surveyed architecture schools are reported as being CAD users. Out of the 51 architecture schools who participated in this survey, 47 have introduced CAD courses into the curriculum. The impact of CAD on the curriculum was noted to be significant in several areas, namely: architectural design, architectural presentation, structural engineering, facilities management, thesis project and urban design. The top five CAD packages found to be most highly used across universities were, namely, AutoCAD (46), 3DStudio (34), Microstation (23), Form Z (17), ArchiCAD (17). The findings of this study suggest some effective and efficient future directions in adopting some form of effective CAD strategies in the curriculum of architecture. The study also serves as an evaluation tool for computing teaching in the design studio and the curriculum.
keywords	CAD Integration, Employment, Users and Effectiveness
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/ecaade/proc/qaqish/qaqish.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	ga0026
id	ga0026
authors	Ransen, Owen F.
year	2000
title	Possible Futures in Computer Art Generation
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	Years of trying to create an "Image Idea Generator" program have convinced me that the perfect solution would be to have an artificial artistic person, a design slave. This paper describes how I came to that conclusion, realistic alternatives, and briefly, how it could possibly happen. 1. The history of Repligator and Gliftic 1.1 Repligator In 1996 I had the idea of creating an “image idea generator”. I wanted something which would create images out of nothing, but guided by the user. The biggest conceptual problem I had was “out of nothing”. What does that mean? So I put aside that problem and forced the user to give the program a starting image. This program eventually turned into Repligator, commercially described as an “easy to use graphical effects program”, but actually, to my mind, an Image Idea Generator. The first release came out in October 1997. In December 1998 I described Repligator V4 [1] and how I thought it could be developed away from simply being an effects program. In July 1999 Repligator V4 won the Shareware Industry Awards Foundation prize for "Best Graphics Program of 1999". Prize winners are never told why they won, but I am sure that it was because of two things: 1) Easy of use 2) Ease of experimentation "Ease of experimentation" means that Repligator does in fact come up with new graphics ideas. Once you have input your original image you can generate new versions of that image simply by pushing a single key. Repligator is currently at version 6, but, apart from adding many new effects and a few new features, is basically the same program as version 4. Following on from the ideas in [1] I started to develop Gliftic, which is closer to my original thoughts of an image idea generator which "starts from nothing". The Gliftic model of images was that they are composed of three components: 1. Layout or form, for example the outline of a mandala is a form. 2. Color scheme, for example colors selected from autumn leaves from an oak tree. 3. Interpretation, for example Van Gogh would paint a mandala with oak tree colors in a different way to Andy Warhol. There is a Van Gogh interpretation and an Andy Warhol interpretation. Further I wanted to be able to genetically breed images, for example crossing two layouts to produce a child layout. And the same with interpretations and color schemes. If I could achieve this then the program would be very powerful. 1.2 Getting to Gliftic Programming has an amazing way of crystalising ideas. If you want to put an idea into practice via a computer program you really have to understand the idea not only globally, but just as importantly, in detail. You have to make hard design decisions, there can be no vagueness, and so implementing what I had decribed above turned out to be a considerable challenge. I soon found out that the hardest thing to do would be the breeding of forms. What are the "genes" of a form? What are the genes of a circle, say, and how do they compare to the genes of the outline of the UK? I wanted the genotype representation (inside the computer program's data) to be directly linked to the phenotype representation (on the computer screen). This seemed to be the best way of making sure that bred-forms would bare some visual relationship to their parents. I also wanted symmetry to be preserved. For example if two symmetrical objects were bred then their children should be symmetrical. I decided to represent shapes as simply closed polygonal shapes, and the "genes" of these shapes were simply the list of points defining the polygon. Thus a circle would have to be represented by a regular polygon of, say, 100 sides. The outline of the UK could easily be represented as a list of points every 10 Kilometers along the coast line. Now for the important question: what do you get when you cross a circle with the outline of the UK? I tried various ways of combining the "genes" (i.e. coordinates) of the shapes, but none of them really ended up producing