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	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	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	ddssar9604
id	ddssar9604
authors	Demir, Yueksel
year	1996
title	CAD Systems for early design phases or CAD systems for designers' early phases
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Third Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part one: Architecture Proceedings (Spa, Belgium), August 18-21, 1996
summary	Most of the problems, related with the use of CAD systems are the results of some general principles; the philosophy that, those systems are based on. Therefore, mainly the relation between these principles and early design phase performance of CAD systems and designers are discussed in this paper. The circumstances of novice CAD user architects in Turkey is considered first. In formation of the research, the knowledge gained during my personal experience based on real cases from the university (education, research) and practice (design, consulting) is used. Beside this the results of a survey including a serious of interviews projecting the opinions of the architects is used. Vendors of commonly used CAD systems were interviewed. In this manner to answer the main question about the relation of "CAD" and "early design phase" the answers of some following questions and facts were investigated: What means CAD for architects? What are the main purposes of using CAD? Are CAD systems sufficient to be used in early design phases in terms of either hardware and / or software, or should we say thinkware?. The advantages and disadvantages of using CAD. The target user fact and its consequences (the difference between general purpose systems and the sophisticated architectural systems). Should we adapt to computerized way of thinking? Is 3D a basic feature? What are the education related problems of CAD? Is software integration problem solved? Modularity concept for CAD systems. What is the minimum time, and the budget required for a start? The illegal software use problem Complaints, demands, needs and thanks of architects? Simply, what do architects expect from CAD during design process and particularly in early phases (both of design and designer)? Do CAD systems match this?
keywords	CAD, Information Technology, Office Automation
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	6ab6
authors	Maher, M.L., Rutherford, J. and Gero, J.
year	1996
title	Graduate Design Computing Teaching at the University of Sydney
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. 233-244
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.1996.233
summary	Design Computing involves the effective application of computing technologies, digital media, formal methods and design theory to the study and practice of design. Computers are assuming a prominent role in design practice. This change has been partly brought about by economic pressures to improve the efficiency of design practice, but there has also been a desire to aid the design process in order to produce better designs. The introduction of new computer-based techniques and methods generally involves a re-structuring of practice and ways of designing. We are also seeing significant current developments that have far reaching implications for the future. These innovations are occuring at a rapid rate and are imposing increasing pressures on design professionals. A re-orientation of skills is required in order to acquire and manage computer resources. If designers are to lead rather than follow developments then they need to acquire specialist knowledge – a general Computing also demands technical competence, an awareness of advances in the field and an innovative spirit to harness the technology understanding of computers and their impact, expertise in the selection and management of computer-aided design systems, and skill in the design an implementation of computer programs and systems.
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:59

_id	40ee
authors	Biagini, Carlo
year	1996
title	CAAD in the Transformability Evaluation of Historical Buildingsof Historical Buildings
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 55-58
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.055
summary	In the execution of a research, which was intended to identify methods and instruments for transformability evaluation of historical buildings, CAAD was usefully employed in the decision-making process at different levels. From an operative point of view, it was fundamental instruments for the acquisition of typomorphological data inherent to pre-existent buildings. It allowed us to create an archive of information which can be easily and flexibly up-dated. In fact the critical evaluation of these buildings is based on the identification of structural patterns which have characterized the typological evolution of the urban structure, and thus the different historical stratifications have to be carefully catalogued, profoundly analyzed and compared one with the other. CAAD was even more effective during the phase of meta-designing checking concerning the choices effected for conversion of old buildings, since it was possible to prefigure different scenarios according to formulated hypotheses and this gave us the opportunity to evaluate their effective practicability in relation to typo- morphological congruence and logical and formal connection between the old building and new design proposals.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	3386
authors	Gavin, L., Keuppers, S., Mottram, C. and Penn, A.
