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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Hits 1 to 20 of 48

_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 b6a7
authors Jensen, K.
year 1996
title Coloured Petri Nets: Basic Concepts
source 2nd ed., Springer Verlag, Berlin
summary This book presents a coherent description of the theoretical and practical aspects of Coloured Petri Nets (CP-nets or CPN). It shows how CP-nets have been developed - from being a promising theoretical model to being a full-fledged language for the design, specification, simulation, validation and implementation of large software systems (and other systems in which human beings and/or computers communicate by means of some more or less formal rules). The book contains the formal definition of CP-nets and the mathematical theory behind their analysis methods. However, it has been the intention to write the book in such a way that it also becomes attractive to readers who are more interested in applications than the underlying mathematics. This means that a large part of the book is written in a style which is closer to an engineering textbook (or a users' manual) than it is to a typical textbook in theoretical computer science. The book consists of three separate volumes. The first volume defines the net model (i.e., hierarchical CP-nets) and the basic concepts (e.g., the different behavioural properties such as deadlocks, fairness and home markings). It gives a detailed presentation of many small examples and a brief overview of some industrial applications. It introduces the formal analysis methods. Finally, it contains a description of a set of CPN tools which support the practical use of CP-nets. Most of the material in this volume is application oriented. The purpose of the volume is to teach the reader how to construct CPN models and how to analyse these by means of simulation. The second volume contains a detailed presentation of the theory behind the formal analysis methods - in particular occurrence graphs with equivalence classes and place/transition invariants. It also describes how these analysis methods are supported by computer tools. Parts of this volume are rather theoretical while other parts are application oriented. The purpose of the volume is to teach the reader how to use the formal analysis methods. This will not necessarily require a deep understanding of the underlying mathematical theory (although such knowledge will of course be a help). The third volume contains a detailed description of a selection of industrial applications. The purpose is to document the most important ideas and experiences from the projects - in a way which is useful for readers who do not yet have personal experience with the construction and analysis of large CPN diagrams. Another purpose is to demonstrate the feasibility of using CP-nets and the CPN tools for such projects. Together the three volumes present the theory behind CP-nets, the supporting CPN tools and some of the practical experiences with CP-nets and the tools. In our opinion it is extremely important that these three research areas have been developed simultaneously. The three areas influence each other and none of them could be adequately developed without the other two. As an example, we think it would have been totally impossible to develop the hierarchy concepts of CP-nets without simultaneously having a solid background in the theory of CP-nets, a good idea for a tool to support the hierarchy concepts, and a thorough knowledge of the typical application areas.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id 807c
authors Kellett, Ronald
year 1996
title MEDIA MATTERS: NUDGING DIGITAL MEDIA INTO A MANUAL DESIGN PROCESS (AND VICE VERSA)
source Design Computation: Collaboration, Reasoning, Pedagogy [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-05-5] Tucson (Arizona / USA) October 31 - November 2, 1996, pp. 31-43
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1996.031
summary This paper reports on a media class offered during the 1995-96 academic year at the University of Oregon. This course, a renovation of an existing 'manual' media offering targeted intermediate Ievel graduate and undergraduate students who, while relatively experienced design students, were relatively inexperienced users of digital media for design. This course maintained a pedagogical emphasis on design process, a point of view that media are powerful influences on design thinking, and an attitude toward experimentation (and reflection) in matters of media and design process. Among the experiments explored were fitting together digital with manual media, and using digital media to collaborate in an electronic workspace. The experience offers opportunity to consider how digital media might be more widely integrated with what remains a predominantly 'manual' design process and media context for many architecture schools and practices.
series ACADIA
type normal paper
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:52

_id ddssup9601
id ddssup9601
authors Aoke, Yoshitsugu and Muraoka, Naoto
year 1996
title An optimization method of the facility location by genetic algorithm
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 In planning of community-facilities, it is important to decide the facility location to provide the effective service for residents. The behavior of residents using the facility and the evaluation methods of the location have been studied. But, finding the optimum location is very hard in actual planning because the volume of calculation depends on the number of feasible locating points of facilities. To conquer the difficulty of searching the optimum location, we propose an optimization method using Genetic Algorithm. An alternative of location is expressed by a chromosome. Each chromosome consists of genes, and each gene expresses a located zone of the facility. We gave definitions of genetic procedures; crossing-over, mutation and selection. Alternatives of the facility location are generated by these genetic procedures like as life evolution. For each alternative, the behaviors of users are estimated by a spatial-interaction model, and the facilities that residents in each place choose are determined. The effectiveness of the location is measured by a total sum of distances between the facility and the user. After the confirmation of the effectiveness of our method by applying on ideal example problems, we applied it on the actual problem in Japanese town. By this method we could find the optimum location in about one-third time and effort as compared with the ordinal method.
series DDSS
last changed 2003/11/21 15:15