interesting shapes. And of the methods I used, many of them, applied over several "generations" simply resulted in amorphous blobs, with no distinct family characteristics. Or rather maybe I should say that no single method of breeding shapes gave decent results for all types of images. Figure 1 shows an example of breeding a mandala with 6 regular polygons: Figure 1 Mandala bred with array of regular polygons I did not try out all my ideas, and maybe in the future I will return to the problem, but it was clear to me that it is a non-trivial problem. And if the breeding of shapes is a non-trivial problem, then what about the breeding of interpretations? I abandoned the genetic (breeding) model of generating designs but retained the idea of the three components (form, color scheme, interpretation). 1.3 Gliftic today Gliftic Version 1.0 was released in May 2000. It allows the user to change a form, a color scheme and an interpretation. The user can experiment with combining different components together and can thus home in on an personally pleasing image. Just as in Repligator, pushing the F7 key make the program choose all the options. Unlike Repligator however the user can also easily experiment with the form (only) by pushing F4, the color scheme (only) by pushing F5 and the interpretation (only) by pushing F6. Figures 2, 3 and 4 show some example images created by Gliftic. Figure 2 Mandala interpreted with arabesques Figure 3 Trellis interpreted with "graphic ivy" Figure 4 Regular dots interpreted as "sparks" 1.4 Forms in Gliftic V1 Forms are simply collections of graphics primitives (points, lines, ellipses and polygons). The program generates these collections according to the user's instructions. Currently the forms are: Mandala, Regular Polygon, Random Dots, Random Sticks, Random Shapes, Grid Of Polygons, Trellis, Flying Leap, Sticks And Waves, Spoked Wheel, Biological Growth, Chequer Squares, Regular Dots, Single Line, Paisley, Random Circles, Chevrons. 1.5 Color Schemes in Gliftic V1 When combining a form with an interpretation (described later) the program needs to know what colors it can use. The range of colors is called a color scheme. Gliftic has three color scheme types: 1. Random colors: Colors for the various parts of the image are chosen purely at random. 2. Hue Saturation Value (HSV) colors: The user can choose the main hue (e.g. red or yellow), the saturation (purity) of the color scheme and the value (brightness/darkness) . The user also has to choose how much variation is allowed in the color scheme. A wide variation allows the various colors of the final image to depart a long way from the HSV settings. A smaller variation results in the final image using almost a single color. 3. Colors chosen from an image: The user can choose an image (for example a JPG file of a famous painting, or a digital photograph he took while on holiday in Greece) and Gliftic will select colors from that image. Only colors from the selected image will appear in the output image. 1.6 Interpretations in Gliftic V1 Interpretation in Gliftic is best decribed with a few examples. A pure geometric line could be interpreted as: 1) the branch of a tree 2) a long thin arabesque 3) a sequence of disks 4) a chain, 5) a row of diamonds. An pure geometric ellipse could be interpreted as 1) a lake, 2) a planet, 3) an eye. Gliftic V1 has the following interpretations: Standard, Circles, Flying Leap, Graphic Ivy, Diamond Bar, Sparkz, Ess Disk, Ribbons, George Haite, Arabesque, ZigZag. 1.7 Applications of Gliftic Currently Gliftic is mostly used for creating WEB graphics, often backgrounds as it has an option to enable "tiling" of the generated images. There is also a possibility that it will be used in the custom textile business sometime within the next year or two. The real application of Gliftic is that of generating new graphics ideas, and I suspect that, like Repligator, many users will only understand this later. 2. The future of Gliftic, 3 possibilties Completing Gliftic V1 gave me the experience to understand what problems and opportunities there will be in future development of the program. Here I divide my many ideas into three oversimplified possibilities, and the real result may be a mix of two or all three of them. 2.1 Continue the current development "linearly" Gliftic could grow simply by the addition of more forms and interpretations. In fact I am sure that initially it will grow like this. However this limits the possibilities to what is inside the program itself. These limits can be mitigated by allowing the user to add forms (as vector files). The user can already add color schemes (as images). The biggest problem with leaving the program in its current state is that there is no easy way to add interpretations. 