year	2001
title	Awareness Space in Distributed Social Networks
source	Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 0-7923-7023-6] Eindhoven, 8-11 July 2001, pp. 615-628
summary	In the real work environment we are constantly aware of the presence and activity of others. We know when people are away from their desks, whether they are doing concentrated work, or whether they are available for interaction. We use this peripheral awareness of others to guide our interactions and social behaviour. However, when teams of workers are spatially separated we lose 'awareness' information and this severely inhibits interaction and information flow. The Theatre of Work (TOWER) aims to develop a virtual space to help create a sense of social awareness and presence to support distributed working. Presence, status and activity of other people are made visible in the theatre of work and allow one to build peripheral awareness of the current activity patterns of those who we do not share space with in reality. TOWER is developing a construction set to augment the workplace with synchronous as well as asynchronous awareness. Current, synchronous activity patterns and statuses are played out in a 3D virtual space through the use of symbolic acting. The environment itself however is automatically constructed on the basis of the organisation's information resources and is in effect an information space. Location of the symbolic actor in the environment can therefore represent the focus of that person's current activity. The environment itself evolves to reflect historic patterns of information use and exchange, and becomes an asynchronous representation of the past history of the organisation. A module that records specific episodes from the synchronous event cycle as a Docudrama forms an asynchronous information resource to give a history of team work and decision taking. The TOWER environment is displayed using a number of screen based and ambient display devices. Current status and activity events are supplied to the system using a range of sensors both in the real environment and in the information systems. The methodology has been established as a two-stage process. The 3D spatial environment will be automatically constructed or generated from some aspect of the pre-existing organisational structure or its information resources or usage patterns. The methodology must be extended to provide means for that structure to grow and evolve in the light of patterns of actual user behaviour in the TOWER space. We have developed a generative algorithm that uses a cell aggregation process to transcribe the information space into a 3d space. In stage 2 that space was analysed using space syntax methods (Hillier & Hanson, 1984; Hillier 1996) to allow the properties of permeability and intelligibility to be measured, and then these fed back into the generative algorithm. Finally, these same measures have been used to evaluate the spatialised behaviour that users of the TOWER space show, and will used to feed this back into the evolution of the space. The stage of transcription from information structure to 3d space through a generative algorithm is critical since it is this stage that allows neighbourhood relations to be created that are not present in the original information structure. It is these relations that could be expected to help increase social density.
keywords	Algorithmic Form Generation, Distributed Workgroups, Space Syntax
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2006/11/07 07:22

_id	bd19
authors	Harrison, Steve and Dourish, Paul
year	1996
title	Re-Place-ing Space: The Roles of Place and Space in Collaborative Systems Learning from Space and Place
source	Proceedings of ACM CSCW'96 Conferenc on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work 1996 p.10
summary	Many collaborative and communicative environments use notions of "space" and spatial organisation to facilitate and structure interaction. We argue that a focus on spatial models is misplaced. Drawing on understandings from architecture and urban design, as well as from our own research findings, we highlight the critical distinction between "space" and "place". While designers use spatial models to support interaction, we show how it is actually a notion of "place" which frames interactive behaviour. This leads us to re-evaluate spatial systems, and discuss how "place", rather than "space", can support CSCW design.
keywords	Space; Place; Media Space; Virtual Reality; MUDs; Metaphor
series	other
last changed	2002/07/07 16:01

_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	a573
authors	Cicognani, Anna
year	1996
title	Thinking Beyond
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 87-98
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.087
summary	If the new generation of architects is in need of tools, then we can consider ourselves lucky. On the market there are as many CAD systems as we would be able to learn and use in more than a Curriculum of a School of Architecture. On the other hand, being able to use the tools doesn't mean being able to produce good designs. It is often pointed out how much buildings designed by CAD systems look strangely similar. In the challenge of education, in Schools of Architecture, we need to help students to think beyond the tools themselves. This can be done with, for example, Virtual Design Studios and MUDs/MOOs, in which students can practise their architectural skills and adapt the tools to their design, instead of vice versa. This paper is a description of some attempts in educating how to think beyond tools in design tasks.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.arch.su.edu.au/~anna
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	8bd9
authors	Coomans, M.K.D. and Oxman, R.M.