_id 82ff
authors Bhavnani, S.K., Flemming, U., Forsythe, D.E., Garrett, J.H., Shaw, D.S. and Tsai, A.
year 1996
title CAD usage in an architectural office: from observations to active assistance
source Automation in Construction 5 (3) (1996) pp. 243-255
summary The functionality and resources provided by CAD systems have been increasing rapidly, but productivity growth expected from their use has been difficult to achieve. Although many surveys describe this productivity puzzle, few studies have been conducted on actual CAD users to understand its causes. In an effort to arrive at such an understanding, the first author visited a federal architectural office and observed CAD users in their natural setting. This paper describes preliminary results obtained from the study, which used ethnographic techniques developed by cultural anthropologists. The study revealed that users had leveled-off in their learning and experimentation and were using the CAD system in suboptimal ways. By asking why users were not using many resources available to them to improve performance, the observer uncovered issues of communication and management that needed to be addressed. Based on this understanding, the authors provide explicit recommendations to CAD users and vendors. In addition, they hypothesize that users might benefit from a system that provides active assistance, that is, intervenes spontaneously with advice, assistance, and relevant information while the user interacts with the CAD system. They conclude with some issues revealed by the study that should be considered when developing such active assistance.
series journal paper
email
more http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed 2003/05/15 21:22

_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 caadria2020_093
id caadria2020_093
authors Cerovsek, Tomo and Martens, Bob
year 2020
title The Evolution of CAADRIA Conferences - A Bibliometric Approach
source D. Holzer, W. Nakapan, A. Globa, I. Koh (eds.), RE: Anthropocene, Design in the Age of Humans - Proceedings of the 25th CAADRIA Conference - Volume 1, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 5-6 August 2020, pp. 325-334
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2020.1.325
summary This paper presents an analysis of the output, impact, use and content of 1,860 papers that were published in the CAADRIA conference proceedings over the last 20+ years (from 1996 to 2019). The applied methodology is a blend of bibliometrics, webometrics and clustering with text mining. The bibliometric analysis leads to quantitative and qualitative results on three levels: (1) author, (2) article and (3) association. The most productive authors authored over 50 papers, and the top 20% authors have over 80 % of all citations generated by CAADRIA proceedings. The overall impact of CAADRIA may be characterised by nearly 2,000 known citations and by the h-index that is 17. The webometrics based on CumInCAD.org reveals that the CAADRIA papers served over 200 k users, which is a considerable visibility for scientific CAAD output. The keywords most frequently used by authors were digital fabrication, BIM and parametric, generative, computational design. Notably, 90% of the papers' descriptors are 2-grams. This study may be useful to researchers, educators and publishers interested in CAAD.
keywords bibliometrics; open source; text clustering; n-gram
series CAADRIA
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:55

_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 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 ec0e
authors Engeli, M. and Kurmann, D.
year 1996
title A Virtual Reality Design Environment with Intelligent Objects and Autonomous Agents
source H.J.P. Timmermans (ed.), Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning Conference, Vol. 1: Architecture Proceedings, pp. 132-142
summary New technological achievements and research results allow for the creation of innovative design tools for architects, that do not originate from paper-based paradigms but instead make optimised use of the present technology and programming concepts. The core of our system is comprised of an intuitive interactive modelling tool. It runs in a virtual reality set-up, where the user can use 3D glasses to experience rooms and 3D input devices to model in three dimensions. The interface is free from widget-like buttons or menus, so that the user is undisturbed when moving into the virtual world of the design. The system can also run in a distributed fashion, so that a number of users can look at and modify the same design. The 3D model can be generated in a sketch-like fashion using solids and voids, void modelling turns out to be very valuable for architectural design. The objects in this system can contain forms of intelligence to produce such behaviour as: falling because of gravity, collision avoidance, and autonomous motion. Interactive behaviour can also be assigned to the objects. Autonomous Agents are added to the system to enhance the designer support. These are agents that enhance the virtual environment, agents that take over tasks, and agents that help to test the design. The system shows new interface and interaction approaches that support the architectural design process intelligently.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:50