2.2 Allow the artist to program Gliftic It would be interesting to add a language to Gliftic which allows the user to program his own form generators and interpreters. In this way Gliftic becomes a "platform" for the development of dynamic graphics styles by the artist. The advantage of not having to deal with the complexities of Windows programming could attract the more adventurous artists and designers. The choice of programming language of course needs to take into account the fact that the "programmer" is probably not be an expert computer scientist. I have seen how LISP (an not exactly easy artificial intelligence language) has become very popular among non programming users of AutoCAD. If, to complete a job which you do manually and repeatedly, you can write a LISP macro of only 5 lines, then you may be tempted to learn enough LISP to write those 5 lines. Imagine also the ability to publish (and/or sell) "style generators". An artist could develop a particular interpretation function, it creates images of a given character which others find appealing. The interpretation (which runs inside Gliftic as a routine) could be offered to interior designers (for example) to unify carpets, wallpaper, furniture coverings for single projects. As Adrian Ward [3] says on his WEB site: "Programming is no less an artform than painting is a technical process." Learning a computer language to create a single image is overkill and impractical. Learning a computer language to create your own artistic style which generates an infinite series of images in that style may well be attractive. 2.3 Add an artificial conciousness to Gliftic This is a wild science fiction idea which comes into my head regularly. Gliftic manages to surprise the users with the images it makes, but, currently, is limited by what gets programmed into it or by pure chance. How about adding a real artifical conciousness to the program? Creating an intelligent artificial designer? According to Igor Aleksander [1] conciousness is required for programs (computers) to really become usefully intelligent. Aleksander thinks that "the line has been drawn under the philosophical discussion of conciousness, and the way is open to sound scientific investigation". Without going into the details, and with great over-simplification, there are roughly two sorts of artificial intelligence: 1) Programmed intelligence, where, to all intents and purposes, the programmer is the "intelligence". The program may perform well (but often, in practice, doesn't) and any learning which is done is simply statistical and pre-programmed. There is no way that this type of program could become concious. 2) Neural network intelligence, where the programs are based roughly on a simple model of the brain, and the network learns how to do specific tasks. It is this sort of program which, according to Aleksander, could, in the future, become concious, and thus usefully intelligent. What could the advantages of an artificial artist be? 1) There would be no need for programming. Presumbably the human artist would dialog with the artificial artist, directing its development. 2) The artificial artist could be used as an apprentice, doing the "drudge" work of art, which needs intelligence, but is, anyway, monotonous for the human artist. 3) The human artist imagines "concepts", the artificial artist makes them concrete. 4) An concious artificial artist may come up with ideas of its own. Is this science fiction? Arthur C. Clarke's 1st Law: "If a famous scientist says that something can be done, then he is in all probability correct. If a famous scientist says that something cannot be done, then he is in all probability wrong". Arthur C Clarke's 2nd Law: "Only by trying to go beyond the current limits can you find out what the real limits are." One of Bertrand Russell's 10 commandments: "Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric" 3. References 1. "From Ramon Llull to Image Idea Generation". Ransen, Owen. Proceedings of the 1998 Milan First International Conference on Generative Art. 2. "How To Build A Mind" Aleksander, Igor. Wiedenfeld and Nicolson, 1999 3. "How I Drew One of My Pictures: or, The Authorship of Generative Art" by Adrian Ward and Geof Cox. Proceedings of the 1999 Milan 2nd International Conference on Generative Art.
series	other
email
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	b27f
authors	Campbell, Dace A.
year	1996
title	Design in virtual environments using architectural metaphor : a HIT lab gallery
source	University of Washington
summary	This thesis explores the application and limitations of architectural metaphor in the design of virtual environments. Architecture, whether physical or virtual, is the expression of a society realized as meaningful space. Physical and virtual architecture have their own constraints and context, yet both use architectural organization as a way to order forms and spaces in the environment. Both strive to create meaningful place by defining space, and both must allow the participant to develop a cognitive map to orient and navigate in the space. The lack of physics of time and space in the virtual realm requires special attention and expression of its architecture in order for the participant to cope with transitions. These issues are exemplified by the development of an on-line gallery of virtual environments. Conclusions reached by the development of this design are discussed in the context of orientation, navigation, transition, enclosure, and scale.