year	1996
title	Prototyping of Designs in Virtual Reality
source	H.J.P. Timmermans (ed.), 3rd Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning Conference, Vol I: Architecture Proceedings, pp. 13-25
summary	Conventional CAD systems have not yet proven their ability to provide support for activities which characterise the early conceptual phase of design. We propose to refer to this set of capabilities of the human designer in conventional design as, design prototyping. We define the theoretical limitations of current CAD systems for supporting design prototyping, and postulate the potential of functionally dedicated, task related, CAD modules in Virtual Reality as a means to provide a unique form of a knowledgebased, visual design support environment for design prototyping support. We are currently engaged in a research program in which we explore CAD as a medium to support early conceptual design through rapid prototyping of architectural form. Furthermore we are exploring Virtual Reality as a potential design prototyping environment in which prototypes of designs can be constructed, communicated and visually evaluated at a high level of verisimilitude. In the first phase we have built the prototype system VIDE. This system has been used for extensive internal evaluation. In the ongoing second phase we are constructing an empirical research to observe designers at work on design prototyping in the Virtual Reality environment.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	ddssar9602
id	ddssar9602
authors	Coomans, M.K.D. and Oxman, R.M.
year	1996
title	Prototyping of Designs in Virtual Reality
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Third Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part one: Architecture Proceedings (Spa, Belgium), August 18-21, 1996
summary	Conventional CAD systems have not yet proven their ability to provide support for activities which characterise the early conceptual phase of design. We propose to refer to this set of capabilities of the human designer in conventional design as, design prototyping. We define the theoretical limitations of current CAD systems for supporting design prototyping, and postulate the potential of functionally dedicated, task related, CAD modules in Virtual Reality as a means to provide a unique form of a knowledge-based, visual design support environment for design prototyping support. We are currently engaged in a research program in which we explore CAD as a medium to support early conceptual design through rapid prototyping of architectural form. Furthermore we are exploring Virtual Reality as a potential design prototyping environment in which prototypes of designs can be constructed, communicated and visually evaluated at a high level of verisimilitude. In the first phase we have built the prototype system VIDE. This system has been used for extensive internal evaluation. In the ongoing second phase we are constructing an empirical research to observe designers at work on design prototyping in the Virtual Reality environment.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	e479
authors	Costanzo, Ezilda and De Vecchi, Antonio
year	1996
title	Computer-Aided Planning of Connections Among Building Components
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 111-120
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.111
summary	In these last years the use of advanced technological types of construction, prevalently consisting of mechanical assembly systems, is also spreading to create connections among building elements. The aim of the research we are carrying on is to develop an automated software tool aiding the planning of assembly systems adopted in building, which are often characterised by high complexity levels. At the present, such subject is being studying in the mechanical field; but the difference of components and of products, seldom mass-produced and industrialised in building, make only few factors be available to our field, where further and different investigations are required.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	6abd
authors	Dawson, Anthony and Burry, Mark
year	1996
title	The Continuing Dichotomy: Practice vs. Education
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 131-142
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.131
summary	While it is apparent from the architectural literature that some practices are innovative in their use of computers for architectural design, clear evidence indicates that most architectural practices have applied computing to traditional practice paradigms. Information technology is therefore being applied to practice systems which were in place prior to computers being available. This has significant implications for architectural education in which there is tension developing between the requirements of the commercially oriented architectural practice and the innovation driven computer-aided architectural design educator. The first wishes to equip graduates for immediate and productive employment in computerised architectural practices and may be loosely interpreted as a graduate’s ability to work as a CAD operator within an architectural practice environment. The second has the desire for students to be innovative in their use of information technology as an aid in informing and evaluating parts of both the design process and its outcomes. However, it is only when both architects and educators identify the architectural process as an integrated information system that these tensions can be resolved. This requires reconsideration of the function and use of information technology in both educational institutions and in architectural practices. The paper discusses how fruitful this can be in the current environment and outlines current developments at Deakin University which aim at providing a middle ground
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	ddssar9607
id	ddssar9607
authors	Doxtater, Dennis and Mittleman, Daniel
year	1996
title	Facilitating and structuring environmental knowledge: prototypical pre-design for a new campus setting
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Third Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part one: Architecture Proceedings (Spa, Belgium), August 18-21, 1996
summary	This applied research combines state-of-the-art computer-supported facilitation process with a conceptually new way of structuring behavioral knowledge of the physical environment. The object is to develop a prototypical evaluation/pre-design/design process which can be used in practice. The paper reports on the first phase of an actual building project for a university campus where representatives from all client user groups have participated in GSS facilitated sessions. Large amounts of user information have been organized into a graphically enhanced data base including decisions on key programmatic issues. Proposed GSS sessions for the second phase envision a continuous flow of pre-design information through design and design evaluation processes.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	d9bf
authors	Goodchild, N.F., Steyaert, L.T., Parks, B.O., Johnson, C., Maidment, D., Crane, M. and Glendinning, S. (Eds.)