_id ddssar9609
id ddssar9609
authors Engeli, Maia and Kurmann, David
year 1996
title A Virtual Reality Design Environment with Intelligent Objects and Autonomous Agents
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 New technological achievements and research results allow for the creation of innovative design tools for architects, that do not originate from paper-based paradigms but instead make optimised use of the present technology and programming concepts. The core of our system is comprised of an intuitive interactive modelling tool. It runs in a virtual reality set-up, where the user can use 3D glasses to expe-rience rooms and 31) input devices to model in three dimensions. The interface is free from widget-like buttons or menus, so that the user is undisturbed when moving into the virtual world of the design. The system can also run in a distributed fashion, so that a number of users can look at and modify the same design. The 31) model can be generated in a sketch-like fashion using solids and voids, void modelling turns out to be very valuable for architectural design. The objects in this system can contain forms of intelligence to produce such behaviour as: falling because of gravity, collision avoidance, and autonomous motion. Interactive behaviour can also be assigned to the objects. Autonomous Agents are added to the system to enhance the designer support. These are agents that enhance the virtual environment, agents that take over tasks, and agents that help to test the design. The system shows new interface and interaction approaches that support the architectural design process intelligently.
series DDSS
last changed 2003/08/07 16:36

_id aff6
authors Ferrar, Steve
year 1996
title Back to the Drawing Board?
source Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 155-162
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.155
summary I am starting my presentation with some slides of architecture as a reminder that above all else we are involved in the education of future architects. Such is the enthusiasm of many of us for our specialist subject that computers dominate any discussion of architecture. We must not lose sight of the fact that we are using computers to assist in the manipulation of space, form, light, texture and colour, and in communicating our ideas. They should also be helping us and our students to understand and deal with the relationship of built form to its environment, its users and other buildings. The use of computers should not get in the way of this. In the final analysis the image on a computer screen is only that - an image, a representation of a building. It is not the building itself. It is a means to an end and not an end in itself. The image must not be a substitute for the physical building. We must remember that we use most of our other senses when experiencing a building and it is just as important to be able to touch, hear and smell a piece of architecture as well as being able to see it. Who knows, perhaps even taste is important. How much does the use of computers affect the design process and the final appearance of the building? Would these buildings have been substantially different if a system of working in three dimensions, similar to computer aided design, had been available to these architects. To what degree has the design process and method of working shaped the architecture of designers like Frank Lloyd Wright, Carlo Scarpa, Louis Sullivan, Charles Rennie Mackintosh or Alvar Aalto.

series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:50

_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 08af
authors Gross, M.D. and Do, E.
year 1996
title Ambiguous Intentions: a Paper-like Interface for Creative Design
source Proceedings UIST ’96 Seattle Washington, pp. 183-192
summary Interfaces for conceptual and creative design should recognize and interpret drawings. They should also capture users' intended ambiguity, vagueness, and imprecision and convey these qualities visually and through interactive behavior. Freehand drawing can provide this information and it is a natural input mode for design. We describe a pen-based interface that acquires information about ambiguity and precision from freehand input, represents it internally, and echoes it to users visually and through constraint based edit behavior.
series other
email
last changed 2003/04/23 15:50

_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

_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 ddssar9615
id ddssar9615
authors Hill, S.M., Sinclair, B.S., Sandall, D., Butt, T.S., Sampson, N. and Blackie, N.
year 1996
title A Computer-Facilitated Approach for Development, Visualization and Testing of Functional Programming Information
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 Functional programming processes for complex architectural projects have traditionally been hampered by the static nature of available tools and technologies. Connection with user groups have likewise been disadvantaged through the employment of sender-oriented communications models that limit feedback and interaction. In addition, diminishing project budgets place increasing pressure on clients and consult-ants to develop more effective and efficient methods for the design and construction of buildings. This paper discusses a case-study involving the design of a highly complex medical laboratory wherein infoc mation technologies were used to facilitate the development, visualization and testing of functional pro-gramming information. The objectives for the project involved creating an environment where users and clients actively participate in consideration of programming directions and implications in a manner that would not only increase confidence that the program would meet user requirements now and in the future, but also would reduce redundant and or inefficient space within the overall building programme. In the approach used the distinction between programming and design is diminished to improve communication of desires and design responses. The findings of the study indicate that the computer-facilitated approach met the objectives of the project and that the methods developed hold promise for application across a broader range of project types.
series DDSS
last changed 2003/08/07 16:36

_id 8a8f
authors Hou, June Hao
year 1996
title Exploration of Extending the Communication Range in the Virtual Design Process
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. 299-305
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.1996.299
summary Computer Support for Collaborative Works (CSCW) and recently investigated Virtual Design Studio (VDS) are reviewed. By involving into two design projects and examining the virtual design process, several technical and procedural problems are notified and discussed. A community reconstruction was proceeded in the second project to help local communities to build their network communication. This paper tries to construct guidelines for future virtual design process and addresses the possibilities of extending the communication range to local communities and users.
series CAADRIA
last changed 2022/06/07 07:50

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

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

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

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

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

_id 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

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