keywords	Virtual Reality; Human-Computer Interaction
series	thesis:MSc
email
more	http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/campbell/
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	caadria2007_659
id	caadria2007_659
authors	Chen, Zi-Ru
year	2007
title	The Combination of Design Media and Design Creativity _ Conventional and Digital Media
source	CAADRIA 2007 [Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia] Nanjing (China) 19-21 April 2007
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2007.x.w5x
summary	Creativity is always interested in many fields, in particular, creativity and design creativity have many interpretations (Boden, 1991; Gero and Maher, 1992, 1993; Kim, 1990; Sternberg, 1988; Weisberg, 1986). In early conceptual design process, designers used large number of sketches and drawings (Purcell and Gero, 1998). The sketch can inspire the designer to increase the creativity of the designer’s creations(Schenk, 1991; Goldschmidt, 1994; Suwa and Tversky, 1997). The freehand sketches by conventional media have been believed to play important roles in processes of the creative design thinking(Goldschmidt, 1991; Schon and Wiggins, 1992; Goel, 1995; Suwa et al., 2000; Verstijnen et al., 1998; Elsas van and Vergeest, 1998). Recently, there are many researches on inspiration of the design creativity by digital media(Liu, 2001; Sasada, 1999). The digital media have been used to apply the creative activities and that caused the occurrenssce of unexpected discovery in early design processes(Gero and Maher, 1993; Mitchell, 1993; Schmitt, 1994; Gero, 1996, 2000; Coyne and Subrahmanian, 1993; Boden, 1998; Huang, 2001; Chen, 2001; Manolya et al. 1998; Verstijinen et al., 1998; Lynn, 2001). In addition, there are many applications by combination of conventional and digital media in the sketches conceptual process. However, previous works only discussed that the individual media were related to the design creativity. The cognitive research about the application of conceptual sketches design by integrating both conventional and digital media simultaneously is absent.
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	avocaad_2001_02
id	avocaad_2001_02
authors	Cheng-Yuan Lin, Yu-Tung Liu
year	2001
title	A digital Procedure of Building Construction: A practical project
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 earlier times in which computers have not yet been developed well, there has been some researches regarding representation using conventional media (Gombrich, 1960; Arnheim, 1970). For ancient architects, the design process was described abstractly by text (Hewitt, 1985; Cable, 1983); the process evolved from unselfconscious to conscious ways (Alexander, 1964). Till the appearance of 2D drawings, these drawings could only express abstract visual thinking and visually conceptualized vocabulary (Goldschmidt, 1999). Then with the massive use of physical models in the Renaissance, the form and space of architecture was given better precision (Millon, 1994). Researches continued their attempts to identify the nature of different design tools (Eastman and Fereshe, 1994). Simon (1981) figured out that human increasingly relies on other specialists, computational agents, and materials referred to augment their cognitive abilities. This discourse was verified by recent research on conception of design and the expression using digital technologies (McCullough, 1996; Perez-Gomez and Pelletier, 1997). While other design tools did not change as much as representation (Panofsky, 1991; Koch, 1997), the involvement of computers in conventional architecture design arouses a new design thinking of digital architecture (Liu, 1996; Krawczyk, 1997; Murray, 1997; Wertheim, 1999). The notion of the link between ideas and media is emphasized throughout various fields, such as architectural education (Radford, 2000), Internet, and restoration of historical architecture (Potier et al., 2000). Information technology is also an important tool for civil engineering projects (Choi and Ibbs, 1989). Compared with conventional design media, computers avoid some errors in the process (Zaera, 1997). However, most of the application of computers to construction is restricted to simulations in building process (Halpin, 1990). It is worth studying how to employ computer technology meaningfully to bring significant changes to concept stage during the process of building construction (Madazo, 2000; Dave, 2000) and communication (Haymaker, 2000).In architectural design, concept design was achieved through drawings and models (Mitchell, 1997), while the working drawings and even shop drawings were brewed and communicated through drawings only. However, the most effective method of shaping building elements is to build models by computer (Madrazo, 1999). With the trend of 3D visualization (Johnson and Clayton, 1998) and the difference of designing between the physical environment and virtual environment (Maher et al. 2000), we intend to study the possibilities of using digital models, in addition to drawings, as a critical media in the conceptual stage of building construction process in the near future (just as the critical role that physical models played in early design process in the Renaissance). This research is combined with two practical building projects, following the progress of construction by using digital models and animations to simulate the structural layouts of the projects. We also tried to solve the complicated and even conflicting problems in the detail and piping design process through an easily accessible and precise interface. An attempt was made to delineate the hierarchy of the elements in a single structural and constructional system, and the corresponding relations among the systems. Since building construction is often complicated and even conflicting, precision needed to complete the projects can not be based merely on 2D drawings with some imagination. The purpose of this paper is to describe all the related elements according to precision and correctness, to discuss every possibility of different thinking in design of electric-mechanical engineering, to receive feedback from the construction projects in the real world, and to compare the digital models with conventional drawings.Through the application of this research, the subtle relations between the conventional drawings and digital models can be used in the area of building construction. Moreover, a theoretical model and standard process is proposed by using conventional drawings, digital models and physical buildings. By introducing the intervention of digital media in design process of working drawings and shop drawings, there is an opportune chance to use the digital media as a prominent design tool. This study extends the use of digital model and animation from design process to construction process. However, the entire construction process involves various details and exceptions, which are not discussed in this paper. These limitations should be explored in future studies.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	18bc