year	1996
title	GIS and Environmental Modeling: Progress and Research Issues
source	Fort Collins, CO: GIS World Books, pp.451-454
summary	GIS and Environmental Modeling: Progress and Research Issues Michael F. Goodchild, Louis T. Steyaert, Bradley O. Parks, Carol Johnston, David Maidment, Michael Crane, and Sandi Glendinning, Editors With growing pressure on natural resources and landscapes there is an increasing need to predict the consequences of any changes to the environment. Modelling plays an important role in this by helping our understanding of the environment and by forecasting likely impacts. In recent years moves have been made to link models to Geographical Information Systems to provide a means of analysing changes over an area as well as over time. GIS and Environmental Modeling explores the progress made to date in integrating these two software systems. Approaches to the subject are made from theoretical, technical as well as data stand points. The existing capabilities of current systems are described along with important issues of data availability, accuracy and error. Various case studies illustrate this and highlight the common concepts and issues that exist between researchers in different environmental fields. The future needs and prospects for integrating GIS and environmental models are also explored with developments in both data handling and modelling discussed. The book brings together the knowledge and experience of over 100 researchers from academic, commercial and government backgrounds who work in a wide range of disciplines. The themes followed in the text provide a fund of knowledge and guidance for those involved in environmental modelling and GIS. The book is easily accessible for readers with a basic GIS knowledge and the ideas and results of the research are clearly illustrated with both colour and black and white graphics.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	3451
authors	Harrison, Beverly L.
year	1996
title	The Design and Evaluation of Transparent User Interfaces. From Theory to Practice
source	University of Toronto, Toronto
summary	The central research issue addressed by this dissertation is how we can design systems where information on user interface tools is overlaid on the work product being developed with these tools. The interface tools typically appear in the display foreground while the data or work space being manipulated typically appear in the perceptual background. This represents a trade-off in focused foreground attention versus focused background attention. By better supporting human attention we hope to improve the fluency of work, where fluency is reflected in a more seamless integration between task goals, user interface tool manipulations to achieve these goals, and feedback from the data or work space being manipulated. This research specifically focuses on the design and evaluation of transparent user interface 'layers' applied to graphical user interfaces. By allowing users to see through windows, menus, and tool palettes appearing in the perceptual foreground, an improved awareness of the underlying workspace and preservation of context are possible. However, transparent overlapping objects introduce visual interference which may degrade task performance, through reduced legibility. This dissertation explores a new interface technique (i.e., transparent layering) and, more importantly, undertakes a deeper investigation into the underlying issues that have implications for the design and use of this new technique. We have conducted a series of experiments, progressively more representative of the complex stimuli from real task domains. This enables us to systematically evaluate a variety of transparent user interfaces, while remaining confident of the applicability of the results to actual task contexts. We also describe prototypes and a case study evaluation of a working system using transparency based on our design parameters and experimental findings. Our findings indicate that similarity in both image color and in image content affect the levels of visual interference. Solid imagery in either the user interface tools (e.g., icons) or in the work space content (e.g., video, rendered models) are highly interference resistant and work well up to 75% transparent (i.e., 25% of foreground image and 75% of background content). Text and wire frame images (or line drawings) perform equally poorly but are highly usable up to 50% transparent, with no apparent performance penalty. Introducing contrasting outlining techniques improves the usability of transparent text menu interfaces up to 90% transparency. These results suggest that transparency is a usable and promising interface alternative. We suggest several methods of overcoming today's technical challenges in order to integrate transparency into existing applications.