authors	Clay, Sharon and Wilhelms, Jane
year	1996
title	Put: Language-Based Interactive Manipulation of Objects
source	IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
summary	Describing a scene to a computer is an inherent task of computer graphics applications. Modeled scenes are typically built with direct placement techniques or specialized scripting languages. The scene description task could be greatly eased if natural language were an interactive control option. However, natural language understanding is notoriously difficult for computers. This difficulty is exacerbated in the case of computer graphics by the need for geometric output, not just "conceptual understanding" or high-level inferencing. General text-understanding techniques have not been successfully applied to scene generation. Typically, a few task-specific commands, such as "walk," are implemented as an ad-hoc collection of procedures. Our approach aims to separate the expressive power of fundamental natural concepts from the difficult task of text understanding. We are developing a 3D object placement system based on a combination of natural commands and interactive techniques. Guided by research in cognitive linguistics, we use basic spatial relationships--such as in, on, and at--and fundamental scene parameters--such as viewer location and object dimensionality--to identify regions of placement for objects in a scene. These natural commands can be used to quickly prototype a complex scene and constrain object placement.
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	413e
authors	Dalholm-Hornyansky, Elisabeth and Rydberg-Mitchell, Birgitta
year	1996
title	SPATIAL NAVIGATION IN VIRTUAL REALITY
source	Full-Scale Modeling in the Age of Virtual Reality [6th EFA-Conference Proceedings]
summary	For the past decade, we have carried out a number of participation projects using full-scale modeling as an aid for communication and design. We are currently participating in an interdisciplinary research project which aims to combine and compare various visualization methods and techniques, among others, full-scale modeling and virtual reality, in design processes with users. In this paper, we will discuss virtual reality as a design tool in light of previous experience with full-scale modeling and literature on cognitive psychology. We describe a minor explorative study, which was carried out to elucidate the answers to several crucial questions: Is realism in movement a condition for the perception of space or can it be achieved while moving through walls, floors and so forth? Does velocity of movement and reduced visual field have an impact on the perception of space? Are landmarks vital clues for spatial navigation and how do we reproduce them in virtual environments? Can “daylight“, color, material and texture facilitate navigation and are details, furnishings and people important objects of reference? How could contextual information clues, like views and surroundings, be added to facilitate orientation? Do we need our other senses to supplement the visual experience in virtual reality and what is the role of mental maps in spatial navigation?
keywords	Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
type	normal paper
email
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa/
last changed	2004/05/04 14:49

_id	ddssup9608
id	ddssup9608
authors	Gupta, M.K., Groves M. and Moran, J.D.
year	1996
title	An EMIC approach to design: Methodology for creating supportive environments for young children
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Third Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part two: Urban Planning Proceedings (Spa, Belgium), August 18-21, 1996
summary	The responsibility of the designer is to understand the unique perspective of the users, in order to create functional and efficient environments. The task of creating supportive environments often becomes more difficult when there is discrepancy between the perspective of the designer and that of the user, which is the case when designing spaces for children. The interaction of children with their environment has been identified as the basis of their development Most of the previous research has focused on the perspectives that adults have of spaces for children (etic), rather than an understanding of the child's view as the primary user of the playspace (emic). Children's perceptions are influenced by their physical and cognitive perspectives thus posing a unique challenge for designers. The objective of this study was to learn about the perception and perspective of four-and five-year-olds of their favorite playspaces. The children needed to identify their favorite spaces and also be able to verbalize the activities and meanings associated with these spaces. To avoid adult bias at the onset, the idea of utilizing a Polaroid Captiva camera was formulated, facilitating an extremely short latency period between the child taking the pictures and the opportunity to talk about their favorite playspace. The process was extremely successful, and provides first hand insight into children's perception of their built environment Photographs taken by the young children include many spaces not designed for play. The emerging themes are a source of invaluable information for designers and planners for making informed design decisions and for creating supportive environments.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

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