series	thesis:PhD
email
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	fb63
id	fb63
authors	Jabi, Wassim
year	1996
title	An Outline of the Requirements for a Computer-Supported Collaborative Design System
source	Open House International, vol 21, no 1, March 1996
summary	Computer-Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) systems have adequately satisfied several needs so far. They have dramatically improved the accuracy and consistency of working drawings, enabled designers to visualize their design ideas in three-dimensions, allowed the analysis of designs through data exchange and integrated databases, and even allowed the designers to evaluate (and in some cases generate) designs based on comparisons to previous cases and/or the formalization of grammars. Yet, there is a consensus that CAAD systems have not yet achieved their full potential. First, most systems employ a single-user approach to solving architectural problems which fails to grapple with the fact that most design work is done through teamwork. Second, current systems still can not support early design stages which involve client briefing, data collection, building program formulation, and schematic design generation. This paper seeks to study remedies to both of the afore-mentioned limitations through focusing on the fundamental dialectic and collaborative nature of what is called designing: a concerned social activity that proceeds by creating architectural elements to address a set of requirements and their re-thinking as a result of architectural conjecture. To investigate this relationship, it is proposed to build a computer-supported collaborative design environment using the tools of conceptual modeling, object-oriented algorithms, and distributed agents. Based on findings regarding the role of artifacts in collaborative design and a literature survey, this paper concludes with an outline of the requirements for the above system.
series	journal paper
type	normal paper
email
last changed	2008/06/12 16:34

_id	2f3c
authors	Jabi, Wassim
year	1996
title	An Outline of the Requirements for a Computer-Supported Collaborative Design System
source	Open House International, vol. 21 no 1, March 1996, pp. 22-30
summary	Computer-Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) systems have adequately satisfied several needs so far. They have dramatically improved the accuracy and consistency of working drawings, enabled designers to visualize their design ideas in three-dimensions, allowed the analysis of designs through data exchange and integrated databases, and even allowed the designers to evaluate (and in some cases generate) designs based on comparisons to previous cases and/or the formalization of grammars. Yet, there is a consensus that CAAD systems have not yet achieved their full potential. First, most systems employ a single-user approach to solving architectural problems which fails to grapple with the fact that most design work is done through teamwork. Second, current systems still can not support early design stages which involve client briefing, data collection, building program formulation, and schematic design generation. This paper seeks to study remedies to both of the afore-mentioned limitations through focusing on the fundamental dialectic and collaborative nature of what is called designing: a concerned social activity that proceeds by creating architectural elements to address a set of requirements and their re-thinking as a result of architectural conjecture. To investigate this relationship, it is proposed to build a computer-supported collaborative design environment using the tools of conceptual modeling, object-oriented algorithms, and distributed agents. Based on findings regarding the role of artifacts in collaborative design and a literature survey, this paper concludes with an outline of the requirements for the above system.
keywords	Computer Supported Collaborative Design
series	other
email
last changed	2002/03/05 19:54

_id	ddssar9620
id	ddssar9620
authors	Koutamanis, Alexander
year	1996
title	Elements and coordinating devices in architecture: An initial formulation
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Third Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part one: Architecture Proceedings (Spa, Belgium), August 18-21, 1996
summary	Design representations of the built environment are essentially atomistic. A design is represented by its atomic components which may vary according to abstraction level, their properties and, if possible, their relationships. The utility of such representations has been amply demonstrated in academic research. However, the transition to practice means a substantial growth of the size of these representations in order to cover the many abstraction levels and the multiple aspects involved in the design and the management of the built environment. In most cases the complexity of larger representations renders them unmanageable for both computers and humans. The paper outlines an approach which enriches the atomistic basis of the representation with connected but independent coordinating devices. This facilitates the transformation of the basic relational representations into multilevel structures where each level corresponds to different aspects and abstraction scales. Coordinating devices are instrumental for the representation of multilateral relationships and abstract spatial schemata which precede or supersede the placement and arrangement of elements.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	2b9a
authors	Kvan, Thomas (Ed.)
year	1996
title	The Introduction of Technology [CAADRIA ‘96 Conference Proceedings]
source	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, 316 p.
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.1996.
summary	Computers have established themselves as indispensable tools in the practice of architecture; there are few practices today which do not have access to computers for some aspects of their work. Similarly, we have seen purchases of systems by almost every school of architecture in the region in the past few years. The pervasive application of the tools in practice and the ease of access to some form of computing in architectural schools poses a challenge to which architectural education has responded.
series	CAADRIA
email
more	http://www.caadria.org
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

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